How to Design Engaging Products: Insights from Fortnite's UX
Learn how to create engaging user experiences with insights from Epic Games’ Fortnite.
In this Master Class, former director of UX at Epic Games and 15-year game industry veteran, Celia Hodent, will show you the psychology and UX framework behind the development of successful games like Fortnite, and how you can apply the same strategies to the development of any product, service, or system.
In this Master Class you’ll also learn what successful gamification entails—which is more complex than merely adding "badges" to an experience. Effective gamification requires a deep understanding of human motivation and the notion of "transfer" (of a skill learned in one context onto another context).
Finally, Celia will also talk about the ethics of engagement and how to draw a line between engaging users and exploiting them, thus slipping into dark patterns or shady practices feeding the so-called "attention economy."
In this Master Class, you’ll learn:
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The UX framework and iteration process applied in the development of Fortnite.
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The cognitive science and psychology that support the development of engaging and fun video games and how to apply it to other products.
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What gamification (or playful learning) needs to be efficient. This applies to any product intended to encourage healthier habits for example, or to educate in a playful way.
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The ethical considerations that any UX professional should have when working on the "engageability" of a product.
Join this Master Class to learn how to engage users and make playful products by applying the lessons from video game developers. Learn the key ingredients that make video games fun and how to use them ethically in other products.
Speaker
Celia Hodent is an expert in the application of cognitive science and psychology to improve products, systems, services, and video games. She currently leads an independent UX consultancy, working with a wide range of international media and enterprise companies.
She works in-depth with companies to help ensure their products are both engaging and successful by considering the entire user experience they will provide to their audience. Celia conducts workshops and provides guidance on the topics of playful learning (“gamification”), ethics, implicit biases, and inclusion in tech and video games.
Celia holds a PhD in psychology and has over ten years experience in the development of user experience (UX) strategy in the entertainment industry, and more specifically with videogame studios through her work at Ubisoft, LucasArts, and as Director of UX at Epic Games (Fortnite). She is founder and chair of the Game UX Summit, and a member of the Foresight Committee at CNIL (National Commission on Informatics and Liberty, an independent French administrative regulatory body).
Celia is the author of The Gamer’s Brain: How Neuroscience and UX can Impact Video Game Design (2017), The Psychology of Video Games (2020), What UX Really Is: Introducing a Mindset to Great Experiences (2021), and co-editor of Game Usability: Advice from the Experts for Advancing UX Strategy and Practice in Videogames (2022).
To learn more about Celia or contact her, visit her Twitter: @CeliaHodent or her blog: celiahodent.com.
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That’s because design skills are incredibly valuable for both you personally and for your company.
For you personally, design skills are important because:
Salaries for people who learn design are soaring, surpassing $200K in cities like San Francisco, with global job growth rates at 13%.
Many of your job competitors already possess design skills. When you enhance your design skills you can significantly elevate your personal brand and make you a more attractive candidate.
You learn skills that protect you from losing your job to AI.
You can ignite your passion through design and leverage it to make a meaningful impact.
For your company, design skills are important because:
Your design skills can help increase sales, keep customers loyal, and turn them into powerful advocates of your company. That’s because design is all about helping people reach their goals and meet their needs.
Companies that invest in design outperform the S&P 500 Index by a whopping 228%.
Design goes way beyond creating attractive visuals and aesthetics. When you possess design skills you’re equipped to revolutionize businesses, make technology more user-friendly, and innovate customer experiences and systems.
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