Education and UX Design
Unity Editor Onboarding Tour
An onboarding feature with step-by-step guidance and interactive exercises to streamline the learning curve of the Unity Editor game engine.
Project Type
School Project
Project Duration
4 weeks
Software Stack
Figma, Adobe Creative Suite
My Roles
UX Researcher and Designer
Deliverables
✅ A evaluation of the user experience of beginners with the Unity Game Engine, with a specific focus on the challenges faced during installation and initial use of the Unity Editor.
✅ A new onboarding feature for the Unity Editor, aimed at improving the learning experience through step-by-step guidance and interactive exercises, reducing the learning curve for new users.
Design Impacts
🔹Developed and iteratively refined two prototype iterations through three rounds of usability testing, leading to a significant enhancement in user experience and learning efficiency.
🔹Achieved a 50% average improvement in learning rates among surveyed participants, demonstrating the redesign's effectiveness in boosting user understanding and proficiency with the Unity Game Engine.
01 Background
As a VR developer who struggled to learn Unity back in 2022, I experienced how daunting it can be for new users with little to no experience in 2D/3D game development. The sheer complexity of Unity's features felt overwhelming and often left me feeling lost. This challenge presents a significant barrier to entry for aspiring developers who, like me, are eager to dive into game development but lack technical knowledge. Without proper guidance, many new users may feel discouraged, ultimately leading to user attrition for the platform.
02 Research
To substantiate my hypothesis, I embarked on a two-pronged research approach consisting of direct user observations and a thorough review of secondary sources.
02.1 Observations
I conducted observational tests with five NYU students, all beginners to Unity or similar software by giving them a scenerio and asking them to perform tasks including Unity Editor installation, game object creation and manipulation, and asset importation from the Unity Store. After completing these tasks, I asked them a set of questions to gather feedback on their experiences.
02.2 Observation Findings
Problems with the existing "tutorial"
Unity Editor users have access to internal learning resources, including the 2D Platformer Microgame, which provides step-by-step guidance for software familiarity. However, as the term "tutorial" is not explicitly mentioned in its name, it may not be readily identifiable for beginners seeking instructional content.
Additionally, this tutorial lacks some fundamental steps crucial for building a game project from scratch, such as importing new assets and connecting to Unity's internal learning resource center.
02.2 Ethnographic Research & Findings
To deepen my understanding of the Unity Editor's onboarding experience for beginners, I broadened my research scope. This included gathering and analyzing user reviews from community forums and software rating platforms such as GetApp, G2, and Reddit. The analysis uncovered several pain points experienced by users, which are detailed as follows.
02.3 Competitive Analysis
A competitive analysis was developed to compare the features of two other game development engines with Unity: Unreal and CryEngine.
03 Solution Design
03.1 Personas
03.2 User Journey & Storyboard
03.3 Feature Prioritization & Project Goal
Upon completing the initial research phase, I categorized the features of the Unity Editor based on their levels of expectation and impact. Given the project's timeline, I elected to concentrate on enhancing the onboarding experience for Unity Editor beginners. This was to be achieved by developing an interactive tutorial, integrated seamlessly within the Editor's interface, to provide a hands-on learning experience for new users.
03.4 Wireframes & 1st User Testing
User Testing Findings with 2 Users
🔹The instructions are too far from the buttons at the bottom
🔹It is hard to notice where to interact within the interface and how to proceed to the next step
03.5 Mid-fi Prototype & 2nd User Testing
User Testing Findings with 6 Users
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The background content of the interface is overly distracting
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The red color used for the step tracker in tentative actions is excessively dominant
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The font size is inadequately small
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The "Skip All" button is unnecessary and hard to notice
04 Final Design
Feature 1: Increased Accessibility and Readability
(increased typeface by 2pt at each scale)
Feature 2: Newly Added Tutorial Button Under "Help" Menu for Easy Navigation
(drag icon to compare before & after)
Feature 3: Added Shortcut for Dark Mode
Before: Edit - Preference - General - Editor Theme
After: Dark Mode Button
Full Solution Demo
Takeaways
🔹Always devise a comprehensive plan for your research and design to ensure timely delivery of the final prototype
🔹Software reviews and discussion forums can serve as effective resources for research and user insights
🔹Usability testing is instrumental for developing an effective prototype and assists designers in identifying potential issues that might otherwise be overlooked
Future Steps
🔹Conduct an in-depth exploration of accessibility issues within Unity
🔹Consider implementing additional features to enhance the tutorial's intuitiveness, such as introducing a "Save Progress" function for users to preserve their tutorial progress
🔹Implement A/B testing to assess the tutorial's effectiveness and impact on user learning
