Hydra Gaming

design research / UX/UI / art direction

Overview:

Hydra Gaming is a digital video game distributor that focuses on the player’s interests and buying experience. Finding relevant titles shouldn’t be a game itself, so Hydra plays that role for you through its personalized and navigable interface. It’s time for gamers to start spending more hours in-game than on the store page.

Challenge:

Many major game distributor sites either lack a selection of titles, or have too many which leads to a cluttered selection and interface. With a complicated layout and selection, users may feel overwhelmed and lost when finding the game that gears towards them.

Execution:

Create and design a digital video game distributor service with a navigable and inviting interface that excites users to play their new games. Implementing a system that assists users find titles that are relevant to them will improve their gaming experience.

Video Game Survey

The following is a summary of a Google Forms survey collected from 30 respondents that have an interest in gaming.

1/8

Survey Takeaway

Although thousands of game titles exist, it can be challenging for many players to find something that appeals to them. A lot of factors can apply to a disinterest in playing something new. Whether it’s the player’s busy life, specific interests, affordability, or even an inconvenient interface, many struggle with buying games that are relevant to them.

User Persona

Xavier Matthews

Age: 19

Occupation: College Student/Part-Time Job

Location: Austin, TX

Bio:

Xavier is a student enrolled at Austin Community College. He works a part time job at a local sandwich shop and saves some money on the side to buy video games. Xavier plays on his PC every evening after working on his assignments, and has over 200 games in his library. Although he has a lot of game titles, he finds himself not playing a lot of the games that he buys on a whim. Xavier has trouble finding games he thinks he will enjoy, and by the time he plays it, it’s too late to refund.

Interests: PC building, bowling, cryptocurrency, Reddit, space, band posters

Pain Points: Spends more money than he should on games, has a short attention span, some games are harder to run due to smaller storage in his PC.

Empathy Map