Designed a real-time PvP competition system for Joyrun, a social running platform with 80M+ users. I led the interaction design for the Ranking Run feature across a team of five.
Runners were completing runs but not coming back. Joyrun's retention was declining because there was no reason to return after a solo run. The PM wanted us to explore gamification as a retention lever.
We surveyed 20+ users and interviewed 5 across different running levels. The gap was clear: beginners needed low-stakes motivation, experienced runners wanted competition. We needed a system that served both without alienating either.
We explored three feature concepts (Ranking Run, Challenge Run, Quick Run) and scored them against motivation, social accountability, and retention. Ranking Run, a real-time PvP competition using recorded runs, scored highest and became our focus.
I owned the end-to-end interaction design for Ranking Run. The flow has three steps:
Users choose to attack (challenge someone using their best record) or defend (stay open to challenges). The attack/defend framing makes the competitive stakes clear immediately.
The system matches competitors of similar rank within the selected time window. A 5-second accept/decline window creates urgency without pressure. Seasonal resets every 8 weeks give all players a fresh start.
During the run, users see competitor positions in real-time. Red/green color coding signals whether they're ahead or behind. Lock and pass buttons are designed for one-handed use while running.
