I am not affiliated with Nintendo or the Animal Crossing franchise. The project is a conceptual design for learning purposes.
Project Overview
Role
UX Research
UX/UI design
Coded Prototyping
Timeline
4 weeks
Background
One of Animal Crossing's most alluring features is the ability to catch, collect, and sell bugs, fish, and sea creatures—collectively known as "critters." Each critter has a specific availability window for when it appears on your island, determined by the time of day and the current season—both on your island and in real life.
This availability can be referenced in New Horizons through the in-game encyclopedia, but it is not immediately accessible. Each critter’s details must be unlocked through individual discoveries.
The Problem
While the progression-based discovery system for critters is intentional, the unlockable information lacks consistency, variety, and value compared to other critter data freely available through regular gameplay.
Since more desirable information is openly accessible but not easily referenced through the Critterpedia, as a tool it becomes unnecessary and inconvenient for some players—causing frustration for those less familiar with the game or who have distinct gameplay objectives.
How can I make it easier for players to access valuable critter information?
Audience
The target audience of this problem is Animal Crossing: New Horizons players, as outlined in the Research Methods section.
The Solution
Critter information can be made more accessible by removing unnecessary barriers and focusing on delivering content that is both desirable and contextually relevant—which in this case, would align with the time, season, and hemisphere the user is actively playing in.
This approach reduces frustration and makes gameplay more efficient by simplifying the player's path to their desired solution.
Design Strategy
The development of this project follows the Double Diamond process.
Research Methods
Gameplay Analysis (SWOT Analysis)
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Personas
Character Icons from Pablo Stanley's Open Peeps.
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Early Wireframes
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
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Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
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Peer Feedback
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Style Guidelines
Brand Alignment and Visual Inspiration
It was important that the visual design of this tool matched the style of Animal Crossing: New Horizons' in-game UI, ensuring that the connection between the two products was intuitive to users. To achieve this, I used resources like the Game UI Database, Nookipedia (the website, not the API), and Katherine Manalo's Animal Crossing UI Kit for visual references, iconographic assets and design inspiration.
Style Guide
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Code and API Implementation
I used the Nookipedia API to fetch the icons and information of critters that meet the precise parameters that I defined in JavaScript: real-world time, season, and the user's residing hemisphere (these parameters are dynamic and determined by each user's system data).
Final Product
Don’t forget to check back at various times throughout the day to see which critters have come and gone.
Impact
Enhanced Player Satisfaction
Providing open access to desirable information reduces feelings of confusion and helplessness, boosting player confidence and satisfaction.
Improved Gameplay Efficiency
Prioritizing the relevance of critter information helps players spend less time searching for answers and more time making in-game progress.
Reflection
The effectiveness of a solution is directly tied to how well it meets user needs.
This passion project provided valuable hands-on experience in understanding how a user's needs influence the outcome of a solution and the desirability of a product. When evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of Animal Crossing: New Horizons' in-game Critterpedia, it became clear that while it fulfilled its intended purpose (to track whether or not a specific critter has been caught), it failed to anticipate the broader scope of user needs—such as the desire for breadth and depth of information. As a result, players have had to find answers through trial and error or rely on more external tools, such as the API used in my final solution.
Recognizing these unmet needs, I made sure to address them in my solution in a manner that supports ease of access and low interaction costs. The result of these efforts is a detailed, beneficial tool with a cohesive visual design that supports gameplay immersion despite being an external tool.
Next Steps
While the highlight of this case study is on the UX and UI development of the product, a significant portion of the behind-the-scenes work revolved around coding and API implementation to ensure the final product functions as intended. If I had more time or the opportunity to re-approach this project from a more UX-focused perspective, I would love to conduct more in-depth user research to explore how additional insights could have influenced the functionality or visual direction of the final solution.
The Nookipedia API offers capabilities far beyond what I used in this project. With that in mind, I am eager to explore additional feature implementations that address more use-case scenarios. Stay tuned!