Going live (and learning to get out of the way)

The first feature I fleshed out was a livestream. The idea: point a “camera” at your tank, go live, and watch viewers, likes, and followers tick up based on how good things look.

My first version did the thing every beginner UI does — it threw a giant panel over the screen.

Look at the problem: I built a feature about showing off your tank and then covered the tank with a box. So I tore it apart and rebuilt it as an overlay — the LIVE badge tucks into a corner, chat floats down one side, the stats sit in the bottom corner, and the tank stays the star of the shot.

This became a rule I’d reuse everywhere: if a panel’s job is to help you look at the tank, don’t let it hide the tank.