"Bake the Cake" is a Live Ops event that allows players to build a special choppable item on their game board. This event was created to increase spending for our short term events. The challenge was to use an event players already enjoyed and improve it as well as making it purchasable.
In our previous events players could not purchase mergeable items to upgrade to help them build. In the video below, we added "Premium Slots" where the player can add additional items to their grid to upgrade more items. If the player did not want the additional items they would close out of the purchase popup and the item would automatically return to the board.
During the iteration process I created a user flow with wireframes to represent what players will see during the purchase flow. I provided several solutions to see how players may become confused and try to exit the screen. We found that having more then one item to purchase at a time added extra steps in purchasing an item. The solution was to add an automatic popup every time an item was added to the grid reducing that extra steps.
During game play players would add mergeable items into the grid to upgrade them. Every time a player would hover an item over the area it would change to say "Drop items here". This would help to identify where items are placed combined with auditory feedback to confirm. The player could add multiple items to the grid. A "Next" button appeared as inactive by using a more muted color to show the player is not ready to move on until all six grids are full.
As a designer, we often have to make hard decision when it comes to the consistency of the game. There were several design decisions I would have differently if not for certain limitations. Here are just a few:
There is an info button at the top right hand corner close to the exit button. In my opinion, having the info button on the left side would have reduced the chances of the player mistakenly taping the exit button. This can cause frustration for the player especially because mobile screens are small.
There are several grid boxes that hold items including the premium slots, it is hard for the player to see all options. Having a scroll bar on the side will indicate to the player that there are more items that can be added. Designs based on assumptions can cause disruptions for the player.
The next button is an important call to action. It can be easy to confuse the player on what to do next. Players at this point already know that active buttons are green. In my opinion, having a button that appeared green with a lower opacity would look inactive. The text here is still very bright and can indicate that the button it is active.
