Hyphen Connect
Senior Game UI/UX & Experience Lead
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About the Role
We are building a character-driven game universe in which Chinese characters become collectible heroes.
The project combines Eastern fantasy, exploration, character collection and tactical gameplay with a completely new approach to language learning: knowledge is embedded directly into the world and its mechanics rather than presented as a separate lesson.
Company is founder-funded, with stable development resources, playable prototypes and an experienced core team already in place across engineering, game design and 2D art.
We are looking for a Senior Game UI/UX & Experience Lead to define how the game looks, moves, responds and feels in the player’s hands.
This is an opportunity to shape the player experience and design language of an original IP from an early stage—not simply maintain an established interface or produce isolated screens inside a large pipeline.
The Role
You will work directly with the Founder, Lead Engineer, Game Designer and 2D Artist to transform promising prototypes into polished, intuitive and emotionally engaging games. This is not a conventional app or SaaS UX role.
You will own the connection between:
- UI and interaction design
- Screen composition and visual hierarchy
- Motion and transitions
- Animation, VFX and sound feedback
- Responsive layouts
- Game feel and player clarity
- Art and engineering implementation
You should be able to look at a playable prototype that simply “feels wrong,” identify why, and turn that diagnosis into precise, implementable improvements.
Core Responsibilities
Establish the UI, interaction and presentation language across the Hanzi Heroes universe.
Design experiences that are immediately intuitive to younger players while retaining the depth, polish and impact expected from a genuine commercial game.
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Design Core Game Interfaces
Design and refine:
- Core gameplay interactions
- Touch-first player flows
- Combat and progression UI
- Character collection and management
- Navigation, tutorials and rewards
- Responsive layouts across phones and tablets
- Typography, icons, buttons, panels and interaction states
- Build a scalable design system that can support multiple connected titles while maintaining a recognisable identity.
Direct Motion, Feedback and Game Feel
Define how important moments unfold from the player’s first input through animation, feedback and return of control. This may include:
- UI transitions and easing
- Touch and selection feedback
- Character reveals and reward sequences
- Anticipation, impact and hit-stop
- Camera movement and screen shake
- VFX and sound direction
- Character and environmental reactions
You understand that changing timing by a fraction of a second can transform an interaction from merely functional into deeply satisfying.
Diagnose and Polish Playable Builds
Review prototypes and identify issues involving:
- Composition, scale and spacing
- Information density
- Character and object placement
- Resolution and aspect-ratio behaviour
- Perceived responsiveness
- Visual consistency
- Interaction clarity
- Overall game feel
Create interactive prototypes, motion studies, annotated mock-ups and implementation-ready specifications.
Work Across Art and Engineering
Collaborate closely with the 2D Artist to ensure that characters, environments, UI, animation and VFX form one coherent experience. Work directly with the Lead Engineer throughout implementation rather than stopping at design hand-off. Help determine whether a problem should be solved through UI, animation, art, VFX, sound or engineering.
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Requirements
- 4+ years of professional experience in game UI/UX, game interaction design or a closely related role
- Experience working on at least one shipped mobile, PC or console game
- A strong portfolio featuring real in-game interfaces rather than primarily websites or SaaS products
- Excellent understanding of visual hierarchy, screen composition and interaction design
- Strong knowledge of game feel, responsiveness and player feedback
- Experience designing touch-first interfaces across different devices and aspect ratios
- Ability to design both minimal, immersive interactions and information-rich game systems
- Proficiency in Figma or equivalent interface and prototyping tools
- Ability to communicate motion and interaction behaviour—not only static layouts
- Ability to produce clear specifications for artists and engineers
- Willingness to remain involved until the experience feels right in the playable build
Nice-to-Have
- Experience designing games for children or family audiences
- Experience with RPG, collection, strategy or progression systems
- Experience with 2D character-driven games
- Motion-design or UI-animation experience
- Familiarity with After Effects, Rive, Spine, Unity, Defold, Phaser or similar tools
- Experience directing VFX, audio feedback or technical art
- Experience working in a small, highly agile game-development team
- Interest in language, mythology, typography, calligraphy or Eastern fantasy
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