Overview:

The Spicy Slips game mode enables users to participate in live sporting events by providing real-time props. Players can pick up to 5 props and must get all chosen props correct to win. The peppers and milk branding engage with the users by adding gamification to this fast resolve low-commitment game mode.

Team:

Angel Pang: Product Design Lead, Design Manager, Game Branding

Lucy Kent: Senior Product Designer

Bernardo Leal: Director of Engineering

Rodolfo Lemes: Backend Engineer

Roman Kharcenko: iOS Engineer

Leonardo Armelin: Android Engineer

Lucas Bazzo: QA

Marcela Barbosa: QA

Challenges:

How might we create a fun, engaging experience with real-time props through gamification while maintaining intuitive user flows?

Constraints:

• Choosing appropriate information from third-party data provider's technical documents to display to players for market props.
• It is necessary to keep players updated about the resolution of the props on their slips in real time so that they can cash out and start a new slip. 
• If real-time data during a game shows an incorrect score, it can be challenged and may result in adjustments to the game or player scores.

Research:

The game targets individuals between 18 and 26 with experience playing fantasy games and some sports knowledge. Our research focuses on how players engage with fantasy sports, paid contests, and gamification.

• In a proprietary survey of 591 participants, 69% said they wager cash in fantasy games. 
• Fantasy players struggle with winning money and losing interest as the season progresses. 
• Gamification motivates and engages players through gameplay. The framework gives users purpose and ownership in the game.

HMWs:

• Provide users with relevant information to help them make quick decisions when selecting props for their slips and increase their chances of winning.
• Design gamification within the game so it increases retention and engagement. 
• Allow users to monitor their slips and winnings to cash out and start a new slip quickly. 

Solutions:

After conducting research and brainstorming sessions, my team and I identified three areas of focus that would fulfill both business and user goals. These areas include prioritizing essential information for events and props in games, incorporating gamification for repeat play and engagement, and facilitating smooth transitioning between active and monitoring states.

Prop Card design:

When it comes to making prop selections, players rely on important information like market category, game details, current score, and prop description. To make this information easy to access, we've prioritized it by color and text size on the prop cards. We've also assumed that players are already familiar with their sports team, as they are sports fans. We've used team shorthand or acronyms wherever possible to decrease cognitive overload.

Gamification:

Incorporating peppers into the game's visual design serves as a strong branding element and enhances the concept of collectibility. Moreover, it motivates players to stay engaged, aligning with the business objective of increasing engagement and retention.

Monitoring:

The bottom slip drawer and secondary tab for open and closed slips allow players to easily monitor their slips and know when a slip is eligible for cash out. 

Results:

In early February 2023, Spicy Slip version 1 was launched featuring NBA market props. By March, the game had added props for March Madness and introduced the multi-league feature for MLB in version 2. Due to the addition of multi-league props, user participation increased by 200% and entry fees paid increased by 400%.