Role
Sole Product Designer
Scope
Player + Admin views
Status
CTF Live Event at IIT Delhi on 04 Sept
86 registration, 12 participants moving to final,
Events completed with no Issue
OVERVIEW
(CTF) Capture the Flag, is a type of event that functions inside a CyberKshetra platform.
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Each challenge has a description, resources, and a specific task.
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The player enters a live VNC topology directly in the browser.
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They identify vulnerabilities, exploit them, and secure a secret key (‘flag’).
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Submit the flag, earn points, and climb the real-time leaderboard.
The catch: solving a challenge means working in a VNC live machine while reading the challenge. Those two things have to happen together.
THE PROBLEM
The first version of the platform relied on standard tabs Navigation.
• Tab 1 — Details,Challenges, instructions & resources
• Tab 2 — Live topology environment (VNC)
• Tab 3 — Questionnaire & flag submit box
To solve anything, players had to perform constant cognitive context switches: read instructions → switch tab → perform commands inside VNC → switch tab → verify criteria → submit.
“The moment you’re in the topology, the challenge you’re solving is completely invisible.”
Tabs hide crucial operational context. A highly intensive engineering task demands that this context remains open and visually tied together.
EXPLORATION & WIREFRAMES
Paper wireframes & architecture sketches
CONCEPT 01
Tabbed Navigation
The original setup. Clean, familiar interface, but fatally wrong for this task because it locks information away just when players need it most.
Challenge
Topology
Submit Flag
Leaderboard
CONCEPT 02
Side Extended Drawers
Pushing drawers out dynamically. Better context retention, but constantly competed with the VNC topology workspace, forcing severe horizontal layout shifts.
Challenge
Leaderboard
Topology
Submit
Flag
THE INSIGHT
Workspace Priority
We realized we had to fix the critical topology workspace as a stable center, and build collapsible panel controls to flex around it.
THE SOLUTION
Three distinct panels. One of them never moves.
PANEL 01
Left: Challenges
Collapsible listing of objectives, scenario details, and downloadable files.
PANEL 02 (FIXED)
Middle: VNC Topology
The primary live hacking environment. Always centered, never relocates.
PANEL 03
Right: Questionnaire
Collapsible questionnaire list, submit response with hints, attempts and points
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The VNC topology is the workspace — it never collapses under any behavior.
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Challenge lists and submit fields are visible by default but can be tucked away.
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The Leaderboard always shows the users top 3 players and his own rank. Which can be collapse and expand
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Zero tab jumps. Zero hidden context. Everything stays only a glance away.
MECHANICS & FLOW
Flag submission isn’t free. This gamification is deliberate to ensure strategic and methodical thinking. Which are fully customisable by the admin while creating challenges
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Hints Cost Points: Clues are readily available, but unlocking them decreases the ultimate payout.
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Strict Attempt Budgets: Limits of 2-3 attempts on questions prevent blind brute-forcing.
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Configurable Values: Admin control allows tuning of weightings per flag difficulty.
Every submission is a decision: guess now, or spend points on a hint? That tension is what makes a CTF feel like a true competition instead of a simple quiz.
We positioned a persistent navigation and utility bar right above the challenge description panel:
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Global Countdown Timer: Always running, always visible at the top center of the HUD.
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Live Challenge Status: Directly indicates states: Locked, In-Progress, or Solved.
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Progressive Unlock: Ensures a clear Icon with tags — On Progress / Completed
The player always knows exactly where they are, what’s left, and what’s still locked.
USER ROLES
Dimension
Player Experience
Admin Experience
Challenge Access
Progressive unlock in chronological order
Instant navigation to check any stage
Answers & Exploits
Hidden — Must be uncovered via VNC
Visible — Full cheat sheet overlay
Purpose
Compete, solve, and secure points
Monitor live telemetry and verify progress
Note: Keeping the layout identical means an admin sees exactly what a player sees — incredibly useful when troubleshooting telemetry mid-event.
RETROSPECTIVE
CTF Event went live on 04 Sept at IIT Delhi.
Open Institution registration challenge announced .Where we saw Active participation from competitive security candidates. System ran for hours with no disconnects or breakages.
100%
Platform uptime maintained
12 Finalist
Moving to the final round
1. Investigate actual collapse behaviors
I assumed players would leverage collapse toggles to maximize VNC real estate. Whether they engage with this option or struggle with default sizes needs research.
2. Base flag pricing on quantitative telemetry
Hint costs were set by developer intuition. Real game data will reveal if hints are priced fairly or need to adjust based on fail rates.