App Feature - A mini in-app game
Love Cottage
"Love Cottage" is an embedded mini-game within the Yuwan app, providing an extended gameplay feature for online chat rooms. In this game, users can decorate, manage, clock in, and even raise pets in a virtual cottage to document their time spent together. Friends can leave messages and give likes within the cottage, making this feature game quite popular in the app.“
Background
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Yuwan app attracts a large user base seeking romance opportunities online.
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Many users spend considerable time in companion room chatrooms to build connections.
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Yuwan introduced a CP check-in feature, known as "CP Cottage."
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We plan to update the check-in feature into a virtual romance cottage game for a richer experience.
Goals
User Goal
Providing more romantic settings to meet users'
long-term online dating needs.
Business Goal
Boosting the average online duration per active user to increase revenue.
My Role
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Product Designer + Animator
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Collaborated with the CEO and product manager to discuss product design logic and numerical settings.
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Worked with an illustrator to design supporting materials, including furniture, and created some animations.
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Collaborated with the development team to ensure smooth cross-departmental cooperation.
Team
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1 Product Designer/ Animator（Me）
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1 UI Designer
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1 Illustrator
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3 Developers (including 1 Backend Engineer, 1 iOS Developer, and 1 Android Developer)
Duration
2 Weeks（end to end）
Process
Step 1 Draft Main Function based on Old one
Providing more romantic settings to meet users'
long-term online dating needs.
Step 2 Pre-meeting with Development Team Confirm Product Design
Due to the lack of game engine development expertise in our development team, we opted for a fixed single-page non-scrollable interface design. To maximize furniture placement, we designed the room in a loft style with furniture arranged using fixed coordinates.
Step 3 Design Interface and Supplied Materials
Due to the lack of game engine development expertise in our development team, we opted for a fixed single-page non-scrollable interface design. To maximize furniture placement, we designed the room in a loft style with furniture arranged using fixed coordinates.
Challenge
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The conditions for acquiring furniture and the price setting
After intense discussions, the initial furniture unlocking conditions included three options: CP value unlocking, gold coin unlocking, and CP value + gold coin unlocking. Later, during iterations, an operational event unlocking condition was added.
2. How to handle the house and pets after a breakup
This was the most exciting part of the project, where we discussed how to handle couple assets after a breakup. We implemented a 30-day cooldown period for users (retaining all their assets) during which couples who reconsidered within the 30 days could use coins to clean their dusty rooms (post-breakup rooms), preserving all their previous assets. After the 30 days, we no longer retained assets for the couples. Moreover, within these 30 days, if either party found a new partner and formed a CP Cottage, the old cottages were permanently removed.
Due to some specific reasons, our design process does not include wireframes and prototypes. Designers are required to produce high-fidelity final designs, even during iterations.
launch version and iterations
unlock furniture conditions
process of breaking up
wireframe and brainstorming
Cottage Layout and Furniture Design
Iterations
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Added a commenting feature with bullet screen display.
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Expanded furniture unlocking options to include event-based unlocking.
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Improved CP value calculations.
Impacts
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The product received immediate positive feedback upon launch, with almost no negative reviews.
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Premium users at the top level actively engaged in purchasing and unlocking furniture.
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Couples adopting pets accounted for one-third of the overall pet adoption on the platform, indicating the popularity of CP Cottages.
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Enhanced users' motivation to climb the rankings in the couples leaderboard.
Insights
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Yuwan app attracts a large user base seeking romance opportunities online.
-
Many users spend considerable time in companion room chatrooms to build connections.
-
Yuwan introduced a CP check-in feature, known as "CP Cottage."
-
We plan to update the check-in feature into a virtual romance cottage game for a richer experience.