Destiny 2
player experience proposal
The project
Discover and implement a way to improve player experience in Destiny 2 through player feedback, usability testing, market research, and other UX/UI methods.
The Solution
Increase usability, scalability, and desirability of quest completion flow by re-designing the Quest Tab, Quest Status Markers, and Quest Discover features.
Challenges
Discovering actionable and realistic opportunities across multiple player profiles of different play styles, time committed, quest/story progress, and more
Designing a solution that adheres to Destiny 2 assets
Improving a feature that has been adapted and developed with existing player feedback through many different updates
Determining the priority of presented features to best align with Business goals and brand identity
My Role
UX/UI Designer
UX & Market Researcher
Testing Leader
Tools: Figma, Google Suite, Canva, Slack, Discord
About
What is destiny 2?
developed by bungie, a bellevue-based game company
Science-fiction first person shooter
deep & complex lore
Wield the light, blessed by the traveler
play as a guardian of earth’s last stronghold
fight against alien forces and a looming darkness
The Process
Discover Issues
Player feedback from multiple different sources
Usability testing
Market research
Competitive analysis
Define UX/UI Goals
Define and redefine player experience goals
Understand the Usability, Desirability, Scalability, and Feasibility pillars
Determine our problem and solution
Develop Ideas
User flow
Sketches
Moodboards
Wireframes
Edits via feedback
Deliver Solutions
Executable bold, silver, and bronze plans
Mid to High fidelity prototypes
Mid to High fidelity mockups
research
potential issues
new features
New growth, items, activities, and more every few months
Additionally, new mechanics that increase the gap between new and returning players
destinations
Going in and out of planets/destinations can be confusing, especially to casual or new players
Requires a great deal of memorization
character growth
Leveling up characters can be “grindy” and/or repetitive
There is no value assigned to character’s Light Level
Quest progress
Players find it hard to prioritize quests, or at least the ability to choose their own priorities
Disconnects when starting or ending a quest step, creating “lost” feeling
inventory
Too many different types of consumables, perks, mods, etc. that can be applied to characters in different ways
Functionality and usability is confusing
Feels “not worth it” to learn
player feedback
“There are no real instructions…nothing felt intuitive.”
Jessie, Youtube Streamer
“Navigating the ui and figuring out where the game wants me to go is confusing.”
Rob, Youtube Streamer
“it was hard to navigate through the game.”
Julie, Usability Tester
“i did all the new light quests and now i feel kind of stranded.”
Chelsea, Steam Forum Comment
“There’s like a million quests in my quest log.”
Sam, Usability Tester
“Is there ‘must play content’ i don’t want to miss out on.”
Bob, Bungie Forum Comment
competitive analysis
destinations
Consider time and effort to enter, leave, and view destinations, especially when on controller
Encourage exploration while decreasing overload of information by locking certain areas behind levels or other mechanisms
Rely less on memorization by presenting more information about destinations and their activities, enemies, etc.
Decrease navigational strain by clearly labeling destinations and maps
Games: (Top) Warframe, (Bottom) Elden Ring
Quest Progress
Provide quests with “priority” or “intention” so that players can evaluate and play with confidence
Decrease time wasted by allowing players to directly start a quest from the quest log
Decrease memory load by clearly listing details of the quest, rewards, and progress
Allow players to track quests, and visibly show them for quick view
Games: (Top) Assasin’s Creed, (Bottom) Bleach
quest next steps
Tracked quests are visible all the time, or at least clearly distinguishable
New updates are automatically loaded for players in distinguishable notifications
Guide players to next objective to keep them in the gameplay loop
Provide direction to decrease frustration, confusion, or feelings of being lost
Games: Genshin Impact
The Problem.
New and returning players need more guidance when progressing through a quest because they will feel lost by the overload of information.
The Solution.
Provide players a more guided, customizable quest flow that relies on informative action and next steps, while decreasing components of memorization.
experience goals
experience goals we want
What kinds of goals are we looking for? How will we know we’ve achieved success? What are the best ways to get players engaged in our game?
Mechanics are easily learnable and memorable
Game rules are easily testable and offers clear, instant, and rewarding lessons
Rarely have players feeling lost or confused
Easy to retain game rules even after multiple or absent game plays
Knowledge can be immediately implemented in the game
usability
Joy and excitement at playing the game
Desire to commit time, money, and social engagement to discover and obtain collectible items
Players feel emotionally attached to their avatars, the game world, the story, and more
desirability
Players can easily find new items, activities, weapons, armor, and any other seasonal content
Trackers and notifications are intuitive and easily understood by players
UI can hold all playable content, and has space for new content to be discovered by players
scalability
Game designs and UX/UI designs are implementable with little to no lag
Tech ventures consider PC and Console limitations
feasibility
We know what we want, but have we achieved them? It looks like there are some areas where we can improve to better achieve our player’s experience goals and their engagement. What are the areas we could improve to achieve success?
experience goals we could improve
Relies too much on memorization of rules, screens, and other important information
Players can often feel lost and confused, not know what to do next
Navigation can be confusing
usability
Seasonal content can lose luster if cycled out
Fast turnover of new items, consumables, and artifacts can be overwhelming, making icons indistinguishable
desirability
Icons and notifications can be overwhelming and inconsistent
New seasonal icons and activities can seemingly appear without explanation
UI is unable to compensate for ever-growing game world
scalability
Spread of information across multiple screens may increase loading times
Player feedback about responsiveness from PC players seemingly slightly more positive than console players
feasibility
screen analysis
destinations & Maps
Solutions
Target how to minimize icons
Organize data to match player experience
Change UI to minimize back-and-forth
Provide more information prior to selecting a destination
Issues
Overwhelming
Lacking prioritization
Relies on memorization
quest log
Issues
Confused where to begin/go
Overwhelming
Relies on memorization
Not intuitive
Solutions
Change organization and labeling of sections to reflect priority
Provide more information (i.e. Providing destination waypoint info inside the quest)
Keep consistent language
Change to “click for details” rather than “click to track”
quest next steps
Issues
Player is lost and unprompted to next steps
Minimal indication of completed quest/objective
Booted to orbit
Solutions
Incorporate more indicators for quest end
Prompt users toward next actionable step
Provide players more choice and autonomy on next direction
solutions
user flow & sketches
Action plans
bronze plan
(Required Changes)
Change quest log categories, determined by priority and focus
Move “tracked” items to the top
Provide more details of quest step end and next steps in completion banner
silver plan
(Ideal Changes)
Decrease memorization and memory load
Maps show planet name, and provide info on icons
Destinations “unlock” over time
Click no longer “tracks” -> change to “click for details”
Increase quest information and direction
Quests provide more info (destination, activity, reward details)
Keep launch action consistent and inform
player what it will doKeep quest step permanently on top left (nav mode for more information) whether in or out
of questQuest end opens quest log rather than pushing player to orbit
gold plan
(Additional Changes)
Change quest log categories, determined by priority and focus
Change collectible bounties into daily challenges
Destinations screen accounts for more planets by creating “sectors” or a “roaming map”
Quick navigational top-bar for easy roaming
Prototype
Destinations
Guided and informative movement through navigation
“Roaming” exploration style map
Change in select/hover actions
Top-bar navigation
quest log
Journal style quest log
Quest categories labeled after goal (character growth, daily, etc.)
Change in select/hover actions
Tracked quests housed in separate component
pre-gameplay
Launching quest will automatically display quest objectives on screen
Tracker with mission name
gameplay
(Bottom) Player has completed an objective, showing a “completed” status before automatically displaying new objective
(Top) Player enters quest gameplay and sees quest name, quest step, and location displayed in the banner
post-gameplay
At quest step completion, banner appears at eye level
Indicate which quest step they’ve completed
Timer
Completed objectives
Additional options for progression
Next Steps
As I continue this proposal, I want to conduct A/B testing, comparing the feedback and player experience of existing gameplay against my mid-fidelity prototype. Using this method, I want to gain more insight on if my solutions correctly address the underlying player issues. After that, my next goal would be to create high-fidelity and high-quality UI mockups.