Song Association
A game interpretation of Elle Magazine’s interview game under the same name.
Overview
I was surprised to find out that Elle Magazine, a company which reaches over 69 million people, does not have an available app of their popular interview game ‘Song Association.’ I developed interaction design and playtested an interactive game inspired by this concept.
Challenge
How can I translate this game into a fun app that two people can play while following social distancing guidelines?
Role
Usability testing, visual design, low-hi fidelity wireframes, prototyping, user research.
Toolkit
Balsamiq, Sketch, InVision, Origami Studio.
Song Association is a fun game that can be played while video calling your friends and family.
Video of completed design.
Research
I interviewed 7 people at the beginning of the pandemic to understand what digital games they enjoyed playing with friends and family.
I found that people love games:
Where they can sass their friends and family.
Where the game has some sort of tension or anticipation.
Creating Concepts
I created a low fidelity prototype that reflected Elle Magazines original rules.
This interaction design included a computer and mobile component. The original player would invite up to 8 friends to play the game. Everyone would have the same view on their computers but would get individual instructions on their phone.
Concept Testing
Users ranked this concept on initial reaction, concept comprehension, and likelihood of use.
Many users ranked the design low for concept comprehension and likelihood of use. They relied on verbal instructions to understand how they game worked and why there was both a computer and mobile component.
Pivoting to a New Concept
I drafted three different variations of the game following the rules of Elle Magazines interviews and limited the game to two players. Each version had a different configuration of how the players interact and how they gain points.
Version 1.
Player 1 gets assigned a word that Player 2 cannot see. Player 1 has ten seconds to start singing a song that includes their assigned word. If the Player 2 can correctly guess the word then Player 2 gets a point.
Version 2.
Both players can see Player 1's assigned word. Player 1 has ten seconds to start singing a song that includes their assigned word. If Player 1 successfully sings a song within that time frame, Player 2 assigns them a point.
Version 3.
Both players can see the assigned word at the beginning of the game. Whichever players first sings a song with the assigned word gets a point.
Version Testing
I had users rank these versions on initial reaction, concept comprehension, and likelihood of use.
Version 2 was the most popular concept with the highest initial reaction and likelihood of use. In this version users are not dependent on the other player for points. One user went as far as to say they liked the idea of watching the other player struggle to think of a song to sing.
Prototyping
I created a high fidelity prototype in Origami Studios and tested it on potential users. Through the testing of this prototype, I identified areas of improvement that would clarify the game and improve user experience.
Final Screens
The player is promoted to begin playing the game upon beginning the video call.
After clicking ‘Play,’ words begin to spin until it lands on the final word.
The player has 10 seconds to being singing a song with their given word.
Reflection
Don’t be afraid to pivot.
It was difficult to listen to confused users while testing my low fidelity prototype. However, it was a good opportunity to step back and consider how to create a simplified game with better interaction design. After my last round of user testing I felt confident I had a fun game that was a successful interpretation of Elle Magazine’s original concept.