Genshin Impact Mobile grossed $5 billion in global consumer spending in 40 months – the fastest a mobile game has reached that amount. In comparison, Clash of Clans took 51 months and as of January 2024, only 13 mobile games have surpassed the $5 BIllion mark.

With that kind of weight in the market, Genshin Impact Mobile still hasn’t introduced a character customization feature for their players, even though it’s still one of the pain points that players continue to ask for.

Being able to customize a character that a player connects to increases the chances that player will continue to play the game.

“The lack of character customization is a pain point for players.”

Experience Goals & Success Metrics

Usability

For Usability goals, players needed to understand:

• the character and their abilities
• the navigation flow between character-related screens
• the acquiring of new characters

Desirability

For the Desirability goals, I looked at showcasing characters, editing characters, and the wow factor when viewing character profiles.

Scalability & Feasibility

For Scalability goals, I looked into providing a screen of all possible characters that the players can attain through gameplay. I presumed that players understood that they could view the character archive to get a preview of the possible characters.

This screen could be expanded as each new season is added.

Success Metrics

The top goal is to add screens for character customization for the players. I focused on both the usability and desirability columns

• nav flow between character screens
• showcasing characters
• editing your character
• the wow factor of the character

The screens that require updates are:

• intro
• shop
• character settings
• gameplay screens

Current Flow Chart

The current flow only allows the player to review attributes, weapons, artifacts, constellations, talents, and the profile of the character. The only way to currently customize a character is an option in the attributes menu to choose an outfit but that is limited depending on the character you are currently playing with and the money the player spends.

Proposed Flow Chart

The proposed flow would include the option to edit the characters under a newly added appearance button. Available edits include face shape, hairstyle, skin, hair, and eye colour along with outfits that the player has found through game play or purchased.

Wireframes

Intro Screen

The storyline is centered selecting the brother or sister, this selection process would remain the same. The new update is the addition of the customize button allowing players to further customize that particular gender with the attributes mentioned above.

Female character. Name and customization options.

Edit Character

The character customization can be found in the player’s Character Settings > Appearance screen.

In the first tab on the panel (right side), the player can update the character’s features including face shape, hairstyle, eye colour, etc.

In the second tab the players can choose outfits that they have found in the game or have purchased.

Player Feedback

From our player feedback, I found out just how important the relationship between the character and the players are. Some players like being able to create a character that looks more like them, and others want a character that projects what their imagination can create.

Without this feature players may become bored with the cookie-cutter characters that they have available to them. This could lead to players leaving the game and not returning. By enticing them to create custom characters this will reduce that possibility.

“Character customization is an important feature for players.”

Final Thoughts

Character customization is an important feature for players. To combat this pain point I have proposed the addition of customizations that allow players to create a character that they can relate to. By allowing them to change face shape, hairstyle, hair colour, skin colour and eye colour players can customize their character to be a better representation of how they want to see their characters leading to better player retention.