Arcadia is an app for browsing arcade games and booking sessions at local arcades

In this stage of initial user research the goal was to identify the potential target market and potential users and understand their problems and needs. To do this a number of research methods were used including User Interviews, User Pain Points, User Personas and User Stories

To gather user sentiment on video games, arcade games and physical arcades I conducted 3 user interviews with 3 participants and each user interview lasted about 5 minutes. Here is a few example questions I asked participants during interviews.

What are your favourite video games

Have you ever visited an arcade?

What is it about arcade games that you like?

From the various responses from user interviews I crafted User Pain Points, User Personas and User Stories

Navigation for preview apps are clunky and not easy to use and navigate.

Friends lists messaging and other social features are not available in the same place

Other game preview apps prioritise ads and newsletters above the games themselves.

Physical arcades often limit playtime in exchange for payment. It can often feel disheartening for users

Matt is a game design student who wants to play classic arcade games, because he likes to play video games away from his house.

Jane is an intern at a marketing firm who needs a casual gaming experience because she wants to have a fun social experience with her friends.

Two user stories were created describing the two users, why they would need the app and what be benefit they gain from having it.

2 usability studies were conducted, one for the original mockup phase of the project. The second was conducted after the redesign and refining phase.

Based on the theme that: testers were confused initially during the onboarding process) an insight is: (The visual presentation and layout should be made more clear to avoid misclicks).

Based on the theme that: (the objective of the task was not as easily achieved for some testers and they ran into an unknown issue), an insight is: (the scrolling issues and dimensions issues will need to be fixed

Based on the theme that: (Some of the testers were confused and overwhelmed by the amount of games available), an insight is: (The games available need to be labelled specifically or pared down).

When completed I made a number of changes from the initial mockup to the redesign.

Including:

Adding a “Dark mode” style and gradient colours to add contrast

Adding specific typography and scales different from the initial wireframes

Adding horizontal and vertical scrolling to card elements that require it

Adding drop shadows and hover animations and effects

Overall I achieved my initial goal for creating this app and project.

If I was to do this project again there are a few things I would do differently.

Spend more time in the initial UX Research and possibly conduct more usability studies to improve the final product with another round of user testing.

Possibly experiment with a “Light Mode” option or a bolder visual style

Here's some positive feedback I received from users:

"The overall design was simple and easy to use”

"It was good. This is a unique prototype”

(Anonymous User Testers)

I hope to use some of the skills and lessons I learned from this project and transfer them to future projects