Find the Hidden Octopus Mobile Game UI/UX Case Study

Find the Hidden Octopus is a casual hidden-object mobile game where players scan hand-painted underwater scenes against a timer to spot a shy baby octopus. As the sole UI/UX Designer and 2D Artist at Vault Productions, I owned the entire player-facing experience from visual identity and mascot system to every screen, popup, and production-ready Unity handoff.
Role: End-to-end UI / UX & 2D Art (sole)

Studio: Vault Productions

Engine: Unity uGUI / Canvas

Platform: iOS & Android

Target Device: Samsung Galaxy Note10

Art Style: Cute · Vibrant · Glossy Casual

Delivered: May 2026

The design challenge: make a cozy, child-friendly interface legible on a phone at arm's length, sitting on top of richly illustrated reef backgrounds while supporting rewarded ads and an IAP/VIP offer without the UI ever feeling pushy.
Four principles guided every decision:
01 Readable on a wet thumb.

Big tap targets, high-contrast CTAs, and one clear primary action per screen. The game stays playable on small screens and in bright light.
02 A mascot that talks back.

The baby octopus carries a full expression set mapped to game states — idle, happy, surprised, shy, crying, waving — delivering tone and feedback without a single line of copy.
03 One component system.

A shared library of glossy icons, 9-slice panels, and button states so all thirty-plus surfaces feel like the same world. One green for primary actions. Purple for secondary. Coral/red for close only. Players always know the one thing to tap.
04 Monetization as help.

Rewarded video and IAP framed as a friendly hand — 'watch to continue', '+30 min', 'remove ads' — always beside a free path. Offers appear after a natural stop so spending feels optional and earned, never forced.

What this project covers:
Visual language, palette and material system (glossy candy 3D · 9-slice panels · layered depth)

Full mascot sprite set with expressions mapped to every game state

Complete UI component library: icon atlas, button states, panels, banners, collectible coin

End-to-end screen flow from launch to reward loop

Core navigation screens: Title, Character Unlock, Level Select, Pause, Settings

Win / Lose / Monetization screens: Mission Success, Game Over, Need More Time, VIP Subscription

Unity implementation: organised asset structure, responsive anchoring, prefab-driven popups, Device Simulator testing

Production-ready sliced and anchored assets handed off to engineering

Stack: Unity · uGUI / Canvas · Figma · Photoshop · Illustrator
jaikarpothula.com · jaikardevgame@gmail.com · linkedin.com/in/jaikar-pothula-489b681a5
Rookies 2025 Rookie of the Year · Academy of Art University, M.A. Game Development