Using DATA to design onboarding

Martin Jurasek - PIxel Federation

NO TUTORIAL WHATSOEVER
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Looking for
tutorial? <3
LONG SAIL AHEAD OF US
v
1. Collect insights
v
2. IDENTIFY PROBLEMS
v
2. IDENTIFY PROBLEMS
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Only 56% players

purchased ship
Only 69% of purchased
ships were dispatched

81% of players didn’t

get to exploring. That
sucks.
3. FIX THE BOTTLENECKS

BUYING SHIPS

Problem: Lof of players don’t

buy the ship.
 zZz
3. FIX THE BOTTLENECKS

DISPATCHING SHIPS

Problem: Lof of players don’t

buy the ship.
zZz
Real problem:

If players buy the ship,

they still do not use zZz
them.
 TODAY’s Takeaway:
Game Designers shouldn't just aim to design perfect
tutorials. Instead, the focus should
be on designing a perfectly intuitive and engaging
environment.
Tutorials are only one of the available tools in the
quiver to achieve, the perfect onboarding experience.
TODAY’s Takeaway:
tl;dr

Tutorial is only one of the tools for player’s

onboarding experience
VERIFY player’s understanding of mechanics
Unclear Interactions
1. IMPROVe CLARITY. STEP BY STEP
1. NEW ICON.
 ICON LABELING!
UX METHODS - QUALITATIVE DATA
NEW ICON
SMALL DETAILS MATTER!

Task: “Ok, let’s ask our art to design

new icons…”

Q: But how do we know if those new

icons are going to be better?

A: We don’t. But we can argue about

that icon design all day long and we
still won’t come to a conclusion.
ICON LABELING test - OUR process
1. Create more designs for
testing
2. Prepare questionnaire
3. Do the PILOT test!
4. Ask for help from your
colleagues - community
management/people who
are in touch with
community
5. Test
6. Evaluate
7. Implement
ICON LABELING test - OUR process

This was done in two days as one

small activity, so there wasn’t any
collision with production process.
2. DYNAMIC TOOLTIPS
If you Want your player to do something, tell
him
In order to support the player’s actions we used “forced” tooltips. At the beginning
of the game, the player is shown various tooltips. Tooltips are placed to help him
understand our game environment better.
TEXT is temporarily shown every
time a new player visits the map
3. Don’t be afraid
To change GD rules
If needed, change GD RULES
New GD rule: If player owns in total less ships than his capacity of ship fleet, he is
not able to send ship to docks.
4. NEW CONTENT
Sorry SANTA MARIA
LONG LIVE LE GRACE!
Onboarding
Preco sme nic nemali? New Ship! Sorry Santa
Maria

Limited offer to 1 vessel.

Le Grace is 5 star ship.

That means player is not
able to upgrade it.

Therefore cognitive
overload is reduced
5. WE’re DONE AND
READY FOR SAIL!
???
 ???
???
 ???
???
???
Usability > 100% accurate Realism
Old rule - “Realistic”

Once the player buys a new ship and has empty slots in his fleet, purchased ship
strats sail to the port from the right side of the screen

New rule - “Usable”

Once the player buys a new ship and has empty slots in his fleet, purchased ship
shows immediately in the port
 OLD NEW

???

Small change = difference of +-30 seconds

Unclear Interaction

69% of
purchased ships
were sent
REDESIGNED
Interaction

85% of
purchased ships
were sent
Many MANY MORE DETAILS improving FTUE

Upgrade mark zZz - to highlight idle production

Retention chest
Sawmill PRODUCTION
Problem:

Based on playtestcloud testing and our data we

have discovered that players weren’t producing
any materials in their sawmill.

Solutions:

1. Start game with finished production

2. Create support animation
3. Add “zZz” mark to highlight idle production
Sawmill PRODUCTION
1. Start game with finished production

Didn’t help at all

2. Use support animation

Helped a bit, but players didn’t restart

production

3. Add “zZz” badge to highlight idle production

“zZz” badge from boats didn’t work. Players

found it distracting and we had to go with
more subtle design
FIXING EXPLORATIOn

● Reduce travel time to Small Town -> more interaction with ships
● Redesigned map areas to create more exploration zones -> more mini goals
for player
● Moved exploring to earlier stages of the game -> early game curiosity
● Add treasure chest destinations on the map -> More rewarding experience
NO GUIDE WITH GUIDE
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
v

And where is that tutorial?

Hello?
TODAY’s Takeaway:
tl;dr

Tutorial is only one of the tools for player’s

onboarding experience
now for “tutorial”
Our recipe:

GUIDE mechanic
NPC triggered by various events at
the beginning of the game.
Mechanic is robust and usable in
later stages of the game as well.
now for “tutorial”
GUIDE’s purpose:

1. Support and clarify

2. Force player to do something
TUTORIAL - OUR RECipe
Feedback collected via playtestcloud

5 rounds of iterations
GUIDE LAUNCH -> A/B TEST
NO GUIDE WITH GUIDE
 NO GUIDE
YES GUIDE
WITH GUIDE
YES GUIDE
DIFFERENCE
YES GUIDE
SHIPS DISPATCHED AFTER PURCHASE
v

WITHOUT
WITH GUIDE
GUIDE

85% 96%
THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?
MARTIN JURASEK
UX Game Designer
mjurasek@pixelfederation.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jurasekmartin

www.pixelfederation.com