Boola Dash: Gamifying the Yale Experience

Designing the user flow and illustrating all custom game assets for a collaborative development project.

Role

UI Designer

Industry

Video Game

Duration

2 months

l. The Challenge

The Yale Alumni Association tasked our team with creating an engaging, low-investment game, something alumni could open directly from an email to spark school pride. That meant: minimal friction, instant clarity, and a polished feel.

The Goal: Create a quick-to-learn side-scroller that feels fun and intentional, with UI that supports gameplay and keeps the experience “official.”

I owned the game’s visual identity and interface: backgrounds, logo, title screen, button/UI assets (pause + menus), and the leaderboard experience.

II. Concept

We began by defining what “low-investment” should feel like:

Instantly understandable gameplay (no tutorial wall)
Short sessions that still invite replay
Clear feedback so the game feels responsive and rewarding

From there we settled on an infinite side scroller that incorporate Yale's residential college system into a leaderboard, inviting competition and engagement.

l. The Challenge

The Goal: Create a quick-to-learn side-scroller that feels fun and intentional, with UI that supports gameplay and keeps the experience “official.”

I owned the game’s visual identity and interface: backgrounds, logo, title screen, button/UI assets (pause + menus), and the leaderboard experience.

II. Concept

We began by defining what “low-investment” should feel like:

Instantly understandable gameplay (no tutorial wall)
Short sessions that still invite replay
Clear feedback so the game feels responsive and rewarding

From there we settled on an infinite side scroller that incorporate Yale's residential college system into a leaderboard, inviting competition and engagement.

III. Creating the Art

From there, I built the visual + UI system that made the whole game feel intentional:

Concept & art direction: established the Yale tone and visual language
Worldbuilding: designed background environments to create progression and momentum
Game UX flows: title screen, onboarding cues, pause states, end states
UI asset system: buttons, menus, leaderboard layout, and consistency across screens
Cross-functional collaboration: synced closely with dev and music teammates so the assets worked in the actual build (formats, sizing, readability during motion)

IV. Overview

Boola Dash shipped as a polished, email-friendly mini game with a cohesive visual world and UI system. I’m proud of stepping into the video game industry, working with a team of talented developers, and shipping a tangible game.

What I learned: In games, UX is rhythm: clarity at the moments that matter (start/pause/end) and consistency everywhere else.

Fun fact: I picked the name Boola Dash! 🐾

IV. Overview

What I learned: In games, UX is rhythm: clarity at the moments that matter (start/pause/end) and consistency everywhere else.

Fun fact: I picked the name Boola Dash! 🐾