(Please note that the VYXL newsfeed/blog has now moved to www.vyxl.co/blog)
Back in November 2017 I sent an email to Reiza Studios, offering my services to design the UI and Branding for Automobilista 2 — a title that I don’t believe was announced at the time but was very much anticipated by the Sim Racing community.
Now, here in early February 2020 and with the original Automobilista title voted #2 best Racing Sim over at Race Department I am extremely proud to have been involved on both these aspects for the forthcoming succcessor to that title (please do check out the post about the Vyxl branding for AMS2 here).
Reiza recently shared some preview images of the AMS2 UI designed by Vyxl and assisted + guided by the awesome Reiza team, so I felt it would be good to share them here on Vyxl.co too —
It’s no big secret that AMS2 is built on the foundations of the Madness Engine (Project Cars 2) so designing a fresh UI on that platform while retaining the brand feel of AMS1and delivering a contemporary appearance has been a challenge — but a highly enjoyable one at that.
As I am myself a long-term Sim Racer there was one particular design oversight made by many other Sims that I wished to ensure we avoid; placing any important buttons or information in the lower central section of the screen which is often blocked by Steering Wheels in the Players line-of-sight (a common setup for serious Sim Racers, to help the feeling of immersion).
This can be demonstrated by this early AMS2 UI mockup by Vyxl shown on my personal setup —
Above you can see the important START button bottom right, with a button cluster for Replays and Options on the bottom left, and all central textual content floated to the top of each panel accordingly: all so the Player can navigate the UI comfortable from this viewpoint without the need to crane their necks around their Wheel rim to read awkwardly-placed UI elements.
Loading Screen, with load bar across the screen top
The same design thinking is also applied to the Replay taskbar; an element that slides down from the screen top and auto-hides itself after a few seconds of Player inaction, allowing the Race replay to be fully visible —
** Please note that all the content in the images shown above is placeholder and no final Game content should be inferred **
Automobilista 2 is scheduled for release in March 2020 and Vyxl is very excited and proud to have been involved with this fantastic title.
(Please note that the VYXL newsfeed/blog has now moved to www.vyxl.co/blog)
Vyxl is very excited to finally share some work completed … wow, 5 or 6 months ago now: Pixel Art for the 2020 Retro Rides Weekender!
Featuring dozens of classic, retro and drift vehicles (and even some golf carts) that attend the Retro Rides UK events —’Weekender‘ at Goodwood Circuit, and ‘Gathering‘ at Shelsley Walsh— the artwork took around 2 weeks to complete with multiple revisions and a few Easter Eggs for the Retro Rides team.
(Please note that the VYXL newsfeed/blog has now moved to www.vyxl.co/blog)
Vyxl is requesting Sim Racers complete a quick (and fun!) survey here right here on the Vyxl website.
This Survey is intended for Sim Racers with a Steering Wheel in the line of sight of their primary display. It is not intended for Racers using VR or non-Wheel controllers.
The results will inform the UI design of the upcoming Automobilista 2 title, which Vyxl is currently working on.
Results will be published in due course for the benefit of the entire community.
(Please note that the VYXL newsfeed/blog has now moved to www.vyxl.co/blog)
While I’d love to be at PAX Aus this year, I’m incredibly proud that 3 x Game Titles which have employed Vyxl services in the last few months are currently showcasing at the Melbourne event. If you’re there, check them out! Read on to see more.Continue reading “VYXL WORK AT PAX AUS, MELBOURNE OCTOBER 11—13”→
Incredibly excited that a title I’ve been working on in secret for a few months, was announced yesterday. Automobilista (motorist in Portuguese) is a highly-regarded Sim Racing series developed by Brazilian-based Reiza Studios.
Vyxl has delivered new logotypes for the title —aka AMS2— and is working on the UI for the late-2019 launch (with some world-first design concepts, to be announced in due course).
Below you can see the logotypes, heavily inspired by (and fixing issues with) the original logo, shown bottom. Vyxl wanted to deliver a highly polished, highly recognisable motorsport-inspired identity, with the need to encapsulate the titles’ 14 characters within a recognisable silhouette for maximum readability wherever used. The master logotype even retains a horizon line, inspired by its’ predecessor. The acronym and social media badge/icons provide further flexibility for the brands’ applications across Social Media, Print and within Digital realms.
Original title logo for reference —
Reiza have created an announcement teaser featuring some of the titles new features (such as a new graphics engine including weather and day/night cycles) and of course Vyxl’s AMS2 logo design. Check it out —
Great work from all the team at Reiza, to say I’m very excited for this title would be a massive understatement!
Vyxl was recently involved in a rebrand for the 22nd Century Racing Series (’22RS’) racing game title currently in development at GOATi Entertainment in Melbourne, Australia.
Very rare to see a video on a Car channel dedicated just to opinion on the history of a well-known Automotive Marques’ logo. Check out Carfections’ short piece about the possible origins of McLarens’ distinctive swoosh!
Fourth in an ongoing series of ‘UI/Branding Teardowns’ at Vyxl. The articles in this series are not intended to be excessively deep, but focus on key aspects of a game titles’ UI and Branding; providing a summary intended for design reference. Continue reading “UI/Branding Teardown — Project Cars 2”→
Third in an ongoing series of ‘UI/Branding Teardowns’ at Vyxl. The articles in this series are not intended to be excessively deep, but focus on key aspects of a game titles’ UI and Branding; providing a summary intended for design reference. Continue reading “UI/Branding Teardown — Automobilista”→
Welcome to the second in an ongoing series of ‘UI/Branding Teardowns’ at Vyxl. The articles in this series are not intended to be excessively deep, but focus on key aspects of a game titles’ UI and Branding; providing a summary intended for design reference. Continue reading “UI/Branding Teardown — Assetto Corsa”→
With the imminent release of GranTurismo Sport, Sony Interactive have released this look-back with the original team discussing their visions and methods.
Racing titles -simulations in particular- are a favourite games genre at Vyxl, and there’s no doubting Gran Turismos’ huge impact and legacy on the ‘simcade’ sector of this market.
for 
Welcome to the second in an ongoing series of ‘UI/Branding Teardowns’ at Vyxl. The articles in this series are not intended to be excessively deep, but focus on key aspects of a game titles’ UI and Branding; providing a summary intended for design reference. 
Vyxl 
You must be logged in to post a comment.