Cross-Platform Research
MY LARGEST RESEARCH PROJECT
This was the largest research project I completed at Halo Studios. I was asked to look into cross-platform features to answer questions about three specific areas of interest: social features, sign in + account linking, and what gets shared across platforms.
- I came up with my own plan and approach for how I was going to do the research by first determining the list of games I was going to look at.
- I shared that list with the senior engineer that was working on early technical research alongside me and the Design Director to get consensus on whether these were the right games to look at.
- Then, I began to look through the games and document the research.
One of the reasons I make detailed research documentation is because we all have imperfect memories, so capturing notes and media makes it possible for us to be on the same page as we discuss the conclusions.
EXPLORE THE FULL RESEARCH
Each of the three research documents is available in full below. They are intentionally presented as separate pages so the scale and depth of the research can be explored directly.
Sign In + Account Linking
Cross-platform account creation, sign-in, account linking, unlinking, and account-management experiences.
View Full Research →- Players may be unable to change which platform account is linked after the initial connection.
- Important restrictions or consequences are sometimes hidden until after the player has already linked or skipped linking an account.
- Make account linking prominent and clearly explained during first launch.
- Explain the benefits, restrictions, and limitations before the player commits to linking an account.
- Give players a central location where linked accounts can be managed.
- Avoid hidden linking or unlinking pitfalls. If they cannot be avoided, communicate them before the player encounters them.
Social Features
Friends, identities, invitations, communication, social management, and safety features across platforms.
View Full Research →- Text and voice chat controls may be hidden, difficult to find, or unavailable.
- Communication can fail across platforms without clearly telling players that messages are not being sent or received.
- Weak friend-list tools can make adding, removing, muting, or blocking players unnecessarily difficult.
- Keep the location and behavior of social features consistent across platforms.
- Make platform friends easy to find and manage from within the game.
- Use a consistent player identity across platforms while still making platform identities understandable.
- Keep chat, mute, block, and other communication controls prominent and easy to access.
- Clearly tell players when communication features do not work across platforms.
Sharing Across Platforms
Progression, purchases, currency, Battle Passes, achievements, unlocks, settings, and other player investments across platforms.
View Full Research →- Currency can behave differently depending on which platform it was purchased or earned on.
- Achievements, purchases, or other owned items may not transfer consistently across platforms.
- Some linked accounts provide little benefit when game progression does not carry across platforms.
- Players may be required to repurchase the same game or DLC on every platform they want to use.
- Preserve progression and other player investments across platforms wherever possible.
- Share purchases, currency, unlocks, challenges, and related content where platform restrictions allow it.
- Clearly explain exceptions before the player purchases content, links accounts, or changes platforms.
- If players are asked to link accounts, there should be a meaningful benefit to doing so.
RESEARCH IMPACT
Three detailed research documents covering the cross-platform player experience.
Engineering teams and the Studio Technical Director used the research while defining cross-platform requirements.
The research was shared with other Xbox studios, including The Coalition, for use in their own cross-platform planning.
WHY MINECRAFT WAS IMPORTANT
Minecraft was selected for a more specific reason. The engineering team was planning to speak directly with the Mojang team about their cross-platform implementation, so I wanted to research Minecraft from the customer-experience side as well.
This gave us a shared point of reference as we worked through cross-platform decisions. Engineering could learn how the systems worked behind the scenes, while my research documented how those same systems were presented to players.
Together, those two perspectives gave us a more cohesive way to evaluate cross-platform decisions as we began defining our own requirements.
SNEAK PEEK
Don't want to scroll through approximately 350 pages of research? Here is a smaller sample showing how the research was scoped, documented, and synthesized.
These slides show the games selected for the research, why each was included, and the platforms investigated. Additional screenshots from the research documents can be shown below to give a sense of the depth and level of documentation without requiring you to open the full documents.
SCREENSHOTS FROM SIGN IN + ACCOUNT LINKING
SCREENSHOTS FROM SHARED ACROSS PLATFORMS
DESTINY 2
DIABLO IV
FORTNITE
MINECRAFT
