Episode Interactive
Pocket Gems
Mobile iOS and Android
Key Skills
product vision, strategy, user research, usability testing, storyboarding, prototyping, design operations
What is it
Episode is an interactive story-telling platform for mobile. It was the first of it’s kind, combining gameplay and narrative on mobile to create a new form of story-telling.
The platform includes a writer’s portal where anyone can sign up to write their own stories and publish them to Episode readers worldwide.
Why I joined
Episode was not just a game, it was also a product and a service. I wanted to tackle a larger project working on a complex product system with multiple fronts.
I could continue to develop as a design leader at Pocket Gems by introducing and refining the design process I established on Wild Beyond.
Episode leadership was interested into adapting user research with their current development process. Combined with a strong relationship with their community, I had a great opportunity to hone my user research skill set.
I joined as Lead Designer on a newly established R&D team focused on re‑envisioning the core Episode experience.
What I accomplished
- Our team designed, prototyped, and piloted 2 game systems that enhanced the core Episode experience while creating long-term goals and progression for our readers. While both systems positively impacted retention and engagement, one was chosen to be implemented in Episode’s top story with minimal cost and resulted in a 10-15% boost in revenue.
- Defined and established a formal design process for the Episode team, incorporating cross-disciplinary feedback. Onboarded, trained and mentored 1 junior designer and 1 senior designer.
- Established User Research as part of the product development process with adaptations to Episode’s unique needs. Managed, conducted, presented learnings, identified next steps, trained Episode team and designers in process.
- During this time I also lead a cross-studio team responsible for improving diversity and inclusion at Pocket Gems.
What I learned
Bite-sized Research
We were able to quickly gain robust insight on key questions by utilizing multiple qualitative and quantitative datasets. We did this by running multiple small tests with a variety of methods (onsite interviews, remote user tests, surveys, a/b testing) in parallel.