My role: Product designer

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Tasks include: Designing user interfaces, Researchingusers, Planning user tasks and flows, Testing usability, and collaborating withPMs and Engineers.

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Tools used: Figma

The back story: Purpose of Game Assist

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45M devices play PC games daily on Windows.

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A lot of gamers tend to use a browser while they play PC games for a variety of reasons.​ We found that our users have challenges when it comes to playing games and accessing the browser.

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Our challenge was to discover innovative ways to provide better integration between the browser and the PC games for our users while also reducing their pain points.

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Pictures of user research data

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The problem

Gamers need better integration between the browser and gaming experience to reduce interruptions while playing a game.

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The customer needs

PC gamers who play more than three times a week, and who use their browser while gaming were recruited for this research.

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In verbatims, users often asked for a “minimized browser window” that could run within the game.

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The goal

• Reduce/eliminate the need to switch between the game and browser to alleviate technical issues ​and also help them focus on the fun.
• Offer access to AI Copilot while in-game​
• Allow gamers to see the game while they browse, empowering them to complete tasks during downtime without missing a beat​.

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How success is measured

Success will be measured looking at metrics such as:

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• Daily active use
• Decrease in switching between game and browser

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Key tenets from research team

• Do not detract from the gaming experience (focus/UX/perf)​.
• Delight gamers by helping them complete the browsing tasks they already do today faster and more efficiently​.
• Minimize setup and maximize play time​.

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Building Edge into Game Bar​

Gaming overlays like Windows Game Bar allow users to interact with apps without leaving the game.

Adding a gaming-focused browser and AI to Game Bar will allow gamers to complete their most common tasks—browsing, media playback, and looking up help—in a small lightweight widget without leaving their game. ​
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Gamers can even access popular services for gamers right at their fingertips—no app required.​
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This experience is comprised of four key aspects:

• Customized gaming browser
• Tips and guides for your current game​
• Copilot experienced tailored for gamers​
• Gaming apps

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Accelerating access to in-game help​

Over 2/3 of gamers look up help while they play, second only to listening to media in the background. ​
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Game Assist provides a delightful and welcoming experience by prioritizing quick access to Copilot chat prompts, gaming tips, gameplay guides, and more—all contextual to the game they are currently playing. ​

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Image showing “Game Assist” while playing a game.

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Browse the web while you play

Game Assist is a built-in Edge browser which provides quick access to any site on the web without leaving the game. 

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The game is always visible in the background for peace of mind, and gamers can optionally pin the widget to continue showing it above the game while they play.​

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Images showing different views of “Game Assist” while playing a game.

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Game-aware AI Copilot chat​

Gamers can quickly start a conversation with Copilot from the chat prompts on the homepage or by navigating to the chat app. ​
Customized for gamers​.

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Copilot instantly understands game context and offers relevant answers. Andwith the Xbox plugin, Copilot becomes their ultimate gaming companion.​

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Image showing Copilot view in “Game Assist”

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Browser data

Users can access favorites, history, form fills, and more.​

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Users can access their tabs on desktop​
Open tabs on desktop don’t appear in Game Assist by default (and vice versa) to avoid in-game clutter, but users can easily roam their tabs for quick access.​
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Game-specific tabs​
Game Assist will even remember which tabs the user had open for each game, making it easy to return to commonly used sites for a specific game.​

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Images showing access to browser data such as History and favorites.

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Game view app in Edge

For multi-monitor gamers… ​

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​With the Game view app in Edge, users with multi-monitor setups who want the full browser can benefit from the same great contextual feed as in Game Assist.​

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Various views of the Game view app in Edge

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Would customers use this?

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Conclusion and Key takeaways

This was one of the design projects I led while at Microsoft. Here are some of my learnings:

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Understanding the business and impact: I learned that although designs are important, but it is also important to understand the business goal and impact. This helped me tocreate more informed design decisions that truly aligned with the overall goals of the project and company.

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Transparent management of tasks: With working with different partners, and constantly shifting priorities, it is important to have a unified task list or loop document that is accessible to everyone working on the project. This helps keep everyone on track and on the same page when it comes to what needs to be done, timelines etc.

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