Detective Rabbit

A treasure hunt app to explore your area

The context

What? UX/UI
Role: everything from strategy to high-fidelity prototype
Duration: 5 months, 2020
Context: thesis project (8-months online UX course with CareerFoundry)
Process: competitive analysis, user stories, surveys, interviews, affinity maps, personas, user journeys, user flows, site map, card sorting, content audit, low-, mid-, and high-fidelity wireframes, interactive prototype, usability testing, visual design, preference testing, style guide
Tools: Balsamiq, XD, Indesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Google Suite, Typeform, Optimalsort, UsabilityHub, pens and paper, sticky notes

How might we design a fun and uncomplicated experience?

Working on a treasure hunt app sounds fun. I like the challenge of designing more than just an app: it's also an experience.

Problem statement:

The player needs a way to start a treasure hunt without preparation and at any time, in their current location, and without having to rely on wifi or spend any money because they want to have an uncomplicated, spontaneous and qualitative game experience

Who are our main competitors?

A competitive analysis led me to put my attention on my main competitor: Geocaching. I’ve been using their website since the early 2000s and really enjoyed the idea of exploration and the excitement of looking for a treasure behind a rock or a bush. But there was something that seemed to be always missing:

There are no clues! You go straight to the treasure, there is no real obstacle that creates excitement in the process
Also, you now need to pay for a premium account to access many features on the app: it has no longer the participative community spirit it used to have

What motivations do the users have to play?

To find out what potential users would expect from this app, I sent off a survey and then conducted some interviews to go more into detail.

Here are the keys insights from the research:

Most users live in cities. However, they greatly enjoy taking a walk in nature: the app should include hunts in the countryside
The biggest motivation to play a hunt is to explore one's area and its hidden spots (no major sights)
It has to be a social activity: spend time with friends/family and have fun
It's important to have a purpose to go for a walk
Users want an uncomplicated experience. They don’t want to spend time on planning or trying to understand the rules

So, who are the typical users?

The research helped me creating 3 personas:

Medha, the busy friend
Ivana, the passionate student
Claude, the dedicated grandpa

Then, I drew the user journeys of Medha and Claude and wrote down some opportunities for the app.

What are the main tasks?

Look for a hunt
Set a user account
Play a hunt

Some of the first wireframes (low- and mid-fidelity):

The game

Now it's time to get back to my research notes to redefine what are the objectives of the game:

Discovering new places and learning about it
Exploring with surprises along the way
Having a goal and a reward

How does the game work?

It consists of a series of clues
The users are helped by the integrated map to locate themselves
Some hints are available if the clues are too hard
Some augmented reality technology is used to validate that the clue is solved
To add some fun and guidance, I added the rabbit character: Detective Rabbit.

The clue can’t be solved!

With a high-fidelity prototype ready, it’s now time to test it on real users!

What are the goals of the usability test?

We are testing the following features: look for a hunt, sign up, and play
The test focuses on the navigation and the overall game experience (are you having fun?)

What is the methodology?

Testing the app in its real context of use which is playing a real hunt in the street! The aim is to grasp the overall experience around the game (3 participants)
Other classical sessions will be organized, testing the app on a laptop in a cafe or via video call (3 participants)

What are the main errors?

Issue 1/ Clue 2: code can't be solved [Error rating 4]

-Suggested change: The code and the (rephrased) instructions will be moved to the same screen, and users will be able to add the letters on the code grid one by one. Some additional guidance will be offered for the users that are completely lost about this task.

-Evidence: 4 participants couldn’t solve the code and were very frustrated

Issue 2 / Game: instructions not clear (ex: look at the sign on your left) [Error rating 4]

-Suggested change: Rephrase instructions, and split them into different steps. Simplify them.

-Evidence: 100% of the participants were misled by the instructions in Clue 2.

Issue 3 /Consistency between the different steps (where am I right now?) [Error rating 3]

-Suggested change: Redefine a basic hunt skeleton with consistent steps that will be repeated for each clue.

-Evidence: participants that aren’t used to play games need to know where they are situated in the game and what they are expected to do exactly since the whole experience is new to them which leads them to feel lost and overwhelmed and not being able to play.

Issue 4/ 'Found it' button not clear (found the solution? I arrived at the next location?) [Error rating 3]

-Suggested change: Ask a question instead “Did you decrypt the code?” / “Did you arrive at the next location already?” and a “Yes” button

-Evidence: 50% of the participants weren’t sure what this button was about (solve the code? found the monument?) and when to click it

Issue 5/ Didn't see the search bar [Error rating 3]

-Suggested change: Search bar bigger/brighter. When typing, "Berlin 10559" should be at a different font/size than 'type in city/postcode"

-Evidence: 50% of participants didn’t see the search bar immediately and were looking at the side menu to look for a hunt

Findings & Revisions

The majority of the pain points were concerning the game itself: they faced some frustrations with the navigation, the phrasing of the instructions, and a general lack of guidance in the game part, the biggest problem being that one clue can't be solved!
The interface itself was intuitive for all participants and they agreed on the positive aspects of the experience (sense of adventure, earning points, rabbit theme…)
At first daunting to see serious errors getting on the way of the functionality of the app, I realized how valuable it was to test the game in real conditions! It helped to make a much stronger prototype

Some frames of the revised prototype:

Refining the prototype

After a bunch of big surprises during the usability testing, it is time to polish the prototype and define some design guidelines.

• The evolution of the hunt description and the user profile:

Takeaway

I think the app could benefit from gameplay that encourages users to observe their surroundings more as they are playing, rather than putting too much focus on the screen - the ultimate goal being discovering the city. I'd also like to see more AR elements.
My first application of color to the prototype got in the way of the UX I previously designed, the usability got downgraded. I revised the prototype again by defining a thorough methodology of the use of the navigation elements and careful use of color to maintain the hierarchy of elements