Week 4: Finding Our Way on the Map
The parchment was larger than Gob had ever seen — a tangle of paths, icons, and shimmering notes in the margins. The adventurers gathered around, brushing dust from its surface as faint lights flickered across the lines. One tapped a glowing marker, and the campfire shimmered, revealing a map of their own making. Each path led somewhere new, winding toward stories yet untold. For the first time, Gob could see how the world connected — not just a stage, but a living atlas waiting to be explored.
This week was all about navigation and visual identity — how creators and players move through StageMaster’s world, and how that world begins to look and feel. We introduced map-based navigation, refined the structure of scenes and paths, and started crafting the visual language for our first release. From color and typography to lightweight components, StageMaster’s personality is beginning to take shape.
Team Highlights
For Alecia, navigation design was a journey in balancing aesthetic charm with accessibility. “We’re blending an old-world, illustrated manuscript look with modern standards,” she said. “The goal is to make sure every element feels whimsical and inviting, but still readable and accessible.”
Alongside the navigation work, Alecia and Peter refined the visual design system that will carry StageMaster into its first release. Using style tiles and a lightweight component library, they began shaping the foundational palette, textures, and UI elements that balance the warmth of storytelling with the clarity of good UX. Together, they’re establishing a visual language that feels cohesive and expressive, one that invites creators into a world of imagination without ever getting in their way.
Nick expanded the app’s navigation to include maps as an alternate way to move through stories. Instead of a static list, users can now travel between paths visually, selecting locations and storylines as if exploring a game map. “Each destination feels intentional, like stepping into a new chapter,” Nick explained. “The journey is guided but still leaves room for discovery.”
What We Did
Implemented map-based navigation for visual movement between paths and scenes
Integrated visual cues and markers to create an exploratory feel for scene transitions
Improved path and scene organization, making navigation smoother for creators
Refined UI accessibility through better color contrast and clearer iconography
Began building style tiles to define color palette, typography, and tone for the first release
Started designing a lightweight component system to support scalable, reusable UI design
Designed early concepts for the illustrated manuscript aesthetic (textures, ink lines, hand-drawn flourishes)
Continued testing and iteration on drag-and-drop behavior within scenes
Optimized stage refresh handling when switching between scenes
Updated design documentation around navigation states and page layouts
Where We’re Headed
Next week, the focus shifts to polishing navigation transitions, refining the component library, and styling the first interactive screens inspired by the manuscript aesthetic. We’ll also start testing how branching storylines unfold visually on the map.
On the deployment front, the team is exploring scalable solutions that can support real-time collaboration and data-heavy storytelling without compromising speed. The goal is to ensure StageMaster can handle both solo creators and large groups sharing adventures together — fast, stable, and ready for growth.
