Before we end off the 2022 year, we wanted to share with you some progress on an update coming to the World to Build website in 2023. Over the years, we have experimented with different web designs, trying to capture the playful and fun nature of our product. And, to be frank with you, we haven’t always gotten that right.
If you’ve been with us for a while, you’ll know that World to Build is constantly changing. We’re trying to find our place in the landscape. Like most games out there, we are adapting to market and consumer needs, and we’re trying to build an online voxel-based sandbox game to shatter the ceiling of online building and socializing.
One of the necessary changes that has been weighing heavily on us is the attractiveness and user-friendly feel of our website. For the last several months, our development teams have been dogfooding our products – end to end. From web features, to game features, we’re finding small things that can be improved with our product. Ultimately, this has made us realize a few things, and we’re taking steps to move ourselves forward in the space.
So without further ado, I want to share with you some progress we’ve made on the web end.
2018-2020
Our 2018 theme was primarily based on our company logo at the time. We chose the primary color for World to Build as red, and we used that color in a lot of places. This is one of the designs I can’t say we got quite right, and it was really hard on the eyes.
(especially if you’re spending ample time developing the site)
2021
In 2021, we decided to tone down our approach a bit and started incorporating a vast array of colors. This was also around the time we introduced voxel avatars, ultimately shaping World to Build into the voxel sandbox it is today. However, over time, this layout also came off as unappealing and didn’t fit the direction for modernization we were aiming for.
2022
Our current design, launched earlier this year, was a remnant of the 2021 design. We wanted to have the site feel more open, but less clunky, all while having that playful attractiveness about it. We ultimately decided that the feel we envisioned for this design did not match the product, so we set our eyes on a more modern approach.
2023
Looking ahead, we’re incorporating theme-based layouts (starting with a dark mode option) and adding in several exciting features. One feature we are adding to help improve socializing is a live-chat feature between friends. We’re also adding a friends menu, which can be toggled on or off. On this menu, you’ll have several options with how to interact with your friends.
Our goal has always been to improve the user experience, and make a quality game that players can enjoy and interact in. We look forward to sharing more progress on the web updates in the 2023 year, and appreciate your feedback on the upcoming changes.
Happy holidays!
