Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
Developer:  Respawn Entertainment (Electronic Arts)
End User:  Exploratory-Narrative Players
Genre: 3rd Person Action Adventure
Platforms: PS4, PS5,  XBox One,  PC
Released : November 15, 2019
Tools :  Adobe XD, Unreal Engine 4
Services Provided: 
  • UX Design
  • Accessibility Design
  • Interactive Prototyping
Overview:  STAR WARS: JEDI FALLEN ORDER (JFO) is a single-player action adventure game for PC, XBox One, and Playstation 4 consoles. Released to critical and commercial success towards the end of 2019, it is set after the fictional events of the STAR WARS prequel trilogy of films. The Galactic Empire has wiped out the Jedi Knights, and players assume the role of Cal Kestis, an untrained Padawan who escapes Imperial capture to restore the Jedi Order.​
Brief:  This case study consists of screens and showcasing a variety of required onboarding and configuration options that players view when they initially begin the game or at any time during play. The JFO team at Respawn was close to completing the project, but didn’t have enough UX and front-end development bandwidth to design and implement the initial “First Run” UX and configuration screens. Also, while the team intended JFO to be a gamepad experience, they also had to support PC players using Mouse and Keyboard (M&K) controls. In most games, this initial flow or “First Run” user experience entails a mix of both audio/visual options and legal screens, such as End User License Agreements (EULAs). 
Role:  My role was to onboard as quickly as possible to understand all the legal requirements of the publisher, Electronic Arts, first-party console requirements for Sony and Microsoft, along with the desires of the development team. In addition to supporting this, my personal goal was to find places to advocate for players with accessibility needs. Not front-loading relevant Accessibility options, such as subtitles or colorblind settings, adds friction and hurts the overall Accessibility of the title for players with various types of visual or auditory impairments. Therefore, it’s becoming increasingly important in Game UX to front-load these options and to ensure the game is initially configured to be highly accessible. 
Method:  Adobe had just enabled support for interactive prototyping using gamepad controllers in Adobe XD. This presented an ideal opportunity to use XD to convey exactly what the “First Run” UX would be like for gamepad users. Prototypes were generated in Adobe XD for both gamepad and M & K controls, while specific artboards were exported in sequence in PDF for review, which included both internal stakeholders at Respawn and legal partners at Electronic Arts and Disney/Lucasfilm. UI art and Unreal engine development was also handled by  teammates at Respawn after the UX was reviewed and approved.
First Run UX and Audio & Subtitle Input Tests
This selection of images showcases what the First Run UX sequence looked like in the Adobe XD Prototype relative to their final in-game form. While EA was conducting group focus tests and usability research at regular intervals for the core gameplay, the timeframe for delivery of the First Run UX flow was likely too tight for multiple rounds of iteration. Because we had to get this right the first time through, the sequence was kept intentionally simple. Aside from a few minor tweaks, the final in-game flow adheres quite closely to the initial UX design.
XD Prototypes 
Final Game
Gamepad Control Configuration: 
These screens illustrate how Gamepad users could view and remap controls. It’s not enough to assume that one type of default control scheme generated internally will meet the needs of all players. For users with various forms of hand or motor impairments, having the ability to complete remap and customize control schemes is essential for good game UX and Accessibility. 

Also of note, the intent of the original XD Prototype was to let users remap all controls directly with the gamepad image on screen. In the final in-game implementation, users could see the gamepad image initially, but then navigated to another screen containing a list of all the gamepad functions and their mappings. This streamlining of the UX design was likely chosen to save implementation time and promote reuse and consistency with the Mouse & Keyboard remapping interface.
Mouse & Keyboard Control Configuration: 
For simplicity, the prevailing UX pattern in Game UX for Mouse & Keyboard configuration screens is to omit displaying a keyboard image to illustrate mappings. Instead, a simple list provides Mouse & Keyboard users a means to view and configure all functional mappings. 

While the initial XD prototype’s UX design suggested only one mapping per function, the development team was able to support primary and secondary mappings in the final in-game implementation, which is more common. This permitted a greater degree of customization for Mouse & Keyboard users.
Final Results: 
In this final video from popular Youtube game accessibility advocate Steve Saylor (aka “Blind Gamer”), Steve shares his first-hand thoughts and reactions to JFO’s First Run UX and Accessibility options. ​