JumpJump
End to End Game UX Design
Role
Time Frame
Client
Tools
UX/UI Design | Research | Prototype
4 weeks (2023)
Solo Project
Figma | Photoshop | Illustrator | Google Forms
OVERVIEW
JumpJump is a casual platform game for mobile that aims to create a simple and engaging experience targeted towards younger players, but with unique aspects that can appeal to all age groups looking for fun and excitement.
The game was inspired by my own journey as someone getting into gaming. I wanted to design a game that others could pick up easily with a simple interface, so I crafted a touch-based game that is intuitive and easy to play.
See PrototypeMY GOALS
- Designing an intuitive onboarding process for new users
- Creating an end to end process that is engaging and user friendly
- Maintaining a cohesive and seamless user experience throughout the entire game
Process
Research
Define Goals
Wire Framing
Prototy
-ping
Evaluation & Testing
Final Result
RESEARCH - USER RESEARCH
To better understand the onboarding process of the game and user flow, I wanted to ensure that I understood the process and the mindset behind people’s gaming habits. This included finding out how people approach a new game and what might not be enjoyable during gameplay. I knew that conducting user research would help spark some new ideas and the results helped inform some of my key considerations.
RESEARCH - SIMILAR GAMES
I have explored various types of games to analyze their gameplay design and user flows. From this exploration, I was able to identify five games that align with my goals.
Overall, the games I’ve played were fun and engaging, allowing players to use simple gestures. I found similarities in the pros and cons of these games.
The key learnings from these games include:
- A smoother introduction to the game can be achieved by keeping the onboarding process simple for new users
- Incorporating obstacles and rewards will result in higher engagement with users
- Having friendly aesthetic designs of not only the characters, but the in-game text and feel is vital to ensuring users feel welcome and comfortable
Helix Jump
Pros :
Easy to play and includes engaging boosters and bonuses at the end of each round to excite the user
Cons:
Lots of ads which interrupts the user experience
Happy Rise
Pros:
Allows the user to start playing right-away without a sign up process and provides options to play with different characters
Cons:
Limited variety of game modes (rise or bounce) that could easily result in boredom, as it has the same structure every time
Minion Rush
Cons:
A limited number of lives. When the user runs of out of lives, they need to wait or purchase extra lives
Pros :
Simple signup process.
It also engages the user using the characters’ emotions, creating a more interactive experience with them
Clash Royale
Pros :
New users can play first to try the game before official sign up. Clash Royale has
multi-faceted items and characters to engage with.
Cons:
A bit more complicated as there are a lot of things to care about, resulting in difficulty in understanding all aspects of the game even with their guide
Candy crush
Pros :
Ongoing engagement with user while providing hints and booster jellies. The use of limits (e.g. time and movement) along with obstacles make users feel challenged and reduces boredom
Cons:
Only allowed to play 5 times (once hearts are gone, the user can no longer play the game unless the user pays or waits)
USER FLOW
I have incorporated intuitive navigation and clear instructions for new users based on my research, ensuring that the user flow provides a seamless and engaging experience.
WIREFRAMING
I began my process by structuring out a layout of each page. This is a crucial step in designing the user flow as it helps to identify the right placement of elements. As a mobile game, there are many more elements compared to a regular mobile page and the wireframes served as a useful guide, visualization, and discussion tool.
Getting feedback from people
To ensure I was on track to design a seamless and user friendly process, I reached out to conduct further user testing and solicit their feedback. I focused on the user flow, inclusive of the onboarding process and to do some initial validation of the pages I had designed.
People may give up because they do not wish to sign up and provide a username before feeling a sense of engagement with the app.
Character selection page had a lot of whitespace while the characters themselves were too small. There was a lack of information for users to be able to relate to the characters.
They would want to see an ability to be able to pause the game (without dying) in order to adjust settings or to simply take a break.
"Sign up process is not yet user friendly"
In order to make it easy for players to start playing the game, I tested and noted down the best practices from other mobile games and their onboarding processes. This informed my decisions on what would work for JumpJump.
My few takeways are :
- A brief, engaging walkthrough : Necessary to avoid overwhelming the player with too much information
- Skip options : Depending on personality, some players might like the tutorial but others may not. It is better to give them options to satisfy different personas
- Use of visuals and animation : Creates a more enjoyable onboarding experience as it brings the player into the world
Mid fidelity wireframes
