Mech Showdown Onboarding Experience
Mech Showdown is a battleground game with unique mechanics. The game is available on mobile, PC, and consoles. Data shows high drop-off rate from new players. As part of the core development team, I was tasked to design an intuitive and engaging onboarding experience.
Role
UX Architect
UI Designer
Quality Insurance
Team
Product Manager
Game Developer
Tools
Figma
After Effects
Lucidchart
Midjourney
Duration
2 months
Problems & Challenges
⭕️ No Existing Framework
No guidance and need to build an onboarding flow from scratch.
⏱️ Low session time
New users session time is below benchmark.
👥 Diverse Audience
The game targets casual gamers, competitive players, and newcomers to the battleground genre, each with different needs and expectations.
📱 Cross-Platform Complexity
The onboarding experience needed to work seamlessly across mobile, PC, and consoles, each with unique input methods and user behaviors.
Goals
Introduce core mechanics in an engaging way.
Make the onboarding process rewarding and motivating.
Create a consistent experience across mobile, PC, and consoles.
Research
Competitive Analysis
Jujustu Infinite (Roblox)
Flow
Opening scene > Learn fundamental mechanics (basic movements and abilities) > Closing scene > Introduce essential game features (ex, Boss fight, Missions)
Key insights
Tutorial is mandatory
Step-by-step tutorial
Visual interaction
Practice each move multiple times
Blend basic mechanics tutorial into the storyline
Apex: Legends
Flow
Opening scene > Experience selector (Training, bot royale, Battle royale) > Fundamental mechanics > Bot royal
Key insights
Tutorial is optional
Step-by-step tutorial
Low-pressure first match
Player interview and survey
Conduct interview and survey with the players in the communities to mark their pain points and expectations
Persona
Casual Player
Dylan, 10
Plays for fun, prefers simple instructions, and enjoys exploring at his own pace.
Competitive Gamer
Max, 15
Wants to quickly understand advanced mechanics to start competing.
New to Genre
Hazel, 14
Has little experience with battleground games and needs extra guidance.
Key insights
⏳ Players want to feel in control of their learning pace.
👁️ Visual and interactive tutorials are preferred over text-heavy instructions.
🏆 Early wins and rewards are crucial for engagement.
Design
Design Principles
📈 Progressive Learning
Introduce game elements step-by-step to avoid overwhelming players.
📖 Interactive Tutorials
Use hands-on, interactive elements to teach mechanics.
📱 Platform Adaptability
Ensure the experience feels native to each platform (touch for mobile, keyboard/mouse for PC, controller for console).
🏆 Early Rewards
Provide immediate feedback and rewards to keep players engaged.
Onboarding flow
① Character selection
Provide diverse mech class for users to choose from
④ Reward: Skills
Players receive early rewards and unlock new features as they progress.
⑦ Low-pressure first match
Players are paired with bots in a simplified match to practice their skills.
② Tutorial introduction
Encourage players to learn the unique mechanics and promote rewards
⑤ Practice match
Practice with AI to build confidence
⑧ Reward and Unlock character
Inform players that there are more mech classes. Keep players motivated for retention
③ Basic combat
Step-by-step guidance on basic attacks and special abilities using platform-specific controls
⑥ Reward: Currencies
Introduce currencies and inform players the use of it
Cross-platform Considerations
Keep the tutorial steps consistent. Alternate graphics and wordings per platform.
Mobile: Highlight button with pulsing effect
PC: Highlighted keyboard shortcuts and mouse controls
Console: Emphasized controller inputs
Iteration
Hunt the churns
I worked tightly with the game developer to monitor the performance. We located the major churns through data analytic. After testing and analyzing the problems, I iterated the design while my colleague fixing the bugs.
We have successfully reduced the overall churn by 46%.
Start training
🧐 Analysis
“Skip” button grabs too much attention
Created unnecessary learning curve by introducing virtual currency “SOL” at the very beginning
💡 Iteration
De-emphasize the “Skip” button
Use general term “rewards” to reduce learning curve
📈 Result
Reduced churn from 14.8% to 8.9%
Target lock-on
🧐 Analysis
Camera was not facing the dummy initially
Instruction is not intuitive and text heavy
Distraction from all other buttons
💡 Iteration
Correct the camera facing issue
Simplify the instruction and associate with graphics
Hide all irrelevant buttons
📈 Result
Reduced churn from 8.5% to 2.7%
Block
🧐 Analysis
Visual feedback of the block position is not clear. Character’s blocking gesture is too subtle
Instruction is not intuitive and text heavy
💡 Iteration
Added a shield graphic to indicate the block position is on
Simplify the instruction and associate with graphics
📈 Result
Reduced churn from 6.2% to 2.3%
Equip skill: Menu
🧐 Analysis
Player got distracted by all the other menu options
💡 Iteration
Narrow down the focus by hiding other menu options
📈 Result
Reduced churn from 9.1% to 3.6%
Counter skill
🧐 Analysis
Too much distraction from all other buttons
💡 Iteration
Disable all other buttons and only highlight the Counter skill button
📈 Result
Reduced churn from 7.9% to 0.6%
Practice match
🧐 Analysis
Missing HP bar on the dummy. Players reported that the dummy is unbeatable and they ended up quitting
Missing instruction
💡 Iteration
Display the HP bar for clear feedback
Display instruction “Kill the dummy”
📈 Result
Reduced churn from 19.4% to 8.6%
Prototype
Impact
New Player Session Time
⬆25.6%
From 7.8 minutes to 9.8 minutes
Day 1 Retention
⬆25.7%
Gets within benchmark
Day 7 Retention
⬆81.3%
Gets within benchmark
Business impact
⬆21.1%
Lead to a rise in in-game purchases
Reflections
👥 Start with the users
Understanding the diverse needs of our audience was crucial for designing an effective onboarding experience.
🧪 Test and iterate
Track the live performance and locate the unexpected problems. Analyze them and lead to meaningful improvements.