Naraka: Bladepoint
How might we design a game interface that balances familiar layouts for Chinese players with simplified clarity for Western audiences, creating a culturally adaptive experience that reduces frustration and supports both holistic and analytical interaction styles?
/Challenge
How might we preserve the immersive detail Eastern players enjoy, while simplifying the UI for Western audiences—creating an experience where both feel understood and engaged?
/Solution
Reimagine the game UI to ease player frustrations by keeping the visual style Eastern players enjoy, while creating a more streamlined, intuitive experience for Western audiences. A design that feels familiar to some and clearer to others—without compromise.
What is Naraka: Bladepoint?
Naraka: Bladepoint is a free-to-play Wuxia-inspired action battle royale developed by 24 Entertainment and released in 2021. In each match, 60 players compete to be the last one standing.
Although developed by a Chinese studio with a strong player base in Asia, the game has also gained significant popularity in Western regions. On average, it sees between 120,000 and 240,000 concurrent players daily.
Its continued success is driven by frequent updates—introducing new characters, game modes, and playstyles—that keep the experience fresh and engaging for players worldwide.
But Some Things Haven't Changed…
Despite the introduction of numerous game-changing features, the home/lobby UI has remained largely the same. Aside from minor visual updates, the overall layout has seen little evolution.
Lobby in 2021 (left) vs. Lobby in 2025 (right)
The stagnation of the UI has been a consistent source of frustration for players. Community threads voicing these concerns date back to the game’s launch and remain active today—evidence of how deeply these issues persist.
While players express a wide range of concerns about the game’s interface, three frustrations are raised most frequently:
confusing layout
The layout of the UI is so unintutive and confusing that players are making guides to just navigating the UI alone! This one here is almost an hour long!
unfit visual style
Players have voiced discontent with the lack of thematic elements on the UI screen, feeling some things are "out of place" in contrast to the Wuxia style.
info overwhelm
There's just too much presented to the user for them to navigate things in a clear and non-overwhelming way. Too much happening in too little time.
Why Home UI Matters.
To better understand the UI layout and how information is presented, I conducted a comparative analysis of Naraka: Bladepoint alongside other popular Eastern and Western game titles. Each interface was simplified into grayscale block layouts, reducing visual noise and highlighting the core structure of the design.
Naraka: Bladepoint
Western Titles
I examined popular Western titles to understand how these games structure their interfaces and present information to their player base. Since Naraka: Bladepoint has a significant presence in both Asian and Western markets, this comparison provides valuable context for evaluating its UI design.
Valorant
Apex Legends
Eastern Titles
I analyzed leading Eastern titles to see how their interfaces are structured and how information is presented to their audiences. Given Naraka: Bladepoint’s origins and strong player base in Asia, this perspective is equally important for understanding the game’s design influences and player expectations.
Brown Dust II
M_Subculture
These layout differences reflect the distinct information-processing styles of each culture. Players from Eastern and Western regions engage with and interpret game interfaces in markedly different ways, necessitating design adjustments to meet their expectations.
Further Analysis
With an understanding of the differences between holistic and analytical processing, it became essential to identify the specific UI components that reflect these approaches. These elements provided key starting points for informing and guiding the subsequent design process.
Armed with these insights, I began the design process with early explorations, including sketches, UI rearrangements, and AI-generated renditions. While the AI outputs were somewhat outdated, they provided an interesting perspective based on the key elements I was emphasizing.
These explorations were followed by an iteration of user testing to validate and refine the emerging designs.
Early Explorations
User Testing Iteration
TASK: Queue up for a game on the original and on the redesign. Think aloud protocol.
METHODS
Virtual & in-person observations. Tasks remained the same.
GROUPS
To account for all types of player backgrounds. First time players, returning players, veteran players.
TESTERS
5 testers cover most usability issues, but had 9 to account for each group of users.
Efficiency does not equate to Speed
While the time required to complete tasks was similar between the original UI and the redesign, participants rated the redesigned interface significantly higher for its streamlined feel. In this context, efficiency refers to the perceived ease and clarity of completing tasks, rather than the absolute time taken.
Strong Theme, Weak Event Presence
Users agreed that the redesign better reinforced the game’s thematic identity. However, there was a clear preference for having in-game events and current loot boxes easily accessible from the home screen. This feature had been underestimated but will be prioritized in future iterations.
Events & Loot Boxes Banner – Added to highlight current in-game content.
Player Queue Refinement – Updated bottom-right section to match scroll theme.
Original & Final Redesign Comparison
Navigating Mutlicultural Design
This project underscored the challenge of designing for multiple cultural contexts. It required balancing attention to fine-grained details—ensuring that design choices truly reflected the research insights from both Eastern and Western players—while keeping the broader perspective in mind to create a cohesive, inclusive experience. Striking this balance was key to delivering a UI that resonates across diverse cultural preferences.