aMaZed
Designing a Second Screen Game
UX DESIGN | UI DESIGN
Summary
Over the course of thirteen weeks, our team of six game designers was tasked with developing a solution that addressed our client’s problem. Work [at] Play wanted to capitalize on the failure of previous game companies to develop a truly immersive second screen gaming experience.
Specifically, they wanted us to solve the problem of attention and how to control it effectively in our players across multiple screens.
A main detail of their brief was that we develop second screen that did not behave merely a controller for the player, but rather something that added value to their experience. It would need to contain visual information not displayed on the primary screen. To address this directive, I helped guide my team in exploring different mechanics and slowly sifting through the various methods of gameplay until we arrived at a solution.
We used an agile workflow to quickly iterate over dozens and dozens of versions of our game prototype until we found a unique balance that combined skill, reflex and strategy into an immersive experience split between two screens. I oversaw numerous user tests and design research studies in order to arrive at our final prototype.
Lastly, I summarized our research for this new mechanic into a cohesive whole, outlined in a simple white paper that made suggestions for Dos and Don’ts when creating a second screen experience for our client.