WordaLike
web app Word Game & Content management system
Responsive Web App Game & Custom CMS
Year
2024-2025
Tools
Figma
Deliverables
Game design documentation
Interactive prototypes
User testing reports
Product Team
My Team
1 Designer
2 Developers
My Role
Game Creator
UI Designer
Product Manager
Research
15 user interviews
22 monitored alpha tests
1,035 tracked beta sessions
Summary
I took a game I’ve been playing in my head since high school and turned it into a web app for others to enjoy as a daily word game. Users traverse from a given start word to a target word via their synonyms, and synonyms of those synonyms, etc., until the target word is reached.
Problem
Some users:
A) are hesitant to play word games that require spelling.
B) struggle to remember synonyms without being presented with options.
C) are hesitant to start because they can’t easily envision a route from the start word to the target word.
D) struggle to feel a sense of progress between a given start/target word pair.
E) still find the game too difficult without assistance.
Research & Process
To address these challenges, I conducted usability testing to observe and understand user pain points. Insights revealed the need for accessible gameplay, clear progress indicators, and assistance features to maintain engagement.
I designed an admin panel to edit a thesaurus of ~22,000 words for accuracy and to compare words by various attributes to pair for the daily challenge.
Solution
- A&B) I provide users with a database of words in the style of a thesaurus, with all synonyms laid out by meaning group- no spelling required.
- C) I implemented bi-directionality on the thesaurus: if word A is a synonym of word B, word B must be a synonym of word A- users can start from either direction by swapping the given start/ target words.
- D.1) I ran a Breadth-First Search algorithm on the database to ascertain all fastest possible paths between any two words; I then implemented hot/cold indicators to inform a user if a selection brings them closer to or further from the target word.
- D.2) I inform users at each selection just how far from the target their choice brought them
- E) I added 2 different Hints that a user can opt to use to help finish the game. This is a trade-off for an increased step count to balance fairness and keep game integrity intact.
