Nerve: The Movie

Designing an App as a Character in a Feature Film

Lead UX Designer

My Role

Lead UX Designer

Provide UX/UI and visual design and explore game dynamics for a mobile app central to the plot of the film. The producer wanted the realism of a real application, and the ability to show working software on real devices rather than doing the game in post-production.

My Responsibilities

Game experience design - Coming in mid-project, I jumped in to help fully flesh out the user experience and collaborate with the engineer to deliver the app in time for principal photography.

Branding - I explored multiple concepts collaborating with the directors.

Visual Design - Game art and imagery directions for the app

App UX - App UI elements that would feel realistic yet play when the viewer may only see the elements for seconds at a time.

1

UX Designer

NYC

2

Directors

NYC

1

Producer

NYC

1

Engineer

Los Angeles

Nerve is a major motion picture released in 2016 by Lionsgate, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. Starring Emma Roberts and Dave Franco, IMDB describes the plot: "A high school senior finds herself immersed in an online game of truth or dare, where her every move starts to become manipulated by an anonymous community of 'watchers'."

The Official Nerve Film Trailer

Project Overview

The Film's Premise: 'Players' are legions of bored teenagers desperate for social validation, quick fame, and desperate for money download the app and volunteer for embarrassing, shocking, and dangerous challenges in exchange for pledges of money by the 'Watchers'. Watchers observe multiple players on a leaderboard and consume real-time video and location data about the time-based challenges, and comment on the participants.

The Project: Provide UX/UI and visual design and explore game dynamics for a mobile app central to the plot of the film. The producer wanted the realism of a real application

In collaboration with the film's producers, directors, and an engineer I explored, documented, and designed the game interface as if it were a real app. The engineer in turn built the actual app with many administrative controls that would allow the production team to control the game to correspond with the action happening on set.