I was a UI/UX designer at Onmyoji: The Card Game, working to create an immersive strategic card gaming experience. Based in China, We were the most popular domestic CCG (Collective Card Game) game, once ranked #1 in Apple Appstore.
In my 13 months at Onmyoji: The Card Game, I led the iterative optimization of onboarding process and designed a new collective system for casual players, aiming to bring in new blood and maintain a sustainable player community. These opportunities gave me the chances to see designs through to completion in the game and design for an immersive gaming experience.
Timeframe | Role | Category | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
2020 - 2021 | UI/UX, Implementation | Gaming, Strategy | Mobile |
Onboarding
How can we introduce a large amount of information to a person with little understanding of the game, without letting the person lose interest？
In Onmyoji: The Card Game, you have to form a deck consisting of 4 shikigami with 8 cards each, to start battling with another player. Shipped 3 years ago, this game has 29 shikigami × 8 cards = 232 different cards. The effects and characteristics of these cards were a large amount of information for new players to process. This onboarding optimization project aimed to make the onboarding process for them simple and fun so that we could keep attracting new blood into our gamer community.
#1 Balance between Story & Battle
We did 3 user testing sessions with players with previous card game experience (CCG players) and those without (non-CCG players). The result showed that CCG players were 60% less attracted to the story compared to non-CCG players. Considering the fast-paced nature of mobile games, going through the story could be a burden for those who only want to battle.
Based on the insight, we gave more space to players to experience at their own pace and allow more hands-on experience.
Linear (Before)
Non-linear (After)
#2 Learn the mechanism gradually
Simply choose 4 shikigami at early stage and finish building a deck.
After our players gained more control over the game, their need for
a more detailed building process increased. Therefore, we provided them with the complete version of deck building, which requires choosing 8 cards for each shikigami.
#3 A mixed learning approach
Learning by experience
We provided different demo battles to help the user learn complex mechanisms. This picture acted as an example showing tips of movement only after the player picked something.
Get informed
We added a special element to let our player archive and access the information later on. No more worrying about forgetting the mechanism.
Evaluation
As the annual goal of our product team, this optimization involved 50+ interfaces. The player’s willingness to keep playing the game increased in our user evaluation session. For the first version release, the Next-day Retention was increased by 5%.
Theater
How can we create a meaningful experience for players who are not competitive in the ranking system?
The challenge we faced was maintaining player engagement in the long term. Besides seasonal updates with new shikigami and new cards, what could hold our players' attention in this game? Our team identified two primary user groups: the competitive and the non-competitive. We found out that non-competitive players stay in the game mainly for the story and PvE (Player versus Environment) content, for which the previous mechanism gave little reward. As a result, our team decided to design a collective archive system that emphasizes the sense of reward with non-competitive content.
Switching the Cast
Exchange
Mission
Give to the players as a gift from new shikigami Fujihime, we valued player immersion in this system slightly more compared to other parts of the game. We incorporated different media to achieve the right balance between this sense of immersion and functionality. Functioning as a displayable archive system, the shelf model was displayed at the back. The front area was reserved for displaying shikigami: players can show off their favorite character and interact with it. At the top layer, we had buttons for essential functions: switching the cast, mission board, and the exchange page.
A balance between Immersion & Usability
Multi-media Animation
Live2D characters, UI elements, and the Archive model were smoothly transited between pages through a combination of UI motion design and camera angle transitions.
Evaluation
The system was completed in 2 months. We incorporated new implementation methods and finished with 15+ interfaces. As an exploratory approach to testing non-competitive players' collecting desire, we were glad to see it did give these players the intent to keep going in our game.
One player posted the progress on Weibo, a social media similar to Twitter
Events
Anniversary
A path that walked you through every major patch with featured combats
Featured shikigami to challenge with their deck displayed
The Four Guardian Patch
A connecting game that revealed the wallpaper gradually as you clear the squares.
Featured combats that familiarized you with new released shikigami and cards.
The events are important parts that helped us to entice our players. Therefore, these interfaces varied a lot depending on the specific event content to give our players fresh feelings.
