PlayBox Z console

October 2022

Introduction.

I have been tasked with designing and creating a user-centric gaming platform that focuses on the user experience and provides the best gaming experience for gamers and normal people.

It’s an interesting task because I didn’t really know how a gaming console looked, I’ve only just played games on mobile.

With that fact, the challenge seemed challenging.

But it also presented itself as an opportunity because I will be walking into something I’m not familiar with, which will definitely make me consider the gamers more than anything, and honestly that is exciting.

I will be taking you on a journey from zero to hero with a gaming console.

Let’s begin at the beginning…

Research.

I decided to conduct a research study, and sit down with pro and nonpro gamers to find out about the challenges they have with existing consoles and how I can assist in making a better experience.

I approached 6 gamers, 1 self-acclaimed pro-gamer, 3 non-pro gamers, and 2 novice gamers who currently do not own gaming consoles but working towards it.

After speaking to the 6 participants about the console gaming world now in South Africa, I had an opportunity to find out what they would like to see from a new gaming console wishing to make changes and disrupt the market.

These are the user needs and most commonly mentioned issues:

Affordable console and games,
Easy to use the joystick and easy to navigate user interface,
Minimal interface, making it easier to find/ explore/ look at and buy new games,
Hassle-free account creation,
Best technical features
Accessible user interface

In order to design a system that will satisfy both user needs and company goals, I’ve decided to implement Jakob’s Ten Usability Heuristics in order to tackle and implement the best solutions for the users:

Visibility of system status
Match between System and the Real World
User Control and Freedom
Consistency and Standards
Error Prevention
Recognition Rather Than Recall
Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
Aesthetic and Minimalist Design
Recognize, Diagnose, and Recover from Errors
Help and Documentation Solution.

User Profiles.

With the information I have, and being inspired by the people I’ve met and the words we’ve shared, along with the experiences I’ve gathered, I went on to create user profiles that PlayBox Z will be targeting.

These are the two user profiles created.

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Moving on to the ideation stage of the project.

Taking in all the information I’ve built up until this point it seemed as if the solution the users needed was clear. But that doesn’t mean testing will be disregarded.

I took my pen and pencil.

Or rather my laptop and this is what I came up with, let me take you on the journey.

Wireframes

Typography

Time to choose how the prototype and the User interface will look.

Colors

The trend with gaming consoles is that they are dark because the users use the console for extended amounts of time, I’ve decided to go on and choose darker tones colors for the background and lighter colors for the font and text… These are the colors.

UI Design

After pondering and changing wireframes to make sure everything fits, now the interesting part… User interface design.

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UI Showcase

Usability testing.

Being a user-centric designer, I’ve taken this time to test the prototype with my users.

Because of time constraints and other constraints I’ve decided on Qualitative testing.

I observed the users playing with the prototype and then afterward set down for some iced coffee and I had a few questions, I know you don’t wanna know how tasty that iced coffee was but you want the results… so here it is.

4 users

Testing scenarios:

Find a game - here I aim to observe how difficult or how easy is for the user to navigate through the landing page until finding a game they can play.
Buy/download and play a new game - Here I am looking for clues from users, looking at their faces, and seeing facial reactions, looking for clues of satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Find and change your user name and password - In the past, I came to learn how the process and journey for users to change passwords becomes difficult in other products, so I'm looking for ease of use and satisfaction.
Connect to our internet site to chat and play with friends - as humans we need other human connections, gamers especially (as I've learned from research) enjoy playing with others online, so here I'm introducing a feature they know and love very well to find out from them if the process or journey can be changed and made easy in any way.

What the users had to say about the gaming console user experience.

After testing with the users and having them go through the testing scenario and me being the facilitator. I found out what they thought.

Users find the interface easy to use and friendly
Although it’s not a 100% fully working prototype, the users think according to the scenarios they were given, they didn't have any issues finding their way and completing the tasks.
All users agree that the wording is something they are familiar with and that the user interface is not intimidating in any shape or form.
The users also mentioned that they would gladly purchase Playboxz and switch from the normal gaming consoles that they already use on a regular basis.
Few of the participants mentioned that they could play while it’s dark without a problem and that they could see clearly, and the interface was readable and legible even from a far, especially for bigger screens like TV and larger PC screens.

The Outcomes

What a project.

Number one users are essential and are the core and most important thing when it comes to any kind of design project.

I'm happy to announce a few key learnings from this project.

Communication with users of the product is really important.
You do not have to design what you know, users are there to guide you as a designer.
It's always important to acknowledge and respect stakeholder requirements.
We as designers should always focus on users, accessibility, and testing.
Being a user advocate benefits both the user and the stakeholder.

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