INTRODUCTION

Gaming is a fun and convenient way to hang out with friends in the digital world.

Gaming has become more than just a hobby. For gamers aged 18-35, it becomes an avenue to connect, laugh, and create memories with friends, especially when physical meetups are less frequent.

Important things to know in this case study:

• ‘Gamers' refers to anyone who enjoys games, regardless of commitment level, and not limited by a specific console or platform

• While some gamers prefer playing solo, either due to the game’s inherent single-player design or the competitive ranked ladder being solo-only, this study primarily focuses on those engaged in versatile multiplayer games

THE PROBLEM

As an avid 20-something gamer, coordinating games with friends seems impossible due to conflicting obligations.

In our busy adult life, the real challenge isn’t the game itself, but coordinating times to play amidst growing responsibilities. Balancing work, personal life, and other events, often means spontaneous gaming sessions becomes a rare luxury.

THE SOLUTION

GamerMeetups is a two-fold experience for gamers to plan games together and cultivate virtual connections.

USER RESEARCH + KEY INSIGHTS

Gamers prefer to play with friends and most play less or quit when they can’t.

Utilizing surveys and interviews with 5 fellow gamers on Discord, I found these common pain points:

• Wanting to play with friends but not knowing when people are available to play

• Feeling lonely from being left out due to personal or work obligations, or being unaware about previously set gaming times

• Facing stress of being the primary coordinator, necessitating multiple 1:1 conversations to align schedules, especially for larger gaming events or group games

  • For example, arranging 8 players for Lost Ark raiding or organizing regular practice sessions for the VALORANT Game Changers Academy tournament

100% of gamers reduced their time in games requiring coordination when they couldn’t play with friends, due to feeling disconnected from its social aspect and the challenges associated with organizing and synchronizing gaming sessions.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

Why not use Discord?

Discord is a preferred social platform for gamers, offering voice calling and instant messaging. It addresses the need for connection by providing the opportunity to make friends, join servers, and communicate in direct messages or channels.

An example of the multiple servers/communities I'm in

When attempting to organize an event on Discord, the platform shows its limitations. Gamers must actively monitor and respond within the time frame to confirm their availability. Moreover, the organizer faces challenges in keeping up with everyone’s responses, especially as messages accumulate or if some gamers remain unresponsive.

WIREFRAMES + USABILITY TESTING

Brainstorming standard components in calendar apps, I delved into crafting low-fidelity wireframes to determine feature prioritization.

My goal was to create several wireframes for usability testing to gauge their intuitiveness.

During testing, I discovered that participants’ mental models influenced their approach to accessing specific features. They each utilized unique pathways to fulfill tasks.

IDEATION + SOLVING THE PROBLEM

I decided to solve for convenience.

Evidently, a scheduling app for gamers might seem straightforward. However, to ensure the app’s success, it’s crucial to cater to users’ need for convenience.

ITERATIONS + IMPROVEMENTS

Based on user feedback, I updated the low-fidelity wireframes to better inform the high-fidelity design process.

I streamlined the user navigation to prevent misconceptions about the purpose of the app.

I relabeled navigation like so to be more familiar to gamers:

Messages → Chats

Schedule → Meets

I removed Calendar and the Friends List from the Profile page and instead emphasized direct access to Meets and Chats in the bottom navigation.

I added Groups to spotlight user-centric communities over generic social connection. Groups and Chats, despite their social connotation, are functions that facilitate creating Meets and centralize scheduling tasks.

I incorporated visible feedback into the updated design.

Displaying confirmation status of whether someone is a Friend enhances usability, protects user privacy, and establishes trust in the system. Finding friends in the app is for organization and creating events, rather than operating as a social platform.

Providing a consistent user experience is key to creating intuitive interactions.

With access to contextual information, users experience less cognitive load when deciding whether to add their acquaintances. Compared to the original design, the new layout offers better interaction capabilities, fostering intuitive interactions.

INTERACTION DESIGN

Designing for direct access within hierarchy and navigations.

To address the potential misconception of this app being social, Chats are designed to facilitate communication within Groups in aligning schedules and defining goals. When a Group schedules a new Meet, the corresponding Chat is instantaneously activated.

New Groups can be created from either the Chats or Meets tabs, leading to specific chat interfaces. However, while every Group associated with a Meet will have a Chat, not every Group with a Chat will necessarily have scheduled a Meet.

Due to the interconnectedness of Groups, Chats, and Meets, and the varied intuitive pathways that participants took to complete their tasks, I developed the flows with multiple entry points within the navigation structure.

PROTOTYPING + USABILITY TESTING

I conducted a final test on the high-fidelity version to identify any last changes.