Peto & Maryll
Every button and tiny icon comes alive through the work of a UX designer. In the gaming world, it works the same way. When Peto designs games, he's thinking first and foremost about the players' needs.
19. July 2024, Author: Barbara Leschingerová, Photo: Jakub Čaprnka
Picture a simple online shopping flow or an app our grandparents can use without a hitch. We interact with countless services and products every day. But we rarely stop to think that for us to enjoy using them, our user experience – UX – plays a crucial role.
Every button, every little icon works because of the thoughtful work of a UX designer. You probably won't be surprised to hear that in the gaming industry, it's exactly the same. Longtime UX designer Peto shared with us how game mechanics come together.
He developed his passion for games back in university, writing for Techbox magazine. But it wasn't until he joined Pixel Federation that his hobby became a career he loves. Now he's taking his UX experience further at Grip Studios, a Czech game development company, where he designs things like how a player sees multiple characters interacting.
"A UX designer needs to understand the problem as well as possible when talking with the client. They have to know the product's technical limitations while keeping users' needs and abilities in mind."
In his work, Peto has to think about giving players feedback at just the right moment, in a way they'll understand. He tries to prevent players from getting needlessly frustrated or confused by how the game works. He's often puzzling over how to design controls so the experience of playing the game is as good as possible across all devices.
With mobile games, he works within two major constraints. Players mainly use two fingers to control multiple elements at once – that's where control schemes come in. The second constraint is the size of elements on small mobile screens. It's often a challenge to design a game so that elements are readable enough for players.
The creative process demands a lot of time behind a computer. That's why in his free time, Peto focuses mainly on running, his dog Maggie, and his wife Gabriela, with whom he explores the beauty of the world. On trips, he never forgets to pack an analog camera to capture the moments. He won't turn down a cup of specialty coffee, and he likes to treat his designer's eye to a visit to a smaller cinema where he savors film aesthetics.
In art, he enjoys discovering new genres. Whether we're talking about music, film, photography, video games, or other audiovisual experiences. His goal is not to stay stuck in the same rut.
Peto brought his aesthetic sense to choosing eyewear too. At ZITA, he fell for the understated shapes of French frames by Maryll. Besides his everyday prescription glasses, he also owns prescription sunglasses that make walks with his dog more pleasant – and trips to unknown places too.
"Life offers enormous variety. If we don't try new things, we miss out on so many unknown experiences."
