Analyzing titles in the western and horror genres—Red Dead Redemption 2, Resident Evil 7, Alan Wake II, Desperados III, several iOS titles—provided necessary points of inspiration for experience design, layout, and aesthetics. Yet, referencing other games is only the beginning: my research extended to graphic elements and period typography. Nineteenth century print specimen books were a particularly rich source of inspiration, as were period photographs depicting landscapes, objects, and textures.

Research provided a basis for understanding how other games approach collectibles, yet personas were helpful to identifying opportunities to meet player needs and wants across a wide spectrum. Instead of assuming all players will engage with collectibles, personas facilitated a simple reminder that some players like Chuck don't want anything to do with collectibles. This meant designing a simple feature flow that could be easily bypassed or altogether ignored by disinterested players.

Once research, personas, and experience flows were drafted and edited to satisfaction, structural wireframes were built. These intentionally are sparse, boxy wireframes with minimal text, essential in my process for developing strong visual hierarchy and useful layouts. More detailed wireframes with placehold text and more specific affordances for interface elements are created following completion of the structural wireframes. Making two sets of wireframes provides the opportunity to make adjustments to the design, which occurred here: notice the change to the input pattern for the secondary menu level where the right analog stick replaces the L2/R2 buttons.