arcadia
Full Stack Rocket League Esports Website
Roles
User Interface Designer
Full Stack Next.js Developer
Tools
Next.js
CSS
GitHub
ShiftRLE API
Figma
Deliverables
Full Stack Website
Live Pages
Completely Responsive Design
Future Concept Redesign
Duration
4 months
Overview
arcadia, a premier full-stack platform dedicated to the Rocket League esports scene. Created using Next.js, arcadia integrates the zsr.octane.gg API to deliver comprehensive and up-to-date information on Rocket League’s competitive landscape. It is designed to be as user friendly as possible while providing detailed information for power users or casual users alike.
Project goals
Extensive
I wanted this project to include any kind of stat or metric that the user could ever want. It was made with power users in mind. It features a GUI feature for everything that is accessible through the public ShiftRLE API.
Responsive
One of my main goals from the very beginning was for the website to be fully accessible from any device. This means that the entire website is perfectly engineered for mobile screens and desktop platforms seamlessly.
Intuitive
Although I geared the website towards power users in mind. I wanted the UI to be User-centered. I planned this goal by using my experience in UX Design and Design principles to create a frictionless interface for anyone new to the website.
Process
Previous Iteration
I started this process by creating the website using a Python Flask backend to interface with the API with the rest of the codebase being vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. After getting to what I considered to be a rough finished product, I knew that I could do better.
First Class Features
Universal Search
While making this website I wanted to create a universal search that is perfectly intuitive, fast, helpful and full of information. I did this by making the search overlay full screen and dim the background so the user can get fully immersed into their action. Next I wanted to accomodate anything the user would be searching so I grouped Players, Teams and Events all into their own separate boxes. This made it easy for the user to differentiate all 3 search results.
Vast Player and Team Overview Pages
I wanted the user to be able to visit a certain player or team page and get access to the information they're looking for directly on the first page 90% of the time. For this I created boxes of structured information that can all be seen at a glance with important information highlighted with a slight accent color. The width of these boxes also makes a perfect mobile layout where the user can just scroll to see the boxes with no information obscured or removed.
Helpful Event Details
Similar to the player and team pages, I wanted the user to be able to visit an event page and get access to the information they're looking for directly on the first page 90% of the time. For this I created boxes of structured information that can all be seen at a glance with important information highlighted with a slight accent color. The width of these boxes also makes a perfect mobile layout where the user can just scroll to see the boxes with no information obscured or removed.
Powerful Advanced Search With Filters
Just in case the Universal Search wasn't able to get the user the result they were looking for, I created advanced search pages for all three categories. These pages feature infinite scrolling and powerful search filters so the user will always find the result they are looking for.
Carefully Crafted Match Detail Pages
Match pages turned out to be one of my proudest parts of the arcadia design. I originally didn't know how I was going to fit the entire design nicely on a mobile screen. One of the pain points I faced was accounting for long team names on a smaller screen without wrapping the text to a new line. The text would always Collide with the other or go off the screen. This is how I came up with the tooltip design. They are placed on opposite sides so that even on smaller screens you can still read all team names without them colliding or interfering with team logos at all. My next challenge to overcome was getting scores to fit on mobile layouts. I overcame this by making the scoreboard simply in a column direction so the entire box could just be resized from the sides inwards.
Final Application
This project showcases my ability to develop a full-stack web application that integrates multiple technologies to create a user-friendly and informative platform. It allowed me to overcome design challenges that required creative solutions. Whether you're a casual fan or a dedicated esports enthusiast, this website has everything you need to stay informed about the Rocket League competitive scene.
Note: The ShiftRLE API is currently down for an unknown amount of time, so the live website doesn't work until the API goes live again.
Future Plans
This is a concept prototype of a UI redesign I made that might make it to production if the ShiftRLE API ever comes back.
Takeaways
This project is my biggest to date. It was my first big web developer project and a lot of design work went along. It helped me grow as a designer and get feedback on my designs from user research.