Events 2.0: Redesigning the Events Experience in Zooba

Zooba, a popular MOBA game with over 100M downloads on iOS and Android, faced two critical challenges:

1. Keep a 5+ year-old game fresh with new features, while respecting its established art direction and technical constraints, without increasing the app size.

2. Deliver a competitive Events experience, with one month to take it from design to release.

Together, these challenges raised concerns about a drop in player engagement and revenue.

ROLE 

UI/UX Designer, 2D illustrator

YEAR

2021-2023



TEAM

Product Manager, Engineers,
Art director, UX Designer,
Motion Designer, Game Producer

DELIVERABLES
Feature Breakdown
Competitive Analysis

Wireframes
Mockups
Final specs
Asset production

Events Revamp

Events are limited-time challenges with special missions and rewards, but few players were engaging with them, due to a low visibility in the game and a confusing UX. The revamp also introduced a new game system designed to drive monetization, along with a clearer UX, a more appealing UI and more visibility for events throughout the game.

The Events system was redesigned by game design around a single event at a time. The new Events screen supports that goal with one progress bar and one main action. Each milestone shows one reward in a clear claimed, current or locked state, and the top prize is highlighted to make the event more desirable. Together, these changes give players a clearer sense of progress and make it easier to see what they’re earning at each milestone.

In this feature, I was also responsible for directing the motion design, aiming to strike a balance between 'coolness' and efficiency, in line with the product goals.

The Events revamp also brought events into the rest of the game.
New moments in gameplay connect players to ongoing events, keeping them visible while they are live and adding more excitement and depth to the experience.

LOBBY - Features a thematic background and button icon

SUMMARY SCREEN - Displays the progress in the event match

GAME MODE - Includes an exclusive event match mode

GAMEPLAY - Event missions were visible during matches

EVENTS POP-UP – Displays the main rewards for the special event.

IMPACT

+3% in Revenue
+10% Session length

LiveOps Assets

Icons & Layout composition for Zooba's LiveOps UI.

The graphic composition process using pre-existing 2D illustration assets (characters, coins and chest).
For this graphic, I was responsible for creating the layout composition, effects, and applying lighting and shading in Photoshop.