Week 5: Sketch to Stage
The curtains parted just enough for Gob to glimpse the work below. What had once been a scatter of sketches and plans now stood assembled — panels fitted together, menus in their places, the stage glowing with quiet order. The adventurers moved methodically, testing buttons, adjusting frames, and checking every cue. It wasn’t yet a performance, but it finally looked like one could happen here. For the first time, Gob saw not a blueprint, but a working stage.
This week marks a major milestone: the StageMaster user interface is nearly complete in design form. After a couple of weeks of exploration and iteration, we’ve established the look and feel of the platform — the major screens, menus, and visual patterns that define our creative world. With style and structure aligned, our focus now shifts from design to experience: bringing the interface to life, connecting it with real interactions, and preparing our stage for its first true performance.
Team Highlights
With the UI designs complete, the team turned its attention to implementation and integration. We finalized the visual system, defining the structure of the stage itself — complete with layered curtains, repeatable patterns, and a responsive layout that feels theatrical but never overwhelming.
Alecia reflected on the challenge of designing around characters and interactive assets. “The hardest part is keeping menus usable without covering the stage,” she said. “It’s a lot like building tools in a simulation game — creators need visibility and control at the same time.”
She also described how creators might approach building scenes inside StageMaster:
“When playing games like The Sims, I tend to place multiple objects in bulk and then rearrange them later. I’m curious whether StageMaster users will build scenes the same way. Imagine constructing a forest: you might start with a backdrop, then add characters, monsters, and environmental details like trees, stumps, or bridges.
When planning a scene, you might begin with a rough concept in mind and, as you browse available assets, drag in the ones that catch your eye. Once you’ve gathered enough elements to bring the idea to life, you can close the asset menu and start arranging them into a cohesive composition. It’s similar to working in Canva or PowerPoint — you know the kinds of elements you want, but you often have to experiment with their arrangement to get it right. You rarely start with a perfect picture in your head; the scene takes shape as you build.”
Nick, meanwhile, focused on front-end updates and deployment. The app now runs on Cloudflare Pages with Page Functions for scalability and fast iteration, with assets stored on R2 for quick load times. Moving to this new architecture meant reworking how certain parts of the front end are built and deployed — a big shift that surfaced a few bugs and compatibility issues to iron out. “This setup gives us the best of both worlds — strong performance for creators and flexibility for our growing front-end,” Nick explained. “It’s the moment when everything starts to feel alive on the stage.”
What We Did
Completed UI designs for the app’s major screens and menus
Refined responsive designs for the stage and asset panels
Began front-end implementation of finalized UI components
Continued work on drag-and-drop interactions for stage assets
Deployed the app using Cloudflare Pages with Page Functions to improve scalability
Integrated R2 asset storage for faster load speeds and smoother iteration
Adjusted parts of the front-end build process to align with the new deployment pipeline
Identified and began resolving bugs and compatibility issues related to the new setup
Where We’re Headed
Next week, the team will focus on stabilizing the new deployment pipeline, refining stage interactions, and stying the app we’ve built to match the finalized designs. “With the interface coming together (such a big deal!), I think the next point of order would be to tie the User Experience to our new interface...” Peter said. That’s exactly where our focus is heading next — connecting design and function into a cohesive whole.
We’ll also start preparing for internal testing and previews, so Gob — and our earliest adventurers — can step onto the stage and begin creating. As Peter put it, “Having the buttons and menus fit the bill feels really validating. If anything, it gives me even more ideas.
