EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
Icebreaker Game
for Online Courses
Online continuing education students at The Chang School at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) felt isolated from their peers, anxious about working together, and lacked opportunities for meaningful interaction at the start of an online course. The Icebreaker game was therefore designed to support the creation of learner community and foster student to student connections.
ROLE
Lead UX & Visual Designer
SCOPE
Usability Testing, Inclusive Design, UX & UI Redesign, Gamification
TIMELINE
4 Months
Background
Version 01 of the game was created using the Art of Serious Game Design Methodology and improved to Version 02 based on user testing feedback. The aim of this project is to evaluate students' experiences with the game and refine it based on identified pain points to create Version 03.
The project is done in 3 main phases:
Phase 01: Discover
Phase 02: Design
Phase 03: Evaluate
Goals
Understand student’s experience with the Icebreaker game.
Identify student’s pain points and frustrations with their existing interactions.
Design Version 03 to resolve the identified pain points.
Evaluate design decisions through user testing and feedback.
Methodology
Phase 01: Online Survey, Live Play Session, Interviews
Phase 02: Design Workshops for ideation, brainstorming, and prioritization.
Phase 03: Internal Feedback, Moderated user testing, Live Play sessions
RATIONALE
Data from surveys, live play sessions, and interviews conducted by the team was analyzed to synthesize information and make design decisions. Version 03 of the icebreaker game was evaluated through survey to quickly understand diverse perspectives.
Moderated user testing was done (before launch) to observe player’s interaction with the game and live play sessions will be done (after launch) to evaluate the game experience in a collaborative setting and challenge our assumptions.
Synthesized student feedback from Spring and Fall course. Determined need for additional testing, involving wider demographics to test specific features of the game.
Survey
n = 32
Location: Canada
Continuing Education Students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)
Interview
n = 6
Location: Canada
Play Sessions with 5 TMU Alumni and
Interview with 1 Continuing Education Student.
PHASE 01 - DISCOVER
Gathering Data-
Understanding User Pain Points
“My avatar does not represent me.
I wish there was more customization"
STUDENT AT TMU
“
The most enjoyable aspect was the different themed worlds"
- Student at TMU
“
I loved the questions and connecting through answers"
- Student at TMU
“
It’s frustrating waiting for other people to play."
- Student at TMU
“
would add challenges or include questions that build on existing conversations."
- Student at TMU
The four main areas of user feedback: Avatar creation, mission gameplay, chatting and game instructions.
50%
of all survey respondents had issues representing themselves using the avatar creator in the game
73%
of all survey respondents did not use the Connections Centre or did not find it helpful
47%
of all survey respondents rated their gameplay/ mission experience as average
Insights
01.
Lack of Representation through Avatar Creator
Students found the avatar creator plain with limited options and suggested that more customization was needed with options for hijab/ head covering.
02.
Limited one-on-one Communication
Players had access to one-on-one messaging through the Connections Centre — an area of the game separated from the mission gameplay. It was not widely used but was still understood by users to have potential.
03.
Unengaging Gameplay Experience
Most students expressed dissatisfaction with the gameplay and long wait time. Suggestions were made for additional challenges, more question variety and support for simplified gameplay.
Providing an inclusive and user-friendly Avatar Creation process.
Improving functionality of the Connection Centre to foster one-on-one connection building.
Revising Mission Gameplay to be more engaging and simplified.
Elevating the Interface Design of personal & mission chat, avatar creator and other game elements.
PHASE 02 - DESIGN
Designing for User Needs
Based on the Insights, it was identified that further work was required in the following 4 areas to resolve user pain points and elevate the game experience:
Ensuring an Inclusive & Accessible Experience
For users to be able to represent themselves and feel a sense of belonging, it was crucial to understand what aspects of avatar creator needed to be more inclusive.
Text descriptions provided for every selection of avatar creator and a thorough review was conducted by the Accessibility Specialist.
Design Workshops
Gameplay Experience: Identified features to add and obstacles to remove from a motivational design point of view for higher engagement and collaboration.
Avatar Design:
Brainstormed and prioritized specific options to provide for an inclusive & diverse avatar building process while also avoiding decision fatigue.
Social Spheres 3.0 -
An Icebreaker Game
for Online Courses
Inclusive.
Engaging.
Intuitive.
Improved Navigation & Interface Design:
Intuitive & Faster avatar creation process with sidebar navigation (instead of arrows), preview options (before selection) and a cleaner, minimal design.
Inclusive & Diverse Process: Moving from limited options and a primitive avatar creation process to providing users a variety of hairstyle, facial hair, eyewear, and mobility devices options for better representation.
Intuitive & Inclusive
Avatar Creation Experience
User Challenges: Lack of representation through avatar creator
Designed for Higher Engagement, Motivation & Choice:
In Version 2.0, players completed missions in teams of 3 by posing and responding to questions. There was a limited scope of interaction and delay in response causing lack of motivation and frustration.
In Version 3.0, players are given a task and can start interacting with their classmates through mission’s group chat. They have the choice to interact as much or as little as they’d like, however, players with high participation get a chance to be featured in the Mission Board.
Open Gameplay,
Driven by Player Decisions
User Challenges: Unengaging gameplay experience
Fostering Connection & Community Building:
In Version 2.0, players had access messaging through the Connections Centre — but it wasn’t widely used because students felt hesitant and nervous to initiate.
To Alleviate Cognitive Fatigue or Anxiety associated with texting an unknown classmate, preset chat prompts are provided to initiate conversations faster and chat is integrated into missions with emoji reactions feature.
Expanded Peer-to-Peer
Connection Pathways
User Challenges: Lack of one-on-one communication
Analyzed feedback from surveys to quickly understand diverse perspectives and conducted moderated user testing to observe players’ interaction with the game.
Determined the need for additional testing after the game’s launch to evaluate student’s experience in a collaborative setting.
Survey
n = 12
Location: Canada
Internal Team Members
Interview
n = 4
Location: Canada
Internal Team Members
PHASE 03 - EVALUATE
Evaluating Design Decisions
"Liked the options for avatar creation for physical features and clothing - inclusive!"
INTERNAL TEAM MEMBER
“
I couldn’t unlike an item if I made a mistake."
- Internal Team Member
“
Wonder if there should be the ability to delete/redo a submission"
- Internal Team Member
“
The main screen for a world shows all participating characters. That can get busy/crowded quickly"
- Internal Team Member
Results
To access if the new design addressed the identified concerns, the game was access in the following areas:
85%
Reduction in task completion time and clicks, streamlining navigation and user flow.
3x
Increase in mission interaction,
boosting overall user engagement by 60%
90%
Of survey respondents reported
easier comprehension of game instructions.
60%
Rise in overall user engagement with game.
Next Steps &
Action Items
01.
Gathering More Data with Analytics & Play Sessions
Adding the game as an introductory activity in 2-4 courses to collect quantitative data on interactions frequency, participation time etc, followed by qualitative analysis with survey & usability testing.
02.
Improving Chat Functionality
Internal testing helped recognize the limitations of our current chat. Allowing players the option to edit/delete messages and remove/edit emoji reactions will improve usability by providing the control to rectify mistakes.
03.
Allowing Even Higher Personalization with Avatar Creator
Allowing higher personalization and enhancing inclusivity by providing players the ability to adjust body type, tweak eyes and provide more options for mobility devices.
Lessons & Limitations
Richer, more Accurate Insights Arise from Testing with the Target User and in the Right Setting: Due to project timelines and budget constraints, it wasn’t possible to get approval for conducting moderated user-testing of Version 03 with students before the launch.
Quick Testing is Better than No Testing: Nevertheless, testing the new version with internal team members was insightful as it provided validation for design decisions made while also highlighting areas that needed further improvement/ modification.
Less is More: Students, especially adult learners can easy feel overwhelmed in an unfamiliar environment. Ensuring consistency, following standards and keeping the interface clean are simple yet significant changes to avoid cognitive load.
"The game was selected & presented
at the Serious Play Conference 2023,
North America’s largest dedicated
games and learning conference.
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