OVERVIEW

Patrons of Akihabara needed a way to reserve time slots to avoid large crowds. Also, dedicated fans wanted the ability to keep track of their high scores.

The goal of this particular project was designing an app for Akihabara Arcade that allows users to make reservations and view game leaderboards.

ROLE

UX Designer
User Research, Interaction, Visual design, Prototyping & Testing

October 2021 to February 2022

Akihabara Arcade is a local Japanese themed arcade specializing in vintage games that also serves craft beer and cocktails. They host several tournaments and events. Akihabara targets customers that have a love for gaming and are looking for a unique night out.

The user group confirmed initial assumptions about Akihabara Arcade customers, but research also revealed that tracking high scores was not the only factor users needed in an app. Other user problems included social distancing, because of the current state of the world, users wanted the ability to make reservations to avoid large crowds.

Taking the time to draft iterations of each screen of the app on paper ensured that the elements that made it to digital wireframes would be well-suited to address user pain points. For the home screen, I prioritized a quick and easy reservation process to help users save time.

As the initial design phase continued, I made sure to base screen designs on feedback and findings from the user research. Based on user insights, a calendar was added for booking reservations to make process more efficient.

Usability Study Round 1 Findings:

• Ability to create reservations efficiently

• Confirmation after creating profile

• Include navigation menu

Early designs were very basic and leaderboard navigation was unintuitive, but after the usability studies, I added forward and back arrows to scroll through games. I also revised the design so users see the top three scores color coded as well as their own.

The second usability study revealed a number of users didn’t want to create a profile before using the app. To alleviate this issue, I added the option to create profile later.

The Akihabara Arcade app puts user’s needs and experiences as a top priority.

View the Akihabara Arcade high-fidelity prototype