povo Games, povo's gaming platform, noticed a plateau in the number of weekly active users (WAU) starting in April. This decline in app performance indicated that users were getting bored with the existing catalog of games.
Building a thriving gaming platform where users can discover their next great adventure from a diverse library of games
povo Games, povo's gaming platform, noticed a plateau in the number of weekly active users (WAU) starting in April. This decline in app performance indicated that users were getting bored with the existing catalog of games.
povo Premium Games is a feature design that provides a curated selection of new games to povo users in an effort to bring back their enthusiasm while improving their cognition and creativity. With a premium subscription, users get unlimited access to dozens of new games for a set amount of time.
Previously, all the games were lumped together in one dashboard without much breakdown or customization. Knowing that the majority of povo Games users are Japanese adults in the 30-60 age range, I wanted to introduce 80+ new games to them in an easily digestible manner. I developed game categorization that helps users readily find the types of games they’re interested in.
After mapping out the user flows, I brainstormed the games dashboard information hierarchy. To convey a sense of upgrade and luxury in the Premium Games dashboard, I chose deep shades of purple.
To accommodate a wide variety of users in multiple contexts where they might experience the games catalog (e.g on the go during their daily commute to/back from work, bored at home), I sought to make it trouble-free for users to discover the games that they’re interested in.
Placing game categorization on the top allows users to easily access the types of games that they’re interested in. Rather than having to browse through the entire list of 80+ new games all at once, users can filter based on their preferences right off the bat. In addition, categorization also gives our team the capability to select and showcase the most popular and/or relevant games.
The category toggles include iconography to ensure that people who have language comprehension or reading difficulties can also understand the content and navigate the dashboard with ease.
Originally, the product manager requested a streamlined approach to starting a game. She suggested having the “start game” button immediately visible to users as they browse through the games catalog, which minimizes their effort required to play games. Curious, I designed the game carousel with the information presented in two different ways.
I conducted a round of A/B testing to see which version performed better, tracking success rate (ability to start a game) and misclick rate.
Version A: two taps to start game
“Start” and game instructions appear in a popup box once the user taps on the game once
Success rate: 100%
Misclick rate: 57%
Version B: one tap to start game
“Start” and game instructions are automatically visible to users
Success rate: 60%
Misclick rate: 77%
Counterintuitively, users performed better in the version A test, where a game start required two taps. Although version B “streamlined” understanding and starting a game, users felt more confident starting games with an additional tap. Additionally, during testing a user mentioned that version B’s information obscures the game graphics, resulting in users not being able to fully tell what kinds of games there are.
The usability test results indicated that it was essential to present information to users without interfering with their browsing experience. I decided to keep version A’s double-tap game trigger while utilizing version B’s space-efficient information layout.
Check out the final prototype, where a user unlocks povo Premium Games and engages with the premium games dashboard. One tap triggers the “start” button and game instructions to appear; with an additional tap, the information is hidden.
