Tomas Olsav

Improving the game’s FTUE

Problem: The original onboarding flow led to high player churn immediately after the tutorial, negatively impacting Day 1 retention.

Hypothesis: The tutorial was overly dense, causing cognitive overload and failing to teach core mechanics through meaningful interaction effectively.

Solution: Based on data analysis, multiple PlaytestCloud sessions, A/B testing, and my expert review, I introduced “free play” segments between key tutorial steps to reduce pressure and reinforce learning. Additionally, I implemented contextual tooltips and visual spotlights to guide players and improve overall clarity and usability.

The Result: By reducing tutorial pressure and reinforcing learning through contextual guidance, the optimized onboarding flow successfully cut overall FTUE churn by ~46%, as validated through A/B testing.

Event Banks

I was responsible for the end-to-end UX/UI design of the Event Banks feature, a major gameplay extension incorporating multiple interconnected meta systems, including brand new RNG mechanics, Perk System, Milestone Pass, Upgrade Panels, Area Expansion, FTUE onboarding, and a Shop.

The process began with competitor benchmarking (e.g., Frozen City, Idle Mafia), followed by wireframing, UX flow creation for each sub-feature, and mapping the overall user journey across the Event Banks system. I translated these flows into an interactive Figma prototype with dynamic logic and variables, which was then tested internally for clarity and usability.

Once validated through testing, I moved to final UI execution: creating pixel-perfect mockups, defining color styles, updating the style guide, and preparing thorough handoff documentation for both art and development teams.

Match-3 Minigame

This was one of my first major UX/UI challenges and a project I thoroughly enjoyed. The goal was to design a clean and intuitive interface for the Audit Feature, where players assign managers and engage in a battle against the Auditor.

After aligning with Game Designers on the feature’s mechanics, I conducted market research, drawing inspiration primarily from Empires & Puzzles: Match-3 RPG for benchmarking. My focus was on crafting a seamless user flow that guided players effortlessly through the experience, minimizing confusion and ensuring that key actions and information were always clear and accessible.

Managers Collection Improvements

With the introduction of passive abilities for managers, the outdated Managers Collection UI required a full UX/UI overhaul. Beyond accommodating the new feature, I aimed to address long-standing player confusion around the Promotion mechanic.

To improve clarity, I streamlined the information architecture and redesigned the layout for better readability. I introduced quick navigation arrows for faster access across manager profiles, and added a duplicate count indicator to help players understand their inventory at a glance. Additionally, the Upgrade button now dynamically changes to a Promotion button once a manager reaches their current rank cap, clearly guiding players through the upgrade path and resolving a key usability pain point.

Reward Display Rework

Problem: Reward items were visually inconsistent across the game’s UI, leading to confusing player experiences and inefficient implementation for the dev team.

Solution: I designed a unified visual system for all in-game items, covering multiple sizes and rarity levels. The goal was not only to eliminate inconsistencies but also to visually communicate each item’s value to the player. To ensure accessibility, I introduced subtle visual cues within item frames to represent rarity, making the visual hierarchy readable for all users, including those with color vision deficiencies.

Bonus initiative: As the number of items continued to grow, I proposed and designed contextual item tooltips to provide quick, accessible information when players tap on an item, improving clarity without overwhelming the interface. With increasing amount of items we are adding into game, I decide it would be beneficial to have item tooltips containing brief information for item player taps on.

Special Offer Pop-ups

To support product goals, I was tasked with elevating the visual quality and usability of special offers in Idle Bank Tycoon, with the aim of improving conversion rates.

My focus was on creating a polished, premium visual style while incorporating subtle animations to enhance the perceived value and “juiciness” of the offers. At the same time, I ensured that the layout and interactions remained intuitive and frictionless.

The redesigned offers exceeded performance expectations and contributed to stronger player engagement with monetization content.