Visual Scripting in Unity

Designing tools in the Unity game engine for accessible development of VR experiences.

SkillsVR creates custom VR learning experiences for clients across various industries. Their internal developer pipeline utilizes custom visual scripting and a library of modular mechanics to rapidly develop these experiences in Unity. At the time I joined, it was planned to transition these internal tools into a B2B platform built on Unity (Content Creation Kit or CCK). The goal of this tool was to make VR experience creation accessible to non-developers

Problem

The internal tools were developed to suit power users with multi-screen workspaces. To make this tool accessible for any user, it needed to fit within a single laptop screen and be reasonably understandable for someone who is not familiar with the Unity game engine.

Problem

Solution

I redesigned the core flow for visual scripting, default layout, and three supporting UI panels. This resulted in a format similar to popular creation tools for users new to Unity while retaining modularity for experienced users.

Solution

Research

I was the first and only UX designer on this project. To begin, I started with a deep dive into the existing internal tools to understand how it works and the decisions that led to its current design. The internal developers were both the users and designers of these tools, so I took care separating information gathered into personas from the respective perspectives.

Research

Secondary Research

I reviewed other visual scripting tools, 3D creation tools, audio/video editing software, and even some video game mechanics. Through this I developed a deep understanding of how other tools dictate logic, as well as other interaction patterns users may be familiar with.

Secondary Research

Ideation

Now knowing the current functionalities, constraints, and market parallels, I created as many single-screen layouts as I could to brainstorm potential one-screen layouts. Through analysis, I identified a pattern that the major decision point was a horizontal or vertical alignment of the panels showing the 3D scene and the visual scripting nodes.

Ideation

Testing

Unity’s design system was referenced to seamlessly integrate with Unity’s modular panel system. Some unique design was added to the visual scripting nodes to add an element of brand awareness and separate it from Unity’s default visual scripting tooling. Node design was iterated on with developers to ensure support for technical use. A close feedback loop with developers was kept after design handoff to ensure consistency across niche cases that came up during implementation.

Horizontal

Vertical

Visual Design

Unity’s design system was referenced for similar components to seamlessly integrate with Unity’s modular panel system. Some unique design was added to the interface of the visual scripting nodes to add an element of brand awareness and was iterated on with developers to support technical use. A close feedback loop was kept after design handoff to ensure coverage of any issues during implementation.

Visual Design

Impact

Research, testing, and design of 5 new Unity panels was completed within 4 months. This allowed for rapid implementation to get tooling in front of real users to collect feedback for future iterations.
Involvement of cross-functional teams in testing resulted in greater understanding and buy-in to the new product, generating excitement from stakeholder teams.
Feature design was successfully transitioned from developer ownership to the new design team. Developers came out with a clear understanding of the UX design role and process, while developer input on design decisions was maintained and valued.

If you want to hear more details about this project,
feel free to email me at lukeschmidt.design@gmail.com
or connect with me on LinkedIn