Last update on July 28, 2024

ONCE HUMAN

MULTIPLAYER | OPEN WORLD | FPS | STRATEGY

INTRODUCTION

I have joined to this project when the game development was completed above 80%. In this project, I conducted a thorough gameplay analysis, such as composed detailed reports and created comprehensive UX design documents.

Role: UX Designer

Team: 3 UX designers + me

Timeline: 02/2023 - 05/2023

Tools: Figma, Photoshop, excel

(Game trailer)

PROCESS

LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE FIRST ANALYSIS

In order to provide a full understanding of the game and the user experience of OnceHuman, I have started by playing the game with these outcomes:

25h

gameplay

2 chapthers complete

100+

touch points

Based on the gameplay experience, I approached my analysis in the following ways:

Interaction Design suggestions in the main problem areas I found are HUD, Combat, Loadout, Journey.

System and Game Loop experience through the Crafting > Building > World Map experience, where I found improvements that could be made based on the following dimensions: Recipe, Fidelity, Completion Constraints, Expressiveness, Progression.

A quick look at how Motion Sickness could influence the user experience of Once Human.

1. INTERACTION DESIGN

2. GAME LOOP

3. MOTION SICKNESS

SECOND ANALYSIS

Following the first gameplay analysis, I met with the designers to discuss my observations and how to apply the fidings. We concluded that it would be beneficial to continue with the analysis and conduct a deeper examination of the video game.

As a result, I produced a second, more detailed report.

HUD Analysis

The first part of the report is to give an overview of HUD best practices in the EU and NA markets for OnceHuman. It covers the best practices for PC 3rd person shooter games, as well as PC to mobile conversation.

Hotkey Analysis

The second part serves as a guide to aid designers in choosing hotkeys for 3rd person shooters. It provides a breakdown of the most accessible and frequently used hotkeys in the genre to ensure that the hotkeys chosen are easy to use and consistent throughout the game.

Purchasing Patterns

The third part highlights key areas that have the most common issues and opportunities for improvements in purchasing patterns.

1. PC 3rd PERSON SHOOTER

2. PC to MOBILE CONVERSION

Key Takeaways

While there are many different elements to consider when crafting a good PC HUD and converting it to mobile, there are several games that have done so successfully.

In terms of key areas to focus on, the following are applicable to both PC and mobile:

Focus on minimalist design through the use of contextual UI and reducing UI to core components.
While the visual style should stay similar between PC and mobile, the layout should be reorganized.
Ensure text and icons are sized correctly for readability and designed for recognisability.
Leverage the aesthetic-usability effect, the nicer the HUD looks and the more aligned it is with gameplay, the more usable it will feel.
Limit notifications and prompts and ensure that they are clearly visible, player attention is limited.

3. GUIDELINE FOR HOTKEYS

4. REQUENTLY USED TPS HOTKEY

Key Takeaways

The hotkey assignments for OnceHuman are on the right track. However, there are still a few issues that could be improved to make the gameplay experience even better for players.

In terms of hotkey assigning strategy, I used to recommend adhering to the following principles in order to better align with the mindset of players:

Consider the proximity of keys and the ease-of-access of the keys.
Hotkey should be intuitive and used for frequent or important functions.
Maintain consistency by ensuring that a particular hotkey performs similar actions.
Ensure that hotkeys do not conflict with each other or with other game functions.
Provide alternate methods for accessing a feature.

5. PURCHASING PATTERNS

Key Takeaways

The more complex we make how users spend money/currency, the more predatory it feels, this can turn quickly into a Dark Pattern that users don't like.

A few closing comments on ways to optimize OnceHuman's store for the player:

Reduce the amount of information the user is asked to process, allowing them to make quicker decisions and spend more money.
Streamline currencies into 2 different types to be more in-line with other games and their conventions at launch.
Make the store flow as easy as possible to navigate, consolidating it into 1 core page with sub-pages.
Make the hierarchy and structure of the store page simple and scannable.
Remove extra elements on the page that aren't necessary that could distract the player.

After completing the gameplay report, the OnceHuman team was highly satisfied with the results and the insights I provided. Based on this positive feedback, I transitioned into the next phase of the project, focusing on UX design. My primary area of focus was optimizing the Battle Pass UX flow.

Requirements:

UX and interaction design for the game's Battle Pass flow.
The OnceHuman team expects a clean and visually attractive design and is clearly inspired by Apex Legends. I managed to convince them to try other versions.
The final deliverable is expected to be wireframes and annotations, but I can additionally provide wireflows as well.
The deliverables will be given mainly to the UI Artist and Programmer, so need to be fit for them.
Additional team members that use the document may include VFX, audio, and art.

Business needs from the project team:

Encourage players to
Returning quality experiences and purchases to the players would encourage them to spend.
Make it easy for them to do so.

CONCLUSION

With the successful launch of the game, all of my analysis outcomes and UX designs were seamlessly implemented into the final product. The improvements in the Battle Pass UX flow and other key areas resulted in enhanced player engagement and a smoother in-game experience. The positive feedback from both the team and players affirms the success of the work, demonstrating the value of thoughtful UX design. This project has been a rewarding opportunity to make a real impact on the overall player experience, and it stands as a testament to the importance of user-centered design in gaming.