Call of Duty (COD) is a first-person shooting game that has over 110 Million Monthly Players across the world. Call of Duty Companion App is designed for COD players to play smarter and stay connected to the COD world. We were challenged to design a new feature for the Call of Duty Companion App.
Research showed that COD players value efficiency and customizable features, which applies to both serious and casual players. Our target audience however is casual players who claim themselves they are just playing for fun. They don't seek a high level of seriousness, or strive for professional level competency, in the game but enjoy playing to release stress after work or school. They also see the game as a social tool to connect with their friends.
Stats and Ops Weekly Challenges were the top 2 features of the current App. Although it communicates well to core/serious players, casual players often feel that Stats and Ops Weekly Challenges are too involved, "hardcore," and time-consuming for them.
Moreover, casual players feel that the current game guide in the COD App and in the official website are too serious ("text-heavy") as well. At the same time, casual and intermediate level players were still looking to to learn and improve their gameplay.
Thus, casual players feel “the App is not for me“ (a direct quote from a user interview), then go to a third party to fulfill their needs, such as finding out about new updates, tactical and strategic guidance, tips on how to custom their weaponry and kits, and gameplay best practices.
We proposed adding <Video Feed> to the current App. <Video Feed> welcomes numerous types of players, from competitive to casual players, by providing educational videos enabling players to game smarter. Research showed that the learning experience was both more enjoyable and effective (people learn faster) with video rather than through text. Additionally, our research showed that watching videos to improve gameplay is common for video game players, and the demand for such features has been increasing rapidly in the past years.
I designed the homepage along with other screens and provided a pattern library for the team to craft our prototype.
Our team huddled and built an ambitious but realistic timeline for the design process
Where should we add <Video Feed> to current App?
I collaborated with an UX Architect in the team to observe current sitemap and update the sitemap for our prototype.
Main Navigation Menu on the current App
How would a user use <video feed>? I collaborated with other designers to write multiple user scenarios, then sketched out the wire flow.
Wireframe was created in Figma.
Ex: Beginner Bonnie
Context: Bonnie, a college student, recently played COD for the first time at a friends’ house. She enjoyed it so much she downloaded Warzone to try out on her PlayStation, but she isn’t very good. She doesn’t know what tools are at her disposal and how to access them, and she doesn’t feel like she has time to learn the buttons during the game because Warzone is such a high-stakes. She discovered the app from Call of Duty’s website when she googled how to get better at Call of Duty. Curious, she downloaded it.
Motivation: Wants to know how to navigate menus, in-game.
Action: searches on app for a help guide that introduces the in-game controls and buttons.
We shared our wireframes with stakeholders and received valuable feedback.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our team conducted all prototype testing remotely. We met with 6 current COD players, 1 hour each, in pairs of two (one interview lead, one notetaker). We divided testing responsibilities evenly amongst our group based on scheduling preferences for our participants.
By reviewing the insights from use testing, we revised our wireframe to make modifications to our prototype. I revisited and used our user research findings to make decisions. For example, we heard from the user testing stage that the users wish to have Filter and Sort to search a video. Our user research showed that our users value customization and efficiency. There were also several kinds of video content that different players looked for, such as reviews of game mode, updates, and tips to learn gameplay strategy. Therefore, I suggested that the team create unique filtering system that is customized for COD players specifically.
A Look at the Final Prototype
The COD Companion App design team was really communicative and helpful. They consistently gave us great feedback. I appreciated how consistently straightforward they were. They also helped to surface questions, which allowed us to think through possible negative outcomes. This project was a great opportunity for me to consider different possible outcomes while designing an application. I worked to not only provide solutions that made sense for the players, but to make sure we avoided the negative externalities and outcomes. Ultimately, I was appreciative to have this challenge to build interesting and useful product for users and the wider COD ecosystem.
