News ► Osaka Team Recruiting for UI Designer for Kingdom Hearts 3

[Sign]

Staff recruitment is commonplace in every industry, especially in games. Over the course of the development cycle, new staff will often be sought out to aid the existing team, usually under contractual bases. While we usually don't pay any mind to these matters, one has come up that may be interesting to note.

Square Enix's Osaka branch is searching for a new User Interface Designer for none other than Kingdom Hearts 3. This individual should keep in mind that the world of Kingdom Hearts is unique and loved by millions around the world, and therefore the interface should, above all else, be user friendly and easy to understand.

 

A UI Designer needs to analyze the weaknesses and strengths of each element, and work closely with the programmers and menu planners in order to offer the best experience for the players. Of course this includes matters such as determining a new layout scheme to allow easier navigation and maintaining the game's or series's one-of-a-kind theme across the board.

This also ranges from changing the layout of result screens so that the information can be easier to absorb, adjusting the speed of the UI animation so that it would flow seamlessly without stuttering or lingering unnecessarily, figuring out how cursors in each menu should behave, and much more. It's a giant task that requires a dedicated team with flawless communication to achieve.

[For more information, please check out UI Artist Misao Ohara's interview from the Kingdom Hearts 3D Ultimania]

But you may be wondering, why is this important for us to acknowledge? 

Well, games in the Kingdom Hearts series follow a very specific pattern in their development cycle, and it almost always begins with the gameplay system, followed by world selection, scenario writing, then getting into the meat of the project with world building (it's important to note that certain tasks occur simultaneously, not consecutively). Below is an excerpt from the main interview with Series Director Tetsuya Nomura in the Birth by Sleep Ultimania:

-- So how did you start development on "KH BbS"? 

Nomura: Well I usually start by thinking about the gameplay, but for BbS I started by writing out the plot for the scenario. The scenes on Destiny Island with Terra and Riku speaking, and Aqua speaking to both Sora and Riku were ideas I had written down from the first. I wanted to make those scenes a reality so badly that I wrote out a development proposal. I had the plot in mind from way back at the end of development on KHII. [Read more...]

Kingdom Hearts 3 has been in development for well over a year now. With the hiring of this new designer, perhaps we can predict just about where they are at this stage in the cycle?

View the job listing here.

Where you think the team is at right now? Does this impact any opinion you may have about the game's release date? And what would you like to see in the next trailer? Let us know in our forums!

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[bczp]

Well written and absolutely on-point. Great bullet points that the UI designer will have to cover with his abilities and magic points.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Hopefully whoever they get makes a wonderful UI. Specifically one that becomes transparent when not in combat as to free the screen from clutter so we can all enjoy that 1080p (on PS4, at least) glory? And doesn't take up more than a small fraction of the screen while still being visible and easy to see?

 

[Dandelion]

This is... unexpected, but I'm all for the new blood. The UI's been sufficient in games past, but I think it needs to be brought to current-gen.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

This is... unexpected, but I'm all for the new blood. The UI's been sufficient in games past, but I think it needs to be brought to current-gen.

Yeah. If they can blend the style in with modern UI approaches, it will be better off. It needs to be less cluttered. When I look at BBS's UI, is nice but it takes up a lot of the screen and that will always be distracting considering how much smaller the playing field ends up looking.

 

[rawpower]

Ya know, I think the UI could use a bit of a revamp. Keep it familiar but I'd like for it to be improved greatly. I guess it really depends on what direction they take the game as far as game play and battle system goes.

 

[Kingnice92]

That's great! They :frown:

 

[Sign]

I'm pretty surprised that the listing flat out states that they're looking for a designer for KH3. Usually they'll just refer to the project vaguely and refrain from including details.

 

[SORA619]

Ι think I know who to curse of the UI is annoying

I's a little strange that they said they need new people for KHIII and not a mysterious new project. It means they have very high standards and I'm very happy about it. Can't wait to see what the new blood achieved!!

 

[Dandelion]

But I wonder what this really means for development? Isn't this one of the first things they do?

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

But I wonder what this really means for development? Isn't this one of the first things they do?

No. The first thing they do is gameplay and world selection. You don't actually need a finalized UI for stuff like that. Also, we don't know if they are hiring this person to replace somebody else, if they are joining a team of designers, or what.

Also, like Sign explained in the article, this stuff happens simultaneously throughout the development cycle. We can get an idea that this is likely early-to-mid dev work, but who knows 8D

 

[Antar]

Woah, for any Kingdom Hearts fan, it would be a great honor to work on the UI for KH3, the final game of the saga! Hopefully someone has the right skills for it.

 

[LightUpTheSky452]

Any news is good news, imo. So here's hoping things go smoothly, and that they pick a dedicated someone, who can really mesh with the rest of the team, as well as make sure that things are on the right course for the end of our beloved series

In any case, hearing about this is neat, because we so rarely get news like this when it's actually happening! And it does give us some idea as to where they might be at in development.

Do you think this might hint that things aren't at a stage where they could reveal something at TGS, though, or might it mean something actually could come up (do you think this could even affect a possible showing at TGS at all)?

 

[Bobjam]

Any news is good news, imo. So here's hoping things go smoothly, and that they pick a dedicated someone, who can really mesh with the rest of the team, as well as make sure that things are on the right course for the end of our beloved series

In any case, hearing about this is neat, because we so rarely get news like this when it's actually happening! And it does give us some idea as to where they might be at in development.

Do you think this might hint that things aren't at a stage where they could reveal something at TGS, though, or might it mean something actually could come up (do you think this could even affect a possible showing at TGS at all)?

Cutscenes don't need UI...just saying

 

[Dandelion]

No. The first thing they do is gameplay and world selection. You don't actually need a finalized UI for stuff like that. Also, we don't know if they are hiring this person to replace somebody else, if they are joining a team of designers, or what.

Also, like Sign explained in the article, this stuff happens simultaneously throughout the development cycle. We can get an idea that this is likely early-to-mid dev work, but who knows 8D

Yeah, I just think it's interesting what could have lead to it. There are a million possibilities, I suppose.

 

[LightUpTheSky452]

That's a good point, Bobjam. There is a strong chance that if there is anything at TGS, it could only be cutscenes. Even the gameplay parts could be like that, actually, like with what we saw from E3 2013.

I tend to forget that gameplay trailers are sometimes put together in a haste--before some things are really even done for the game in question--just for a show.

In any case, it'll definitely be interesting to see just what rolls around at TGS ...Or what doesn't.

 

[kuraudoVII]

Welp, this is definitely interesting. Anyway, I hope that this means that we'll be updated more often on the actual development cycle for the game.

 

[edikit]

What an incredible opportunity for a fan of the series! I can't deny that I'm having some serious cultural envy right about now. The UI, particularly of the quick command selection and Jiminy's Journal, have been two aspects of both games that I've thought could use some sprucing up (I have literal dreams about KH UI, no biggie). Not that there's anything inherently wrong with their current forms, just that I see potential for a much more sleek design there.