University of Montana logo with the men's uniform sitting on the left and the women's sitting on the right.

NITRO NEXUS

Fast-paced action meets deep strategy

The goal for this project was centered on designing the UI assets for what a racing meets strategy based game would come into existence.

Deliverables

Research
Development
Wireframes / Architecture
Logo / Branding

Role

Project lead
Sole Designer

University of Montana logo with the men's uniform sitting on the left and the women's sitting on the right.

Game Design Document

Overview

NITRO NEXUS is a high-speed racing game where every turn isn’t just about reflexes, but also strategy. Players race through dynamic tracks against opponents while also managing key resources like fuel, tire wear, tire pressure, and vehicle upgrades all while they make real-time decisions that impact their speed, durability, and overall performance. Start from the bottom and build your dream car, tweaking everything from engine performance to aerodynamics. Will you push for a faster time at the risk of of overheating, or play it safe with calculated pit stops? Fast-paced action meets deep strategy. In the end this makes every race unpredictable thrill, but only the driver who masters both the speed and strategy will come out on top.

Systems

The following system's, but not limited to just these few are available to the user's. These systems include; Car Customizations, Crafting Items / Boosts, Options, Store, Skill Tree, and a Racing Pass (Battle Pass equivalent)

User Personas

The following persona’s consist of three different player types; Ethan will use NITRO NEXUS to its fullest, Sarah who doesn’t know a lot about racing, and Lucas who needs the access to use controller remapping due to an injury.

Branding

Logo

The goal for NITRO NEXUS's logo was to capture the feeling of racing with a titled logo, but also making it look fast at the same time. From this the logo had gone through multiple iterations and multiple type changes till the final logo was settled on.

Process

Finalized Logo

Design System

Below you will see the design system for NITRO NEXUS. This system includes the color palette and their use cases, as well how to use a lower opacity of some colors.

Architecture + Wireframes

Flow Chart

Below you will see the basic user flow for a new player and a returning player. For brand new players once they load up the game for the first time they'll be promoted to go through a FTUE which will help them set the game up to their liking. Where as, for returning players if they chose to start a brand new game they'd have the option to import their other settings or start brand new.

Wireframes

Open Wireframes

Below you will see the wireframe structure that is used throughout NITRO NEXUS. The process was first started with some basic sketches to get some ideas out such as the main screens, from there the ideas were brought digital to then be turned into grey boxes and more iterations.

Final Screens

Screens

Below you will see a few of the screens pulled out for each system ranging from loading screen, main menu, garage, multiplayer, settings, and a HUD design for in-game. All screens + prototype can be viewed in "View Prototype".

Screens (Once Further in Game)

Below you will see a few of the screens pulled out for the game that are only accessible after progressing through the game more.

View Prototype

Below you will see a video that will go through the prototype for NITRO NEXUS, this option is included if a controller isn't accessible and would like to see how the game would work.

XBOX controller is recommended as it's meant to be played on XBOX, but a PlayStation or Nintendo controller should also work, buttons would just be flipped / different.  

Video Coming Soon

Speedometer Animation

Video Coming Soon