UX Service Design
gankerpeq.jpg

Ganker [concept]

UX Game design

2013

2013

 
 

THE PROBLEM

At the beginning of the project, Akurey (the company) had some screens designed and the logic of the game in a document, made by a third-party. It was necessary not only revise all the screens, but also trying to match the information in the document with their wireframes, and of course, analyze the usability of the application. 

The project was very challenging because, by that moment, there wasn't material or documentation about how to analyze the usability of a game.

ACHIEVEMENTS

This project was selected to participate at the Madrid Design Biennale, Spain, in 2014.

Official Certificate

THE PROCESS

Understanding

The first step was "cleaning" the concept. Trying to understand the document, the idea behind the game and matching this information with the wireframes they already had.


Content Inventory

The content inventory for a game is slightly different from the ones made for tools, websites or apps, probably because the wording will be for captive niche, so it is peculiar, for example, the word Stamina. The UX designer needs to have a full domain of the meanings to build an appropriate IA, and all of this should be in the content inventory.  

Content inventory with the words and their meaning


References - Benchmarking

This step was crucial. By doing this, it was possible to find design patterns and the 'minimum common' features between games.

Three Role Play Games were analyzed: Turf Wars, Urban Rivals and Life is Magic


Alpha (α) Information architecture  


Personas are the representation of a user, typically based off user research and incorporating user goals, needs, and interests- definition from
— uxbooth

Paper Protyping

Applied to five potencial users


Moodboard

The recommendation of the look & feel the app should have, after analyzing trends, other games, and the user's preferences.


Wireframes (some of them)

According to with how far the fingers can reach, the elements were displayed on the screen depending on the importance of the feature. This is because, the app should work just with one hand, according to with the personas analysis.  


Look & Feel

The UI designer in this project was Melina Obando.