Feles is an upcoming cryptocurrency created by an anonymous developer community.
They wanted to airdrop X amount of tokens as part of their Go-To-Market strategy prior to the launch.
But there was 1 specific challenge: The airdrop should be beginner friendly.
Role : Freelance Design Consultant
Responsibilities : 0 to 1 Product Design
Team : I was lucky to work alongside another great designer (Sahil if you are seeing this, you’re awesome) + a team of Devs + PM
Timeline : 10 Days
How do we make crypto airdrops beginner friendly?
To solve this, we brainstormed and decided to gamify the process of receiving airdrops.
We would —
Launch Feles on Telegram’s App Store (to foster accessibility)
Create a simple Click 2 Earn feature as the premise of the game (to foster intuitive use of the platform)
But this led to a unique problem - how do we gamify?
Designing the Coin
The creators of “Feles” have a special connection to Middle Eastern heritage and hence wanted to have an Arabic reference to the coin.
This was achieved by including the Arabic letter for “Faa” (ف) in the coin symbol.
For the initial coin, which would be an integral part of the game, we went through multiple iterations.
Design Notes for the Coin : A cartoonish style to makes it approachable and fun.
Designing the Game
In the early stages of our game development, we focused on creating a rewarding and engaging experience for players. Here's the story of how we came up with our first three features
EARN - Tasks to earn Feles through partnerships & tasks : Tasks ranged from simple activities like watching videos to interactive challenges, creating a fun and rewarding experience.
BOOSTS - Powerups and boosts to multiply coin clickers : Time-limited multipliers or special boosts that could be earned through achievements. Players could multiply their coin earnings and progress faster.
ENERGY BAR - Depletes with each click and requires a wait time to replenish: The energy bar paces the gameplay by requiring players to wait for it to replenish after each use and also increases time spent while playing game.
Alpha Testing
Improving the Game
Based on the feedback, we decided to get back to the drawing board and re-work our initial ideas.
To plan the features, we started off with ideating on 3 core questions :
How do we airdrop tokens?
How do we motivate users?
How do we keep them engaged on the platform?
Adding Contextual Benchmarks with Leagues
We created four leagues, each with a specific coin range, to ensure a sense of accomplishment for users at every level.
Users are automatically placed in a league based on their current coin balance, ensuring they compete against users with similar engagement levels.
Users in higher leagues receive exclusive perks and recognition, motivating lower-league users to strive for advancement.
Reflections
Gamifying the airdrop process through features like Click 2 Earn and leagues significantly increased user engagement.
Including the Arabic letter for "Faa" in the coin symbol added a personal and cultural touch, enhancing the project's identity.
Launching on Telegram's App Store improved accessibility, making the platform more inclusive and user-friendly.
Creating leagues based on coin ranges provided users with a clear sense of progression and accomplishment, motivating them to participate actively.
Offering exclusive perks to users in higher leagues drove competition and incentivized advancement, keeping users engaged in the long term.
