What is Minecraft Legends?
Minecraft Legends is an RTS genre game in the Minecraft franchise, built through a collaboration between BBI, Mojang, and Microsoft. It is available on PC and various consoles, including Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Overview
Renew Lost Legends MarketPlace
Lost Legends Marketplace is where users can download mini-games in Minecraft Legends. When users complete a stage, they receive valuable rewards. The old Lost Legends marketplace had limitations in showcasing multiple items. Given our monthly game releases, I was tasked with designing a new layout that allows users to enjoy any Lost Legends game at their convenience. My goal was to provide a solution for displaying multiple items on the screen and ensuring that Lost Legends stands out among the three menu tabs. Additionally, I gave careful thought to how to enhance the player's enjoyment of the game without requiring them to navigate through multiple steps.
In this project, I collaborate with the UI Artist and engineers. I created low to high-fidelity wireframes based on the existing UI components and some missing parts I requested from the UI artist.
Role
UI/UX Design
Tools
Figma
Bedrock/ React
Perforce
Problems
- There are three tabs on one page, and Lost Legends is one of them. If we use the same layout as the other tabs, Lost Legend mini-game will not stand out.
- Currently, only one game is displayed.
- There is no function to view multiple games.
- There are too many steps before players can start playing the game.
Solutions
- Create a new layout for Lost Legends and ensure that this layout stands out among other tabs.
- Utilize a "scrollview" component to display a list of games, allowing users to easily view all available Lost Legends games.
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Provide notifications for recently released games.
- Employ sub-headers to differentiate between past Lost Legend games and those released this month.
- Organize the list by month to enhance user navigation.
- Clearly distinguish between downloaded games and those that haven't been downloaded yet. (on the thumbnail and content area)
- Lastly, provide insights into user flow.
High Fidelity Prototype
Challenges
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Onboarding
This was my first task after joining the company. I had to play Minecraft Legends to understand its theme. Additionally, I downloaded and played other RTS genre games.
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Understanding the guidelines and components
The game was built using multiple components, and I had to brainstorm ideas while keeping in mind how to utilize these components. Given the limited space available, it wasn't easy to fit all the content while adhering to the guidelines (Mojang uses a 4pt grid system).
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Implement the prototype into the Bedrock
I have experience with React, and fortunately, the Bedrock engine works similarly. I had to learn and adapt to the coding style and assist engineers to integrate the prototype into the game using the Bedrock engine.
Research
First, my research focused on the competition space to understand how other games are addressing marketplace layouts. I downloaded Minecraft-related games, RTS games, and used searches and the Game UI Database to explore different types of layouts.
New User Flow
Low Fidelity Wireframe
[List Area] Design checklist
- Divide the list into two groups: 'New Challenges' and 'Past Challenges', to help players instantly identify the newest challenges.
- The space for writing a 'Lost Legends' title is limited, and we also need to consider localization. Therefore, I use a 'month' to indicate that we are releasing a new game every month. This way, players will be informed that they can expect a new 'Lost Legends' each month.
- Display a lock icon alongside the thumbnail to indicate upcoming challenges, encouraging players to return to the game.
- Distinguish between downloaded games and non-downloaded ones.
- Consult with engineers to determine the most effective way to present the information.
[Content Area] Design check list
- Ensure that the download button stands out and isn't hidden at the bottom.
- Clearly display the rewards to entice and encourage players to enjoy the game.
- Ensure that the content is clearly displayed on the screen so that players don't miss out on any important information.
- Talk with engineers to determine the most effective way to present the information.
Breakdown Components
As a UX designer, my primary responsibility is to provide comprehensive guidelines for both the engineering and art teams and ensure alignment with all involved teams, fostering a cohesive approach to achieving our design goals.
** It's easy to work with engineers using wireframes with descriptions.**
Grid
Mojang utilize the 4-Grid System to ensure pixel-perfect spacing and font size consistency while aligning with team and engineers.
Typeface
To maintain consistent design, it's essential to ensure that the font type, size, and color theme align with the current design.
Icons
Problem Solved - Layout
Bedrock (React) Engine
I contributed by writing code using the Bedrock/React
library. This involved implementing prototypes, updating
CSS, adding strings to the JSON file, and utilizing Git,
the version control system, to collaborate with engineers.
I worked with Gameface, which communicates with Bedrock. I
shared the UI system with Minecraft and collaborated with
Mojang's UI programmers.
QA Testing
After finishing the implementation phase with our talented engineers, I make sure to review the page for any potential omissions. Additionally, I reach out to our QA team for their valuable input and review.
Lost Legend Games UX Design
There are many different Lost Legend games, and the company plans to release a new game every month. I revamped the Lost Legend marketplace and also contributed to improving the UX, UI, and user engagement of the Lost Legend games. There is only one level in Lost Legend, but it allows players to play solo or in teams of up to four. Therefore, it's important to balance the game so that it's neither too easy nor too difficult. As a UX designer, I conducted numerous play-tests to identify issues and provide solutions through Notion and Figma.
Since this page primarily focuses on the Lost Legend marketplace, I won't delve too deeply into it. However, it's a related project, so I will introduce what I have done.
Every time I start a project, I follow the same design routine: understanding the project, conducting research, exploring designs, polishing, and performing quality assurance (QA).
Therefore, I began by understanding what the game designer wanted to explore in this version of Lost Legend. When the project started, there was no game; we only had the game designer's documentation. I read the documentation and left comments on what was of concern and which things were not feasible to implement on the UI side. After the game designer started building the game, I reviewed and playtested it and provided feedback primarily related to the user interface. My main goal was to ensure that users wouldn't be confused while playing the game and that there would be enough information available. Additionally, I aimed to enhance the user experience, encouraging them to return with friends for future gaming sessions.
Final Work
User Engagement
Minecraft Legends sales amounted to almost $1 million, with almost 40,000 copies sold during the same time period. We observed a significant number of users consistently enjoying Lost Legends. However, it's interesting to note that while the company initially encouraged users to collaborate and tackle challenges together, it turns out that many users prefer playing solo.
What is Next?
What We Can Try to Increase Lost Legends User Engagement?
As UX designers, consider this user behavior and adapt our approach to enhance the Lost Legends gaming experience.
- Solo Play Enhancement: Recognizing that many users prefer to play alone, we should focus on optimizing the solo game-play experience.
- User Feedback Integration: Continuously gather feedback from our player community to understand their preferences and pain points. This data will help us make informed design decisions and prioritize features that align with user needs.
- Community Building: Foster a sense of community among players, even if they primarily play solo. This can be achieved through in-game forums, events, or leader boards, creating a shared experience without mandatory collaboration.