UI/UX Design and Research. The Destiny App

Transcription

1 UI/UX Design and Research The Destiny App Kalynn Ogle October 17, 2016 Updated April 27, 2018

2 1 1. Background I am a Digital Media student with an interest in user interface/user experience design and research. I wanted to do a study on something that really intrigued me as well as impacted me daily so I picked the companion app for one of my favorite games, Destiny! This is an app that I use all the time while playing Destiny, it s extremely useful as a way to switch in and out of gear as well as read up on any game related information that I want to know while I wait on my fireteam members to ready up. 2. Introduction I am studying and analyzing the usability of the official Destiny app. I think that the app is very unique and comprehensive and I am interested in trying to take a complex product to break down and learn ways that the usability may be improved for a certain player base. I hope that by doing this study I gain experience in testing, research, analyzing, and putting the findings into the creation and design of a new take on the product. 3. User Research Defining the User Group The players of Destiny use the app for all kind of reasons and the app serves as a hub for all things Destiny on an easy-to-access mobile platform. I wanted to conduct a survey for the most vocal base: players using the Destiny forums and official subreddit.

3 2 Identifying the Problems The Layout When opening, the app can be confusing and overwhelming to some. The app is very expansive and covers so much information, which means there is a lot of text and options to choose from! Accompanying this, it also means that there may be a lot of hoops to jump through to reach a certain part of the app, which can be time consuming for some players. The Design The design of the app has a similar color scheme as the official website, though some users do not appreciate that choice in design. The surveyed users feel that the color scheme/design of the website and app are difficult to connect to the game, whose interface looks almost completely different. Survey Assumptions Assumptions that I had before the survey I assumed that the design of the app could potentially be improved upon, but did not anticipate the amount of opportunities for subjective improvements when it came to the layout. I assumed the layout would be a critical aspect, as most players use the app to switch out gear and supplies quickly. I also assumed that the amount of information presented in the app could be overwhelming for some players, and that they would find some of it unnecessary. Planning Outlining and explaining the survey that I created, summarizing its goal

4 3 I wanted to get information from the Destiny community I could use in my study. Knowing that the online community is consistently active, I created an online survey to post to the official forums, as well as the Destiny subreddit. The information that I wanted to get out of the survey included what the app is mainly used for, what features people liked and disliked, the usability of the app, and how to potentially improve upon existing elements and styles. I am aware that the subreddit only covers a small, vocal group of players, but I wanted to survey them precisely because of how vocal they are. What better way to learn from feedback than to receive it from the harshest group?! Survey A Summary of the Results The survey results were similar in a sense to the assumptions that I first had. There were bits of surprising information as well, as there were some responses that I did not expect. Key points and the highest-ranking results To summarize the survey, most players found the app useful, but felt that the app was slow and not as well designed as third-party apps like (Ishtar Commander) or (Destiny Item Manager). This fell in line with initial suspicions, and was a good point to focus for individual responses to try and figure out how to improve the official app for users. A consideration that I had to keep in mind was that, while some of the third-party apps had a sleeker design or a design closer to the in-game interface, these apps had about ¼ of the information as the official app. As a result, I needed to find a way to make the official app sleeker, without losing important information. 4. Prioritizing

5 4 There were a few points while working on the design of the app that I felt needed to be prioritized. These included making the app feel more immersive, simplifying elements to make the app easier to use, and emphasizing areas that experience high user frequency. Additionally, I really wanted to focus on combining the information in the app with the UI design in the game. Based on the survey results, I tended to focus on compressing some of the information in a useful way that makes it a little less overwhelming for users. By combining certain areas and making certain features easier to access, I would hopefully enhance the user experience and get users more likely to use the official app over third-party options. 5. Why Do You Use the Destiny App? According to the results of my survey, no matter how often the player was using the app, most of the surveyed players use it to manage their inventory, to check their character stats, and read activity information. Players generally commented that they felt that the app seemed slow or clunky and, when asked to describe the app in a single word, many players responded saying they felt the app was simply okay. Another note to take from the survey was that over half of the players preferred third party apps rather than the official app. This was an important note to me because my goal was to change that preference. A positive note that I wanted to keep in mind was that most players liked that the official app had comprehensive information and could check everything they needed to through it. When asked the question, If you could change one thing about the official app, what would it be and why?, players mostly wanted to change the item management. This was great feedback, as this was one of the biggest features I wanted to practice changing up the design for. It also seems that most players could go without a few features in the app, including being able to go to the Bungie store and forums.

6 5 Overall, I was thrilled with this information. It gave me a good place to start and a lot of user feedback to work with. Finally, I was able to take notes and get to work. A comprehensive summary of the survey feedback can be found at the end of this document. Word cloud of what users liked best about the app.

7 Word cloud of what frustrated users the most. 6

8 Word cloud of the one change users would like to make. 7

9 8 6. Maintaining Empathy Personas One thing that I wanted to keep in mind while working on this redesign was the type of players that would be using the app. I ended up going with two personas to help me keep a good balance between the types of players that would use the app: a dedicated player and a casual player. Persona One Serious/Dedicated Player The first player type that I wanted to keep in mind were the serious or dedicated players. These are the players who read updates, use the forums, and keep up with the meta on a constant basis. These players will most likely be using the official app in between matchmaking, or during load times in order to switch out weapons and armor. The big thing that I wanted to enforce with this persona was making sure that they could access the things that they wanted easily and quickly. Persona Two Casual Player The second persona that I wanted to consider were the casual players. These players will be getting on the game less frequently than the dedicated players, and aren t too preoccupied with the competitive aspects of the game. I wanted to make sure that the redesign emphasizes minimalism and simplicity for the players who want to use the app, but aren t too invested in every feature the app has to offer. 7. Requirements

10 9 Design Principles Simplify and Condense Match the Games Aesthetic Keep the Majority of the App Design Minimize the number of screens that you have to go through in order to reach a destination. Follow a similar color scheme to the game. Don t replace information, reorganize it. Condense repetitive information. Use similar shapes and icons to simulate the look and feel of the game interface. 8. Designing Sketches When I began sketching, I started by making a flowchart of the entire app. This ended up taking around ten or so pages, which was a lot of actions for a learning UI designer to keep track of! Laying the flowchart out this way helped me look at how comprehensive the app truly was, and how all the elements in the app connected in relationship with one another. Ultimately, I ended up with a complete mapping of all of the app s functions and navigation. After the flowchart, I worked on sketching some ideas for the redesign of the inventory and legend screens. These were the two screens that both player personas used frequently, and the two that seemed to take the player through numerous steps to achieve a single task. It was a fun and challenging option for me to test minimalism within my design, as I enjoyed testing out removing steps and simplifying the process flow and style. I played around with a grid style layout, as well as a futuristic style the centered around circular design. I continued brainstorming

11 10 until I came up with a few ideas to test out in photoshop. I referenced my favorite design aspects from third-party apps as well as the official destiny app, website, and in-game UI. I wanted to marry the surveyed users favorite aspects of each in an effort to produce a potentially improved product.

12 11

13 12 Mobile Prototyping As for the prototyping aspect of this project, I worked in Adobe After Effects to create a visualization of how the app would work. I hope to use this study to learn more about prototyping software in order to create a basic prototype to test once I am sure the design logic is correct. 9. Redesigned Destiny Screens My screen solutions to solve some of the basic design complaints for surveyed users in the original app.

14 13

15 14

16 15

17 16

18 17

19 Reflections What I Learned The first thing that I learned from this project is that user research is an important aspect of designing a working, user-friendly interface. There must be a focus on the user experience, rather than creating things based off a single individual s instincts. I also learned that a research project is never truly finished, and that there s so much more to learn after the initial research. This project has opened up a plethora of new UI and UX aspects that I can learn, which include design, research, and style, just to name a few. What I have completed so far is just the starting point, and I am excited to gain more experience with this type of work in the future! Did Any of This Matter? When I started this project, I thought that it would just be a matter of redoing some of the app aesthetics. I quickly learned that there was so much more that I needed to keep in mind as I worked through the design of this comprehensive app. This project tested how much I knew and showed me how much more I have left to learn. It has filled me with more drive and inspiration, which I didn t consider possible. In the end, this project was an extremely challenging and rewarding experience for me. I loved working on it, and know that it mattered to me as it expanded my knowledge and experience as a UI/UX designer.

20 How often do you use the Destiny app? Answer Choices Responses 21.82% Extremely often % Very often % Moderately often % Slightly often % Not at all often 4 Total 55 How would you describe the app in one or more words? Useful Only useful for checking on updates 2nd best app for destiny the default app is meh interactive crap Godsend helpful Convenient Helpful Mediocre Out of game item and quest manager Good but I use another Mediocre Helpful and almost essential Adequate Useful, yet lacking useful for managing items Effective, though not always efficient. Not as good as Ishtar Commander convoluted Useful Well featured Useful Ok okay Useful Great Informative Great Useful

21 Useful The most useful and intuitive game companion app ever built. Very useful A good all around destiny companion but not the best item mover Very good A helpful tool Clunky In need of more work Sleek and polished looking Mediocre Clunky, slow Not as friendly as ishtar commander Not enough details SLow Slow clunky Useful Solid Ok useful Decent too many menus

22 What do you use the app for? Select all that apply. Answer Choices I use it to manage my inventory. I use it to check out my friends or my clan. I use it to read articles. I use it to read patches. I use it to read the grimoire. I use it to look at events such as Trials of Osiris, Iron Banner, etc. I use it to check my stats. I use it to read and post in forums. I use it to get to the Bungie store. Responses Other: Responses Showing 6 responses Nothing Check vendors inventory and activity details (modifiers etc.) Don't use the app, but the API it uses is needed for the 3rd party apps I do use. Check vendors to check my progess with the factions on my characters I am not logged in with join groups for raids and other activities, LFG 72.73% % % % % % % % % % 6

23 How does the app compare to other Destiny apps out there (Destiny Item Manager, Ishtar Commander, Destiny Trials report, etc)? Answer Choices Responses I prefer the official app to the others % 19 I prefer the other apps to the official app because: 65.45% 36 Total 55 What do you find most frustrating about the Destiny app? What do you like least about the app? I find the ability to not delete items through the app to be slightly annoying The slowness. My grandmother could log into the game and swap weapons from characters faster than this app can There's nothing frustrating necessary, it just doesn't flow as nicely and display stats as will as ishtar commander too cluttered in the inventory screen. nothing No numeric stats for items, some things are still only accessible via website or in Destiny itself. It's Clunky and convoluted. Everything is overly complicated. After an update it takes a bit to work sometimes It's not easy to compare items in your inventory (weapons and armor) Nothing slow, too much bullshit The item manager Messy (ish) Doesnt save the players you've searched and can't manage clans inside the app. That third party sites do a better job Item management isn't as good as third party it's hard to compare items I wish they the item management was more like the Destiny Loadouts app and offer different loadouts and multiple item management. I don't like how I can't MANAGE my clan slow Recruitment isn't front and center in the community section. Transferring items is slow and not optimized for efficiency really at all. Slow at times

24 The ui is hard confusing Load times can be slow. Inventory system. It would be nice to buy things and turn in bounties from the app Nothing I don't like that you cannot infuse gear in app It does not give stats as detailed as other sites. Can't view the rolls on vendor items. Inventory movement is kind of cumbersome Very time consuming to switch items between characters. Much easier to use a laptop and use the Gear Manager. I dislike how slow moving item around is finding stuff in the vault You can't change perks and make gear sets. Layout is not easy to use Gear management and comparisons Slow response time between actions and refresh Still doesn't have as many features as third-party apps, slow, etc. Drastic difference between app UI and game UI Too many clicks to get some where, hidden menus I.E.: trying to get to the activities, checking weekly modifyers Slow Slow Downloads a lot which locks me out of check my inventory/grimmore. The search aspect, hard to find certain things. no load outs that other apps have Loading times are a bit too long for me, navigation is weird There is way too much information Overall, how easy do you find the app to use? Answer Choices Responses 22.22% Very easy to use % Easy to use % Neither easy nor difficult % Difficult to use % Very difficult to use 0 Total 54

25 What do you like best about the app? The ability to look at my grimoire without running to a computer Best way to see news about updates and it's fun to watch people cry on the forums Beine able to use a proprietary app instead of 3rd party is more reliable grimoire read up. info about updates It's pretty and offers growing amount of Bungie site in the app form. Visual display of my guardians? Ease of use, usefulness the ability to transfer items between characters Convenience viewing 3d models of stuff The stats. Easy access Grimoire The utility of it. The overall aesthetics of the app are superior to third party versions reletively quick and easy to use Inventory management I like it's easy to read layout and accessibility. Posting to my clan wall i can check my guardian in 3D User friendly Quick and easy to view the weekly update and patch information It has a very easy to use UI Comprehensiveness nice interface The visual aesthetics Patch notes Managing my inventory The way I can do almost anything with my character Item management and the Grimoire It's fleshed out design and utility. I can access patch notes and other Destiny-related news very easily You can see the exact date someone joined bnet It covers all grounds Ability to manage inventory I don't have to use the vault It does not require multiple logins over a long period of time, unlike ishtar commander Nothing Ability to read grimoire That it has the weekly modifyers we can check, no other app shows them Most of the Bungie stuff is in one place Show all your info basically Everything is in one place Cool destiny download icon while updating The vast amounts of things you can do/see. the design and usability is great

26 Statistics I love that I can manage my inventory What features could you not live without in regards to the app? Answer Choices Seeing my profile Managing my inventory Seeing my friends list Viewing my progress Looking at events Reading news Using the forums Reading the patch notes Going to the Bungie store Responses 40.38% % % % % % % % % 2 If you could change one thing about the official app, what would it be and why? I would change the item management The slowness of it. I would make a better stat index have it grid based in the inventory instead of the current list based one. easier inventory management Take cues from other apps and make inventory management faster and much more accessible less taps, more action in most common cases view item stats, transfer between chars, switch items, highlight armor quality. Total redesign, because it's crap. Themes the ability to scroll through multiple character's items like DIM Allow inventory management everywhere use ishtar commanders ui

27 Item managing needs to be on ishtar commanders level. Then I will use it again Being able to manage clans and stuff inside the app I want to see all inventory for all characters on one page Better Item Management fewer steps to transfer items from one character to another Deeper item management, for ease of use. LFG options. I would add a "manage clan" option a simpler design, gestures Custom skins? It's a bit drab and ugly. Inventory management capabilities improved More stats simplify Buying items and turning in bounties from the app. Nothing because I can't think of anything I would make it easier to view recent matches and stats. Ability to view perks rolls on vendor items. make the menus more concise because as it sits, it can be hard to navigate Make the item moving system faster Make it more functional, cashing in bounties etc Making gear sets Speed of transfer and responsiveness, if only because it is a bit annoying to have to wait a longer time using an official app than it is an unofficial one More features, make it faster Make the UI closer to the game's Ease up on the UI I would like to apply filters to my vault spaces make it faster haha Take Ishtar Commander and add grimmore progress. add creating load outs for specific sets of gear Easier to navigate I would rather it have my inventory first

28 What features could you live without in regards to the app? Answer Choices Seeing my profile Managing my inventory Seeing my friends list Viewing my progress Looking at events Reading news Using the forums Reading the patch notes Going to the Bungie store Responses 7.69% % % % % % % % % 39