Starting a game project is exciting, but jumping in without proper preparation leads to wasted time, budget overruns, and disappointed stakeholders. Before writing a single line of code, you need clear answers to some fundamental questions.
Here are the questions we ask every client before beginning development. If you want to work through these in a structured format, our Brief Builder walks you through each section and generates a professional project brief you can share with any studio.
Defining Your Vision
These questions establish what you are actually building:
What is the core gameplay loop? Strip away all the features and describe the one thing players will do repeatedly. If you cannot explain this simply, the concept needs more refinement.
Who is your target audience? Age range, gaming experience, platform preferences, and spending habits all influence design decisions. "Everyone" is not an acceptable answer.
What makes your game different? In a crowded market, what is your hook? This does not need to be revolutionary, but it must be clearly articulated.
What emotion do you want players to feel? Tension, relaxation, accomplishment, connection? This shapes everything from mechanics to audio design.
Scope and Resources
These questions determine whether your vision is achievable:
What is your budget? Be honest about the total amount available, including contingency for unexpected issues. Underestimating budget is the most common cause of failed projects. If you are not sure what your project should cost, our Cost Estimator can give you a realistic range based on genre, platform, and features.
What is your timeline? When do you need to launch, and why? External deadlines like seasonal events or funding milestones create hard constraints. Our Timeline Estimator can help you understand whether your timeline is realistic for your scope.
What resources do you have internally? Design documents, art assets, music, voice acting? Understanding existing assets helps scope the remaining work.
What is your minimum viable product? If budget or time runs short, what features are absolutely essential versus nice-to-have?
Technical Requirements
These questions inform architecture and platform decisions:
What platforms are you targeting? Mobile, PC, console, web, or multiple? Each platform has different requirements, certification processes, and development costs. If you are considering porting an existing game to new platforms, our Porting Feasibility Checker can help assess complexity and cost.
Do you have engine preferences? Unity, Unreal, Godot, or custom? Existing expertise or licensing constraints often dictate this choice. If you are unsure, our Engine Comparison Tool can help narrow it down.
What are your performance targets? Frame rate, load times, device specifications. Mobile games targeting older devices have very different constraints than PC titles.
Will the game require online features? Multiplayer, leaderboards, cloud saves, or live ops? Server infrastructure adds significant complexity and ongoing costs.
Business Model
These questions affect design decisions throughout development:
How will the game make money? Premium purchase, free-to-play with IAP, ads, subscription, or hybrid? The monetisation model must be decided early as it influences core design. Our Monetisation Strategy Picker can help if you are weighing options.
What is your user acquisition strategy? Organic growth, paid advertising, influencer marketing, or publisher support? Development should support your marketing approach.
What is your post-launch plan? One-time release, regular content updates, or live service? This dramatically affects architecture and team requirements.
What does success look like? Revenue targets, player counts, review scores, or something else? Define success metrics before launch so you can measure objectively.
Team and Process
These questions establish how you will work together:
Who are the key decision makers? Too many stakeholders slow everything down. Identify who has final say on design, art, and technical decisions.
How do you prefer to communicate? Daily standups, weekly reports, or async updates? Establishing communication patterns early prevents friction later.
What is your approval process? How quickly can you review and approve deliverables? Slow approvals are a hidden cause of timeline slippage.
Have you worked with external developers before? First-time clients often underestimate their own time commitment. We can help set realistic expectations.
Risk Assessment
These questions identify potential problems before they occur:
What are your biggest concerns about this project? Often clients have instincts about where things might go wrong. Those instincts are usually worth exploring.
What would cause you to cancel the project? Understanding dealbreakers helps prioritise work and avoid investing in directions that could be rejected.
Are there any legal or licensing constraints? IP rights, music licensing, age ratings, or regional restrictions all need consideration upfront.
What happens if the game underperforms? Having a plan for different outcomes reduces panic if things do not go perfectly.
Documentation
These questions ensure everyone stays aligned:
Do you have a game design document? Even a rough one helps ensure everyone understands the vision. We can help develop this if needed.
Do you have reference material? Games, films, art, or music that capture the feel you are going for. Visual references communicate more than words.
Do you have brand guidelines? Logos, colours, typography, tone of voice. Consistency with existing brand identity matters for established companies.
How will decisions be documented? Email, shared documents, or project management tools? Decisions made in meetings but not recorded cause problems later.
The Value of Preparation
Taking time to answer these questions thoroughly before development begins pays dividends throughout the project. Expectations are aligned from the start, decisions are faster because the framework for making them is already established, resources are focused on what actually matters, and trust is built through clear communication.
We are happy to work through these questions with you. A few hours of preparation can save months of misdirected effort and help ensure your game project succeeds.
Ready to start your game project? Use our Brief Builder to structure your answers into a professional project brief, or get in touch to book a discovery call.
Related Resources
- Game Development Brief Builder — Turn your answers to these questions into a structured project brief.
- How Much Does Game Development Cost? — Realistic cost ranges and an interactive estimator.
- Game Development Timeline Estimator — See how long your project might take based on scope and team.
- How to Choose a Game Development Partner — Once you have answered these questions, here is how to find the right studio.
- Which Game Engine Should You Use? — Engine choice is one of the most important early decisions.
- How to Monetise Your Game — Monetisation strategy should be considered from the start.
- Our Services — What we offer from concept to launch.