Dick's Sporting Goods

In-Game Screenshot (Above): The locker room has a coach NPC (non-playable character) that players can speak to to receive directions or to learn about activities within the school.

Overview

Dick's Sporting Goods - Roblox 'School of Sport'

Late summer and early fall mark one of the busiest times for the retailer, and other sporting goods retailers - back to school. As fall sports kick off and school begins to come back into session, DICK’s wants to be the go-to source for students and parents’ back to school gear.

We created a virtual high-school within an evergreen Roblox world, to help Dick's create back to school hype and help teens unlock their confidence.

Produced in partnership with VMLY&R for Dick's Sporting Goods.

Role
UX Lead

Platform

Roblox via Roblox Studio

Programs

Figma, Miro

Roblox 101

What is Roblox?

Roblox is an online game platform and storefront where users go to play games.

Players can chat and game with other Roblox players and collect “gear” to outfit their avatars.
More than 47.3M daily active users and over 11.2B hours engaged.
70% of Roblox users are on mobile/tablet.
Developers can create games via the Roblox Studio, a free immersive game creation engine.

Research

Roblox Audit and Analysis

I started by exploring different Roblox games worlds and creating a library of game elements to reference. I also began by looking for brands that had already launched a game within the Roblox platform and analyzing what made them successful.

From this analysis, we presented features from each game that were best-in-class examples to the client, including but not limited to:

Fun, challenging games.
Stylish clothing for the player to unlock.
Rewarding players who uncover hidden rewards.
A truly unique, detailed and immersive game environment.

Environment

The Locker Room

The locker room is the entry point to the DSG world and a hub where players can change clothes, get directions and socialize with others.

The player will see a glowing locker with their username and click to open the shop.

Within the shop players can see all in-game equipment that they already own, as well as equipment they can also purchase using in-game currency.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): The gymnasium is a place for players to participate in an obby (obstacle course). As the player starts the game, a mascot head will appear on their avatar and a timer will appear at the top of their screen. Players that reach the top of the obby the fastest will see their name on the leaderboard.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): In the basketball court, players can compete in the hoop challenge game. Players will tap to fill their focus meter, which will affect the power of their free-throw. The player will attempt to hit as many targets as they can to get the highest score before the timer runs out.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): The objective of the football challenge is for players to make it through all 4 downs by making successful passes to their team members.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): Players can explore the vast stadium field and participate in an obby (obstacle course) or discover the secret lounge.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): Players can earn badges by completing in-game activities. The badges will appear on the their Roblox profile.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): The final Dick's Sporting Goods High-School map is accessible via the map button located at the bottom of the screen.

Environment

The Hallway and Gymnasium

The Hallway is the connecting pathway to the rest of the school, including the gymnasium. The gymnasium contains an obby (obstacle course) which is popular among competitive Roblox players.

Environment

The Outdoor Cafeteria and Basketball Court

The outdoor cafeteria is the social epicenter of the school and a place for players to socialize together. Next to the cafeteria is the basketball court where players can complete to get the high-score in the hoop challenge game.

Environment

The Stadium

The stadium field features a football challege game, an obby (obstacle course), as well as secret area for adventurous players to find.

Achievements

Badges, Stickers and Style Points

In-game rewards like collectible stickers, badges and style points are an important way to engage players that are achievement hunters.

Wayfinding

The School Map

After completing several rounds of concepting and review, a map was created of the approved environments and development started. The School of Sport features several common school environments, with a focus on sports and socialization.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): Eagle-eyed players that collect all of the stickers hidden throughout the game will receive a badge.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): Players can collect Style Points (in-game currency) throughout the environment, or by entering a special promo code.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): Players that explore the the edge of the stadium will discover the secret lounge under the bleachers and find a collectible sticker.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): The locker room has a combined shop and inventory that the player can access via locker. From here, the player can purchase and equip back-to-school clothing and gear.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): The outdoor cafeteria is a social setting players are familiar with.

In-Game Screenshot (Above): Style Points (in-game currency) line the hallway. Several lockers lining the walls contain hidden rewards for the players to unlock.

A line will be moving rapidly across the football size meter at the bottom of the screen. The player will tap to stop the meter. The size of the football will affect the score multiplier during the game.

An arrow on the football will be moving from side to side. The player will tap to stop the arrow and the football will be thrown in that direction. The player must make a successful pass to their team members without hitting an opponent to advance.

After successfully advancing all 4 downs and reaching the end of the field, the player will get a touchdown.

At the end of the game, players can see their score with the football size multiplier added in. They will also see their rank on the leaderboard.

Players can try on clothing before purchasing to see what it looks like on their avatar.

When purchasing equipment, a modal appears asking the player to confirm their purchase.

Snippet of Dialogue Tree (Above): The dialogue tree for the coach NPC was refined through multiple iterations.

Wayfinding Wireframe (Above): In-game signage was created based on this wayfinding map to help players navigate the world.

Locker Room Shop Wireframes

In-Game Video Capture (Above): A quick video reel featuring the final game environment and gameplay.

Research

The Bartle Test - Understanding Player Types

The Bartle Player Test was developed in 1996 for players of Massive Multiplayer Online Games and helps categorize users into player types based on preferred engagement and play style. Player types can be fluid, and a player can exhibit traits in multiple categories.

This chart was referenced throughout the brainstorm process to ensure we were creating activities that would attract all categories of players.

Ideation

Brainstorm Insights

In order kick off the ideation process, I began by designing and facilitating a working session with VMLY&R.

The session included 5 thought starter questions:

It's gameday at your school- how might you prepare for the big game?
How do you imagine yourself socializing with friends at school?
What comes to mind when you think about being confident while at school?
If you were the principal for just one day, what would you do?
Imagine you open a locker and a portal appears, what do you see?

After being read the thought starter, participants would be given several minutes to write out sticky notes with the what comes to mind. Each thought starter was broken into three sub categories each:

feelings, activitites, and objects/environment.

Once the activity was completed, I grouped similar sticky notes in order to see repeating groups and themes. These repeating themes were then used to help formulate the game experience.

Football Challenge Wireframes

Retrospective

In Conclusion...

Because this was our first Roblox build and the first time for the developers to use Roblox Studio, there was a sizable learning curve on the platform.
We required more time than was previously thought to create the game elements and had to limit the scope of what was possible.
Learning about gamification and game design was intriguing, but designing a functional game with rules and a scoring system was also a challenge.
There was also a lengthy process of approval for the word "Dick's" from Roblox which was getting caught in the inappropriate language filter.

Overall, creating this game was a valuable opportunity to learn more about the Metaverse and a fascinating project to work on.

Email: felber.rachel@gmail.com

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