Providing support in FC25 post-production

Recap on my experience working on bug fixes and change requests leading up to FC25 launch.
ROLE
Experience Design Co-op
TEAM
Connected Modes (Common Front End)
PROJECT LENGTH
May 2024 - August 2024
TOOLS
Figma, Adobe Photoshop

00. What is EA SPORTS FC?

EA SPORTS FC is the world’s biggest sports game with over 11 million players globally. Every year, the Experience Designers focus on bringing new improvements and changes that enhance the overall user experience.

As a member of the Connected Modes team, my job was to create intuitive and consistent experiences shared across modes such as player profile, settings, navigation, avatar customization, and social. We also work on specific in-game features like Meta, Clubs, and Game Modes.

01. Project Overview

MY ROLE AS AN EXPERIENCE DESIGNER (XD)

Experience Designers (XD) focus on players and the “how”. The role encompasses skills from both UX and UI design. We focus on UX elements like intuitive thinking, understanding player expectations, and generally keeping things simple. This is done through processes like creating player flows, wireframes, and conducting user experience research (UXR). We also provide visual and UI support of features through creating UI mockups, assets, and motion/animation.

XD’s work closely with Game Designers, Producers, Operations/Development Managers and Software Engineers.

RECREATED ILLUSTRATION FROM LILIIA MANDRINO

FC25 PRODUCTION CYCLE

Why is post-production so important?
💅

POLISHING & REFINING GAMEPLAY

Fine-tuning kinks in the gameplay experience
🐛

BUG FIXING & QUALITY ASSURANCE

Identifying and fixing any issues that detract from player experience
🎮

TESTING OF BETA VERSION

Quality testing to ensure market release is to standard

THE PROBLEM

Although most of the feature development was completed by post-production, our job as designers was to ensure that the build designs matched the mockups that we created. More often than not, that was not the case.

So, we asked...

How might we use the time we have during post-production to ensure that the screen designs throughout FC25 exceed player expectations and create meaningful experiences?

02. My Post-Production Tasks

 // Creating assets

I helped create icons and assets that were missing in existing FC25 screens.

WEATHER ICONS SET

One of my first tasks was to create weather icons that were missing in the match settings screens.

TUTORIAL SCREEN ASSETS

I was also tasked to help create assets for tutorial screens: specifically, for a new feature released in FC25 called FC IQ and also revising some existing screens for Clubs.

 //  Fixing bugs

Creating solutions to address bugs that are found throughout early builds of FC25.

ACCESSIBILITY CONCERNS

A big issue that we saw in the build was that there were readability issues in some of the screens. However, since it was a consistent issue throughout multiple sections, we had to come up with a universal solution.

OUR SOLUTION

As a solution, we decided to add a scrim layer in between the background graphic and content to improve legibility. This solution came as a result of multiple discussions with XD Leadership and tech to understand feasibility and what was realistically accomplishable.

 //  Reviewing build

Going through the most up-to-date version of FC25 (at the time) to spot areas of improvement. We created backlogs and started conversations for areas to improve on, with focus on usability, intuitiveness, and player experience.

FEEDBACK PROCESS

03. Key Takeaways

 //  You are the playmaker on the field
Opportunities, connections, and experiences don’t just happen. I am the playmaker of my internship experience and with that, I have to take charge to make sure I make the most of it!
 //  It’s okay to take time to figure it out
I put a lot of pressure on myself to have it all down in my first couple days as a intern. In reality, it’s okay to take weeks, or even months, to get the hang of it all.
 //  No more asking “is it a stupid question?”
I was so cautious about the questions I was asking in fear of it being “stupid” or “obvious”, but over time I learnt that questions benefit everyone! It’s better to ask and get it right the first time, then to not ask and have to ask later on anyways if a mistake is made.

CURIOUS TO LEARN MORE?

If you are interested in learning more about my experience as a co-op, I shared it in a blog post for EA SPORTS FC. Check out the full article below!

VIEW FULL ARTICLE ↗
That's not all!
My experience at EA SPORTS FC is not over yet! Right now, I’m working on bringing optimized user flows and improved UI to allow for more gameplay and less navigation in FC26. Unfortunately, this is sensitive work that cannot be shared with the public. If you’re a recruiter and would like to learn more, please reach out via. email or LinkedIn!

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