system check
Save your computer details and shop with your system specifications in mind.
add-on feature
Conceptual
timeline
80 hours
role
Research,
UX/UI Designer
category
E-commerce,
games
introduction
What if every game on the Steam store was a game you could play?
About
I’ve been a Steam user since 2008. My college friends hooked me on Half-Life 2, and over nearly two decades (oof) I’ve built 3 custom gaming computers, bought over 600 games and counting on the platform, and sank thousands of hours into one of my favorite hobbies. Which is to say, I’ve had plenty of time to acclimate to the world’s largest digital distribution platform for PC games.
I chose Steam as the subject of a conceptual add-a-feature project because I was curious how others perceived the gaming giant.
You shouldn’t have to become a PC building enthusiast to shop for games
How many cores does your computer’s CPU have? Is it more or less than an Intel i7-8700k or AMD Ryzen 5 1800X? What about clock speed?
System requirements are meant to communicate the specifications you need to run a videogame. Unfortunately, they read like a pop quiz on the last 3 generations of computer hardware.
Users need a more approachable way of finding games that run on their current system.
System Check takes the guesswork out of game discovery by simplifying compatibility
On console stores, every game a user sees is something they can play. What if Steam could provide a similar experience?
System Check incorporates hardware details into the store, letting users browse for games that are compatible with their specific computer.
research
Pivoting from habits to focus on hardware
Understanding gaming habits
I started research most eager to understand and empathize with new users. What gaming habits did they have? How did they decide what to buy? Was their decision to purchase a game different than choosing to actually play the game?
My leading assumption was that users often own more games than they play. For that reason users may need help engaging with games they already own.
Steam platform familiarity
I interviewed 5 Steam users. Experience and familiarity with the platform ranged from the newest account being created in 2019, with 12 games owned to the oldest account created in 2007, with 854 games owned.
Computer hardware complicates the shopping experience
I was surprised to discover every participant mentioned a struggle with hardware limitations and compatibility at least once. Whether the concern was feeling purchase uncertainty due to owning an older laptop or discovering performance issues related to niche hardware such as an ultrawide monitor, 5 of 5 users felt their computer hardware added difficulty to the shopping experience.
- C.
Key findings
Just enough research?
Being wrong was exciting! By talking to users I found a problem I would have otherwise overlooked. Pivoting my project away from my initial research focus wasn’t without complications though. My discussion questions didn’t explore hardware frustrations in depth. I’d also already wrapped up my interviews, and in order to keep to my timeline I had to move on with the research I had.
DEFINE
A smooth, personalized shopping experience
The users
The users most impacted by hardware difficulty while shopping appeared to be those using older systems followed by non-Windows users.
Helping users on older hardware like Olivia was my primary focus.
Ideal for business and consumer
Steam users I interviewed fell back on refunds to reverse purchases of incompatible games. As someone with a customer support background in games, I know the ideal is getting a purchase right the first time.
For this feature I saw potential to increase sales in a demographic that has to overcome significant purchase uncertainty and lower costly refund transactions.
Discovery tools applied to a specific computer
One user described the experience of browsing for games in the Steam store as a trial-and-error process. They visit interesting game pages only to hit a snag with the system requirements.
Steam already provides details about a user’s hardware through help > system information. If these hardware details were integrated into the store, users could sort by, filter, or browse for games that are compatible with their specific computer.
DESIGN
Encouraging the use of features already present on Steam
The prototype needed to focus on the first time user experience
To convince Olivia to engage with the feature, I needed to make the first time user experience easy and the benefits clear. I defined task flows around set up and interaction with existing Steam features.
Learning Steam’s design language
Valve doesn’t have a public-facing design system for Steam. To keep the feature design cohesive I looked for design patterns that matched my feature concept. I borrowed heavily from Steam’s Family feature in particular. The set up process and necessary actions for both activities felt similar.
Set up for success
Olivia needs to grasp two things from her first impression of System Check: 1) Why the feature is useful 2) What permissions she’s activating by using the feature.
Early on I tested two versions of the set up process. Design A contained more information on fewer screens. Design B focused on a single task per screen. Winner: B. Users unanimously preferred the version that presented one task per screen.
Adjusting the store
Steam already has global store filter options. I added the ability to use ‘saved devices’ to activate the console-like shopping experience users like Olivia are used to.
Skip the scroll to system requirements
Olivia already know where to find system requirements, but she shouldn't have to dig for them at the bottom of the page every time. I added a simple checkmark at the top of the product page that shows compatibility, while detailed specs remain available below if they’re needed.
test
Communicating purpose in succinct terms
Methods
I created an unmoderated test in Maze for my prototype and recruited 5 participants, asking them to use a desktop for the experience. I admit, a big motivation for unmoderated testing was that I wanted to try Maze for the first time! I like exploring new products to add to my arsenal. Tools like screen capture and heatmaps were also useful for evaluating a detailed interface.
Usability results
Don’t forget branding
I didn’t think the copy was unclear, but when I compared “device management”, the name I used during testing, to other highlighted features in Steam the identity felt vague and generic. The strength of branding is communicating purpose in succinct terms.
I renamed the feature “System Check” and revised the icon to support the new identity.
Final design
Conclusion
What I learned
Next steps
If I were to launch this feature, my next design priorities would be:
- Exploring ways of encouraging feature engagement. Many users I interviewed seemed unaware of settings in Steam that could help them.
- Further integration of saved devices with store filters and features. I only scratched the surface of what's possible.
- Confirm impact of the feature by tracking refunds due to technical issues and purchase habits of the target audience.
A fun design detective exercise
I care deeply about the games industry, so it was a pleasure to work with a familiar subject like the PC gaming experience on Steam. I learned a lot from matching the brand’s dark mode style. Interpreting design patterns felt like a fun design detective exercise.
Don't fear the pivot
The pivot to thinking about how compatibility impacts the shopping experience was an unexpected, but welcome challenge. As someone who has built my own computer for the last decade or so, I felt like I had a lot to offer in terms of making system requirements more accessible to the average user.