At the foundation of this project was a unique challenge of ensuring the safety and privacy for our target demographic of kids aged 6 to 12. We knew that kids may first engage with Club BK without a parent present, so I built a complex flow that connected kid and parent registration pathways, limiting a kid’s access to the game world without parent permission to play. Parents also had access to a dashboard that captured their kid’s activity and demonstrated how various games aligned with educational standards. The registration process and all multiplayer features complied with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and were approved by TRUSTe. After launching the first phase of Club BK, I spearheaded a usability testing session with both kids and parents to help refine registration and onboarding experiences, resulting in an execution plan that outlined revisions and enhancements to both website and email channels.

While some Club BK features like avatar configuration and purchasing items with virtual currency could borrow from established interaction patterns, the UX community didn’t have a defined approach for game design at the time we built this gaming platform. I created a bespoke model for translating brainstorming sessions into concrete specifications for game components, interaction models, scoring and controls. In addition to my UX role, our nimble team included a visual designer and Flash developer, and we produced a range of mini-games for Pokémon, the Simpsons, Star Trek, Transformers and Nintendo Wii. Players could engage with a range of features from making buddies, chatting with other players, performing emotes and outfitting a personal space.