The Tavern is the final project from a General Assembly part time course. Having been a Dungeon and Dragon’s player for many years, the struggle of finding the right group has always been a problem, for me and for others. Over the 3 month course, I confirmed my hypothesis, discovered user needs, branded and designed an application.
Project Description
Goal
Help TTRPG (Table top role playing game) gamers find the right type of games and connect with players they vibe with.
Action
I interviewed players and game masters to validate the problem and opportunity. Researching competitors and adjacent markets allowed for insight into missed opportunities by competitors and features to improve a users experience. Wireframing and prototyping to test features were integral in finalizing the design.
An app that allows users to filter and search game features to identify the right type of game while gaining insight into the Game Master and other players.
Result
Research and Analysis
UX and UI Design
Color and Logo Design
Role
The Opportunity
help TTRPG players and Game masters find the right playgroups, so they can get to playing and stop the searching.
Research
Hypothesis: TTRPG players have a bad experience looking for new play groups.
Steps to confirm hypothesis:
Study the competitive landscape, the target audience and existing solutions .
Interview users to learn pain points, needs and opportunities.
Get to know the Users
Having found a group of users that consist of both players and Game Masters (GM), a 10 question interview was written to ensure consistency.
The interviews consisted of 7 online users and 2 in person. Time was scheduled over a span of 1 week to collect all the interview data.
Interview Results
Reviewing the recorded interviews and notes, affinity mapping was used to establish groupings and themes.
The main learning from the interviews are:
Current solutions are not good. It’s a gamble every time
Important themes: Scheduling, game style and player play styles
“Overcrowding” in the online space to find groups is a real problem for GMs. Too many players, not enough games.
A competitive analysis on direct competitors and adjacent industries provided insight into current options as well as adjacent industries and how they provide a similar service and experience.
The only direct competitor that has the desired features only advertise for paid games. StartPlaying is designed for professional Game masters looking for players. For players, this is still mostly a gamble, as there are no set guidelines, training or baseline expectation for professional GMs.
Looking into adjacent industries provided insight into match making experience and a smooth, intuitive interface.
Competitive analysis Summary
User Goals
The user goals are established from user interviews and affinity mapping combined with the analysis of the competition.
The app must allow players to find the right type of game, with the right players. Play is the focus, and getting players to play is key. In addition, the game is only as good as it’s players, so connecting like minded players is a secondary focus.
Two personas were created, The Player and The Game Master. They both share 2 goals: Play and Connect!
Find the right group!
A search tool to allow players to filter for game features, as well as identify players and GMs that could be the right adventuring group
Trustworthy and simple interface
A single platform with verified users that focuses on helping players to find games
Explore
Connect with like minded players to create connection and community
Design
Design Goals
Build Trust and Transparency
Create a platform that provides key information to GMs and Players to find the the "right” group. Create peer reviews (how do we keep this positive).
Appropriate information for Gms and Players
Provide macro information: Top compliments of the user, type of game/player and self promotion.
Dive deeper: A larger write up by the user (player or game master) as an introduction. Peer to Peer reviews (challenge: how do we keep these positive, and not toxic)
Create groups, Tables to Communities.
Create the ability to connect users to tables, then to larger communities.
User Flow
The user flow consists of three main branches:
Looking for a game (Player)
Creating a game (Game Master)
Connect with others (Both)
Wireframing
First sketching out some main screens to iterate on layout, flow and initial design features. The sketches were quickly turned into black and white wireframes to test the 2 main flows with users: Find a game and Create a game.
Having users test the wireframes established that the flow worked well, but a few visual features needed refinement (font size, layout).
Final Design
A quick branding study was done before finishing up the design.
The name and logo design came first. The Tavern, being a theme of where most adventures start in games, and in parallel the home of where you find your next adventure.
The typeface needed to be readable, but have personality.
The colors reflect the colors in an adventurers tavern experience.
The final design is meant to reflect apps that users are familiar with, while providing a unique experience.
Find a game
It is important that finding a game is front and center. This interface should be simple, but provide enough features to allow users to really identify the type of game they’re looking for.
Create a game
Creating a game is just as important. For game masters, and aspiring game masters.
Key information is required to ensure games created have enough information for players to really identify the type of game they’re looking for, but also to help game masters find the right type of players.
Get to know your player or gm
Get to know who you might choose for your next game. A quick view of top Accolades, given by peers, designated as friends or from Tables (games). This should help narrow down who you might reach out to, to have a discussion about your next game!
Communication is key
Chats are split into two main sections: DMs and Tables.
DMs are used for one on one conversations, while Tables are group messages that can be converted into games.
Making Friends
A friends list is a simple feature, but an important one. Most online platforms that users use don’t support this feature.
Within the friends list, the Explore button leads the user to a matching system that links players with matching profiles and preferences, expanding their playing network.
