Improving the private matchmaking experience in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Pokémon TCG Pocket is the recently released mobile version of the already popular Pokémon Trading Card Game. While card collection is one of its main features, it’s most engaging feature is using collected cards to trade and battle other players. Social interactions and a sense of community are one of the pillars of the game, and so the focus of this project was to improve on those social experiences. My work focused on making the act of challenging a friend to a private match less demanding and more intuitive.
The Problem
Currently, players wanting to challenge a friend to a battle cannot simply choose that friend from a list, but are required to create a password that is only shareable by leaving the app.
Creating a password to engage in battles is convenient for players who want one-off matches without the commitment of adding their opponent to their friends list, but makes the experience rough for players who simply want to play a quick match with their buddies
Research
It is too bothersome to battle friends because there is no in-game invite system.
Casual players would benefit from less clicks to battle friends, as they will often be battling the same people anyway.
More competitive players who take part in competitions and online streamers may benefit from password-based matchmaking due to the ability to battle anonymously without the commitment of adding strangers as friends
As part of my investigation into the problem, I conducted interviews with three Pokemon TCG Pocket players. Overall, these interviews resulted in the following mutual findings:
Goal & wireframing
To improve on the current private matchmaking experience, I aimed to:
Reduce the number of clicks required to challenge a friend to battle
Remove the necessity to leave Pokémon TCG Pocket just to engage in a private match
Give players the option to quickly choose the friend they want to battle
Stay within the app’s art style
Solution
My final solution maintains the password matchmaking option and gives players the additional option of simply opening their friends list and choosing the friends they’d like to battle, in the same manner as selecting the deck they’d like to use in the menu underneath. In this way, players no longer need to exit and re-enter the app and can more easily engage in private matches with long-time friends. Those seeking anonymous battles may still use passwords if they’d like. Here’s my solution: