Dogs of War is a post-apocalyptic survival PVP game featuring Doggo-human hybrids in a harsh, unforgiving world. Drawing inspiration from DayZ and Rust, the game combines fast-paced survival mechanics with competitive multiplayer gameplay. The visual aesthetic emphasises a gritty, industrial look with heavy use of steel and metal design language, reflecting the brutal nature of the world.

My Work

• Rapid UI Reskinning: Reskinned the core menu systems to align with Dogs of War's industrial aesthetic, adapting existing UI templates with new textures and styling that emphasizsd the game's steel-and-metal visual language.

• Direct Implementation in Unreal Engine: Implemented all UI changes directly in Unreal Engine, eliminating the typical designer-to-developer handoff and ensuring pixel-perfect execution of the intended design.

• Design System Application: Worked within the established design system, selecting and adapting existing components while creating new textures where needed to achieve visual consistency across all menu screens.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborated closely with developers throughout implementation to ensure all UI elements functioned correctly, maintained performance standards, and integrated seamlessly with game systems.

Outcome

• Successfully delivered a cohesive menu experience that matched the game's gritty survival aesthetic within a tight development window.

• Demonstrated technical versatility by handling both design and implementation, streamlining the development process.

• Maintained visual consistency across all UI elements while working within the constraints of an existing design framework.

Learnings

Working on Dogs of War reinforced the value of designers who can implement their own work in-engine. By eliminating the handoff between design and implementation, I was able to iterate faster, catch issues earlier, and ensure the final result matched the design intent. This project strengthened my technical skills in Unreal Engine and showed me how much efficiency can be gained when designers understand the tools developers use.