In our last blog post, we dove into the first phase of our project aimed at boosting player engagement in tabletop role-playing games. We started by crafting targeted UX research questions and creating an affinity map based on the insights we gathered. We pinpointed key pain points for players and game masters, highlighted the importance of preparation, and discussed the differences in engagement between online and in-person play.

Today, I’m excited to share the next step in our journey: developing user personas. These personas are fictional characters that represent distinct types of users. They help us understand the diverse needs and experiences of players and GMs by putting faces and stories to the data we collected. We can tailor our design process to better meet the individual needs of our community.

Going into this, I had a few theories about what drives engagement and where the pain points lie. I believed that:

1. Player engagement is primarily driven by how well-prepared the GM is and how dynamic the gameplay can be.

2. Mobile phones and side conversations are the biggest distractions in both online and in-person settings.

3. Integrating more interactive tools and visual aids would significantly enhance player engagement.

4. Players have their own goals for gaming (e.g., those focused on combat vs. roleplay) and separate needs and triggers for engagement.

Armed with these theories, I began developing the personas using the real-life insights we gathered while also trying to diversify our personas within the target audience details we had outlined for our player research.

Do any of these people sound familiar to you?

Creating these personas has been incredibly insightful. They’ve given me a deeper understanding of the diverse needs and challenges faced by players and GMs. While many of my initial theories were validated, the real-life contexts provided added depth and highlighted new areas for improvement. The next step from there is to nail down a specific story for each persona: who they are, what they want to do, and why. User stories will then help us craft user journey maps where we'll walk in each persona's shoes to help them achieve their goals.

As we continue in the empathize phase, these personas will inform our design process. I invite fellow TTRPG enthusiasts and designers to share their experiences and suggestions. Your input is invaluable as we strive to create more engaging and immersive gaming experiences. Follow my blog on Itch.io for updates and join the conversation!

Feel free to comment below with your thoughts or reach out directly if you’d like to collaborate or share your own findings. Let’s make TTRPGs more engaging for everyone!