Hello

The Problem

Farm Heroes Saga is a game from 2013 with a loyal and engaged audience. However, the game was struggling to acquire new players. The main challenge of this project was to understand how we could modernise the game to be attractive to a new audience without hurting what makes it magical to our loyal players.

The Solution

I tackled the problem by planning and running several rounds of user research. Quantitative data showed where new players were dropping off, while qualitative research revealed why they weren’t engaging with the game.

The data showed that the tutorials were a huge blocker: the learning systems had remained the same since 2013, while modern games had become far more dynamic in how they teach players. That insight led me to design a completely new approach to introducing the game’s mechanics.

The new system followed a UX principle of “guided autonomy”: instead of dictating exact steps like the old tutorials did, it gave players basic commands and let them apply those commands however felt best, in safe, hard-to-lose levels. Exploring the game themselves helped players internalise its rules more easily, making learning far more meaningful, fun, and easy.

Impact

• The onboarding system was so successful that it became the standardised way to introduce any new mechanic in the game.
• Early game retention increased, and more players were finishing the first 100 levels of the game.
• Research became a habit within the team. Within two years, we were running two UX research studies every month.

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The Problem

As a huge company with hundreds of thousands of employees, Google lacked a good way to foster collaboration between Googlers spread across the globe. This became critical during the pandemic, when people weren’t even sharing the same office.

I worked to tackle two main problems: “How might we help Google employees feel less disconnected and stressed while collaborating across timezones or working remotely?” and “How might we help team leaders and directors manage their teams without losing key information?”

The Solution

To improve the quality of communication among Googlers, I researched the types of messages shared across internal applications: where files were shared, where availability was communicated, and where team changes, like reorgs or new teams, were announced.

With that mapped out, I built communication systems integrated into employees’ day-to-day work. Chat and email signalled immediate availability, while the calendar showed where people would be on any given day. It also surfaced focus time and used AI to suggest the best alternative contact for urgent requests.

I also tackled asset management: teams often lost files, bugs, code, and team information when a member moved elsewhere in the company. I studied how team leads tracked that information and built tools that let reorgs happen without losing anything important.

Impact

• Team availability stats were so well received that the Google Calendar and Gmail teams expanded them beyond internal use, and some of these features are now widely available.
• Historical team data was preserved and easy to find, streamlining internal reorgs.

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The Problem

Star Wars: Hunters was an engaging shooter that invited players from around the world to fight exciting matches for the glory of being recognised as the best Hunter in the galaxy.

Despite the exciting gameplay, the meta layer lacked interactivity: it felt like a series of mandatory steps players had to follow. The challenge was to make that layer just as engaging as the matches themselves, and to increase the number of players starting a match.

The Solution

Through UX research, I found the main problem with the meta game’s design: the time to engage was too long, requiring players to go through a variety of screens and make several decisions just to start one match.

The first solution was reducing that time by making the Play button available everywhere. The principle was simple: no matter where you are, you can always start a match.

The second solution was not about rushing players into a match, but making the meta layer itself inherently fun: fun interactions, narratives, and choices that made players feel like they were already playing with every interaction. Building a character, selecting a hero, and learning about their abilities and backstory all put players in a fun mental state even before a match began.

Impact

• Players felt more engaged with the meta layer and demonstrated more curiosity to learn about the characters.
• Characters started to have more meaning to players.
• During research, players demonstrated having fun exploring different character builds and learning about different playstyles.

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