Playstation
Enhancing Player Support Through a Personalized Game Help Tool
Self-Initiated Exploration
UX Research, Usability Testing, Rapid Prototyping, Interaction Design
Outcome
Validated a final prototype of the console and mobile app experiences.
Overview
THE Opprtunity
Create a tool that removes the need for players to leave the PlayStation ecosystem when searching for help
Introduction
Since the PlayStation 5's 2020 debut, Sony has improved upon its Game Help feature, expanding support to more games with the launch of a new Community Game Help feature in 2024.s a wearable device that delivers alternating vibrations to both wrists to help regulate the nervous system for stress, focus, and sleep.
Opportunity
The Community Game Help feature offers player-generated videos for additional guidance on the console. This exploration expands upon this by using Natural Language Processing and Web Content Summarization to answer a broader range of nuanced player queries.
Outcome
This final prototype was well-received by PS5 users and successfully minimized the need for players to leave the console in search of help with nuanced in-game challenges.
Solution
Players can now find game solutions from the web without leaving the console
The PS App now enables players to ask questions on mobile devices and pin a solution to the console.
Research
Qualitative Analysis
Giving players one less reason to leave the PS5 during gamplay.ototype delivered, product in active development
With decades of walkthroughs and guides available online, players often turn to web-based resources such as videos, forums, and guides to progress forward or anticipate challenges ahead.
User Interviews & Testing
Limitations of a very good feature.
Player interviews showed greater use of the feature for titles like Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which offers comprehensive support. In contrast, players preferred external help for games like Sifu, due to its more nuanced combat strategies.
Opportunity Identification
Value Proposition
Providing a flexible in-console tool to solve nuanced player queries for a wider range of games.
The value of this feature lies in providing players with sufficient guidance directly through the console, minimizing external distractions on the web that may pull them away from the game.
Player Journey Update
Current Player Journey
Players may "disconnect" from the console to seek external solutions if Game Help lacks sufficient support.
Some players would leave by default without exploring Game Help, while others would explore the feature and determine if the provided solutions resolve their in-game challenge.
The New Player Journey
Incorporating AI-tooling to interpret player questions, and provide summarized solutions from the web.
Some players would leave by default without exploring Game Help, while others would explore the feature and determine if the provided solutions resolve their in-game challenge.
Testing Web Content Summarization
Ensuring web content summarization is a viable option for game related solutions.
I tested several game-related queries in the AI-powered Arc Search app to evaluate its generated solutions. I was impressed by its ability to provide well-constructed guidance, drawing from official wikis and user opinions.
Rapid Prototyping
PS5 Prototype v1
Enabling players to quickly ask questions and view a solution without breaking game immersion.
I prototyped a version of this feature allowing players to easily activate "Ask PlayStation", placing their game out-of-focus. The AI model interprets their question, and generating text and image responses based on web content which can be pinned to the screen while in-game.
Mobile App Prototype v1
Incorporating Ask PlayStation into the PS App to maintain feature parity.
The PS App allows players to access many PS5 features, including the existing Game Help. I built a prototype enabling players to pin responses from the app to their PS5 console, adding a secondary query input method.
Prototype Usability Testing
Mapping to Home Button
The validated value of this feature led to replacing the existing "Quick Switch" button mapping.
This feature activates during gameplay with a double-press of the "Home" button, replacing the "Quick Switch" action, which was the least essential of the available options. All other buttons, except "Home" and "Create", are reserved for gameplay.
Feedback
The 400-millisecond window for double-pressing the "Home" button was too short.
Players appreciated the ability to activate this feature without navigating through menus.
Text & Image Solutions
Players found text and image solutions alone were insufficient to address all their questions.
Players appreciated the ability to pin responses to the screen but found that solutions presented solely through text and images were difficult to understand, particularly for games with mechanical challenges.
IOS Interactions
Players anticipated familiar iOS interactions, like holding the solution to pin it to the console.
Many testers did not currently have the PS App installed, but they found the ability to enter a question and pin responses to the console screen to be a valuable enough to install the app.
Existing Community Game Help
This prototype didn't consider how the feature would coexist with the existing Community Game Help.
While developing this prototype, I did not consider how this feature might integrate with or cannibalize the existing Community Game Help, as players may choose one option over the other.
Data Sources
Players often trusted fellow players' opinions more than official guides when solving challenges.
Players trusted solutions more when they knew a "real" player had experienced that challenge, especially from platforms like YouTube or Reddit. Some also expressed curiosity about the sources of the response data, as this impacted their trust in the information.
Prototype Iterations
Home Button Input Window
Increasing input window from 400ms to 600ms.
Increasing the allowance for the double-press input of the “Home” button from 400ms to 600ms created a more comfortable experience for players while in-game.
Community Game Help Integration
Prioritizing Community Game Help solutions for players before directing them to summarized content.
Presenting Community Game Help solutions first is essential, as it offers officially moderated content. The model would prioritize Community Game Help, followed by web-based responses.
Integrating Video Content
Leveraging a YouTube player to complement the text and image solutions provided by the model.
Given YouTube's popularity as a solution platform, feedback from the initial prototype revealed that players still preferred using it in many cases. To address this, I integrated relevant YouTube results alongside the text and image solutions provided by the model
Players Trust in the Data
Providing transparency on data sources through a dedicated tab.
Adding a "Sources" tab to the responses gives players visibility into the specific sites the model references. Players can also influence the model by removing certain searchable sites.
Increasing Trust in Data
Increasing the trust in solutions by allowing players to indicate the most helpful ones to others.
By including the "Do you find this helpful" vote under each YouTube video, the AI model can group similar questions and prioritize the most useful videos based on player feedback, rather than relying on SEO or YouTube's algorithm.
Final Prototype
Console Flow
Mobile App Flow
Future Use Cases
Introducing Players to the Feature
Welcome Tab Widgets
Players can discover this feature through the new Welcome tab, a customizable dashboard of widgets. A temporary widget reminds players of the simple input required to activate Ask PlayStation, while a permanent widget provides ongoing access
Other Use Cases
Funnel to PS Store
Players can gain greater clarity on a game, even when not within the PS Store. Ask PlayStation can direct players to a specific game page based on their inquiries.
Other Use Cases
Deeper Content Personalization
By leveraging in-depth player insights tied to interactions with the AI model, the console can generate more curated suggestions based on individual player preferences and behaviors.