Project Overview

Glow 3D is a computer vision technology built for Amazon Glow that creates the illusion of 3D to the naked eye. Glow 3D uses players head position to distort the image on Glow’s projected display, giving players a sense of depth and perspective as they look around.

This case study examines how Glow 3D technology was used to build a truly differentiated activity for Amazon Glow, called Memory Stones.

Testing link

Roles

• Lead UX Designer

• Interaction Designer

• Game Designer

• Motion Designer

• User Researcher

Problem

Glow 3D was a technology developed by Amazon Glow’s computer vision team. However, Glow 3D only existed as a tech demo, and had not yet been used in a full-fledged Amazon Glow activity.

The Opportunity

Validate Glow 3D technology.

Glow 3D was a nascent technology with a lot of potential. First we needed to “work out the kinks” through prototyping and user testing.

Build a Glow 3D activity

Our leadership team wanted us to create an experience that featured Glow 3D technology. So, we set out to design an activity that was both fun, and showcased the capabilities of the tech.

Ideation

I first engaged with the computer vision team to better understand the limitations of Glow 3D tech. I then facilitated several brainstorming sessions with other designers to generate a broad set of game concepts.

I prioritized concepts that promoted player head movement, as that was the best way to sell the Glow 3D effect. I took the strongest ideas and worked with the art team to create concept storyboards.

Concept Animatics

For some concepts, I created animatic pre-visualizations to better demonstrate user interactions. This helped communicate concept vision to the leadership and other stakeholders.

Solution

In order to reduce project scope, I indexed higher on concepts that had simple game mechanics. After presenting the strongest concepts to the leadership team, we aligned on a symbol matching game we called “Memory Stones”. 

This concept forces players to look around the stone blocks to see the symbols, so players needed to move their head to play.

From here I began defining the end-to-end experience, creating wireframes that detailed the user interactions and game flow.

Prototyping

I worked with a Design Technologist to build a functional prototype for user testing. We focused on the basic symbol matching mechanic first to see how it felt with head movement. We refined the prototype, and used off-the-shelf 3D assets to iterate more quickly. 

Once we felt the prototype was robust enough, we prepared it for user testing.

User Testing

• Tested prototype with 10 children (ages 6-9)

• Prototype generated customer delight, receiving positive feedback both explicitly and observationally. 

• Testing also surfaced several usability issues that detracted from the user experience. 

Learnings

• Some children didn’t know where they should be tapping at first.

• It wasn’t obvious that you needed to move your head to play.

• Once children got their first match, they were off to the races (and had fun).

Delivery

Wireframed the overall user flow and UI behavior.

• Partnered with Visual Design team to define the visual style for the UI.

• Updated Game Design Document and handed off to software team.

• Worked with software team on implementing designs.

Outcome

• Successfully validated Glow 3D as a viable technology.

• Developed a game that generated customer delight, and was positioned as a flagship activity for Glow.

• Credited as an inventor on successful patent application filing.