Battle Pass Feature – FarmVille: Country Escape
FarmVille: Country Escape is one of Zynga's most popular mobile farming simulation games, with over 400,000 daily active users. To improve retention and monetization, I designed and evolved the Battle Pass feature, which provided structured progression, rewards, and premium perks to players. My role covered end-to-end design: task flows, reward systems, perk communication, and Unity integration.
Release
March 2023
Tools
Figma, Unity
My Role
Interaction Design, User Flows, Prototyping, User Interviews, Integration
Team
UX Designer, Product Manager, Producer, Game Designer, Developers, QA, Art
Objective
Design a system for Consistent Engagement
While events drove short bursts of play, there was no system encouraging consistent long-term engagement. Players lacked ongoing goals and incentives beyond short-term rewards.
The Battle Pass was designed to provide structured progression and meaningful rewards for players.
Daily Retention
Achievable tasks and
time-limited rewards
Progression System
Free and premium players
with clear value tiers
Repeatable Feature
Sustained revenue
without fatigue
Research
Understanding player behavior and needs
I studied battle passes across shooters, RPGs, and strategy games to extract design principles that could work for a casual farming simulation, understanding what made them engaging and sustainable.
Battle Pass System
Task System Design
Daily Tasks: Expired in 24 hours to drive daily engagement across game features and encourage consistent player retention.
General Tasks: Unlocked every 4 days, providing longer-term progression goals and sustained engagement throughout the season.
Task System
Token System
Token System: Task completion awarded tokens that accumulated to unlock rewards, creating a clear progression pathway.
Reward Collection: Players could check and claim unlocked rewards in the dedicated rewards tab, providing immediate gratification and clear value communication.
Reward Structure
Free Track: Base rewards for all players.
Premium Track: Exclusive rewards for pass purchasers.
Endless Rewards: Introduced after milestone 30 to keep late-stage players engaged.
Reward Structure
Perks Design
Premium Pass included gameplay perks such as:
- +20% Barn Space
- Faster Crafting & Foraging
- "Water Everything at Once" shortcut
- Seasonal perks like "Divine Shower" (Christmas theme)
These perks improved the daily loop without breaking balance.
Premium Perks
Solving
UI/UX Design
Designed intuitive task flows that integrated seamlessly with existing game mechanics while providing clear progression feedback.
Created compelling reward communication that highlighted both immediate and long-term value for players.
Ensured premium perks felt valuable without making free players feel excluded from core progression.
UI/UX Wireframes
Tasks Interface
Daily and general task management with clear progression indicators
Rewards System
Free and premium reward tracks with clear value differentiation
Premium Perks
Gameplay enhancements and quality-of-life improvements
Cross-functional collaboration
Partnered with Art team to create compelling visual designs that maintained the game's aesthetic while highlighting progression and rewards.
Worked closely with Product Managers to align design decisions with business objectives and player retention goals.
Collaborated with Game Designers to ensure the Battle Pass mechanics complemented existing gameplay systems.
Reward Icons
Quest Icons
Perk Icons
Unity Integration
Unity Integration
Worked closely with Unity developers to implement the Battle Pass system, ensuring smooth integration with existing game mechanics and performance optimization.
Designed flexible reward and progression systems that could be easily configured and updated for different seasons and events.
Created comprehensive design documentation and specifications for the development team, including user flows, interaction patterns, and visual guidelines.
Outcome
The Battle Pass feature successfully launched and became a core retention mechanic for FarmVille: Country Escape, providing players with structured progression and meaningful rewards. The implementation exceeded expectations across key performance indicators, demonstrating strong player adoption and sustained engagement throughout the season.
60%
Completion Rate
Players who completed the full Battle Pass progression, indicating strong engagement with the structured reward system.
+7%
Core Actions Increase
Engagement boost in core actions (crafts, crops, POIs) driven by time-limited tasks and structured progression rewards.
20%
ARPU Uptick
Average revenue per user increase driven by premium Battle Pass purchases and enhanced player monetization.
12%
Daily Retention
Daily logins rose significantly due to time-limited tasks creating consistent daily engagement patterns.
60-75%
Repurchase Rates
Consistent repurchase rates across different Battle Pass versions, indicating sustained player satisfaction and value perception.
★
Player Delight
Positive VIP feedback and high player satisfaction with the Battle Pass feature and its reward structure.