Night Diver - Figma Game
An 8-bit, arrow-key powered game built entirely in Figma.
Project Background:
This project began as a creative exploration with our professors into the boundaries of what Figma can do—not just as a UI design tool, but as an interactive medium for storytelling and play.
Inspired by retro gaming aesthetics and minimal pixel environments, I designed Night Diver as a playable prototype where users navigate a diver through a side-scrolling underwater world using only arrow keys. The game is fully built and prototyped in Figma, optimized for mobile resolution.
2 Weeks
Timeline:
UX Designer
Interaction Prototyper
Pixel Visual Designer
My Role:
Figma, Figjam
Tools:
Challenge:
How far can you push interactivity using only Figma’s native prototyping tools?
Design Approach:
Inspired by 8-bit games like Fez and Diving Boy, I focused on simplicity, rhythm, and charm. Each screen was created with pixel-style components, and character movement was simulated through frame-by-frame artboards and keyboard arrow key prototyping logic.
I followed these key decisions:
Simplified tile-based levels that communicate flow and direction
Game feel via interaction cues like character feedback when moving
Smooth transitions to simulate scrolling
The game works like a side scroller: press ↑ to jump, ↓ to dive. Each frame is manually connected, creating the illusion of continuous movement.
Key Outcomes & Reflections:
Night Diver taught me how far pure design tools can stretch when paired with creativity and constraint-based thinking.
It was a reminder that great UX isn’t limited to business problems—it can be joyful, playful, and weird.
I learned how to think in transitions, not just screens—mapping user interaction with intention, even in a medium as linear as Figma prototyping. It also strengthened my ability to prototype fast, test ideas visually, and prioritize game feel through spatial rhythm, not polish.
This is one of those projects that started as a creative break—and ended up becoming one of my favorite experiments in interaction design.
