Universal Game Inbox MVP Design
My roles: Lead UX Designer, Researcher
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
A game’s inbox functions as a direct communication channel between players and marketing, live operations, and customer service.
Big Fish needed an inbox system designed that embeds into each game as a centralized service.
The experience should be consistent across games, and be able to support:
Message title
Message body
Image
Delivery of in-game items
Pinned messages
Expiring messages
Task: Design a complete message inbox system that is informed by usability studies, and document best practices for layouts and interactions.
Interaction Goals
Users should be able to perform, with ease and accuracy, the following tasks:
Tap where you would open a message you haven’t read yet
Tap where you would find the amount of time until a message is automatically removed from the list
Tap where you would remove a message from the list
Tap where you would expect to receive your reward and close the [open] message
Tap where you would expect to close the [open] message
Designs
Inbox and Message views. Click or tap to enlarge
Anatomy of a Message. Click or tap to enlarge.
Interacting with a Message. Click or tap to enlarge.
Deleting a Message. Click or tap to enlarge.
Inbox and Message states. Click or tap to enlarge
Anatomy of a Confirmation. Click or tap to enlarge.
Interacting with a Confirmation. Click or tap to enlarge.
Reading and Dismissing a Message. Click or tap to enlarge.
Anatomy of the Inbox. Click or tap to enlarge.
Interacting with the Inbox. Click or tap to enlarge.
Payload Delivery from a “Fleeting” Message.
Click or tap to enlarge.
Qualitative Study Results
The qualitative study was conducted using the distributed usability study tool, Optimal Workshop.
“Tap where you would open a message you haven’t read yet”
“Tap where you would remove a message from the list”
“Tap where you would expect to receive your reward and close the message”
“Tap where you would find the amount of time until a message is automatically removed from the list”
“Tap where you would expect to close the message”
| Priority | Task (Tap where you would…) | Success Rate | Avg Time-to-Task |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | open a message you haven’t read yet | 77% | 8.6s |
| 2 | expect to receive your reward and close the [open] message | 89% | 4.3s |
| 3 | expect to close the [open] message | 81% | 4.0s |
| 4 | remove a message from the list | 56% | 6.7s |
| 5 | find the amount of time until a message is automatically removed from the list | 33% | 14.2s |
