9 lives: A Tap Cats RPG
Art Direction, UI/UX Design
01
A collaboration between 2 studios
9 lives was a collaborative work between 5pg and Kemojo Studios. I was tasked with re-purposing assets from an existing title and using them to build a new rpg experience. Some of the UI came from the original game, and I had to fill in the gaps, providing matching UI. Also, it was a skin of one of our existing titles, so the options of what I could do with the new game were very limited. It was quite a challenge, but with the help of the 5pg team and Kemojo team we were able to make something really fun and enjoyable.
03
Extra small team
This re-skin was put tother with just two individuals. Myself, acting as Art Director and UI designer, and the engineer who was handling both front and end back end development.
02
2 month
turn-around
We had a super short timeline, and a lot of work to do! With a team of two, a lot of repurposed assets and no distractions, we were able to put this project together in just two months!
04
Straight Re-skin
One of the most challenging things about doing a reskin is staying on target. With a short timeline, every asset had to to be as close to the original equivalent, every feature had to be as close as possible to the title we were skinning. The budget was very small so only a few new art pieces were available. we used that budget on new world map, splash, guild screen and loot box experience. We were very careful about adding any new elements that would have changed our targeted timeline.
Combat
The Combat system was kept exactly the way it was for the original title we were skinning. we replaced all the art with tap cats assets, rexported to match the specs of the first title.
Character Management
This screen was used for uping charachter stats by using boosts and other items obtained through gameplay or monotization. We chose to keep all original UX for this screen and updated all the UI with the assets for the tap cats title. A few new pieces were made for this screen, like the pedestal which felt like a necessary narrative addition to combine the two titles together.
Events System
UI system
A blend of old and new, the UI system took inspiration for the tap cats art assets. It was playful and superhero inspired. We modified the original games strength and weakness wheel with a fun new cat twist.
We created all new event banners using existing art and new UI.
New Environment Art
One of the ways I refreshed the assets was to add new environment art. I requested arena art for pvp gameplay. I added a new homepage background that evoked a cat town. I also had a new world map and a gym for the events area. This really brought the new narrative together and made the two projects cohsive. By using my budget carefully and with intention, we has the project put together with less then 10k in art budget.