The Walking Dead: Survivors is the official survival strategy game based on The Walking Dead comic series from Skybound. Released in 2021, the game has been downloaded over 10 million times worldwide. Following its one-year anniversary, the team introduced an exciting new feature—the Animal System. By collecting and nurturing animals, players can gain additional power to fight against zombies while also boosting their daily resource production.
Overview:
Principal UX designer
Led the cross-functional team to adapt to Western user experience standards, identifying key user pain points and optimizing legacy game flows.
Collaborated with designers and conveyed the ideas to the wireframe.
Delivered interactive prototypes that facilitated early testing and iteration of key features
My role:
The Animal System was a complex feature with many gambling-inspired mechanics. The design team, based in China, drew inspiration from traditional Chinese games. However, since the target audience was primarily in Western markets, we conducted user and competitor research to highlight the key differences in gameplay preferences between Eastern and Western players.
Based on these insights, I worked to simplify the flow and designed each screen with a clear information hierarchy, ensuring that the experience was more intuitive and accessible for Western players.
Challenge:
User flow diagram:
I created flowcharts to quickly visualize the system and evaluate whether it aligned with both player behaviors and goals, as well as the designers’ objectives.
Wireframes and Explanations:
This step was essential in helping the team understand how the feature should be played. I also created edge case wireframes to help engineers anticipate different scenarios. Furthermore, I used these wireframes to build prototypes, allowing us to test and identify potential issues early on before engineers invested significant development time.
We also conducted user testing and gathered feedback to further optimize the feature. After its launch, players found it easy to quickly understand the gameplay and considered the feature both engaging and immersive. Casual players enjoyed the fun of collecting, while hardcore players could dive deeper into leveling up their pets and using the exchange function to enhance and expand their pets’ skills, thereby advancing their strategic advantages.
