Where
Toronto, Canada
Role
Researcher and Designer
What
Mobile Application, Website and Mobile App (Andriod and iOS)
Category
Gaming, Social Media, Shopping, Streaming
Why
Collaborative project involving developers at a general assembly.
When
May 16 - May 27, 2022
What is Digi Pets?
Light-hearted game geared towards users who are looking to lower anxiety and stress.
Players can interact with cute, customizable pets and play fun games with them. Players can unlock new pet styles, outfits, and backgrounds.
Technical
Browser Game
Mobile-Friendly
Desktop version available in the future
User Type - Scenario 1
User Type - Scenario 2
Goal: Mia aims to share enjoyable gaming experiences with her mom.
Want: Mia desires her mom's active participation in gaming, creating memorable moments together on the Switch.
Needs: Mia's ultimate need is her mom's comfort and enjoyment during their gaming sessions.
Jen is a mum who works full-time while raising her kid.
Jen often gets stressed at work, and feels like she wants a dog - but she knows this is not practical for her and her family.
She sees her son having fun with these mobile games - but she can’t be bothered to download an app because it will clog up her phone.
She remembers that Tamagotchis existed when she was growing up - and she wouldn’t mind having something like that, but with much less commitment.
Mia enjoys playing mobile app games on her tablet and also owns a Switch.
However, when she invites her mom to join her in playing on the Switch, Mia encounters a challenge.
Since her mom isn't particularly familiar with video games, Mia has to invest a significant amount of time teaching her how to set up her account and learn the controls.
Despite the initial setup taking longer, Mia still finds joy in playing with her mom.
Goals: Manage work/life balance while raising her kid
Wants:
Something fun she can do to de-stress in between calls.
Wishes she had a pet but she knows it’s not practical.
Wants to bond with her kid through games.
Needs: A low-commitment escapist source of fun
Problem Statement - Scenario 1 : Busy mom Jen craves pet companionship but faces practical hurdles in owning a dog. Reluctant to download an app, she seeks nostalgic, low-commitment virtual pets.
Solution : Create a stress-relief mobile game for busy individuals like Jen, featuring a low-maintenance virtual pet with offline playability for quick breaks.
Problem Statement - Scenario 2: Mia struggles with mom's gaming initiation on the Switch, spending much time on setup due to limited gaming familiarity.
Solution: Craft a user-friendly onboarding for the Switch, reducing the learning curve with interactive tutorials and a simplified setup. Enhance gaming initiation.
Market Analysis
Popular game
Animal Crossing
Untitled Goose Game
Neopets
Mario Kart
Tamagotchi
Headspace
Art Therapy
Design Goals:
Accessibility: Ensure the game is easy to understand and navigate, catering to users with limited time for onboarding.
Engagement: Design features that captivate users during short breaks, offering a sense of accomplishment without requiring a prolonged commitment.
Visual Appeal: Create an aesthetically pleasing interface with vibrant colours and engaging visuals to enhance the overall experience.
User flow for creating a pet
Basic User flow for login
Some iterations on prototype
Some important features of the prototype
Collecting Multiple Pets
Custom Style
Simple Pet Interaction
Iterations
Illustrating pets and Screens
Pets can experience a range of emotions, including happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, and more, reflecting their capacity for emotional responses and expressions.
Background Design
Final Design:
The final design incorporates a user-friendly interface with a straightforward layout. Users can easily navigate through the pet creation process, feeding and playing with their virtual pet, and customizing the background to enhance the overall experience.
Outcome:
The stress-relief pet simulator game successfully addresses Jen's needs by providing a delightful and low-commitment activity. The intuitive UI/UX design allows for easy engagement, aligning with Jen's goal of managing work/life balance through short, enjoyable breaks.
Conclusion:
Crafted a stress-relief pet game for users, showcasing empathy and problem-solving. Translated user insights into an engaging design for a positive experience during brief escapes from busy lives.
Next Step
For our next steps, we will work on the Website version to have a more user-friendly vocabulary and make the mobile and desktop websites more consistent.