Bridging virtual and physical experiences at Blizzard

A dialogue player for character statues, enhancing employee NPS and scaling for Blizzard convention use.

Context

Blizzard not only brings enjoyment through their games, but also to their office.

Statues like these not only remind employees of their hard work, but boost morale so they keep creating incredible games!

An new opportunity reusing existing parts

As the sole designer, I created an interactive display for visitors to play Junkrat’s dialogue in different languages, showcasing Blizzard’s work alongside the new statue.

Exploring the Space

What kind of users are we designing for?

With diverse user types, understanding their needs and interactions is key. I identified the primary user groups and their variations.

Staying true to the Blizzard values!

From my initial research, I pulled inspiration from the Blizzard principles to help even further with design direction.

Design

Competitive analysis on election based audio platforms

I researched platforms centered on audio selection and games with character voice lines.
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All of these platforms were easy to touch-navigate, had instant audio playback, and simple UI.

Multiple rounds of ideation

I began with low-fidelity designs, iterating based on feedback from the design team and developers. Once refined, I presented them to stakeholders for early input.
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Design UI was based on Overwatch's UI -- thank you to the Overwatch 2 team for helping me out by providing assets!  🧡🧡

Usability Testing

How will users interact with the product?

I used Maze for an unmoderated usability test, presenting scenario-based questions to study user interactions.
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All 27 respondents were Blizzard or ABK (Activision Blizzard King) employees, ranging from tenured staff to recent hires, including both remote and in-person employees.

Final Solution

With insight from users, I made some edits to the final design.

The main changes included:

1. Adding more depth to the dynamic cards to increase scrolling visibility.
2. Adding descriptions under buttons rather than relying on standalone buttons to reduce ambiguity.

Impact

Projected Impact

Due to a project shift, development was delayed to the following year. But even with this delay, the projected impact is sure to add even more enjoyment for our employees.

Adaptable for use with other statues

The simple, adaptable layout allows stylistic adjustments for any character, personalizing experiences for each character with unique voice lines from a single base design.

Scalable Impact

This project was designed for in-office use by employees and approved visitors, with future potential for BlizzCon, expanding to all Overwatch characters for attendees.