Starvin Martian is a sci-fi farming management and colony expansion strategy game set on Mars, where players manage a Martian settlement through resource management, production chains, and real-time survival mechanics. The game features a whimsical take on futuristic farming, with players harvesting crops in terrariums, managing power systems, and meeting daily food quotas to keep their colony thriving. Designed for release on iOS, Android, PC, and Mac, the game integrates Web3 technology for asset ownership and rewards.

My Work

• Improving Existing UX/UI: I was brought in during the desktop alpha phase to significantly improve the existing UX/UI and adapt the game for mobile. I began by cataloguing all UX/UI elements, converting experimental files into proper Figma components, and conducting comprehensive audits to identify and redesign key flows that had glaring user issues.

• Feedback Management: I fielded feedback from QA, the internal team, and alpha desktop testers, sorting through reports and using them to prioritise critical fixes. Working closely with product managers, game designers, and developers, I helped determine which features needed immediate attention for the mobile alpha launch versus post-launch implementation.

• Core Feature Redesign: I designed new and revised components across the board, including a brand-new Food Quota UX/UI for the food feeding mechanic, a complete revision of the astronaut market to improve usability, and clearer interfaces for selling and assigning food that better communicated relationships to other core mechanics.

• Mobile Adaptation: I completed the full mobile adaptation, tackling key challenges such as translating "big windows" designed for desktop into mobile-friendly interfaces that displayed essential information at critical moments. I rethought interactions that previously relied on drag-and-drop or hover states, replacing them with touch and touch-hold inputs while using visual indicators to make actions clearer and more consistent across both platforms. I also aligned the desktop UX/UI with the newly designed mobile experience to ensure consistency.

• New Feature Design: I created UX/UI for new post-level-20 features, including mole mining, microwave production building interfaces, and much more, expanding the game's content pipeline.

• Art & Optimization: Beyond UX/UI, I created new icons for recipes and ingredients using a combination of AI artwork and Photoshop, and produced spritesheets to assist developers with optimization.

• Solo Design Sprint: I worked as a solo designer to deliver this revamp and new features within a tight 2-month timeframe.

Outcome

• Successfully adapted Starvin Martian from desktop to mobile, launching the mobile alpha in late 2025 with significantly improved UX/UI across both platforms.

• Reduced user confusion across the board, with QA and internal testing confirming clearer interactions and improved information hierarchy.

• Delivered a more consistent design system, aligning desktop and mobile experiences while maintaining functionality and visual coherence.

• Work was received very positively by the team, with critical fixes implemented within aggressive time constraints.

Learnings

Working on Starvin Martian taught me how to improve an established game with existing art, style, and UX without starting from scratch. I learned to work strategically within tight time constraints, identifying and fixing crucial issues rather than attempting sweeping overhauls. The cross-platform adaptation reinforced lessons about translating interaction patterns—like drag-and-drop and hover states—into mobile-friendly alternatives while maintaining clarity and consistency across both platforms.