Outrush Ordinary

A video game project

Problem

Create an app video-game for both Android and iOS, co-branded to Microsoft and the NFL, and highlight four of the biggest names (egos) in the sport, in about 8 weeks - so that we can launch in Miami during the championship - are you kidding?

Solution

This project was only successful because of the team. Job-titles-schmob-titles - everyone on this team played every role at some point and to some extent. Strict Agile methodologies were observed to meet deadlines, but creative came from everyone.

Team

  • 1 UX designer

  • 3 developers

  • 2 content writers (and creatives)

  • 1 creative director

  • 1 project manager

  • Tons of support (video, graphics, phone calls)

ALL REQUIRED TO BE "GAMERS"

My Role

  • UX design

  • UX research

  • Review EVERYTHING

  • Play test

  • Act-out animations

  • Correct faulty football knowledge

Known Friction

  • About 8 weeks to deliver -

  • In terms of brand approvals - far too many chefs in the kitchen

  • None of us had ever built a game

  • Featured player has on-field incident, league considers suspension, now what?

Process for this project
Outrush Ordinary

In a couple hours, we have a direction...

Brainstorm

The team was assembled, and upon hearing the time constraint, quickly agreed to some guerilla-tactics to meet the challenge.

  • How and why did you choose which path/s to map?

  • How did you test and validate the map?

  • What did the journey mapping reveal?

  • What were the main pain points of the user?

  • What changed in the design due to user journey mapping?

Outrush Ordinary

Just enough "flow" to get developers, graphics started

Storyboard

Inspired by watching Star Wars documentaries as a kid, I decided I could offer the team a storyboard for the game, quick-and-dirty, to provide a frame work to think about the game, plan for it, etc. What is it that we are building? What is our story?

  • Title screens

  • Orienting

  • Playing

  • Playing again

Outrush Ordinary

Is this how you start building a video game?

Design

For the life of the project, I thought about the mechanics of the game, and how we would tie-in real world content and branding over the top of it, to create an engaging experience for brands and fans alike.

Game considerations

  • Screen real-estate - how big can buttons really be?

  • Increasing difficulty - what feels natural?

  • A11y Aspects - How accessible can we make the game? (Not perfect, but we did try.)

  • Game features expected on all games - settings, customizations, etc.

Game-development considerations

  • What actions, surprises, and personal branding go with each real-life player appearing in the game?

  • Early prototypes (drawings, process diagrams, early sketches) for stakeholder and executive updates and move-forward approvals.

  • How best to get approvals for artwork, branding, and ultimate approval to go-live?

  • During development, constant play-testing, and generating JIRA tickets for needed enhancements.

  • Review and critique storylines, graphics styling, animations, full game testing, and full share with client stakeholders.

A video highlight reel

Results

We built and delivered Outrush Ordinary on-time. The marketing and video crews took over, and well; I'm pretty proud of what we created (clearly).

Despite the AAF removing all usable links, it is a fact, we won a Gold Addy in 2020 for Outrush Ordinary. Pleasing the clients, and creating much joy.

Learnings

This project taught me the power of team that trusts each other to

  • Give and receive feedback, regardless of roles, and always with respect for our team's expertise

  • We have a "decider" - provide input, but then support decision

  • Have fun - we're building a game and games are fun

  • Do it right - we barely had time do it right - we had no time for mistakes

With clear purpose of goal, and shared direction, it was a fast, well-oiled, and successful outcome for everyone.