Background:
This app is an entertainment game for (dog loving) users to play an interactive bingo game on the go. It’s like a treasure hunt but the treasure is dogs that match the bingo cards description. This will be an idle game where users can come and go from the app as they please without requiring the player to complete the goal. This will be good for casual gamers who prefer entertainment without committing to competitive play (although bingo cards will be timed so competitiveness against friends for top position on the leaderboard is encouraged).
Goals:
I want to create a fun game for animal lovers and walkers. This app will require a smart device with a camera in order for users to take pictures of the subject, such as, an iPhone or Android. Users will be able to share their results with friends and encourage them to play and compete who can complete their bingo card quickest.
My impact:
I have done user research, wiremaps, POV statements, created flow charts, and user journey maps to understand user needs and to help me design the app. I have used videos on YouTube to help me create my game within Unity. Adjusting a shared C# script online to suit my game in order for it to work in a prototype. In hopes that in the future this will get developed and properly functioning.
Summary:
During the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) classes I studied at University, I learnt the fundamentals of designing games using Unity, and to understand the users wants/needs by creating wireframes, journey maps, mood boards, and POV statements.
Research
Goal areas I would like to explore:
What are the pain points of the app?
Are there similar apps - the app where user can enter what they want in the bingo card and user has to take Pictures and play with friends
How can people without a dog play?
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Methodology
- User interviews with dog owners and non dog owners.
- App and website analysis to discover competitors.
- Secondary research of locations for best dog meet up spots or walking trails.
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Current evaluation:
To help understand pain points in using the app:
- Needing to use the camera for the game has privacy complications - in app permissions
- Having games timed - will timer run in background of app if user hasn't found subject? can users come off the game and resume their bingo card when they find subject?
- Needing service/Wi-Fi to upload data and to share online - users can save data and share data once connected to internet.
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Risks:
- Privacy to dog owners, people not posting the correct image to fill their bingo card.
- When making a game for iPhone, apple have a guideline and rules that must be followed to get an app approved to be put in the app store . Meanwhile Android has no requirements to publish apps through the Google Play store.
- Will app run in background for timer to continue? Which can lead to battery drainage for the mobile user.
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Demographic:
"The rise of mobile gaming and data acquisition has allowed game developers and marketers to understand their audience significantly and hyper-target potential new players. This allowed them to stop marketing games so broadly and begin to appeal to specific audiences such as older gamers and women.
Targeting such niche audiences can prove beneficial as well – as there is less competition with niche audiences vs. mainstream audiences.
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In addition to being able to target potential players more effectively, game developers could also display ads in their games more effectively – allowing them to charge more for niche targeting and make more revenue from ads." - Uptic (2022)
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My target would potentially be midcore/causal gamers due to people who walk dogs would be in the typical ages of 20-50.
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POV statement chart
User journey map
SWOT analysis
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Strengths
- USP- having interactivity where users take picture to fill bingo card
- Friendly competition
- Gets people out and about
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Weakness
- Copyrights?
- Security concerns for pet owners
- Permissions - access for camera, location
​- Maybe there should be a set timer so multiple games that are in play don't continue and get back logged which could cause lag.
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Opportunity
- Brand sponsor monetization
- Brand recognition
- Potentially organize previous games so ended games would be found there and games that are running filtered in another section?
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Threats
- Rules and regulator violations?
- Copyright?
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Flowchart
Ideation
Features the app should have:
Must haves:
- Map location for users to find good spots to find subjects for their bingo card,
- Notification to remind users to ask for consent before taking pictures of other peoples dogs.
- In-app permission to use camera and location.
Nice to have:
- Routes for dog walks.
- Pet friendly business partnership.
- Real time dog walking spots?
- Partnership with dog walking company? - can allow walkers to get/give consent,
- Notifications if friend has completed their bingo card before you.
Lo-fi wiremap
Iterations:
Revise wiremap and evaluate if any changes or improvements - i.e. making maps bigger, removing unnecessary text and buttons?
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I designed a few pages that i think are crucial to the game play and what makes my app unique.
I realised a menu at the bottom would help with navigation.
Moodboard
This shows the main theme I want in my app design; With abstract repeated patterns for the background. I want it to feel fun and sweet to capture the main theme of the game.
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I was going to use icons and text in the bingo boxes but thought it may clash with the dog abstract wallpaper in the background so simple text will be easier to read for users.
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Ui kit:
Iconography,
Typeface:
Bold for headlines and subheads
Colour - range of colours - unisex
primary colours and why?
Hi-fi wiremap
After testing the design I found the abstract clashed with the text so I added a low opacity colour box behind the text and images for it to be easier to read for the user.
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The map will be google maps which users will be able to full screen. Using alltrails.com shows google maps with best dog walking trails. Users will be able to enable their location in the settings of the app for best closest results.
There should be a message to users that there may be no guarantee of finding the what they need on their bingo card. Maybe a conduct a survey to find the average of times people typically walk their dog and favorite locations.
Prototype
To be continued...
Usability testing:
- Are buttons reachable for iPhone user?
- Is the layout efficient?
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Conclusion:
- Key takeaways?
- Lessons learnt?
- Limitations? due to holding basic knowledge of c# script in Unity I was able to build the fundamental elements in the app.
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References:
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Upptic. (2022). Mobile Marketing Trends for Gaming. [online] Available at: https://upptic.com/mobile-marketing-trends-for-gaming/. [accessed 20/7/24]
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AllTrails.com. (2026). Explore and Discover Trails Nearby | AllTrails [online] Available at:
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Apple (2024). App Store Review Guidelines - Apple Developer. [online] Apple.com. Available at: https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/.