Copyright Wildlife Studios
DISCLAIMER: As original work details are subject to confidentiality, the below case study is a reconstruction of work I did on a published project, meant to give an idea of my work process and how I approach UX design.
DISCLAIMER: As original work details are subject to confidentiality, the below case study is a reconstruction of work I did on a published project, meant to give an idea of my work process and how I approach UX design.
Project: Sky Warriors
Release: 2021
Platform: Android, IOS
MY ROLE
UX Designer
I was hired to be part of the game's product team and led the User Experience initiatives of the project, being allocated 100% to introduce UX values to the game, and worked from pre-production until it transitioned to Live Ops.
Introducing UX Values in a new game
I was hired to be part of the game's product team and led the User Experience initiatives of the project, being allocated 100% to introduce UX values to the game, and worked from pre-production until it transitioned to Live Ops.
Introducing UX Values in a new game
Responsible for the conception to development of features, collaborating with Product Managers, Game Designers. Through playtests, UX research, and design methods, I always advocate for players' perspectives. The whole team had an open mind to accept to hear the word of UX.
Project Overview
Copyright Wildlife Studios
Sky Warriors is a fast-paced, aerial combat game. As an ace pilot in, experience the thrill of realistic battles & engaging enemies in adrenaline-packed 3D dogfights. Load your weapons and defeat your enemies in action-packed, 6-player, real-time PvP airplane battles in the sky.
The game came from an internal hackathon and went through a validation phase. This phase allowed identifying its market potential.
The game came from an internal hackathon and went through a validation phase. This phase allowed identifying its market potential.
Project Goals
Best flight game experience on mobile
Pre-production: Retention was an essential factor to validate its acceptance by the public.
Production: Focus on Monetization features.
Target audience
Based on War Machines, one of the successful games from the company. Sky Warriors came to focus on a similar profile, players involved with the military theme. We want to achieve players who aimed for modern arcade gameplay with dynamic combat.
UX Research
To reach its great potential, it became necessary to better understand the player. UX research was a very important pillar for the construction of features. The results acquired were extremely valuable for the creation of the backlog.
Playtest
We had three types of playtests throughout the stages of the game.
- Internal with the team to validate features and collect bugs.
- Championships with the entire company.
- Playtestcloud tool that allowed us to select players with similar profiles
- Championships with the entire company.
- Playtestcloud tool that allowed us to select players with similar profiles
Benchmark
During the discovery phase of all the features, it was a great ally to understand competitors.
UX Workshops
UX is a discipline that crosses through other areas, it is necessary not only in the player's interaction but also with the team. The workshops had the goal to align the team's vision with the game.
Focus Group
The game's fanbase grew a lot and it was possible to identify possible VIPs. With the support of the company, focus groups were held to understand the reality of the most engaged players. In addition to being a great tool to generate insights
Workflow
My role was part of the product team, which made it possible to always be active in backlog discussions.
As part of my workflow, I was responsible for writing the feature SPEC, a document with an overview of the product, UX, and UI requirements. This document was updated according to the development phases and modified when other areas felt the absence of some edge cases.
As part of my workflow, I was responsible for writing the feature SPEC, a document with an overview of the product, UX, and UI requirements. This document was updated according to the development phases and modified when other areas felt the absence of some edge cases.
With the SPEC defined, I created flows and wireframes, describing the functions and acceptance criteria.
I always followed the UI development to avoid errors during the game's visual communication.
I always followed the UI development to avoid errors during the game's visual communication.
AWARDS
With only one year, Sky Warriors received several awards, among them: User Experience.
For me that makes me proud, and happy to have been part of such an amazing team!
Mobile Game - Best Experience
2022 W3 Awards Silver Mobile Game Features - User Experience for Mobile