Playing Dead by Daylight = intense moments and strategic moves. Each match brings its own unique challenges, but it's not all fun and games. As a regular player, I've encountered firsthand the lengths players will go to ensure a win.
THE PROBLEM
The prevalence of cheaters is negatively impacting the overall player experience.
THE RESEARCH
Dead by Daylight is just a little too toxic...
I went on to speak with five Dead by Daylight players with different play styles - competitive to casual. There was a general consensus on their experiences whilst playing.
WHAT THEY SAID....
INSIGHTS
Low confidence in report system
Many feel like reporting doesn't do much because of the inaction from developers.
The community is too toxic
Players feel like extended periods of playing matches can be draining because of the toxic environment.
PERSONA AND JOURNEY
Defining the target player and their wants
I developed a detailed persona that encompassed his user journey coupled with a storyboard.
Dwight's main objective is to be able to play matches freely without the interruptions of cheating or toxic gameplay.
PERSONA + USER JOURNEY & STORYBOARD [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
BRAINSTORMING POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
Thinking about ways to improve the overall community
Initially, I was thinking about ways to curtail the cheating issue with party vote-kicking or ways to protect themselves from exploits that trapped players within the game with a cheater. I was stumped until I went back to the data.
The answer was so much clearer to me after another once over. Cheating was only a small facet of the larger problem — the community was incredibly toxic.
THE PIVOT
How might we build a sense of community that will ensure players' enjoyment while playing Dead by Daylight?
THE AHA MOMENT
Thinking about ways to improve the overall community
With this new problem statement in mind, I set out to come up with some ways to improve the community as a whole. I decided that the best approach would be a reputation system that encouraged good behavior through rewards but punished bad actors through slowed queue times.
RANDOM RAMBLINGS [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
LOADS OF SKETCHES
A case of the crazy 8s
With my proposed solutions in mind, I set out to brainstorm a couple of routes to take for the reputation system.
CRAZY 8 SKETCHES [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
WIREFLOW
Bringing those sketches to life
With the wireflow laid out, I was able to better envision the different scenarios that a player would be faced with while interacting with the added reputation system.
WIREFLOW
HI-FIDELITY SCREENS
Creating the essense of the DBD brand within the hi-fidelity screens
One of the most daunting challenges for me was tackling converting some of my screens to hi-fidelity. I realized that a lot of the assets I had planned would need to be made from scratch. I used a combination of in-game screenshots and a sprinkle of photoshop skills to whip up the official screens.
HI-FIDELITY SCREENS [CLICK TO ENLARGE]
PUTTING IT TO THE TEST
Making sure players enjoyed the experience
I tested the product at two stages of the project:
Lo-Fi Prototype was tested to get feedback on the functionality/content and identify any missing pathways.
Unmoderated usability test: I recruited a handful of participants to test the new feature. All users were asked to complete several scenario-based tasks.
INSIGHTS
Successes
No task failures!
Easy to navigate.
Testers excited about the feature.
Suggestions
'How it works' button is placed weirdly between information.
Painpoints
Onboarding for new feature would make finding new button easier.
REVISIONS
From insights to iterations
Before
After
Increased error prevention
The “new” flag will signal to players that a new feature is added, reducing difficulty in them locating the reputation dashboard.
Before
After
Clarity on improving reputation
The added section gives clear instructions to players about how they can improve their reputation based on their current circumstances.
Before
After
Improve Hierarchy
The 'How it Works' button was moved to the top to prioritize the on-boarding of newer users.
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