Introduction
In the realm of skill-based gaming, the distinction from traditional gambling is clear but not without complexities. Triumph, a pioneer in the industry, has adopted a multifaceted approach to ensure the legality of its offerings across various U.S. states. This case study delves into the intricacies of Triumph's strategy, focusing on the fundamental questions that arise in navigating this evolving landscape and designing a thoughtful, user centric mobile experience.
Defining Skill-Based Gaming
At its core, skill-based gaming is a world away from conventional gambling. To grasp the full picture, we must first address two critical questions:
What is a Game of Skill?
Why are Skill-Based Games Legal?
While gambling is defined at the state level, it typically requires three key elements: consideration (a buy-in), prize (a payout), and, most crucially, chance. Skill-based gaming, however, retains the first two elements while rigorously excluding chance. If you've ever participated in a golf tournament, tested your skills at a carnival game, or competed in a marathon, you've engaged in skill-based gaming. Yet, the intricate definitions of chance and skill demand a closer examination.
Navigating the Murky Waters of Skill and Chance
Defining skill, in the context of gaming law, is akin to grasping a nebulous concept. Since gaming laws vary by state, interpretations of the term "chance" can differ significantly, complicating the determination of what is legally permissible. Adding to this complexity is the fact that most modern games exhibit some interplay between skill and luck. While a game like chess stands as a paradigm of skill-based gaming due to its perfect information and absence of randomness, analyzing more intricate games, such as Fortnite, is less straightforward. It's true that random elements like loot in a treasure chest introduce an element of chance, but it's equally evident that few could match the marksmanship of a world champion player like Bugha.
The Challenge of Ambiguity
The waters further muddy when considering the multitude of dubious actors in the skill gaming space. Some employ tactics like incorporating dice, cards, coins, casino-inspired aesthetics, and soundscapes to feign luck in "skill-based contests." This leaves regulators and operators grappling with the impracticality of qualitatively analyzing every source of randomness within a game.
Triumph's Data-Driven Approach
In light of these complexities, Triumph has adopted a pragmatic strategy. Rather than engaging in qualitative assessments of gameplay, Triumph relies on data-driven techniques to classify games. This approach allows for a more objective and uniform evaluation of games' compliance with skill-based gaming criteria, providing greater legal clarity and operational efficiency.
Triumph's multifaceted approach to skill-based gaming legality demonstrates the company's commitment to innovation and adherence to legal standards. By embracing data-driven techniques and navigating the nuanced landscape of skill and chance, Triumph continues to lead the way in the dynamic world of skill-based gaming. So how do we build a product that's intended to be enjoyable, visually appealing, where a distinction from gambling is essential but not always straightforward? Here's where we come in.
My Role
As a UI and visual designer, I was tasked with addressing this intricate challenge of redesigning a mobile experience for skill-based gaming. Working hand in hand with a colleague, our approach was to apply user experience principles to this complex legal landscape. I realized that the key to resolving these ambiguities lay in user-centered design thinking:
(1) User Research: I conducted research to understand how players perceived skill-based gaming. Their insights revealed nuances that could inform our strategy.
(2) Prototyping: I created prototypes that visually represented the interplay between skill and chance in various games. These prototypes helped clarify complex legal discussions.
(3) Usability Testing: I engaged stakeholders in usability testing sessions, ensuring that our legal definitions resonated with those involved in the skill gaming industry.
(4) Accessibility: I made legal documentation and definitions more accessible by simplifying language and presenting information in a user-friendly format.
Aim To Achieve
In redesigning the mobile app, we needed to have a clear aim to what we want to achieve too. Some of what we were aiming to achieve for the mobile app is:
(1) Intuitive User Interface (UI): A clean and user-friendly UI is crucial. Users should be able to navigate the app effortlessly, access game options, and understand how to play.
(2) User Onboarding: Provide a seamless onboarding process that guides new users through the app's features. Use interactive tutorials or tooltips to explain game rules and mechanics.
(3) Variety of Skill Games: Offer a diverse selection of skill-based games to cater to different user preferences. Each game should have its unique appeal and challenges. Solo, 1v1, Blitz etc.
(4) Multiplayer: Incorporate multiplayer modes and leaderboards. This fosters a sense of competition and community.
(5) Progress Tracking: Allow users to track their progress, achievements, and statistics. Progress bars, badges, and rewards can motivate users to keep playing.
(6) In-Game Offers and Rewards: Include an offer and reward system that users can earn through gameplay or purchase.
(7) Easy Cash Out Options: Implement seamless integration of various cash out options for users.
(8) Notifications and Pop Ups (Triumph likes to call them 'Pre pops'): Use push notifications to inform users of new challenges, rewards, or events. However, allow users to customize their notification preferences.
(9) Accessibility Features: Ensure the app is accessible to a wide range of users, including those with disabilities.
(10) Personalization: Allow users to customize their gaming experience, including avatars.
(11) Privacy and Security: Prioritize user data protection and ensure compliance with relevant data privacy regulations. Be transparent about data usage and security measures.
(12) Regular Updates: Keep the app fresh with regular updates, including new games, features, and bug fixes. Communicate these updates to users.
(13) Tutorial and Help Center: Include a tutorial and a comprehensive help center with FAQs and support contact options for users who encounter issues.
(14) Performance Optimization: Ensure the app runs smoothly on various devices and screen sizes, minimizing load times and crashes.
User Research
Focused on understanding how players perceived skill-based gaming, I conducted comprehensive qualitative user research to gain valuable insights into users' perspectives and preferences. The user research methods employed were:
(1) User Surveys: I designed and distributed online surveys to a diverse group of skill-based gaming enthusiasts. The surveys aimed to collect quantitative data on their gaming habits, preferences, and perceptions of skill-based games. Key survey questions included inquiries about the types of games they played, their skill levels, and what factors they considered essential in skill-based gaming.
(2) In-Depth Interviews: I conducted one-on-one interviews with a select group of skill-based gamers. These interviews allowed for in-depth conversations about their gaming experiences, motivations, and challenges. Open-ended questions were used to explore their emotional connections to skill-based games and gather qualitative insights.
(3) Competitive Analysis: I conducted a competitive analysis of other skill-based gaming apps in the market. This involved reviewing and comparing the user interfaces, features, and user reviews of these apps. This analysis helped identify best practices and areas for improvement in our own app's UX.
(4) Online Community Engagement: I actively participated in online gaming communities, forums, and social media groups dedicated to skill-based gaming. This allowed me to engage directly with players, ask questions, and gather insights from a broader gaming community.
Findings and Insights
Through this user research, several key findings and insights emerged:
(1) Varied Skill Levels: Users had diverse skill levels, and their preferences for skill-based games varied accordingly. Some preferred highly competitive games, while others enjoyed more casual gameplay.
(2) Motivation Factors: Users were motivated to play skill-based games for various reasons, including competition, social interaction, and the challenge of improving their skills.
(3) Usability Challenges: Usability testing revealed specific pain points in existing skill-based gaming apps, such as confusing navigation, unclear game rules, and difficulties in finding opponents of similar skill levels.
(4) Emotional Connection: Many players had a strong emotional connection to skill-based games, often related to their sense of achievement when improving their skills or winning against challenging opponents.
(5) Community and Social Aspects: Social features like leaderboards were highly valued by users. They enjoyed the sense of community and competition.
These insights informed the UX strategy, guiding decisions related to user interface improvements, onboarding processes, the inclusion of social features, and the design of a more personalized and engaging gaming experience. We were able to align the app's UX design with the preferences and needs of skill-based gamers, ultimately enhancing user satisfaction and retention. The result of this research put me on a clearer path to designing a usable product. Now that I have clear insight, I could dig deep into some visual research.
Studying UI Patterns
I call the second form of research Visual or UI research (some people may know it as mood boarding). My objective was a simple one: find out current design trends that are usable in the mobile skill-based game space. My research led me to 4 potent discoveries:
(1) The use of reward systems could keep a player interested to the end.
(2) Constantly showing a players progress/ reward buildup.
(3) Using sound and subtle animations in the game experience is very common.
(4) Mobile experiences were expressive and visually captivating.
UX Flow
To guarantee functionality with the experience, I put together a user flow for the mobile game, this way my client and I are in sync with gameplay functionality. And to keep this fun I included my client in developing the user flow. This allowed us to improve our communication level and also allowed him to learn new design terminologies.
Designing the mobile game interface
Now that I have learnt about the product industry and common design patterns as well as the development of the user flow for gameplay, you can say it was time to draw rectangles and push pixels!
To begin, I took the insight I had gathered while conducting my visual research into the making of my interface mood boards, that way I can draw inspiration from usable design patterns and trends.
After mood boarding, my creative tank was full of buzzing ideas and let’s not even talk about the color ideas I could not wait to explore. Not to get ahead of myself, I took a 15 min walk to make mental notes concerning gameplay interface design (PS I have better thought flow when I go for long walks). At the end of the walk break, I agreed to start off with designing the low fidelity first this way, I can focus on the functionality and usability of the product rather than get too excited about fancy visuals.
As soon as I was done drawing rectangles, I then presented the design to my client and our objective was to validate the functionality of the design against the user flow we had developed earlier. And guess what? it worked on the first trial!! … that’s every designer’s dream.
Style Guide
To keep the visual elements appealing and delightful, it was crucial to create a set of rules and guidelines that is clear and intuitive for end users. These includes:
(1) Customizable UI components
(2) Identifiable brand colors
(3) clear CTAs, etc.
(4) The typography should reflect simplicity and readability. It should also express how easy it is for users to find content within the product.
PS: This product design project is intended to be highly visual
How Gameplay Works
Brick Breaker is a competitive game where you can enter tournaments for real money against other players. Strategically aim, release and shoot the balls in order to eliminate the as many bricks as you can. Each turn you get one additional ball and the number of bricks increases exponentially. The game ends once the bricks reach the bottom.
Enter cash tournaments against other players.
1 v 1 mode: play head to head against an opponent.
Group mode: Play in larger groups, with larger prizes for who comes out on top.
Blitz mode: See how much you’ve won in real time and try to beat the player average.
Final Note
Working on this project helped me know the importance of a design system and how it would provide a consistent look and feel across our platform, and we were happy to find that it would be a valuable addition to our overall brand. Consistency in development helped to build a foundation for continued progress. The goal is to improve the design system early on so that it can be further improved when new features are added, and especially in cases where the product grows larger.