NookLink Bulletin Board
Adding a New Feature to a Mobile (iOS) App
UX Designer, UX Researcher
Prototype, Presentation
Nov 2022 - Jan 2023
Figma, Photoshop
Role:
Deliverables:
Time Frame:
Tools:
Background
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) is a life simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo Co., Ltd. for the Nintendo Switch console. Released on March 20, 2020 as the latest entry to the Animal Crossing series, it enables up to 8 players to interact with each other simultaneously through a robust local/online multiplayer feature. NookLink was introduced on the Nintendo Switch Online mobile app as a companion service to the game.
Following the rise of COVID-19, many started playing ACNH in order to
stay connected with friends and family
build community in a time of isolation ¹
restore a sense of agency in the face of restrictions and global uncertainty ²
However, overall interest in this “Quarantine Bestseller” and the companion service has since declined ³ as the recommended COVID-19 isolation and quarantine period for the general population shortened.
¹ “Association of Social Gaming with Well-Being (Escape COVID-19): A Sentiment Analysis” (The American Journal of Medicine)
² “Animal Crossing and COVID-19: A Qualitative Study Examining How Video Games Satisfy Basic Psychological Needs During the Pandemic” (Frontiers in Psychology)
³ 12.9% Decline in Profit (Nintendo Co., Ltd. Q1 FY2021 Earnings Report)
Area of Focus
Taking into consideration how many use social media to stay connected with friends and family,
integrating a social feature into Nooklink
may help retain and increase users in the years following COVID-19.
01
Identifying Target Users & Their Primary Pain Points
Animal Crossing Primary Userbase
According to Age & Gender
(Blue = Male, Orange = Female)
I conducted (2) rounds of user research in order to identify NookLink’s most potentially active users because NookLink is ultimately limited to individuals who
play Animal Crossing; and
have a Nintendo Online membership.
According to Hisashi Nogami, head of the Animal Crossing series, the Animal Crossing userbase is comprised of
many individuals in their 20s and 30s; and
an even ratio between males and females.
Keeping this core demographic in mind, I conducted a screening survey, followed by a series of user interviews with 6 ACNH players between 19 and 31 years old who identified as male, female, or nonbinary/nonconforming. The screening survey provided an overview on the ACNH gaming experience, while the user interview provided details on user behaviors/patterns specific to the NookLink app experience.
Research Goal
Understand why target users minimized their ACNH gameplay between
the year quarantine
began worldwide
(2020)
&
the year quarantine
shortened
(2022)
Research Objective
Identify which types of experiences target users most valued & least valued in the following interrelated areas
01
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
video game
02
Nintendo Switch Online
mobile application
03
Nintendo Switch Online
membership
02
Synthesizing Research Insights
User interest & engagement was heavily influenced by friends.
56%
survey respondents
learned about ACNH
through their friend(s).
100%
user interviewees
enrolled in a Nintendo Switch
Online membership
to keep in touch w/ their friend(s).
100%
user interviewees
stopped playing ACNH as frequently over time
because their friend(s) stopped playing.
Yet, users hardly used the communication features
available in NookLink to engage with them.
50%
NookLink users
used the Keyboard feature
to communicate w/ others.
0%
NookLink users
used the Voice Chat feature
to communicate w/ others.
100%
NookLink users
used the Call feature in Discord,
an entirely different platform,
to communicate w/ others.
ACNH/NookLink user adoption was extrinsically motivated, while user engagement was intrinsically motivated.
Users start playing ACNH to feel connected with others.
Users continue to play ACNH to feel inner fulfillment.
Although 88.9% survey respondents prefer playing single-player games over multi-player games, 85.1% feel “happy” playing ACNH with others.
In fact, 48.1% feel “very happy”
playing ACNH with others.
By comparison, only 22.2% feel “very happy” playing alone.
Competitor Analysis
In order to pinpoint which features in game companion apps were the most popular and least popular among users, I took careful note of the ratings and comments competitors received in Google Play and Apple App stores.
Since NookLink is a service specific to the Animal Crossing game, I considered an app developed by ACNH fans (e.g. ACNH Exchange) to be a direct competitor and an app developed by a rival game company (e.g. Playstation App) to be an indirect competitor.
In the end, social features appeared to be the most popular. Users enjoyed connecting with others through text messaging, voice chatting, video calling, and media sharing.
Based off my research insights, I was able to craft personas for NookLink’s target users.
“The Socializer”
Age Group: 20 - 24 years old | ACNH Play Time: 250 Hours
The Socializer is a player with a collective mindset who plays ACNH to stay connected with friends! While they find the game engaging, they are frustrated that the opportunities for social interaction are limited and lacking in variety.
“The Customizer”
Age Group: 25 - 30 years old | ACNH Play Time: 600 Hours
The Customizer is a player with an individualistic mindset who plays ACNH to express their unique creativity and personality! While they find the game delightful, they are frustrated by the lack of resources and outlets to expand on their artistic vision.
Shared Pain Points
Users enjoy social interactions in ACNH, but they find it limited & lacking in variety.
Users prefer to indirectly connect with friends via text (not voice) & social media (e.g. Instagram)
Users rely on social media platforms outside of NookLink (e.g. Instagram, Twitter) to seek inspiration.
03
Finding a Design Opportunity in Social Spaces💡
Taking into consideration how users
01
Feel happy playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons alone & w/ others
02
Prefer using the Keyboard feature over the Voice Chat feature in the Nintendo Switch Online app
03
Use social media
to casually (indirectly)
stay connected w/ others
creating a social feed within NookLink
would provide users more in-house opportunities to
01
Share their individual
gaming experience
w/ others
02
Use the Keyboard feature more often,
in real time &
staggered time
03
Casually connect
w/ others
as well as promote feature discovery within the Nintendo Switch Online app.
04
Leveraging the Existing Design System to Develop a New Feature
Current App Features
I learned through user research that the user interface and design system for Animal Crossing: New Horizons is already well-established and well-loved. So, rather than building screens completely from scratch, I focused on how I could utilize existing screens and features to construct a social experience with Animal Crossing gameplay as the interconnection.
At its core, social media platforms provide a space for a community to create and share info, ideas, and interests.
How might we create an open forum for the Animal Crossing community?
To answer this question, I compiled an inventory list of existing NookLink features, evaluated their “conversation-starter” potential, and identified prospective design opportunities.
Top Rated ACNH Activities:
Collecting Items (77.8% users)
Observing Seasonal Events (66.7% users)
Decorating Homes (59.3% users)
Interacting w/ Villagers (55.6% users)
NookLink Features that Enhance Activities:
Catalog: Track items in collection
Island Newspaper: Announces seasonal events
Design: Provides access to custom designs
Island Newspaper: Logs interactions w/ villagers
Feature Roadmap
After drawing comparisons between the inventory list and the research insights in addition to creating a feature roadmap, I determined that NookLink’s target users would be incentivized to post the following in a social feed:
an Announcement (using the Keyboard feature)
an Island Newspaper article (using the Island Newspaper feature)
a Recent Dream (using the Passport feature)
a Custom Design (using the Designs feature)
While the unique identifier codes assigned to “Recent Dreams”/“Dream Islands” and “Custom Designs” can be found in NookLink, they are not easily accessible. Allowing users to search, save, and share these codes within the Nintendo Online app would likely help retain users because they will no longer need to rely on other social media platforms to perform these actions.
Lo-Fi Wireframes of NookLink Bulletin Board
Hi-Fi Wireframe of
Post Options Screen
Hi-Fi Wireframe of
Announcement Screen
Many users I interviewed primarily used Instagram and Twitter to stay connected with others, so I referenced the structure/format of these social media platforms for NookLink’s social feature. I sketched out opportunities for users to interact with others’ posts in NookLink through
a comment
a favorite
a reaction
I also referenced the "Bulletin Board" , a key component of every Animal Crossing game.
I recognized that naming NookLink’s social feed “Bulletin Board” and using it as the icon to represent the new social feature would facilitate feature onboarding and adoption because it would coincide with the users’ mental model. The Bulletin Board in the app would function similarly to its counterpart in the game: it would feature announcements for upcoming events in the game (e.g. seasonal events, birthdays, tourneys) as well as personal messages posted by the players themselves or others.
Hi-Fi Wireframe
Bulletin Board in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
05
Validating the Effectiveness of the Design through Usability Testing
Task Flow: Share an Island Newspaper Article
On average, usability test participants were able to complete the task flows under 40 seconds, meeting the target success metric of 2 minutes.
Many noted the process was straightforward and uncomplicated.
Embedding a social feed in NookLink would allow the Nintendo Switch Onlilne app to become a one-stop shop for enhancing and sharing the overall ACNH gaming experience.
All usability test participants were able to identify the intended purposes of the Bulletin Board.
01
Stay connected
w/ others by sharing info, designs, & gameplay
02
Feel a stronger link between
the ACNH game experience &
the NookLink app experience
03
Promote more gameplay
w/i ACNH by facilitating
progress tracking &
achievement logging
Through usability testing, I discovered how building consistency could promote learnability.
Matching the in-app experience with the in-game experience proved to be an effective method for
introducing the Bulletin Board as a social feature.
“Having integrations with the game is super nice to have”
06
Iterating on the Design
Although the icons for “Reply”, “Favorite”, and “Help” were immediately recognizable, 83% of usability test participants were not able to identify the “React” icon, which is characterized as a silhouette of an Animal Crossing villager.
Participants were, however, delighted by its function.
To help with recognition, I expanded on the “Help” modules: I added more clarifying language and included images.
Before Iteration
After Iteration
Reactions Screen in NookLink Bulletin Board
I also enabled more backtracking after taking user feedback into consideration.
On the "Announcement" screen, I added the options to clear a written message by clicking the "Back" icon.
On the “Island Newspaper," I added the option to deselect an article by clicking on "Check-marked”/”Selected" icon.
Reflecting on the Project
While Animal Crossing: New Horizons remains the second best-selling Nintendo Switch game, its popularity has noticeably declined. Because reception to the game has been so overwhelmingly positive, I focused the project on devising a design that could leverage existing structures and patterns to further enhance user experience. I searched for areas where I could increase user delight and, in turn, increase user engagement within the video game and the companion service mobile app.
Through user research, I was able to observe how social connection could drive user engagement. So, I explored how adding a social feature to the Nintendo Switch Online app could promote user activity and incentivize users to renew their Nintendo Online Switch memberships and/or encourage others to enroll.
While I was able to recruit participants across various ages and genders for this project, I would have been interested in expanding the participant pool further to see how geographical location could also impact user engagement.
Overall, this project proved to be a challenging but fulfilling experience. I thoroughly enjoyed taking business goals into consideration while working with technical constraints such as the existing design system and iOS native components. I learned that creating a seamless experience across platforms (e.g. the mobile app, the video game) by utilizing the same or similar design components and design patterns helped promote learnability.