Notification dot system
Notification dots are a basic component indicating new info.
In games, notification dots represent a wider range of statuses, including new info, and available rewards & gear upgrades.
Duration
Appx. 3 months
Role
1 UX designer, 1 UI programmers, 1 QA
Tools
Figma, Miro, Confluence, Jira
Process
Discover
Internal feedbacks
🗣 Player voice
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R6M notification dot system used 3 colors (red, green, blue), which made it hard to remember what each color meant
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Players entered a feature because of a red dot, but then saw a blue dot inside, which was confusing
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Using red and green together cause accessibility issues (color blindness)
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When using digital products, some users clear notification dots immediately. If it takes too long or feels cumbersome, it becomes frustrating
Define
Competitive benchmarking
✔️ Takeaway
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Notification dot system is a transversal system with dependencies across all features
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Notification dots is categorized into 2 types:
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Disappears on view: Nudges players about new info
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Persists until interaction: Reminds players of required or important actions.
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If both dot types appear inside a single feature, interaction dot takes priority
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Color consistency should maintain while navigating deeper, to avoid confusion.
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Either a single dot should represent all types, or each dot types must maintain consistent visuals to preserve meaning.
Design
Principals - Usability Heuristics
Consistency and standards
Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing.
Recognition rather than recall
Minimize the user's memory load by making elements, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the interface to another.
Minimalist design
Interfaces should not contain information that is irrelevant or rarely needed.
Feature Highlights
Classified into 2 dot types with Unified color mapping
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Classified dots into two states: new info (disappears) and important interaction (remains)
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Although unified by one color, 2 types are visually distinct. (Visual was defined by UI artist)
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This provides a clear, scalable guideline that remains consistent even as new cases emerge.
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Dot for free items is one exception, as they are a key retention driver.
Established a priority rule with multiple dot types
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Dot types are prioritized based on their importance to players
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If a feature has all these cases, like Shop, it only shows one in order of priority to maintain clarity
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Tags and notification dots are clearly differentiated, allowing both to coexist without ambiguity
Defined clear rules for Dot removal
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New info is indicated, allowing players to understand what is new.
Validate
Internal playtests
Due to resource constraints, the improvement could not be validated through UR, but the same issue did not reoccur in subsequent playtests and internal play sessions.
To develop in the future
Solve issues while preserving notification dot system simple
Operator feature triggers both new item notification dots and claimable item notification dots. After checking new items, claiming items via ‘Mastery’ causes other dots, leading to noti fatigue. Instead of adding edge cases, it is better to keep the system simple and robust, and resolve underlying issues.
Add a 'Remove New Info' button
Since claimable dots remain visible, players can quickly clear lower-priority notification dots without missing important actions, reducing fatigue.
Revamp structure of Operator feature simple
Currently, checking new items requires navigating deep screen hierarchies. Reducing screen depth would improve everyday usability and make dot removal easier. However, since this requires resources, it should be carefully prioritized.