Sidekick: Elevating Player Engagement with Interactive Digital Books
About
An established client with an extensive game library set out to enhance the experience of their flagship products, Dispatch and Evil Genius Games, by introducing immersive, portable storytelling. They envisioned giving users a new way to explore game worlds through interactive digital books. To bring this exciting vision to life, DigiMantra created Sidekick, an interactive platform where users can dive into the world of Evil Genius Games. With Sidekick, users can craft, purchase, and explore game-inspired digital books, making the immersive game universe available at their fingertips anytime, anywhere.
Challenge
The client encountered several challenges with their existing systems, which affected the overall efficiency and fluidity of gameplay.
Limitations of verbal instructions
Explaining game rules every time a new user joins in proved time-consuming and inconsistent, often leading to confusion and a slower learning curve.
Challenges in notifying game tweaks
Any tweaks to game features were hard to communicate quickly and effectively, often leaving players unaware of important changes that could impact their gameplay.
Manual character sheet preparation
Users had to repeatedly download, print, and fill out character sheets with basic details and game scores, making the process time-consuming and inefficient.
Lack of excitement at the backend
Manually recording game details felt more like routine clerical work than part of an immersive gaming experience, dampening the enthusiasm for both players and organizers.
Difficult to store game records
Without a dedicated system for documentation, important data was often at risk of being lost, damaged, or becoming inaccessible over time.
Solution
To resolve the issues faced by our client, we developed Sidekick with a strong foundation of carefully crafted features and functionalities, designed to meet their specific needs.
Digital Book Access Options
Users can access books via free, paid, ticket-based, or subscription models. Subscriptions include 2 tickets monthly or 24 annually to unlock premium content.
Creative Writing Studio
Users can write books or chapters within the platform and submit them for admin approval. Approved content is published; rejected entries receive feedback for revision.
Digital Character Sheet
We designed dynamic, auto-calculating character sheets that streamline the form-filling process, ensuring a faster and more efficient experience for users.
Game Release Tracker
We integrated a dynamic calendar that highlights both past and upcoming game releases, helping users stay informed about the latest updates and new features added by the admin.
Interactive Content Library
We organized the digital book platform into clearly defined categories (or games), making it easier for users to write, store, and purchase books based on their specific interests.
Business Outcomes
Increased Engagement
Sidekick extended the game experience through digital books, driving a 30–40% boost in user retention.
New Revenue Streams
With paid, subscription, and ticket-based models, Sidekick enabled 20–35% higher ARPU through diversified monetization.
Efficient Content Creation
Built-in tools reduce content creation time by up to 50%, streamlining publishing and lowering operational effort.
