Bringing the power of Games to Zee5
In early 2023, Zee5 launched games on its mobile application which are now played by over 200,000 people per month. This involved designing the games row, game page, continue playing, tournaments, and user data collection module.
My role: I was responsible for research, conceptualisation, design, user testing and delivery.
Timeline: December 2022 - February 2023
The team: 1 designer, 1 PM, 3 engineers
Case study 01
Designing the game row for homepage
Zee5 is an Indian OTT platform that majorly offers TV shows, movies, web-series etc. Hyper casual games, which provide an alternative source of entertainment and engagement were to be introduced to the users through the same app. But this initiative had challenges, primarily because:
1. People do not expect games on the Zee5 app.
2. Since this was an experiment, minimum change to the navigation was desired.
How might we make the game row discoverable and identifiable?
Direction 01: Make the row visually different than the other rows
Direction 02: Guide them to the game row
Direction 03: Use motion graphics as moving thumbnails have higher CTR
User Testing
1. Users did not notice the motion in option 1(thumbnails move sequentially) as they scrolled past the rail.
2. In option 2 (moving thumbnails), motion was noticed but users did not consider it any different from current Zee5 home screen.
3. Option 3 (motion banner above the rail) was noticed by majority of the users and they identified them as games.
4. Non-subscribed users did not engage with rails that did not have ‘free’ word in title.
UX Copy
1. Free games/no added fee- This information was necessary to convey as Zee5 contains paid and unpaid content. User research showed people respond more to the word free.
2. No download required- This information was thought to be necessary, but research suggested that people did not expect download in the first place.
3. Age and game category- This information was thought to be necessary, however research suggested that people understood the gameplay to a great extent just with the thumbnail.
Success
The row received 12% conversion. A row containing videos at the same position receives 2% conversion.
Case study 02
Designing the game page
Upon the success of hyper casual games in Zee5, a dedicated game page was required on the app. The structure and elements for the page were to be designed. To begin, we had to address two main question:
1. What do people expect from a game page?
2. What makes people play/not play games?
To understand what people expect from a game page, I looked at games page of other applications like Netflix, JioGames, MX player, Facebook games etc and at other content pages of the Zee5 app. To ideate, I conducted an in-house workshop with participants of varied age-groups to understand their expectations. I also looked at data points on our application which offered me insights on thumbnail consumption pattern to help me layout better. Following are the key takeaways :
1. Multiple categories (puzzle, arcade etc) of games
2. Newly launched games
3. 'My games' to quickly dive back into the games one played
4. Leaderboards, online games form a major part of the experience in social gaming
5. Game trailers
6. Dedicated spaces for popular or promotional content
7. On Zee5 app, only 20% of the content that is engaged with is placed under a horizontal scroll
Concept evolution of the discovery space
Concept exploration of continue playing
Results and success
1. Conversion on streak based continue playing was at 95%
2. 50% of people who landed on game page played games in contrast to 12% conversion from the game row.