QUEUE UP
Background
Online gaming has witnessed exponential growth in recent years, with millions of gamers participating in multiplayer games across multiple platforms.
A virtual environment to learn skills, meet new people, and boost your mood- online gaming provides community and connection to players all across the world.
Despite the vast community of players worldwide, gamers still face a common challenge: finding teammates and other like minded players.
Role
UX/UI designer
Timeline
80 hours (4 weeks)
Project type
Create an end to end app design
Problem
In the dynamic world of gaming, players often face challenges of teaming up with compatible teammates. Skill disparities, diverse play styles, scheduling conflicts, and the fragmented nature of gaming platforms can all hinder the gaming experience.
DISCOVER
Objectives & Goals
Enhance user experience with unique and personalized features
Facilitate effortless matchmaking among players of all skill levels and play styles
Bridge the gap between players on different platforms
Eliminate the frustration of playing solo or with random strangers
This capstone aims to create a platform that revolutionizes the way gamers connect and collaborate. With research, ideation, and prototyping, the goal is to provide a safe, inclusive, enjoyable, and accessible environment for gamers to find like minded teammates easily.
Our Process
Discover
Define
Ideate
Design
Research Goals
Understand preferences and styles of gamers when it comes to finding and connecting with teammates
Learn pain points and needs of gamers who are looking for teammates
Analyze competitors in the gaming app market to identify gaps and opportunities
Evaluate the app’s user interface and overall usability
Competitive Analysis
GameTree
“Freemium”- base app is free but most of the app’s main features require money
More like a dating app than a gaming app
Suitable for finding like minded gamers with same interests
GamerLink
Highest rating out of all the listed apps
Perfect for looking for wide range of games
Integration with other platforms- more accessible
PLINK
Has the largest user base out of all the listed apps
80% of it locked behind a paywall
Centered around communities and groups, great for a more social experience
Noobly
Main feature is AI matchmaking
Discoverability is limited to matchmaking- no game page or group chats
Best for new or casual gamers, more beginner friendly environment for having fun
Findings
In analyzing Plink, GamerLink, GameTree, and Noobly, valuable insights become apparent. To create an effective platform for players, focusing on diverse game support, AI based matching, community building features, and user friendly accessibility are key in elevating the gaming experience.
Primary Research Survey
I asked 35 participants to recount their challenges with online teammates and their gameplay encounters with random strangers.
“I just didn't know where to find like-minded people to play games with. Reaching out to people you don't know can be a scary experience and very stressful for someone with social anxiety.”
“Sometimes it’s hard to find people to play due to odd hours or lack of concentration of players in my area”
“I don't like how many people interact with each other. You're disregarded if you're just playing casual and chat in-between games are used to talk down other players. It's an extremely hostile environment”
57%
faced challenges when finding players online
83%
have negative experiences when playing with random strangers online
Findings
Participants expressed discontent with their current methods of connecting with new players, whether randomly or intentionally
Concerns were related to toxicity, conflicting objectives, scheduling difficulties, and geographical distance as major sources of frustration.
Skill level, schedules, gaming interests, and personality are key factors that are considered when playing together
DEFINE
User Personas
This user persona represents the typical game enthusiast who found his community and hobby through video games. His primary goal is to expand his gaming circle and find compatible teammates that he can create a community with. However, he is hindered by the lack of a platform to do so as well as common issues in the gaming community such as toxicity and conflicting goals.
Empathy Map
In this empathy map, we take a deeper look at an individual eager to discover gaming teammates online. They are determined to invest time and effort in cultivating an enjoyable gaming experience, all while searching for a solution that can help them overcome these hurdles and connect with the right gaming partners.
IDEATE
Site Map & User Flows
Creating the site map and narrowing down user flows helped guide which direction I wanted to go in. From here, I decided to focus on the main points and map out which key features and tasks I wanted to include in the final product.
DESIGN
Sketches
Drawing inspiration from contemporary gaming apps and platforms, I aimed to retain the familiarity of familiar social media functionalities, such as group pages, group posts, and messaging chats.
Wireframes
I was set on keeping the "swipe left, swipe right" feature for AI-driven matchmaking, ensuring both efficiency and simplicity. The binary nature of this swiping mechanism, with just two directions, minimizes uncertainty and facilitate user decision-making. This swiping approach also introduced an engaging gamification element to the app's experience.
Branding
Purple and blue are often associated with a sense of calm, creativity, and wonder, which can create appealing and immersive experience for users
Blue is commonly used in tech related apps
I took a lot of inspiration from current existing gaming related platforms such as Discord and GamerLink
The logo was inspired by the widely recognized and used term “queueing up”. When players queue up, they are indicating that they are ready to play. From here, they wait until a match becomes available or until the system finds suitable opponents.
I wanted to incorporate well known gaming images like a controller, directional pad, or the AWSD keys on the keyboard.
High Fidelity Wireframes
Personalized and interactive game library that displays game related content on home page
Filter/sort by games, mode, playstyle, location, etc
Labels/tags for teammate criteria differentiated by color for quick and easy identification
Comment, like, and sharing features to foster a sense of community and social networking
Variety of game content that allows players to show their personality and playstyle
Users can see when other players are most active and have an opportunity to join those who are currently online
Separate tabs for posts, groups, and individual members of the game page; allows for more discoverability
Allows for all different types of content/media that show their personality and their playstyle
AI recommended profiles of other players who you can connect and play with
Essential information for teaming up with players
Profile personalization that allows other users to understand who you are as a gamer
“Connect” or “skip” buttons that resemble common matchmaking mechanics // swipe left to skip, swipe right to match
TEST
Usability Testing
After creating a prototype version, I shared my design with 25 participants with an unmoderated usability test on Maze.co. The participants include other Design Lab colleagues, personal friends, and Redditors from a survey exchange subreddit- generating various different feedback.
Main tasks
Create an account and set up your profile
Search through the game library and add a game to your profile
Filter and create a post
Update your profile
Use matchmaking system & identify warning icon
Report player
Key Findings
All tasks were completed successfully
Participants expressed the most confusion with identifying the icons in the bottom navigation bar
Keywords like “intuitive” and “straightforward” were used in 16 out of the 25 answers when asked about their experiences with the tasks.
Participants would like to see success messages implemented for assurance
Iterations
Implemented confirmation/success messages for reassurance and to reduce any confusion
Added labels to bottom navigation icons for clarification. error reduction, and improved wayfinding
Not pictured iterations:
Language and age filter when creating post
Added number of players currently queueing up (looking for teammates)
UI changes
Note: Majority of the negative feedback stemmed from users experiencing confusion regarding the question wording, the layout of the usability testing website, and the lack of fully interactive screens.
PRODUCT
Final Design
SUMMARY
Conclusion
Results & Impact:
Incorporation of intuitive designs like the "swipe left, swipe right" matchmaking feature has enhanced users' ability to connect with like-minded gamers
Testing and feedback show that users found the features helpful and effective in achieving their goal of finding teammates to play with
The addition of social features, like group pages and messaging chats, fosters a sense of community and engagement among users. Overall, the app has made finding gaming teammates a more efficient and enjoyable experience for players.
Reflections:
Reflecting on the journey as a UX designer for this gaming app, it's clear that catering to the gaming community's unique needs has been both fulfilling and challenging.
Despite the gaming industry being one of the fastest growing, it's important to continually iterate, incorporating user feedback and staying attuned to the evolving needs of the gaming community.
Thank you for reading!
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