Cubitat
Design & Experience Lead -
UMA Games
Building a live service multiplayer sandbox where kids learn future proof skills, centered on creativity and math!
Since 2023, I’ve guided design and creative strategy on this ambitious project, crafting worlds that inspire curiosity, imagination, and playful exploration.
Gameplay & Systems
I helped shape the core gameplay and systemic foundations of Cubitat, a sandbox world built from modular parts, playful interactions, and emergent behaviors.
My focus was on designing systems that feel intuitive and expressive, while encouraging curiosity, experimentation, and creative problem-solving.
I worked extensively on the design of the game’s sandbox systems, defining how shapes, materials, and rules combine to form a living, expressive world.
The goal was to create systems that interact in surprising ways, allowing players to discover playful synergies through experimentation.
Sandbox Systems & Emergent Play
A major part of my role was designing the building experience and moment-to-moment interactions: controls, camera behavior, interaction flows, and overall game feel.
I explored how players place, rotate, and manipulate elements in the world, iterating on input models and camera responses to support both precision and experimentation. These decisions were central to making building and exploration feel fluid, readable, and satisfying, turning complex systems into something playful and approachable.
Controls, Game Feel & building Mechanics
Tools, Machines & Learning Systems
I designed a wide range of in-game tools and machines that transform materials and unlock new possibilities. These systems were also used to introduce mathematical concepts in playful, hands-on ways, blending learning with experimentation and creative play.
Interactive prototypes built in Figma were used extensively to explore flows, test interaction logic, and communicate complex systems before implementation.
I helped shape the structure of the world and progression systems with a strong focus on open-ended, player-led play. Rather than relying on rigid paths or explicit instruction, progression emerges through exploration, experimentation, and discovery.
Worlds were designed to feel inviting and alive, encouraging players to solve problems naturally through play and uncover how systems connect over time.
Game Loop, World Structure & Progression
I led the design of the full player experience, shaping how players understand, navigate, and interact with a complex multiplayer sandbox.
My work spanned core interactions, systems, onboarding, social play, and in-world interfaces, with a focus on clarity, cohesion, and learnability. The goal was to make depth feel approachable, and complexity feel playful.
*The UI shown reflects iterative work from an evolving live project under active development.
UX, UI & Player Experience
The game’s interface is built around an in-world device and AI companion that players interact with constantly. I designed this system to unify navigation, guidance, and feedback in a way that feels intentional, readable, and embedded in the world.
Core Interface: Device & AI Companion
This work focuses on how the game feels to play: HUD readability, controls, camera behavior, and building interactions. I designed and iterated on these systems to balance precision, freedom, and clear feedback during active play.
Moment-to-Moment Play: HUD, Controls & Building
This work extended into the game’s meta-layer systems, spanning onboarding, social features, multiplayer flows, and progression touchpoints that sit outside of active play but strongly influence the overall experience.
Meta Systems & Player Experience
And so much more..
This exciting project is still in motion, with ambitious systems and experiences I can’t fully show yet, but the world is growing, and the journey is just beginning.