Track your games, Know your skills
BACKGROUND
Gamers tend to always be looking for the next guide, tips, or tricks to help them get to the next level. This is particularly true for competitive FPS games such as Valorant, CS:GO, and R6. Valorant is among the newest and most popular FPS games released and gives an opportunity for a stat tracker app to be made. This app will overview some basic breakdown of analytics and statistics you would otherwise have trouble finding in the actual game.
Problem
Solution
Because of Valorant’s recent development, the statistical information given in game is not up to par with most other games. Players who are seeking more information in order to get better may have a hard time
Create a separate mobile app that allows various users to find additional statistical info in addition to patch notes, guides, tips and tricks. User can also search and discover other players' statistics.
USER PERSONA
Gamers are usually people who are up to date with the most current technological trends. Poyo is an avid gamer whose primary focus is now playing competitive FPS games like Valorant. He feels as if he is capped right now in terms of his progression in skill and wishes to find data driven information that might help him get better. The basic info given in Valorant doesn’t seem like enough for Poyo to understand where his problems are, so he looks to other options for help.
Competitor Analysis
Although there are apps and websites that do give certain information for competitive FPS games, few are geared specifically towards Valorant, and most are relatively poor in design and accessibility. Only two current mobile apps exist, both of which are rudimentary at best which gives the market an open space for a better and more conclusive app. Blitz.gg would be the biggest competitor, but even then it is only available on a desktop version.
Affinity Diagram
Affinity diagrams are often used to visualize where the biggest pain points and solutions can be found. The fact that the game is very new and most of the development has gone towards the actual game and not supporting information allows you to find how to make the app directed at fixing these problems. Simple things, such as a simple tips/tricks guide post or a body breakdown of where your shot % goes can be extremely valuable ways of helping the user get better at the game.
Survey
Do you use a 3rd party stat tracking app (ex: Blitz.gg) to get a better detailed analysis?
Do you use guides tips or tricks tutorials for Valorant?
In its current state, do you believe Valorant has a good statistical breakdown of information for played games?
%22.2
Somewhat Disagree
Do you use a 3rd party stat tracking app (ex: Blitz.gg) to get a better detailed analysis?
Do you use guides tips or tricks tutorials for Valorant?
In its current state, do you believe Valorant has a good statistical breakdown of information for played games?
%44.4
Yes
%55.6
NO
%22.2
Strongly Disagree
%11.1
Strongly
Agree
%33.3
Somewhat
Agree
%11.1
Neither Agree nor Disagree
%33.3
NO
%66.7
YES
USER FLOW
During the user flow phase. I wanted to focus on 1 full navigation throughout the applications main features. Ensuring the user feels secure through our Riot authentication will provide credibility to our name as well as making sure users can rely on our statistical breakdown of their gameplay. Users can navigate through 3 main features of the app which will break down their own game play stats. Users will also be able to compare their stats with their friends linked to their account and see how they are performing. The app still provides a feature that lets all users check the leaderboard to see who's at the top of the game and for whoever wants to stay in touch with the competitive scene.
WIREFRAME
During our wireframe phase we really wanted to focus on what kind of content that will bring users back to the app. Other than keeping track with their own stats, users who follow the competitive scene would also be able to see updates on leaderboards and who is climbing the ladder. Making sure key personal statistics were displayed was also a priority. Beyond knowledge of KDA (Kill/Death/Assist) we wanted to make sure we broke down how they were averaging in all aspects of the gameplay. Another way to retain users was by implementing a system that shows a statistical breakdown of their gameplay compared to their friends or people they recently played with. Just to make a friendly competition between who is better.
Final & Mockup
During the mockup phase making sure the login process is smooth was a priority to ensure the users felt safe. Giving the user an opportunity to continue as a guest lets users still use the apps content without having to feel like a login/signup was too much work before committing. The user is still allowed to use certain features of the app but will require a sign in or login to use personal statistics which will be an incentive if they like the features. Tracking statistics requires displaying a lot of information. By color coordinating and organizing a hierarchy for the breakdown helps the user not feel overwhelmed by the amount of information.
FUTURE
Stat tracker apps have a huge ability of giving players the specificity in games that they need. I think moving forward, you can talk about how you want to incorporate a replay feature so that people can rewatch their games and see where mistakes were made. Possibly an independent page for having tips/tricks or guides for certain utility functions (ex: smokes, arrows, nades). Maybe even adding a chatting function where you can talk to your friends even when you’re not physically on Valorant.