Back in 2014, 343 Industries created a desktop app called HALO Channel. The team and I learned a lot from what had gone well with HALO Channel and things that could be improved. It was my job to address what we learned with HALO Channel and to lead the UX Design for the new native app on both Android and iOS.

The app has a signed-in/signed-out status, with a first-time user experience for both. In the non-contextual part of the persistent UI, there is a customizable home page with news articles and a user profile. In the contextual part of the persistent UI, there is a game management section, and each game has a dedicated service record and game history section.

We wanted the app to be more of a companion-type experience for HALO Infinite. Here, the user can check their progression, browse and equip their Spartan, purchase and change Battle Passes, and view their service record and game history.

Content consisting of 20 years of PC games, XBOX games, arcade games, a new Series on Paramount+, blogs, Live Streams, and Esports needed to be a part of this app. The app required an MVP before the new HALO INFINITE title was launched in the Winter of 2021.

Wireframe designs

After receiving the feature spec sheet, I would create wireframe designs and present those ideas to team members. I would meet with other designers, devs, the product owner, stakeholders, and any other team members needed. This process helped us agree internally on the best design solutions and allowed me to change designs and move forward with different UX solutions for additional features.

For HALO 5, after the wireframes were presented, we discovered we needed a design that accounted for more than two teams. Below you’ll notice the change in the number of teams compared to the initial wireframes (left) UI (right).

I storyboarded a swipe interaction for multiple teams. Once the UI made those changes, another team member created a motion target to present to the devs, which became the final interaction for the app.

Prototypes

I enjoy making prototypes and believe they are a low-cost, quick and effective way to determine if a design idea works. I’m constantly designing and developing prototypes. I’ll create paper, low & high-fidelity prototypes to test externally and internally.

Testing

A majority of the time, designs and features need to be tested. Sometimes internally and sometimes with our UX Research Team. It was my responsibility to help schedule and lead these test studies. 

Design Validation

After every user test, we would receive a thorough report from the research team. I would use this information to make UX design decisions that further inform the UI designs. We always tested internally with prototypes and new app builds for iOS and Android. Sometimes if the schedule allowed, we would test again with user groups later before we shipped the final product into the wild.

An example of this was with the First Time User Experience. The signed-out version didn’t change, but the signed-in version changed based on user testing. The first design was more linear, with too much text explaining features. The second and final design was slimmed down, which resulted in a more interactive experience. Below is an example of the final version we shipped with.

Persistent UI

All games in the Waypoint App have a persistent UI. With a simple touch of a button on the bottom UI, the user can easily access Home/News, Career, Game Management, Game History/Progression, and Profile.

Home / News Feed

Users can read the Halo news they're interested in, interact with notifications (notification was cut for MVP due to technical constraints) and filter content modules to get the information they want.

Service Record

Users can access Service Records in the bottom UI. Once Service Record is selected, they are presented with a clean summary page. Users can view their Daily Win Bonuses, Arena Stats, Highest Skill Ranks, Kill Medals, Overall, Warzone, and Campaign from this summary page.

Game Management Screen 

The user can choose what game they want to interact with, as well as purchase game titles.

Game History

The user can check out games they have played in the past.

Profile

The user can check out their profile, where they can link social media accounts, sign up for HALO Insider, and customize badges they have earned.

Persistent & Contextual UI

The user wants to access the game title they are interested in quickly. The three icons in the middle change depending on the user's selected game title.

Customization:

Customizing your Spartan from your pocket and launching the game on PC and Consoles is a magical moment.

Progression:

Progression housed the Battle Pass and summary feature for the MVP. When selecting Battle Pass, users can check their progression, buy and equip current and past battle passes, and equip unlocked items.

I’m proud to have designed the UX experiences for the Waypoint App at 343 Industries. We have delivered to millions of fans. The launch of Halo Infinite was the biggest launch ever for the franchise.

Here is an interview in June of 2021 that I was lucky enough to be a part of.