PerBlue is an independent mobile game studio founded in Madison, Wisconsin, creating free to play midcore games enjoyed by millions of players around the world. What began as a bootstrapped venture started by college friends in 2008 has grown into a leading venture backed studio with a talented, fully remote, cross functional team.
Wall Brawl
Wall Brawl: Tower Defense TD is a mobile strategy game that blends tower defense, RPG progression, and roguelike elements into fast paced, replayable battles. Players recruit heroes, unlock upgrades, and adapt their strategies to defend against increasingly challenging enemy waves while experimenting with unique builds and synergies. The game emphasizes accessible gameplay with deep strategic decision making and competitive progression systems.
As the Senior UI Artist at PerBlue, I was responsible for nearly all of the game's user interface design, owning the visual experience from concept through implementation. My contributions included defining the overall UI style and visual language, creating wireframes and user flows, designing menus, HUDs, progression systems, shop and reward screens, event interfaces, iconography, and production ready assets. I worked closely with designers, engineers, and artists to ensure the interface was both visually engaging and intuitive, helping shape the player's experience across every major touchpoint of the game.
Logo and Branding
In addition to leading the game's UI, I was responsible for establishing the visual identity and branding for Wall Brawl. This included logo exploration, typography, color direction, and creating a cohesive visual language that captured the game's blend of strategic depth and playful, approachable action. The branding work helped define the game's personality and ensured a consistent experience across the user interface, marketing materials, app store assets, and player facing touchpoints.
Ability Icons
Loot Icons
Wave Event Feature
For this feature, I was responsible for designing the UI for a wave event where players can initiate enemy waves at various points on the map. I created the interaction popup and also designed the VFX that gets triggered when the event begins.
Aether Surge Power Selection
I was assigned the task of designing a power-up feature common in several roguelike titles. This feature prompts a power-up selection on screen when players reach certain level milestones.
I began by conceptualizing layouts that would avoid obscuring gameplay while retaining all necessary content. After iterating through various button and card configurations, I decided on a free-floating three-card layout, as it provided a more intuitive selection process for players. Subsequently, I rendered several stylistic variations to identify the best fit for the game's overall schema. I opted for a shale slab-like texture with a rune stone aesthetic to capture the dungeon's dark and mysterious undertones.
While I was able to import the components, create the layout, and animate the widget in Blueprints, the successful implementation was achieved with the assistance of an engineer who developed the underlying structure.
Full Screen Interactive Map
I was also tasked with designing the full-screen interactive map. Initially, the standalone map lacked direction and was used purely as a graphic element. I proposed framing the map to integrate it with the game's schema and adopt a more tangible approach.
I began by conceptualizing various iterations and ultimately decided on a weathered parchment aesthetic, which I felt best aligned with the game's style. Upon receiving final approval, I imported all components into Unreal Engine 5 and, in collaboration with engineers, constructed the layout and widgets in Blueprints.
Given the constraints of our sprint cycles, I wasn't fully satisfied with the initial version of the map implemented in-game. Consequently, I took an additional pass to refine the map design. Although the project concluded before I could integrate my latest iteration into the game, I am highly pleased with the improvements and the overall work I accomplished on this feature.
Given the constraints of our sprint cycles, I wasn't fully satisfied with the initial version of the map implemented in-game. Consequently, I took an additional pass to refine the map design. Although the project concluded before I could integrate my latest iteration into the game, I am highly pleased with the improvements and the overall work I accomplished on this feature.
