Research & Analysis
researching players of varying experience
I interviewed gamers of varying experience to better understand their expectations and how they interface with games. I then distilled my findings into two personas, Elizabeth The Casual Gamer and Andrew The Hardcore Gamer.
Elizabeth - the Casual Gamer
Occasionally played through console games while growing up.
Mainly plays games on mobile devices.
Prefers to play games one handed with gesture controls.
Occasionally plays her roommates Nintendo Switch.
Mainly play games that have only one or two interactions.
Andrew - the Hardcore gamer
Played games on every major console while growing up.
Mainly play console and computer games.
Prefer a two handed gamepad layout with tactile buttons.
Occasionally plays hardcore mobile games.
Feels that casual games are simplistic.
Ideation & Design
a Controller Layout For All
For the tvOS app I designed two layouts for the Siri Remote to accommodate both casual and hardcore gamers. One layout the remote is held 1 handed in a vertical position, while the other layout is controlled with 2 hands and held horizontally. Since the remote has a gyroscope, users can easily switch between these two control layouts by simply rotating the remote.
I designed the 2 handed layout for hardcore gamers by mimicking the layout of a traditional gamepad. Avatar movement is controlled using the left touch surface, while the Play/Pause button is used as the primary action. The 1 handed layout was made to accommodate casual gamers by mimicking the layout of a typical iOS game.
On Boarding / Tutorial Level
Upon starting the game, users enter a first time user experience tutorial level. This familiarizes users with the controls through dialogue between the characters to maintain continuity in the game.
Designing UI for a 10-foot interface
I created menu an navigation by incorporating elements of the apple’s tvOS human interface guidelines into my process. Users can swipe up and down on the touch surface to navigate menus, and clicking opens the selected list items. In addition, the 1 handed and 2 handed controller layouts are both usable within the menus as well.
