My Cat Club - Virtual Pets
1+ million downloads across both Appstore and Google Play store
Total Lifetime Revenue: $500K +
My Cat Club has you move into a stylish city apartment and design your own cat sanctuary. Once your cats have settled in, snap photos of them looking adorable or doing silly things and share them with the world.
Renovate and decorate your apartment with a wide catalogue of furniture. Define your style - from Sleek Scandi to Mid Century Modern; set the stage to your feline photography endeavours. Check what's trending, pose your cats, and capture the perfect photo. Post your pics to your profile and grow your popularity - become a global influencer.
Befriend the neighbourhood cats and raise a feline family. Breed cats of all different shapes, patterns, and personalities. From fur coats to eye colour, there are lots of traits
to unlock!
My contribution to the project
Played the role of a lead UX designer on the project with the responsibility of shaping the UX direction for the title along with the help of the design lead and the UX Manager. I was brought onto the project in its early stages where the team had started exploring the game to a certain extent in terms of the game loop, basic interface, and other mechanics.
I played a pivotal role in the directional switch the game underwent when as a team we realized after the soft launch that the initial approach of the game is not working. The team was split into two, where a separate four-person team was appointed to do a spike where new ideas experimented for the title. I was responsible for leading the design process for all the major screens, flows, and interfaces in the game. The game was in soft launch for nearly 2 years where it underwent a lot of changes and improvements based on the information derived from user tests, surveys, diary studies, etc. The game is now close to its worldwide launch and soon should be available to everyone.
My responsibilities on the project
1. Work with the UX Manager to define the UX strategy of the project
2. Shape the architecture of the game's interface, based on the requirements and specs from the Product Owners and Game Designers.
3. Deliver clear comprehensive UX flows, IA's, and prototypes to Designers and Product Owners.
4. Leverage insights from playtests and player research to inform the product roadmap and feature designs.
5. Test the interface inside the game and follow up on technical flaws with solutions.
6. Get the interfaces implemented into the game with the help of UI Artists and Developers.
6. Be the keeper of human-centered design and be responsible for balancing user needs with business challenges
7. Educate stakeholders and team members about the importance of UX and be a strong advocate for adopting best UX practices with the team
UX Design Process
Below, I’ve shared how I addressed a specific problem scenario that arose during the game’s development, detailing my approach and the steps I took to resolve it.
Problem Statement: We observed from the diary studies, repeated user tests, and data collected through surveys that the current(old) landing screen of the game did not direct the user towards the intention of the game and does not tell what is to be done right off the bat. The player had to spend some time to understand what is to be done here unlike other match-3 games where the interface directs the player with the use of specific UI layouts, placements, button treatments, and visuals.
In addition to the initiatives described above, the team was given business goals to improve D7 retention, which was at 18% (below the target of 25%), and average session length, which was 8 minutes. The home screen redesign was a key action, along with several other tweaks implemented in subsequent releases, aimed at achieving a D7 retention of 25% and increasing average session length to 10 minutes.
Old Landing screen
Requirement Analysis: Before starting with the research I sat down with the designers to understand what all actions the new version of the screen needs to fulfill. This makes the process more clear and defined in order to understand the goal.
Actions to be performed on the new landing screen:
1. Let the player 'Explore' and make it easy to identify the button to do so
2. Player should be able to access the 'Breed' screen easily
3. Access to the Trends and Photo feed section of the game
4. Access to the Furniture and Photomode of the game
5. Players should be able to see their progress and the upcoming rewards
6. Players should be able to view their wallet to check the balance of soft/hard currency
7. At any given time player should be able to enter the Market to make a purchase
Research: Along with the game desginer, I narrowed down a few titles which were more or less similar to ours or might have the same target audience. The chosen titles are some of the most successful ones in the market and all of them have common UI traits. We took notice of these common traits which influenced our approach to redesign the landing screen.
Process: After receiving the brief from the game designer for the feature I facilitated a brainstorming/sketching session with different members of the team. This allowed everyone to pitch ideas and concepts they had in mind and made them feel more involved in the process. I made sure to provide some references to other games and experiences to kickstart the process based on the research conducted on my end for the feature. This made it easier to have a starting point to initiate the ideation process.
After the sketching session, I reviewed all the ideas, selected the strongest concepts, and refined them into detailed wireframes and user flows.
Prototype wireframes and flow
Further, a PROTOTYPE was created which linked all the screens in the games to this screen and was user-tested. The users recruited were existing active players which allowed us to gather genuine reactions and data with regards to the new landing screen approach. Overall, we got a positive response with some feedback and comments to further improve the screen and we went ahead to implement the same into the game.
Further, a PROTOTYPE was created which linked all the screens in the games to this screen and was user-tested. The users recruited were existing active players which allowed us to gather genuine reactions and data with regards to the new landing screen approach. Overall, we got a positive response with some feedback and comments to further improve the screen and we went ahead to implement the same into the game.
User test and Feedback:
I conducted an in house usertest with the figma prototype to see how the players react to the new home screen as compared to the previous one. We tested with 10 players from a different project along with some from admin, finance and publishing dept who were a mix of casual and midcore mobile gamers. Here are some of the obervations that were captured:
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Players found the new home screen intuitive and easier to navigate.
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Several players mentioned it was helpful to have easy access to the Tasks section, which guides them on what to do next if they feel lost at any point in the game.
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Players appreciated the quick and bold access to the "Explore" feature, which lets them view their progression path across different challenges and locations.
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A few users suggested being able to long-press on any furniture item to access the layout edit mode, which was later introduced during implementation.
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Players liked the cleaner visual hierarchy and noted that important CTAs stood out more clearly than in the previous version.
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Some participants said the new layout felt more spacious and less cluttered, giving a better overview of available features at a glance.
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A few players suggested adding subtle animations or feedback cues (like button highlights or sound effects) to make interactions on the home screen feel more responsive and polished.
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UI Mockup Creation
Based on the feedback and suggestions captured during user testing, I worked closely with the UI artist to implement the mockup while addressing each point. During this process, we also focused on the visual hierarchy of the buttons, ensuring that Explore stands out as the primary action, followed by Cat Club, Breed/Photo/Furniture, and then the buttons on the top bar.
This clear visual hierarchy helped us refine the overall UI design system, which was subsequently extended throughout the rest of the game. We also considered UI button animations, VFX, and SFX during this step. For example, subtle effects like a light pulsating glow around the Explore button and occasional movement of the magnifying glass when the player remains idle were added to draw attention and encourage interaction.
Additionally, we carefully designed how the screen populates, guiding the player’s eye from the most important elements to the least important ones. This approach ensures that the UI is both visually engaging and intuitive, enhancing the overall player experience.
New Home Screen UI Mockup
I collaborated closely with the UI artists and developers to implement this screen, rigorously testing and providing feedback at every iteration until it met all the goals and requirements of the redesign, ensuring a polished and fully realized final result.
Advantages of the new landing screen:
1. The layout gives weightage to important aspects such as "Explore" in the game as it is the primary source of all the items and currencies the player can receive which can further be utilized in different ways. So based on that the "Explore" button now is placed on the right corner (prime real estate for a mobile game) and is in CTA state to attract attention.
2. The next primary screen for the player to interact in the game is the "Cat Club" screen where they can access the trends to participate in and view their collection of photos. The "Cat Club" is now accessible from the bottom left of the screen which is another prime real estate for any mobile game in landscape orientation.
3. The next important or more often performed task by the player in the game will be "Breeding" hence its access point is just beside the "Cat Club" button.
3. Other screens in the game are accessed from their respective buttons which are placed further on the basis of their importance in the game for e.g. tasks, player level, currencies, and market button are to be accessible throughout the game hence it is on the HUD.
4. The buttons for the photo mode and the furniture are placed on the right keeping in mind the actual layout of those 2 screens also giving the player a convenient way to switch between the two since both are inter-related.
5. The layout of the screen is now more familiar to other match-3 game titles which reduces the friction for our player base since the majority of the target audience is match-3 and puzzle players. It is inspired by successful titles like Gardenscapes, Kitten Match, Project Makeover, etc.
Analytics & KPI Improvements
Once the new home screen was made live into the game, following improvements were observed:
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Increased early retention: Noticeable uplift in D1–D3 (increased from 32% to 34.2%) retention as players found the new home screen more intuitive and onboarding more seamless.
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Reduced tutorial drop-offs: Clearer navigation and stronger guidance lowered abandonment rates during the initial play session.
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Longer play sessions: Average session length rose by approximately 12–15%, with players engaging more in the “Tasks” and “Explore” sections.
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Improved store performance: Higher visibility of offers and better UI hierarchy led to a modest rise in store conversion rates and interactions.
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Higher re-engagement and return rate: The new layout and clear daily goals encouraged players to return more frequently, reflected in improved DAU/MAU ratios and 7-day retention.
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Increased feature adoption: More players interacted with secondary systems such as pet customization and photo-sharing, indicating stronger exploration behavior and broader content engagement.
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Redesigning the home screen for My Cat Club reinforced the importance of balancing usability improvements with the emotional tone of the game. Early iterations focused heavily on structure and accessibility, but player feedback reminded us that the sense of warmth, familiarity, and playfulness is just as critical for long-term engagement. The in-house playtests also highlighted how involving non-design stakeholders early helps build empathy and smoother buy-in later. Finally, the measurable uplift in retention and engagement validated that even small, well-considered UX adjustments - like clearer navigation or more visible progression cues—can create significant impact when guided by real player insights.
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After successfully delivering this feature, I went on to help the team develop several of the game’s more complex systems, including Interior Decoration, Cat Photography, Trophy Road, the Social Media Feed, and a range of Events and Themed Challenges. For each of these features, I ensured consistent alignment across my manager, the feature team, and key stakeholders maintaining clear communication, validating design intent, and resolving trade-offs as development progressed.
I continued working on My Cat Club for nearly a year and a half, contributing to its growth, polish, and long-term feature roadmap. Following this period, I transitioned to Rival Stars Horse Racing, the studio’s flagship title and core live-ops product. The game had been live since 2016 and required dedicated design support to meet its expanding live-operations needs, making it a natural next step in my role.
Ingame screenshots
