MW: Discovery Interview

Background

🔭 Initial Exploration

At the start of our collaboration with the product team, we planned an initial discovery study to identify the needs of potential users of MapleStory Worlds. Our available assets were limited to a demo video, with no playable prototypes.

👧🏼 MapleStory Worlds’ Potential Users

We looked at individuals who actively enjoy using metaverse & social media platforms.

Objectives

1️⃣ Understand the needs of metaverse & social media platform users

2️⃣ Understand users’ overall impression of MapleStory Worlds

Methods

🗣 In-depth Interview

We aimed to understand the needs of potential users, and how they react to the concept of MapleStory Worlds.

📋 Study Design

We designed and structured our interview into three major sessions, as outlined below.

For example, in session 2, we asked each participant to walk us through their usual creation process and explain why they enjoy it.

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👥 Participants

We recruited 12 individuals who actively enjoy using target products through a screening survey.

Reporting

🔖 Qualitative Analysis, Uncovering User Needs

We analyzed the data using three key categories: ‘Appeal’, ‘Pain Points’, and ‘Wants’, which we later grouped by thematic similarities to define the underlying ‘Needs’ and consolidated to identify the ‘Core Needs’.

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1️⃣ Objective 1. Understand the needs of metaverse & social media platform users

We identified the core needs of users on metaverse and social media platforms and summarized them into four key pillars.

Take a look at one of the examples of TikTok users, which illustrates our analysis process of deriving needs from the data.

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View more: other cases, including TikTok, MapleStory, Roblox, Minecraft, and ZEPETO

2️⃣ Objective 2. Understand users’ overall impression of MapleStory Worlds

We also uncovered what users are looking for in MapleStory Worlds and reported these findings using the same framework.

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Research Impact

📌 Strategic & Cultural Impact

• Successfully made an initial connection with the product team.
• Encouraged the product team’s cultural buy-in about UXR.
• Research findings were shared in a WIP meeting.
• Helped define strategic priorities for development.

📌 Further Research Proposal

• Completing the project, we successfully established a connection with the product team for further research opportunities.

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My Role

In the beginning, MapleStory Worlds was merely an idea. I took the lead in research, identifying key needs and opportunities, laying the groundwork for its early stages, and fostering long-term collaboration with stakeholders.

1️⃣ Leading Strategic · Tactical Research

I managed a small team of researchers over a two-year collaboration with the product team. Our efforts encompassed diverse areas, including gameplay experience, content creation, and publishing, utilizing generative research and co-creation methodologies.

2️⃣ Uncovering Needs and Opportunities

In the early stages, we explored user needs and opportunities in first-mover metaverse and social platforms like Roblox, Minecraft, and TikTok. As the project evolved, we expanded our focus to include diverse user types—regular players, creators, and streamers.

Conclusion

📌 Early Stage · Long-Term Collaboration: How it all went

Wrapping up this long-term collaboration, I gave a speech at MCI22 (MapleStory Worlds’ Creators Invitational 2022) on the topic of ‘Co-Creating MapleStory Worlds with the User’. I highlighted our extensive co-creation and collaboration with diverse stakeholders and users, sharing various studies and insights gained from them.

Research Impact

📌 Cultural Impact

Initiated during the ideation phase, the early stage collaboration defined target users through personas, uncovering their needs and opportunity areas. This collaborative design thinking process, involving designers, developers, and users—including creators and streamers—helped shape the product’s go-to-market strategy.

📌 Product Impact

This approach demonstrated how early collaboration can drive long-term product success. MapleStory World achieved a successful launch and has since become a beloved service, now with 60K+ active players, continuing to thrive.

At the conclusion of the collaboration, user needs-based heuristics were provided as a lasting KPI for the product team.

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