[Exelio DevLog #2] Survive Your First Day — Our Fight with the UI

Last time, we talked about "game feel." This time, it's about what you do after all that running around — and how we built the UI to support it.

Find Water First. Thirst Won't Wait

The very first thing you need to do when you spawn in Exelio is find water.

Running makes you thirsty. Fighting makes you hungry. In this game, hunger and thirst come at you relentlessly from the start.

Find a lake, and you can breathe a little easier. You'll also want to secure food early on. Don't overlook things like potatoes and animals that are available in the early game.

These are familiar survival game elements, but getting the "always something to worry about" balance right was actually one of our biggest struggles during development.

*Your first potatoes and water can be found near the starting area.*

Hunger and Thirst — The Line Between "Tension" and "Tedium"

Let's be honest. In earlier versions, the hunger and thirst pressure was way too intense.

Gauges constantly flashing, constantly needing to eat or die. There was tension, sure, but you couldn't focus on what you actually wanted to do — exploring, building. Playtesters kept telling us it was "too hectic."

In the current version, we've done significant rebalancing. Hunger and thirst still push you to act, but you won't die immediately. You have a little breathing room. But if you completely forget about them, by the time you notice, it may be too late.

We lost count of how many times we adjusted things to get to where we are now.

We've also added a cooking system where combining multiple ingredients restores more hunger. Early on, you'll have to eat things raw, but as your crafting progresses, gathering ingredients and cooking meals should become an enjoyable part of the experience.

*The inventory screen. You start the game with nothing.*

Crafting with a Controller — Our Early UI Was a Rough Ride

There's something else we want to be upfront about.

Our early crafting UI was... in a rough state.

Exelio is designed primarily for controller play. Keyboard and mouse are also supported, but we chose controller-first to enable more intuitive gameplay.

However, the item-related UI posed a major challenge. What's a simple "click to select" with a mouse becomes a much more involved process on a controller. Select an item, check the materials, set the quantity, confirm the craft. If this flow isn't smooth, survival is the least of your worries.

*The early UI. The hunger display and other elements changed significantly in the final version.*

There were three problems that stood out in early versions:

- Picking up items took too long.

Every time you picked up materials from the ground, there was a long animation and interaction delay. Realistic, sure, but it killed the pacing. We shortened it so you can grab things quickly now.

- Players didn't know what to gather.

In the beginning, players had no idea what to pick up. We added tutorial prompts that show what to prioritize collecting. Not pushy, but enough to keep you from getting lost.

- Repeating the same craft from scratch every time.

Having to navigate the full recipe tree every time you wanted to make an axe — that was genuinely frustrating. Now the game remembers recipes you've crafted before, so the second time around, it's quick.

*Once you've crafted something, the recipe appears on the right side, making it easier to craft again.*

*Building a workbench expands your crafting grid