2024 - Game Design / Mobile & Web
REDON
Mobile and web game for the REDON launch by Saphirus. Eliminate mosquitoes, accumulate points and win a discount coupon for the store.
— Role sheet
- Role
- UX/UI Designer
- Team
- Nadina Mazziteli (CCOI & PM), Daiana de la Vega (UX/UI), Matías Scovotti (PO), Álvaro Albornoz (Lead Dev)
- Duration
- 2 weeks
- Platform
- Web
- What I did
- Full game and gameplay design
— Context
A launch event that needed interactivity
Saphirus needed a launch event for its new REDON brand. The goal was to create an interactive experience that would connect the user with the brand and encourage them to buy products from the new line.
Through interviews with Saphirus' Marketing and Branding teams, it was identified that the game should be accessible to all audiences, challenging but not frustrating, and that the game → coupon → purchase flow should be extremely simple. The brand positions itself as family protection and did not want to focus on insects, but on protection and family vision.
— Solution
A mini-game with a real reward
A mini-game was designed where the user eliminates mosquitoes on a grid to accumulate 10,000 points. The challenge increases progressively with bonuses and power-ups (such as "Activate REDON" and "Big Boom"). Upon winning, they receive a discount coupon immediately within the game's UI.
The design, including the game mechanics, was created from scratch. Real insect images were avoided to maintain a friendly family style, and coherence with the REDON aesthetic aligned with the Saphirus ecosystem was prioritized. The post-game discount flow was designed to be simple and direct, incentivizing immediate purchase.
— Features
Screens designed to entertain and convert
LobbyHome screen
Home screen with REDON branding, prominent play button and game context. Clean design that prepares the user for the experience without cognitive overload.
GameplayMosquito elimination
Interactive grid where mosquitoes appear and the user eliminates them by tapping or clicking. Energy bar and point counter visible at all times. The challenge increases progressively as they advance.
Power-upsActivate REDON and Big Boom
Bonus system that helps reach 10,000 points: "Activate REDON" activates a spray that eliminates multiple mosquitoes, and "Big Boom" generates a massive explosion. They keep the game dynamic and prevent frustration.
Discount couponVictory screen
Upon reaching the goal, a victory screen shows a unique discount code, with options to copy it in one tap, play again or go straight to the store. The conversion flow is integrated into the same interface.
— Tech stack
Design and prototyping tools
All the design, mechanics and flow from the ecommerce home to the complete game and coupon delivery were done in Figma. Licensed visual assets were acquired through Magnific. My role included designing the complete experience, the game mechanics, iteration with the development team and visual adaptation of the REDON brand within the Saphirus ecosystem.
— Results
Development in record time
48 hs
of design and prototyping from scratch to final delivery
60 hs
of design, testing and QA with the development team
— Key decisions
Decisions that shaped the project.
Illustrated style — no real insects
The problem
The game is about killing mosquitoes, but the REDON brand positions itself as family protection: interviews with Marketing and Branding made it clear they didn't want to focus on insects. The dilemma was how to represent the 'enemies' without clashing with the brand positioning.
The options
- —Use realistic photos or illustrations of mosquitoes: more visual impact, but it went against the brand's explicit request and could turn off the family audience.
- —Create friendly, colorful cartoon-style illustrated mosquitoes: aligned with the brand, though less 'visceral' as an elimination experience.
- —Fully abstract the enemies (generic shapes): maximum brand safety, but the mosquito–swatter–spray metaphor that makes the game instantly understandable would be lost.
The decision
I chose illustrated mosquitoes with a friendly, colorful style. It kept the real-world metaphor (mosquitoes, fly swatter, REDON spray as a power-up) that makes the mechanics self-explanatory, while honoring the 'protection and family vision' positioning. I gave up visual realism — and with it some of the 'gory' satisfaction typical of these games — in exchange for full coherence with the REDON/Saphirus aesthetic.
The coupon is delivered inside the game — a frictionless flow
The problem
The business goal was for the game to lead to a purchase. Interviews with the Saphirus teams made it clear that the game → coupon → purchase flow had to be extremely simple, and any intermediate step was a conversion leak.
The options
- —Send the coupon by email after completing a form: it captures user data, but adds friction and kills the momentum right after winning.
- —Redirect to an external landing page with the code: it separates game and reward, and adds an extra page load between winning and redeeming.
- —Deliver the coupon inside the game's own UI, on the victory screen: immediate conversion, though it meant designing the redemption flow (unique code, copy button, store CTA) within the game interface.
The decision
I chose to deliver the coupon inside the game's UI: upon winning, the victory screen shows the unique code with a 'Copy your coupon' button and the option to go straight to the store. The conversion flow is integrated into the same interface, with no intermediate exits. I gave up data capture (email/signup) that would have served Marketing, prioritizing the immediate purchase that was the stated goal of the launch.
Progressive difficulty with power-ups — challenge without frustration
The problem
The game had to be accessible to all audiences and, at the same time, 'challenging but not frustrating' (an explicit requirement from the interviews). A mosquito-elimination mechanic on a grid could become monotonous if too easy, or abandonable if too demanding.
The options
- —Fixed, simple difficulty: maximum accessibility, but risk of boredom and of the game feeling like a chore on the way to the coupon.
- —High difficulty from the start: a tougher challenge, but it clashed with the 'all audiences' requirement and increased abandonment before conversion.
- —Progressively increasing difficulty, offset by power-ups ('Activate REDON', 'Big Boom') that help reach the 10,000 points: a balance between challenge and accessibility, though it required designing and balancing an extra bonus system.
The decision
I chose progressive difficulty with power-ups as a safety net. The challenge scales as the game advances, but the bonuses ('Activate REDON' eliminates multiple mosquitoes, 'Big Boom' triggers a massive explosion) keep the goal reachable for any user. I gave up design simplicity — the bonus system was additional mechanics work — in exchange for no one abandoning in frustration before reaching the coupon. Plus, the REDON spray as a power-up embeds the brand into the mechanic itself.
— Next steps
Learn more about REDON
An accessible mini-game designed from scratch in 48 hours: custom mechanics, integrated power-ups and a discount coupon redeemable directly from the interface. The launch generated 954 interactions and 847 redeemed codes in one week.