Minecraft Dungeons - UX/UI Case Study
Video Game UX/UI Case Study
This case study is the result of my two-month ELVTR intensive UX/UI course taught by Ivy Sang. The course focuses on learning what makes great user experiences in video games and how to design user-friendly UX/UI.
This case study focuses on reverse-engineering and analyzing the user experience of the video game Minecraft Dungeons. To start, I created an in-depth Player Journey map that allows me to understand what the player might be thinking and feeling every step of the way in the first hours of gameplay.
This case study focuses on reverse-engineering and analyzing the user experience of the video game Minecraft Dungeons. To start, I created an in-depth Player Journey map that allows me to understand what the player might be thinking and feeling every step of the way in the first hours of gameplay.
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Paper Prototyping
Next, I created a Paper Prototype where I organized the player journey into screens. This allows me to easily define the purpose of every step in the player journey and map out the logical progression from one screen to the next.
Paper Prototyping
Next, I created a Paper Prototype where I organized the player journey into screens. This allows me to easily define the purpose of every step in the player journey and map out the logical progression from one screen to the next.
Flowchart
Using the Paper Prototype above, I moved on to creating a Flowchart of my screens, complete with possible player actions and options. This chart helps me visualize and solidify the player journey of Minecraft Dungeons and acts as a good point of reference for wireframing later on.
Wireframes
The goal of this case study is to figure out how to improve on the existing User Interface of Minecraft Dungeons and address any pain points that players might experience. Therefore, I decided that creating wireframes that are faithful to the real game will both make sense to the objective and also be good practice for me.
User Testing
Armed with the wireframes, its time to valuate how easy it is for users to understand and navigate
The goal of conducting this user testing will be to answer the following questions:
- Do users know what the options in each page are and what they do with no assistance?
- Can users select a map location and start a mission?
- Can users choose a character and start an offline game?
- Do users at any point feel frustrated or confused about the wireframes?
I conducted the test on four people with varying levels of experience in gaming. Here you can see the results of the tests and some of the feedback I received from my peers.
The goal of conducting this user testing will be to answer the following questions:
- Do users know what the options in each page are and what they do with no assistance?
- Can users select a map location and start a mission?
- Can users choose a character and start an offline game?
- Do users at any point feel frustrated or confused about the wireframes?
I conducted the test on four people with varying levels of experience in gaming. Here you can see the results of the tests and some of the feedback I received from my peers.
Re-evaluating the Wireframes
Thanks to the data I gathered from my User Testing session, I was able to recognize some of the pain points that players experienced and applied the feedback to a new iteration of the wireframes.
Some of the pain points that I addressed are as follows:
- Users complained about how confusing it was to start an offline game, and how redundant it was that both buttons said “Online/Offline game”.
- Users expressed confusion over the skull icon as well as the “View Next” prompt on the map screens.
- Users said that the “X” button on the top corner of the map screens was not clear.
- Some users did not immediately understand that the greyed out diamonds on the map are Locked levels.
Some of the pain points that I addressed are as follows:
- Users complained about how confusing it was to start an offline game, and how redundant it was that both buttons said “Online/Offline game”.
- Users expressed confusion over the skull icon as well as the “View Next” prompt on the map screens.
- Users said that the “X” button on the top corner of the map screens was not clear.
- Some users did not immediately understand that the greyed out diamonds on the map are Locked levels.
Evaluating Colour-Blindness Accessibility
The final step of the case study is to find out if the new screens are accessible towards players with different types of colour-blindness.
Putting the final UI screens on the colourblindness simulator, it seems that the UI elements are still very clear and easy to see through the eyes of colourblind people. Even if the colours are not as vibrant, the buttons still look like buttons and the copy is perfectly legible.
Putting the final UI screens on the colourblindness simulator, it seems that the UI elements are still very clear and easy to see through the eyes of colourblind people. Even if the colours are not as vibrant, the buttons still look like buttons and the copy is perfectly legible.
Redesign of Screens
With the new wireframes fleshed out, I finally redesigned the following screens with the applied changes and feedback. I decided to retain the look and feel of the existing game and, for the most part, stay true to the visual style of the UI. Although I could not find the exact fonts used for the actual game, for this case study I think this mockup serves its purpose of visualizing the improved version of the user experience.
Paper Prototyping
Next, I created a Paper Prototype where I organized the player journey into screens. This allows me to easily define the purpose of every step in the player journey and map out the logical progression from one screen to the next.
Flowchart
Using the Paper Prototype above, I moved on to creating a Flowchart of my screens, complete with possible player actions and options. This chart helps me visualize and solidify the player journey of Minecraft Dungeons and acts as a good point of reference for wireframing later on.
Wireframes
The goal of this case study is to figure out how to improve on the existing User Interface of Minecraft Dungeons and address any pain points that players might experience. Therefore, I decided that creating wireframes that are faithful to the real game will both make sense to the objective and also be good practice for me.
User Testing
Armed with the wireframes, its time to valuate how easy it is for users to understand and navigateThe goal of conducting this user testing will be to answer the following questions:
- Do users know what the options in each page are and what they do with no assistance?
- Can users select a map location and start a mission?
- Can users choose a character and start an offline game?
- Do users at any point feel frustrated or confused about the wireframes?I conducted the test on four people with varying levels of experience in gaming. Here you can see the results of the tests and some of the feedback I received from my peers.
- Do users know what the options in each page are and what they do with no assistance?
- Can users select a map location and start a mission?
- Can users choose a character and start an offline game?
- Do users at any point feel frustrated or confused about the wireframes?I conducted the test on four people with varying levels of experience in gaming. Here you can see the results of the tests and some of the feedback I received from my peers.
Re-evaluating the Wireframes
Thanks to the data I gathered from my User Testing session, I was able to recognize some of the pain points that players experienced and applied the feedback to a new iteration of the wireframes.Some of the pain points that I addressed are as follows:
- Users complained about how confusing it was to start an offline game, and how redundant it was that both buttons said “Online/Offline game”.
- Users expressed confusion over the skull icon as well as the “View Next” prompt on the map screens.
- Users said that the “X” button on the top corner of the map screens was not clear.
- Some users did not immediately understand that the greyed out diamonds on the map are Locked levels.
- Users complained about how confusing it was to start an offline game, and how redundant it was that both buttons said “Online/Offline game”.
- Users expressed confusion over the skull icon as well as the “View Next” prompt on the map screens.
- Users said that the “X” button on the top corner of the map screens was not clear.
- Some users did not immediately understand that the greyed out diamonds on the map are Locked levels.
Re-evaluating the Wireframes
Thanks to the data I gathered from my User Testing session, I was able to recognize some of the pain points that players experienced and applied the feedback to a new iteration of the wireframes.Some of the pain points that I addressed are as follows:
- Users complained about how confusing it was to start an offline game, and how redundant it was that both buttons said “Online/Offline game”.
- Users expressed confusion over the skull icon as well as the “View Next” prompt on the map screens.
- Users said that the “X” button on the top corner of the map screens was not clear.
- Some users did not immediately understand that the greyed out diamonds on the map are Locked levels.
- Users complained about how confusing it was to start an offline game, and how redundant it was that both buttons said “Online/Offline game”.
- Users expressed confusion over the skull icon as well as the “View Next” prompt on the map screens.
- Users said that the “X” button on the top corner of the map screens was not clear.
- Some users did not immediately understand that the greyed out diamonds on the map are Locked levels.
Redesign of Screens
With the new wireframes fleshed out, I finally redesigned the following screens with the applied changes and feedback. I decided to retain the look and feel of the existing game and, for the most part, stay true to the visual style of the UI. Although I could not find the exact fonts used for the actual game, for this case study I think this mockup serves its purpose of visualizing the improved version of the user experience.
Evaluating Colour-Blindness Accessibility
The final step of the case study is to find out if the new screens are accessible towards players with different types of colour-blindness.
Putting the final UI screens on the colourblindness simulator, it seems that the UI elements are still very clear and easy to see through the eyes of colourblind people. Even if the colours are not as vibrant, the buttons still look like buttons and the copy is perfectly legible.
Putting the final UI screens on the colourblindness simulator, it seems that the UI elements are still very clear and easy to see through the eyes of colourblind people. Even if the colours are not as vibrant, the buttons still look like buttons and the copy is perfectly legible.