FantasyCryptos web-based game

Background

My team began working with the FantasyCryptos’ founders before there was even a name. The idea for FantasyCryptos was sparked by the awareness that there is a large group of people who are “recreational investors.” These investors feel the desire to speculate and participate in the market, but perhaps don’t have the expertise or financial resources to participate in a traditional manner. This game allows them to test their skills in a competitive environment with smaller amounts of money. Over the course of a year we worked to bring this vision of a fantasy crypto investing game to life.

Logo & Brand design

Based on the client questionnaire, interviews, and competition research, I created the logo and branding design brief. I work with the logo designer through multiple iterations and was the point of contact with the client, presenting design concepts and taking feedback.

The final logo exemplifies the convergence of light-hearted fantasy gaming with real-life cryptocurrency investing. Why a rocket and moon? “To the moon,” in crypto slang, is a common phrase that refers to an extreme price spike, a place for game players to set their sights on.

The visual identity consists of a bold, colorful palette that is both playful and speaks with futuristic articulation. Having a “colorful” palette was an aspect very important to the founders, and it leaves a resounding impression.

The challenge

Working on the UX of this project was challenging as there was a huge amount of data to visualize. We had to find the best way to make those numbers sexy and avoid a busy interface. From the visual aspect, we needed to optimize the visual and user experience while maintaining the integrity of the site. On the technical side, we had to maintain clear user flows and think about API integration, including how to grab live cryptocurrency rates.

User flows and wireframe

I worked side by side with my technical director to create the user flows and wireframe the game.

Design & interactions

Once the basic structure was in place, we brought the UI designer in. Together we defined the user flow and interactions to register an account, create a tournament, invite friends, and everything in between from notifications to withdrawing balance.

Useful yet playful

As the page designs came to life, I worked with the UI designer to add in unexpected and playful features that would not only entertain the game player but simultaneously simplify the interaction.

For example: Game players can build portfolios that bet for or against the cryptocurrency rates. The display shows increase in coin worth in green and decrease in red- consistent with Western market charts, but for the user, a decrease in a coin’s worth could actually be a positive or an increase could hurt their portfolio, we put small smiley/frown face indicators next to the coin rates that showed whether the change of rate was a positive or negative for their investment.

Mobile version

The mobile version required a complete rethink of the information architecture. Though this is a web-based game, we utilized familiar app navigational elements such as a bottom menu and an upward garage door to create a more game-like feel. We used the hamburger menu only for general information pages and kept all game navigation within the game play screen.

Development and testing

After creating the technical and interaction specs the development and testing was completed by a separate agency. We maintained communication to specify each interaction and were able to play the game during beta testing. The best part was actually playing the game and stumbling upon the small details and thinking “yes! It worked!”