BRAND · PRODUCT · Feb 2024 – Oct 2024

Shaga

Cloud-gaming product design and the original $GLOB concept

Role: Founding Product Designer (Full-time)
Team: Product, marketing & agency collaboration
Timeline: Feb 2024 – Oct 2024
Status: Shipped · program evolved after handoff

Problem

Shaga needed consistent desktop and mobile gaming flows, plus a way to grow participation beyond its limited marketing reach.

Approach

Unify streaming, reservations, and onboarding. In parallel, I pitched and branded $GLOB around quests, progression, and status, and brought in Frankie Labs as a potential execution partner.

Outcome & evolution

Product and marketing evolved my social-token proposal into a points program. $GLOB launched and continued through engagement quests after my tenure; the original concept is shown here.

Evidence · $GLOB concept: OriginatedIndependent strategy, product framing, identity, and internal pitch.
Evidence · points program: LaunchedIterated cross-functionally for quests and brand engagement; later execution evolved after my handoff.

Decisions & details

ScopeProduct Strategy, UX/UI, Brand Identity, Creative Direction, Campaign Systems

Key decisions

Turn a reach problem into a product loop

I proposed quests, progression, and visible status as a way to expand participation beyond limited marketing reach.

Design the idea as a brand and a system

I created $GLOB's name, identity, interaction model, and campaign together so participation had a recognizable form.

Find a path from concept to execution

I pitched leadership and identified Frankie Labs; product and marketing then evolved the proposal into the shipped points program.

Keep the core product coherent

Streaming, reservations, profiles, and parties share a consistent web and mobile experience beneath the engagement layer.

Project chronology

Product and participation, February–October 2024

The role moved between the cloud-gaming foundation, the mobile social system, and a new engagement model. The sequence keeps those workstreams connected without collapsing them into one launch claim.

Feb 202401 · Foundation
Map the cloud-gaming product
Joined as founding product designer and connected node setup, game selection, streaming state, reservations, onboarding, and social presence into one product model.
Spring 202402 · Desktop
Resolve the Node experience
Moved the desktop client from UX architecture into lobby, gameplay, social-sidebar, and system-feedback states that kept the game visually central.
Mid 202403 · Mobile
Carry play into a social client
Developed mobile IA and interface work for games, parties, reservations, player levels, profiles, presence, and active sessions across iOS and Android directions.
Parallel workstream04 · Growth thesis
Originate $GLOB as a participation loop
Reframed limited reach as a product problem and proposed quests, progression, visible status, and social participation instead of a conventional media-only response.
By Oct 202405 · Evolution
Create a path from concept to launch
Presented the system to leadership, identified Frankie Labs as an execution partner, and helped carry the thesis into the cross-functional points program used after my tenure.

The original $GLOB thesis

I originated and branded $GLOB to grow participation through quests and status. Product and marketing later evolved the social-token proposal into a points program.

$GLOB platform chapters — The original $GLOB product vision: chapters, participation, progression, and status.

$GLOB as a launch world

The launch film introduces players, status objects, and collective progress through motion.

$GLOB launch film - a participation system staged as a live network.

A campaign that looked like a network

The global map makes individual contributions visible as shared progress.

$GLOB identity field — The $GLOB wordmark behaving as a field rather than a static campaign lockup.

$GLOB global participation map — Participation visualized as a live global network of player identities.

Progression people could see and keep

Quests, levels, and collections give participation a visible progression across desktop and mobile.

Levels quest interface — The full levels and quest system across breakpoints.

Shaga collectible progression system across mobile and desktop — A collectible reward surface staged consistently across mobile and desktop.

One engagement platform across breakpoints

Quests, balances, and collection progress keep the same hierarchy across desktop and mobile.

Responsive Shaga GLOB engagement platform across desktop and mobile — Desktop and mobile engagement surfaces built from the same quests, progression, identity, and collection model.

Rank turned points into identity

Inspired by Halo 2, numbered tiers make early progress clear and rarer icons mark long-term status. Rank travels with the player's Shagatag.

Shaga player rank system progressing from numbered tiers to rare icon ranks — The proposed progression: accessible numbered tiers followed by rarer, identity-led ranks.

Rank carried into the Shagatag alongside avatar and handle.

One quest, designed across states

The daily quest explains availability, reward, completion, and return timing in one consistent mobile and desktop pattern.

Shaga GLOB daily quest interaction states — Mobile quest states - available, rewarded, complete, and returning.

Shaga GLOB desktop spin quest card — The same Spin Glob loop translated into the desktop campaign surface.

A daily action with a complete return loop

Spin the Glob moves from availability through action, reward, and completion, making a daily contribution visible on the shared Glob.

Spin the Glob

The storyboard defines three states: available, reward reveal, and cooldown.

Spin Glob daily quest animation storyboard — Spin Glob animation storyboard - available, reveal, and cooldown states.

From abstract points to a playable object

An arcade-counter exploration tested how accumulated points could feel playable before the raffle direction settled.

Working Shaga Glob arcade-counter interaction exploration — Working-file exploration: rank, Glob count, and increment controls staged as an arcade object.

Raffle power-up arcade — The resolved raffle power-up arcade carried that physical interaction language into the campaign.

The Glob Machine became a web interaction

The browser arcade machine keeps wallet state, entry quantity, and purchase actions clear within the raffle experience.

Shaga Glob Machine interactive raffle experience on the web — Glob Machine web interactive - connect a wallet, choose an entry quantity, and enter the raffle from one arcade object.

Give the raffle a collectible form

Serial codes and reward states make raffle tickets feel collectible. This was a design direction, not a produced or distributed artifact.

Shaga Glob raffle-ticket collectible mockups — Raffle-ticket mockups - the entry mechanic staged as a collectible physical artifact.

Shaga Glob raffle-ticket graphic system and modular layouts — Ticket-system exploration - modular layouts, serial codes, Glob geometry, and reward states.

Clan growth loop

An exploratory referral concept let friends form clans and progress through onboarding quests together.

Shaga clan onboarding and referral quests — Clan onboarding: referral paths, quests, and rewards designed to make the first session social.

Shaga clan referral dashboard and progress — Clan dashboard: progress, referral growth, and shared status in one view.

A physical reward object

Packaging concepts turn clan rewards into collectible status objects.

Shaga white clan reward box concept — White reward-box direction.

Shaga black clan reward box concept — Black reward-box direction.

$GLOB in product

The launched program carried the concept into quests, progression, claims, and seasonal campaigns.

Shaga Glob quest dashboard — Quest dashboard and seasonal progression system.

A result designed to be shared

A location-specific completion card combines rank, place, and status into shareable proof of participation.

Operation Mark Glob completion card for Hanoi — Operation Mark Glob - a compact completion artifact for Hanoi.

Players carried the artifact outward

Social posts show players sharing the live Glob outside the product.

Shaga community response to the Glob launch — Community response after players collectively marked the Glob.

A tactical language for cloud play

The intro uses tactical pacing and live system signals to establish Shaga's gaming network.

Tactical intro — the cloud-gaming network framed through play, signal, and system readiness.

The core streaming product

I also designed the core platform: node setup, streaming, reservations, onboarding, and the link between desktop play and mobile coordination.

Shaga Node game lobby interface — Node lobby - play state, progression, and social presence in one readable surface.

Shaga gameplay with social sidebar — Gameplay stays central while the social layer remains present.

Shaga Node posting signal interface — Streaming feedback staged as a clear, atmospheric system state.

UX architecture behind the interface

The Node wireframes connect game selection, lobby state, social presence, and streaming controls.

Shaga Node desktop UX architecture — Desktop streaming architecture and interaction paths.

Designing the native Node lifecycle

Host and player journeys cover setup, network checks, discovery, lobbies, streaming, game switching, and session exit.

Shaga native desktop Node onboarding, lobby, and gameplay journey — Native desktop Node journey - onboarding, first-run configuration, lobby creation, live gameplay, and session control.

Node UX revisions with the Ukraine team

I directed a Ukraine-based agency's Node iterations across hosting, games, and social presence, improving clarity while establishing the Glob Network visual direction.

Shaga Node UX revisions comparing the current interface with the Glob Network background direction — Node UX revision review - current direction compared with the Glob Network background treatment.

The complete Node UX

The Node map connects setup, discovery, hardware checks, gameplay, social presence, and session exit.

Shaga Node complete UX flow map — The complete Node journey from setup through gameplay and session exit.

A journey ready for engineering

The mobile flow covers account creation, discovery, connection quality, lobby matching, controller setup, rotation, and play.

Shaga mobile streaming journey storyboard prepared for engineering — The end-to-end MVP journey, annotated with states, system behavior, and engineering requirements.

The hackathon MVP

This early hackathon concept tested whether one Shagatag could connect identity, nearby players, and joinable parties.

Early Shaga hackathon MVP promotion board combining Shagatag identity, nearby players, and joinable play parties — Early hackathon promo board: Shagatag identity, nearby players, joinable parties, and network state assembled into one concept.

Social discovery before visual polish

List and map studies tested nearby-player coordination. Network quality joined distance and player state because proximity alone did not make a session playable.

Early Shaga friend discovery wireframes comparing list, map, selected-player, and live-lobby models — Four early discovery models: list plus map, spatial presence, selected-player actions, and the handoff into a joinable lobby.

Shaga network scan exploration showing identity, game state, party capacity, and latency — Intermediate network-scan direction: identity, active play, capacity, and fast, good, or poor connection states in one feed.

Converging one language across identity and play

The May studies tested Shagatag identity across onboarding, feeds, marketing, and an in-game social rail.

Shaga early mobile UI concepts across onboarding, identity, activity, web, and in-game social presence — Early cross-surface study connecting account creation, Shagatag identity, mobile activity, the web story, and an in-game social rail.

Shaga mobile visual direction studies across light, dark, and image-led treatments — Focused convergence preview; open the full board to inspect the light, dark, and image-led directions.

The mobile UX system, mapped end to end

The MVP board connects feeds, onboarding, profiles, discovery, parties, reservations, and return states.

Shaga mobile client UX architecture — High-resolution mobile UX architecture board: the system behind the client experience.

Information architecture, revision two

The mobile map connects social discovery and party states to controller setup and gameplay.

Shaga mobile information architecture MVP revision 2 — Mobile IA — MVP revision 2, mapping the client from sign-in and feed through friends, parties, and play.

Critical flows beyond the happy path

Detailed account and search flows cover validation, usernames, avatars, empty states, and progressive results.

Shaga sign-in and account-creation UX flow — Account architecture — remembered identity, validation, third-party entry points, username creation, avatar selection, and completion.

Shaga friend-search empty and result states — Friend search — empty and progressive result states inside the live presence system.

Shaga mobile social and squad UI system — High-resolution mobile UI board: social presence, squads, invitations, and game-session states.

Profiles as social state

Profile editing covers names, avatars, confirmation, cancellation, and returning to the live feed.

Edit profile flow: change identity, select a profile image, confirm, or return without saving.

The lobby, reworked for mobile

The newer direction aligns mobile discovery, reservations, and profile controls with desktop.

Shaga mobile lobby interface mockup — Lobby discovery, live sessions, and social presence.

Shaga mobile social presence interface — The Shagatag and active-game system in context.

Updated mobile lobby, reservation, and profile direction.

Shaga mobile lobby reservation flow — Reservation states and return-to-lobby logic.

Refresh as a network scan

An exploratory pull-to-refresh scan combines nearby players, network quality, party capacity, and join intent. This direction did not ship.

Shaga location-aware game-in-session discovery state — Game in session - distance, player identity, active title, and party capacity in one scan.

Shaga location-aware lobby-forming discovery state — Lobby forming - nearby identity, open party capacity, join intent, and the referral loop.

Building the Glob world

Arcade hardware, planetary forms, and status objects give the gaming network a physical visual language.

Shaga Glob visual direction moodboard — Visual references, interface studies, and the arcade-world direction.

Identity as a system

Shaga identity and sticker system — Identity marks, stickers, labels, and status objects.

Shaga quest season campaign — Quest-season campaign system.

Shaga Glob identity, stickers, and status objects — A flexible language of identity marks, event graphics, power-ups, warnings, and physical stickers.

Identity carried player state

One Shagatag carries level, avatar, presence, and balance across maps, profiles, and parties.

Shagatag identity and level explorations — Level, balance, avatar, and presence explorations for the Shagatag.

The hardware world

The identity extends into a handheld controller concept and launch campaign.

Shaga handheld controller billboard — Handheld controller campaign at billboard scale.

Shaga handheld controller world concept — Controller and reward-world concept.

Shaga handheld controller reward concept — The controller staged as a portal into the reward world.

A brand world that supported the product

Packaging and campaign studies give cloud gaming a physical presence.

Shaga controller packaging — Controller packaging.

Shaga energy drink packaging — Energy drink packaging.

Solana Breakpoint collateral

Partner posters connect controller imagery, a pre-order offer, and QR entry for conference audiences.

Shaga Solana Breakpoint poster for Lowlife Forms and Aurory — Lowlife Forms × Aurory poster — pre-order offer, QR conversion, and partner rewards.

Shaga Solana Breakpoint poster for Star Atlas — Star Atlas poster — pre-order offer, QR conversion, and the controller staged as a gaming artifact.

Solana Breakpoint sticker system

Stickers carry the Shaga mark, globe symbols, identity badges, and a playful Glob warning label.

Shaga Molecule warning-label and status-object detail — Warning-label detail: the object communicated rules, scarcity, and status before the campaign explained them.

Molecule power-up can system — Molecule can system.

Molecule power-up whitelist campaign — Whitelist campaign extending the Molecule object into a launch mechanic.

The Molecule object in motion — packaging treated as a rotating status artifact, not a static campaign prop.

Believe in Something

The film and outdoor campaign share a simple invitation: believe in something.

Believe in Something campaign film — the 29-second cut connecting the handheld, campaign world, and outdoor system.

Believe in Something billboard campaign — Nine-scene billboard system.

A campaign built to travel

The handheld anchors the same campaign across landscapes and cities.

Shaga Believe in Something campaign in Utah — Utah.

Shaga Believe in Something campaign in Miami — Miami.

Shaga Believe in Something campaign in Singapore — Singapore.

Shaga Believe in Something campaign in New York — New York.

Shaga merchandise — Cloud-gaming merchandise.

Shaga cloud-gaming T-shirt — Cloud-gaming T-shirt system.

Shaga social campaign — Social campaign.

Raffle launch in motion

The Molecule launch connects a physical reward, arcade purchase, and motion loop to the raffle.

Molecule raffle launch film - high-resolution cut of the power-up object, purchase flow, and $GLOB participation loop.

Reservation as a live product state

Reservations connect nearby discovery, a held slot, expiry, and lobby entry, with a clear path to change plans.

Shaga reservation UX flow from reserve slot to joining a lobby — Reservation UX: reserve a slot, manage the countdown, and join the lobby when the session opens.

One launch system, two surfaces

Desktop stages the arcade campaign; mobile focuses on the collectible reveal and entry.

Shaga Molecule launch experience on desktop — Desktop launch surface - campaign world, connected state, and arcade object.

Shaga Molecule launch experience on mobile — Mobile launch surface - the same object and progression signal in a focused vertical flow.

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