Case Study: UX/UI

Nov 2021

Overview

Pokemon Go is a free smartphone app that combines gaming with the real world. The game uses location tracking and mapping technology to create an ‘augmented reality’ where players catch and train Pokemon characters in real locations

Challenge

While Pokemon Go has brought different people together in the act of being the best trainer they can be, there are lacking features that can enhance this community-driven game to a whole other level. Adding increased engagement between trainers will not only keep the player within the app but alleviate the frustrations that some of the more dedicated trainers have.

Duration

3 Weeks
Team

Me (UX Designer)
Tools

Figma
Invision
Method

Archetypes based on user research
User Flow
Design Studio
Wireframing
Prototyping
Competitive Analysis
Concept Client

Pokemon Go (Niantic)

Overview of the gameplay:

This game is about being the best Pokemon trainer that you can be in whatever way you want to approach the game. You can collect all Pokemon of a certain type to bring back a nostalgic feeling or be a hardcore gym defender maintaining your territory. The game is free-to-play and it offers in-game purchases if a player may feel incentivized to change up their individual experience.

Problem

Players feel disengaged to trade or interact with one another. The current view of the player card doesn’t show highlights, achievements, or showcase of what makes them unique from other trainers

Solution

Give players confidence to interact with each other by leveraging additional social features

Where is the user’s frustration?

I discovered the three main pain points

from a survey conducted by 8 people playing Pokemon Go

Direct Messaging

Being able to coordinate raids, reminders for friend bonuses, or an event happening in-game. Currently players have to resort to other apps like Discord to communicate
Pinging System

The ability to ping a nearby friend for a trade, raid or any activity is non-existent in the game currently
Distance Trading

Currently, the game only offers trading to be done up to 12km leaving trainers no option to trade with their friends overseas

What do the players want?

Through usability testing on the mobile game itself, I discovered the most important aspect to the player was their friendships with other trainers and the lack of coordination that the game currently provides.

The types of players can be divided into two types The Superfan and The Casual

Persona

Based on our persona’s and their needs, I created some assumptions for our solution.

So with keeping Val and Nathan in mind…

How might we provide players the ability to stay and feel connected to their fellow trainers for longer periods of time?
How might we better inform the player, seasoned or new of useful information that is more attainable within the app?
How might we improve a better notification system that can ping players on bonuses or reminders?

Design Studio

My Invision Sketch

Above is a prototype of the trainer’s card with 3 additional icons added: Ping, Alerts & Trade+. The two frames on the right are early ideas for seeing what a trainer may be looking to trade and also what they have for trade to others.

Grayscale

I refined sketches and created a low-fidelity clickable prototype. At this point, I gather all design inspiration from the usability testing.

Refining design

What did we find on usability testing?

Glanceable trade information on the trainer card was a quick easy way to see what that particular trainer may offer
The ability to ping another trainer for trade or raid would be useful to grab their attention
Being greeted with a prompt screen to meet certain requirements for a distance trade was very much welcomed

Trainer card

The first image is a familiar look of a trainer card but with the addition of the 3 icons for Ping, Alerts, and Distance Trade.

Just underneath the main interactions, you will find a quick view of what that trainer has in their Top 6 wishlist or trade for. This view currently does not exist in the current game and would benefit players to quickly find out what another trainer may have.

Ping system

Here you have the ability to ping a trainer for certain actions like trading, PvP battle or raid a nearby gym.

Why ping another player?

Pinging simply gives a player a level of interaction without having to message them through other apps.

Distance trading

Currently, the game only offers up to 12km for trainers to conduct trades with each other. While being in the COVID-19 pandemic, Niantic has not made this feature more frequent or permanently available to players.

By having this feature permanently enabled you would alleviate a lot of the concern players feel when they want to make a trade with their friend that lives on the other side of the world along with staying safe through the pandemic.

The first frame on the right you a greeted with a prompt giving the player additional information of what a distance trade may cost for the in-game currency of stardust.

Style Guide

I wanted to stay along with the same design language Niantic had already established, only adding to what they already had with the new icons for the additional features. Roboto was used for readability throughout most of the design.

Next Steps

One thing that I have not completed yet was an exploration of how a chat/direct messaging system would work from one player to another. The next step for this project would probably be tackling how to carry out proper messaging with deeper research on how other mobile games may do this.

A few more ideas to add to a Pokemon trainer’s experience would be…

Messaging
- Preset chat phrases relating to their action
- Safety for younger audiences
Glossary
- Pokedex terms
- Types of pokemon and counters for raids/PvP battles
- Raiding- Tier list explained
- More tips for beginners

Calendar
- Coordinating raids/trades between other trainers
Notifications
- Better alerts for XP bonuses during events or friendship achievements

Project learnings

The passion project was a fun experience, I really enjoyed ideating and digging deeper into what the player’s needs are in this amazing game. Having been already a part of this community, I had some idea of what some of the pain points were going to be. A few of those features added to my design made me think of how Niantic could implement a version like this someday to improve this game that much more.

For now, check out how you can be the best Pokemon trainer in my prototype.

View Prototype