Kiki Ho
All case studies

RitzDeli Games · Client Project for Meta — Horizon Worlds — Mobile

New User Experience for Horizon Worlds

Client
Meta · client work delivered through RitzDeli Games
My role
UI/UX Designer
Collaboration
Meta Content Team · PM · Art · Production
My focus
UX Flows · Interaction Design · Information Architecture · Visual Design
Discipline
Product Design · New User Experience · Onboarding · Mobile UX

Client project for Meta through RitzDeli Games. Meta's content team supplied the NUX guidelines and editorial goals; I translated them into UX flows, gameplay-based examples, and finished mobile UI for publication.

Cover graphic for the Horizon Worlds new user experience task: an avatar on pink stepped platforms reaching for a treasure chest under a blue sky

The challenge

Meta was writing guidance to help Horizon Worlds creators build better first-time experiences for mobile players. The same mistakes kept showing up: no clear next step, too much at once, controls explained with no gameplay around them, rewards arriving too late, and walls of text interrupting play.

Product goal
Turn Meta's written NUX guidelines into material creators would actually use.
My design goal
Show each principle as something a player does in a real mobile experience, rather than a rule they read.

What I did

  • I turned the written NUX guidelines into visual, gameplay-based examples so creators could see each principle working inside a real mobile experience.
  • Instead of illustrating the guidelines line by line, I looked at how onboarding, controls, progression, rewards, goals, and the economy could all be introduced through play.
  • I built two concepts to teach with — a new user flow and Castle Quest, a fantasy castle-building loop — so creators could see the same ideas at two different scales.
  • I sequenced each concept as six screens, so every lesson lands as something the player does instead of something they read.
  • I kept the teaching inside the moment of play: short prompts, visible controls, and instant feedback rather than text up front.

How the work moved

  1. Content goals & requirements
  2. UX analysis
  3. User flows
  4. Design exploration
  5. UI system & visual design
  6. Publication handoff

Concept 01

New User Experience

A first-time experience built around clear onboarding, controls that make sense the moment you use them, and something social to find.

Focus
Onboarding · Exploration · Social Interaction · User Engagement
  1. Welcome screen where an avatar faces a speech bubble introducing the world and asking the player to check in at the kiosk, with a movement pad in the corner and a treasure chest on a pink platform

    01Welcome & Story

    A short speech bubble sets the premise and points the player at their first destination, with the movement pad already on screen.

  2. Dart-throwing tutorial screen with a bullseye target, a curved throw trajectory, a drag-and-throw prompt, and a two-darts-left counter

    02Learn Controls

    The first control is taught through a real action: drag and throw, with remaining darts shown as the only status the player needs.

  3. Platform-jumping screen with a jump arc leading to a treasure chest on a higher pink platform and a tap-the-jump-button prompt beside the jump control

    03Navigate & Explore

    A visible reward on a higher platform gives the jump control a reason to exist before the prompt appears.

  4. Quest panel with daily, weekly and monthly tabs, a countdown timer, and tasks shown as ready to claim, in progress with a bar, and completed

    04Learn Core Loop

    Daily, weekly and monthly quests give the loop a shape, with every task readable at a glance as claimable, in progress or done.

  5. Order board panel listing four town locations with coin rewards, a next-delivery countdown, order item counts for tomato and corn, and a Send button

    05Rewards & Progress

    An order board turns collected items into a clear payout: what each location wants, what it pays, and when the next delivery lands.

  6. Character progression screen for Master Cat showing level, rank stars, power, health and attack stats, a six-tile ability grid, and an upgrade button priced in coins

    06Show Growth

    A character sheet makes long-term investment legible — stats, ranks, abilities, and the coin cost of the next upgrade.

Concept 02

Castle Quest

A fantasy castle-building world where you gather resources, build and upgrade, run quests, customize, and play with others — I used it to show how progression, economy, and live content can all be taught through play.

Core loop
Gather → Build & Craft → Quest → Earn → Upgrade & Customize
Key features
Castle Progression · Customization · Social Play · Daily Tasks · Seasonal Content · Game Economy · Shop & Bundles
  1. Castle Quest key art with the game logo, a king, villager and two cat companions on a path to a castle, beside a Horizon Worlds listing panel with a sign-in-to-visit button, the tagline Gather Build Quest Expand, a community link, and details for age, platform, comfort and player count

    01World Discovery

    The store listing does the first job of onboarding: the logo, cast and castle say what the world is, while GATHER · BUILD · QUEST · EXPAND states the loop before anyone enters.

  2. A row of eleven collectible heraldic banners on a grass field, each with a different crest such as crossed swords, sword, axe, crown, shield, knight helm, sun, heart and fleur-de-lis, topped with unique finials including a flame eye, crown, gem, star and crossed keys

    02Castle Customization

    Cosmetics are shown as a collectible set — one banner per silhouette, crest and finial — so players can read rarity and personal style at a glance.

  3. Castle progression diagram with arrows showing the same land plot as a small stone keep at Level 1, a two-tower castle with flags at Level 5, and a large multi-tower fortress with banners, gardens and a grand entrance at Level 10

    03Build & Expand

    Three snapshots of the same plot make long-term progression legible: a single keep at level 1, a walled castle at 5, and a banner-lined fortress at 10.

  4. Three isometric courtyard panels labelled Empty Castle Your New World, Seasonal Update with Halloween pumpkins ghosts and cobwebs, and Active Social Castle Chat Craft and Quest with market stalls and players talking, captioned Build Your Kingdom, Seasonal Events and Play Together

    04Social & Seasonal World

    The same courtyard, three states — empty, seasonally themed, and full of players — showing how build, live events and social play stack in one space.

  5. Quest panel with Daily, Weekly and Monthly tabs on the Weekly view, a twelve hour countdown, a coin balance, and task rows for gathering wood marked ready to claim plus mining stone, collecting rubies, earning gold and winning battles with progress bars and star rewards

    05Tasks & Progression

    Daily, weekly and monthly tabs give the loop a rhythm, and every row reads as one of three states — ready to claim, in progress with a bar, or locked behind a timer.

  6. Three shop panels — a New Update content teaser with outfits, a sword, crafting parts, a blossom tree and a new zone; a Store with potions, weapons and gold packs priced in coins and dollars where a shopkeeper cat says you need more gold to buy that; and a Limited Time Bundle behind red curtains with a knight, potions and gems for a discounted Buy All price on a countdown

    06Shop & Live Content

    Live content is split into three clear reasons to return: new decor and a new zone, a browsable store, and a discounted bundle on a countdown.