Steam
Steam is a video game digital distribution service and storefront developed by Valve Corporation.
The Windows PC-only version of the client was released in 2003, and the Mobile App for iOS and Android was released in 2012.
The first page you see on your mobile device after signing in is the storefront, where The most recent announcement or news for the gaming community is at the top, with the “Featured and Recommended” games posted underneath it in a sideways scrolling menu. At the top of the screen are the search bar, the profile icon representing the profile menu, the main menu, your wishlist, and your wallet. Scrolling down further will show special offers, a more specialized “Recommended” tab, and relevant information and updates to games you own. You can access your library, friends list, settings, authentication preferences, etc. through sub-menus or cascading menus.
Usability: For basic things, like searching for a specific game to show a friend a video of, finding out the cost of a game, adding friends, or checking the latest patch notes or updates, the app excels. Anything more than that requires finding the appropriate option from a slew of sub-menus that are difficult to find when first using the app.
Flaws in Usability: Excess. The menus that all have links leading back to other menus or pages is unnecessary. Swiping “back” on your phone while in a specific games page minimizes/closes the app instead of going to the previous page.
Improvement Suggestions: Correcting the accidental closing of the app when trying to redirect to the previous page, limiting or combining menu options, and including a “most searched for” and “things you’ve recently searched” in the search bar as a dropdown cascading menu would be incredibly useful.
Design: The design is acceptable. Some menus are styled differently than others. Some icons or tiles include too much “whitespace”. The search bar and other menus can be simplified to exclude several options that are available on them now for simplicity and easier access.
Flaws in Design: Excess again, as well as clashing menu types. I don’t need an option in the menu for the “Store Home” when the leftmost icon at the bottom of the screen does just that. I don’t need to see my own profile icon, except to know that I’m signed in, and with most mobile apps (this one included) you don’t have to sign into it more than once.
Improvement Suggestions: Combine menu options and have the bottom icons BE the menus themselves. Shrink tiles and include an arrow on the right side of the screen to indicate there are more options available for horizontal swiping.
Functionality: The app’s functionality isn’t flawless, but it was clearly the priority of the developers. Aside from all menus and searches working exactly as intended, the app can also show you what your PC is downloading or updating remotely (see picture, game titled Icarus) if you’re signed in on your PC. The interconnectivity of the mobile and PC platforms is excellent.
Flaws in Functionality: The app functions exactly as intended, and I can’t think of any flaws in the functionality itself. More features could be added, but as it is now, there are no issues.
Improvement Suggestions: Some features that could be added would be a customizable front page to give you news on the latest games or upcoming events, as well as updates you may need to download and install when you boot up your PC next.
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