Adventurer’s Assistant

Project Description:

A passion project of mine - Combining Dungeons and Dragons and technology to make the game more accessible to new players!

Problem Statement:

Dungeons and Dragons has a significant barrier to entry. To get started, you need to read the Player’s Handbook, a comprehensive guide that covers character classes, rules of combat, magic spells, and more. Many new players are intimidated by this and lose interest.

Research

I did a competitor analysis of popular D&D apps, and held a card sort to get ideas for a digitalized character sheet.

  • Too much information, I wasn’t sure what was important.

  • These apps target experienced players, new players would have a steep learning curve.

Competitor Findings:

To simplify the experience on a small screen size, I wanted to know how players might group information from the character sheet. I used this to help users navigate between important information.

Card Sort:

Design

I created wireframes based on the goals below.

  • Simple Character Creation

    • The most important step to getting started. To me, “simple” meant able to complete without referencing outside materials.

  • In-game updates

    • This could be adding new items, learning a new spell, or changing their stats.

  • Customization

    • D&D fans are creative. I wanted my design to allow customization to spells, items, classes, or anything else. I considered this a “nice to have.”

Main Goals:

Usability Testing

I put the wireframes in front of new and experienced players to get their feedback.

  • New users liked the introduction to each class, but felt lost in later steps.

  • New users felt overwhelmed and confused when viewing some screens.

    • I realized these screens had information new player’s wouldn’t have experience with.

  • Experienced users had quick access to all the information they wanted.

User Feedback:

  • Simplify screens to help new users find and understand information

  • Guide users through the character creation process

Updated Design Goals:

Final Product

Character Creation -

  • Added summaries for each decision through the process.

  • Added animations to draw attention to important sections.

Digital Character Sheet -

  • Added more space between sections to help separate information and avoid overwhelming users.

  • Added sections to allow for customization, like adding items or taking notes.

  • Allow users to navigate between pages by using the bottom bar.

Next Steps

This is where I stopped with this project. D&D is a hobby of mine, and it was a lot of fun trying to improve the player experience. My next steps would be to test with my latest concepts and see if my design goals are being met. If not, I would iterate off my findings.

If this project sounded interesting to you, or you also have ideas on how to simplify the D&D experience, please reach out!

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