Internship · NetEase Games · Jul – Aug 2021

Mission Zero & Knives Out

On the Mission Zero team, I designed and shipped the in-game mail system for its first playtest. For my intern capstone, I designed Fashion Influencer, a social-commerce system for Knives Out.

Role: UX/UI Design Intern
Studio: NetEase Games · Shanghai
Games: Mission Zero (shipped to playtest), Knives Out (capstone concept)
Tools: Adobe XD, Photoshop, Cocos2d-x

5,000 Players in Mission Zero’s first playtest, with my mail system live

5 Features designed for Fashion Influencer, my Knives Out capstone

2–3 Weeks for the whole capstone, research to final design

Part 1 · On the team

Mission Zero: shipped to its first playtest

A 2v4 asymmetric stealth game

Designed and shipped the in-game mail system in Adobe XD, built with UI programmers in Cocos2d-x.
Live in the first playtest in August 2021: 3 days, 5,000 selected players.
Worked day to day with game designers and UI programmers.

NetEase later cancelled the project. Gameplay video from a third-party closed-beta upload.

Part 2 · Intern capstone

The brief: break through on in-game payments

NetEase gave every UX intern the same prompt: pick an MMO, FPS or card game and take its payment systems to the next level. I had 2–3 weeks.

Knives Out key art — FPS · Knives Out Picked

$2.2B+Knives Out lifetime mobile revenue

90%+Of player spending from Japan

91MDownloads worldwide

Source: Sensor Tower via Game World Observer, as of Oct 2022

Research

Five ways games charge. I focused on outfits.

In-game currency
New characters
New content (DLC)
Weapons & attachments
Outfits & skins Picked

Why outfits, for players

Outfits are visible everywhere in a match and in the lobby.
NetEase is known for outfit design; many players come for it.

Why outfits, for NetEase

Outfits were where players already spent the most.
Builds on the existing outfit system, so it’s easy to implement.

Audit

Six ways Knives Out already sells outfits

Store CGICinematic previews of new outfits

Outfit collection screen — **Collections**The pull to complete a set

Character in the lobby — **Lobby**Showing off between matches

Friends wishlist screen — **Friends’ wishlist**Gifting between friends

Try-onPicture it before you buy

Limited salesBuy now or miss out

Works

Outfits get plenty of exposure, with attractive CG and models.
Gacha and collections already push purchases.

Missing

No social reason to buy. Nothing taps into competing with or earning from other players.
Beyond looks, there’s little else to motivate a purchase.

Inspiration

Two social loops worth borrowing

Flow: vote for favorite outfit, check top-ranked outfits, buy items from them

Competition · Shining Nikki

Fashion arena

Players vote on outfits, then buy from the top-ranked looks.

Flow: brands contact influencers, influencers post with a discount code, fans buy, influencer earns commission

Earning · Influencer marketing

Commission codes

Fans buy with an influencer’s code, and the influencer earns on every sale.

The concept

Fashion Influencer: arena + commission

Every week has a theme. Players enter outfits and vote. Top looks rank on a leaderboard, and other players can buy them. The “influencer” behind each look earns a commission in in-game rewards.

Weekly loop: Knives Out releases a theme, players enter and vote, leaderboard updates daily, players buy from influencers' pages, influencers receive commission

The design

Five features, iterated with senior UX feedback

Each went from lo-fi to final in two or three rounds. Tap an earlier round to compare.

Feature 1

Voting

Two looks go head to head on the week’s theme. Final round: bolder foreground, tighter layout, one type style.

Feature 2

Leaderboard

The week’s top looks. Final round: the contest became its own section, with voting and outfits one tap away.

Feature 3

Influencer’s outfit page

Try on and buy a top look. Final round: a full page instead of a pop-up, plus six poses to preview the outfit in action.

Final influencer outfit page with try-on and pose buttons

Feature 4

Promo card

Influencers share their look to other social platforms, promoting themselves and the game for free.

Feature 5

My commission

Influencers collect their earnings. Final round: a loot-box style reveal to make collecting rewards feel exciting.

Commission page with an unopened reward chest — 1Tap the chest to collect

Reward revealed: a new weapon skin — 2Reward revealed

Reflection

What it would do, and what I’d do next

Players become the marketing

Competition and commission give players a social reason to buy, and every shared promo card is free promotion for the game.

With more time

An interactive prototype, then playtests to measure whether it lifts outfit purchases and sharing. It stayed a concept, as all intern capstones did.

Want the full walkthrough?

I’m happy to walk through the research, iterations and trade-offs in a conversation.

Get in touch Next: K!nnected →