From Childish Look to Easy Companion: How We Revamped a Mini‑Game Home Page to Boost Playtime and Refresh the Brand

Background : Mini‑games rely on lightweight start‑up and time‑based monetisation; "click‑to‑play" lowers entry barriers, but total user playtime drives ad impressions and in‑app‑purchase windows, making it the primary business metric.

Business goals : (1) Increase overall game duration to help users "play in and stay" and improve distribution precision; (2) Eliminate the "childish perception" of the product and reshape its image to be younger, more relaxed and higher‑quality.

Design approach : The redesign was tackled in three parts – (1) extending playtime through an optimized distribution path, (2) removing childish visual cues via a systematic visual‑language overhaul, and (3) preserving space for the "Random Game" fallback.

Part 1 – Extending playtime : The home page’s three core modules – "User Loves to Play", "Platform Recommendation" and "Random Game" – were re‑examined. Data showed the "Recent Favorites" module contributed the most playtime, while the old layout displayed four games side‑by‑side, diluting user attention. An A/B test confirmed that satisfying user intent outweighs pure exposure. The new design reinforced the "User Loves to Play" mindset as the first‑look, built a topic‑matrix for platform recommendations with tailored reasons, and kept a "Random Game" option that offers a "last‑chance" surprise for exploratory users.

Part 2 – De‑childish visual redesign : Research identified three visual traits of the childish style – high‑brightness, high‑saturation colour palettes, cartoon‑like graphics, and overly cute mascots. The new brand tone was defined as "young, fun, relaxed, efficient". A refreshed colour system introduced "vibrant yellow" (life, fun) and "relaxed green" (calm, natural) with a strict 60 % background / 30 % white card / 10 % brand‑colour ratio. Visual hierarchy was split into three layers: an ambient layer with low‑opacity, low‑purity colours; a content layer with large white cards for high‑fidelity game icons; and an action layer using high‑saturation brand colour for buttons and tags. Emotion‑driven elements such as island and cloud motifs, semi‑transparent popularity tags, and dynamic micro‑interactions were added to convey relaxation and surprise.

Part 3 – Preserving brand DNA : The iconic lightning symbol was retained, rendered with a slanted line and integrated into new components like topic‑card headers, ensuring continuity while transitioning the visual language from a "children's playground" to a "young‑adult lounge".

Design thinking : The team emphasized that design must serve the core business of time‑based revenue, focus limited resources on high‑impact modules (e.g., the "Recent Favorites" section), provide clear reasons and decision paths for users, and keep the experience fun and surprising rather than overly serious.

Outcome : The new home page delivers a clearer, higher‑quality brand image, improves user stay and engagement, and serves as a systematic case study for solving commercial and brand challenges through design.