Overview: Re-Quest is social app meant to help create a positive social experience that will encourage users, who find themselves in new cities and areas, to attend local game events.
Role: Researcher, UI/UX Designer, User Testing
Tools: Figma, Miro, Draw.io, Excel, Pencil & Paper
Competitor Research
Research Synthesis
I organized my competitor research notes based on applications that people have used to find gaming groups: D&D Beyond, StartPlaying, and Meetup.
The goal is the find out what features users might be looking for when they are using game-finder social app.
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How Might We…?
How might we create a positive and exciting experience for both new or experienced users who will be using this application?
How might we create a diverse socializing space that not only encourages creating connections, but also maintaining and enriching it as well?
How might we create help users manage their games and sessions effectively - whether they are the player or the game master?
Ideation and Design
I’ve developed a general homepage that users and from there, users can choose whether to explore ongoing game events, check their messages, or create/host a game themselves.
Red Routes User Flow
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Sketches
I wanted to focus on how users will view important information such as game information like dates, prices, and any other related information and filter out games based on their criteria.
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High Fidelity Screens
Usability Testing
Feedback and Iterations
Overview: Testing was overall positive. While some parts of the app could use some more clarity, users overall liked how simple and easy it was to use.
Issues: Users had a lot of suggestions for the create game portion of the app.
Notification of game creation.
Ability to view their post after they had crated it.
Ability to add/remove players
Decide whether or not to private sessions
Feature to automatically add the session time/date to their calendar app.
One interesting feedback was from a new user expressed feeling overwhelmed having to create/host a game when they barely knew how games worked in general.
Red Routes User Flow V2
After some testing and thought, I decided to change my approach and re-ask myself what the main objective of Re-Quest is.
My main objective was to help users who are new to the city/town find people to fit in. They should not need a lot of experience games, just interest.
After careful consideration, I decided that creating/hosting a game event does not help create confidence in attending events. Users want assurance that the group they are joining is fit for them, so instead, I decided to add a user information page instead that displays reviews and account history.
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Feedback and Iterations v2
Overview: Testing was very positive. Users express keen interest on using the app as a potential way to find new gaming groups or making new friends. They also liked the ability to view the game host’s information and see other people’s reviews to see if the host fits their style.
Issues: Users had some suggestions and concerns in regards to the exploration portion of Re-Quest.
Users felt discouraged having to pay and want an option for free game sessions only.
An map implemented within the app to show the location of where the game is being hosted at.
The ability to advertise game lobbies/highlight sections.
Quick click check for game master profile.
Key Takeaways
Having and utilizing low-fidelity designs helped identify major weaknesses in the flow and helped steered the project in the right path.
Understanding what users are asking for when asking for feedback can be difficult, as what they are saying doesn’t exactly equate to what they really want in the end. The creation game screen is a good example as an MVP identifier.