Google’s GameSnacks is an HTML5 gaming platform incubated out of Google’s Area 120 to provide high-quality, bite-sized games to players worldwide

What I did

From nearly its inception in Area 120, Google’s Internal product incubator, I was the sole UX Designer for GameSnacks responsible for ensuring an optimal user experience and building the brand across all surfaces. Primarily, I sought ways to get players into games faster, increase session times, play with friends, and other impactful growth strategies.

I managed the UX integrations of our games onto seven Google products such as Play, Chrome, GPay, Discover, Assistant, and over 50 external partner sites and apps.
I led the naming and brand development of GameSnacks that resulted in our acquisition by the Ads org and is now a legit Google brand poised to be the next big thing.
I led and managed the production of GameSnacks Originals, exclusive, high-quality HTML5 games that perform our other games. Some favorites are: HexaDungeon, Stack Bounce, and Ship Merge. Play one now :)

Name and brand

I lead the naming and re-branding of GameSnacks. The goal of the rebrand was to emphasize the fun of playing our games. Our games could be played in spare minutes waiting in line or between meetings - like a snack rather than a meal - therefore we mashed up “games” and “snacks” and landed on GameSnacks. And it stuck.

Then, with the help of a design studio, we explored conceptual sketches to arrive at this logomark.

Icons of games + snacks

I worked with the agency to create a set of playful icons to support the brand. A Pizza + paper airplane. A ice cream + basketball. A cherry + bomb. It’s just the right kind of cute and playfulness for our platform of games.

UI and UX

As the games were essentially web pages, downloads were not needed. To lower the friction even more we didn’t require log in. I was responsible for integrations across all surfaces that included Google products and third-parties around the world. Each integration was unique and required materials to ensure that the experience was smooth.

Onboarding

I provided onboarding solutions for our platform as well as for each integration. One example is, a player’s top goal is to play high-quality games so I removed extra clicks to get into a game. They needed to easily find games they played before so I created a “Keep playing” section at the top of the page. Removing speedbumps and friction increased engagement and growth.

Game parties

One idea to spur growth was to create a way to play games with friends via sharing a link, we called it a "Game Party". This allowed users to play games with friends in the same room or wherever they may be.

Scoring with users

A player’s top goal is to play high-quality games so I removed extra clicks to get into a game. Also, to easily find games they played before, I created a “Keep playing” section at the top of the page. Removing speedbumps and friction increased engagement and growth.

Many features were tested to attract more users, including a results page with a winners podium, from here you could chat or share with friends that could then join the game.

Making games

I managed the game design team and the production of the games. I worked directly with game developers worldwide to make our own exclusive games. We called these games, GameSnacks Originals, and they outperformed our licensed games in both session count and session length. I helped our team launch over 50 Original games.

Play a game now. My favorite Originals are: Merge Pirates, HexaDungeon, Pocket Champions, Element Blocks, Cards of the Undead, and Stack Bounce.

Integrations

I partnered with UX teams across Google to implement our games on other Google products. Interestingly, Android Auto offered our games while your car - while it was in Park of course.

Swag

Of course, swag. There’s nothing like wearables to bring a smile to the team.

Celebrate our wins

In Google’s Area 120 we had a gong to celebrate our wins. And for our quarterly reviews we celebrated with extra fun when we met our metrics. :)