Game Design Services

The core loop is the sequence players repeat most often: act, receive feedback, progress. We define this loop first because everything else (economy, progression, content) hangs off it. A weak core loop cannot be fixed by adding features on top. We map the core loop against your target audience's session length expectations. Mobile sessions average 4 to 7 minutes, so the loop must deliver a sense of completion within that window. PC and console sessions average 20 to 45 minutes, allowing deeper loops with more decision points per cycle. Getting this wrong means players quit before they reach the reward that would have retained them.

Most games beyond the casual tier rely on interconnected systems: combat, economy, progression, social, crafting. We design these systems to be modular and scalable, so you can add content post-launch without redesigning core mechanics. For Domi Online, we designed a skill progression system spanning 20+ disciplines where each skill interacts with others (fishing feeds cooking, mining feeds smithing) to create emergent gameplay. For Empires Rise, we designed interconnected resource, territory, and military systems that remain balanced across different map sizes and player counts. The complexity of your systems design directly affects project scope and cost. Read our detailed technical breakdown of building infinite progression systems in Unity.

We design the currency flows and resource loops that underpin your game's monetisation and progression. For free-to-play titles, this means modelling earn rates, spend sinks, and conversion funnels between soft and hard currencies to find the balance where free players stay engaged and paying players feel their purchase was worthwhile. For premium titles, economy design focuses on value perception and progression pacing: ensuring players always have a meaningful next goal without hitting walls that feel designed to extract money. Every economy we design includes analytics hooks so you can tune drop rates, pricing, and sink intensity post-launch based on real player data rather than assumptions. See our monetisation services for the full technical implementation.

We design level flow and pacing that maintain challenge without frustrating players. This includes difficulty curves that ramp appropriately for your audience, tutorial design that teaches through play rather than text walls, and onboarding flows that get players into the core loop within the first 60 seconds on mobile. We also advise on procedural versus hand-crafted content. Procedural generation (as used in Empires Rise's map system) extends replayability at lower content cost, while hand-crafted levels deliver tighter pacing and narrative control. Most games benefit from a hybrid approach, and we help you determine the right mix for your budget and genre.

Game UI is not web UI. We design information architectures specific to games: HUDs that communicate state without obscuring the action, menu hierarchies that players navigate under time pressure, and feedback systems (screen shake, particle effects, haptics) that make interactions feel responsive. On mobile, UX design is particularly constrained. We design within thumb zones, account for screen real estate on smaller devices, handle gesture conflicts between gameplay and system gestures, and ensure accessibility standards are met (colour contrast ratios, scalable text, screen reader compatibility for menu systems). For a detailed case study of these challenges, read our article on mobile UI design for complex games.

Designing for short sessions (4 to 7 minutes), touch-only input, portrait and landscape orientations, and constant interruptions (calls, notifications, backgrounding). Onboarding must complete in under 60 seconds. Every interaction must work with a single thumb. Monetisation placement must respect session flow. We have shipped mobile-first designs for Pocket Factory, Nova Blast, and Nub.

Designing for longer sessions (20 to 45 minutes), complex input schemes (keyboard, mouse, gamepad), higher content depth expectations, and community features (guilds, chat, trading). PC and console players expect more systems, more content, and more agency. Domi Online is a representative example: a full MMORPG with 20+ skills, PvP, player-driven economy, and server-authoritative networking.

Designing around learning objectives rather than entertainment alone. Every mechanic must serve a pedagogical purpose while remaining genuinely engaging. We integrate assessment hooks, curriculum alignment, and progress reporting for teachers and administrators. This is a distinct design discipline that requires understanding both game design and instructional design. See our educational games service for a full overview of our approach.

When a single game must work across mobile, PC, and console, design decisions become harder. Touch controls must map cleanly to gamepad input. Session structures must satisfy both the 5-minute mobile player and the 40-minute PC player. UI layouts must adapt to screen sizes from 5-inch phones to 32-inch monitors. We design adaptive systems that handle these differences without requiring separate builds or content branches. The choice of game engine significantly affects what cross-platform design options are available.

MMORPG design with skill-based progression across 20+ disciplines, a player-driven economy with server-authoritative validation, PvP balancing, and social systems (guilds, trading, chat). The core design challenge was creating progression systems that reward long-term investment without alienating new players joining an established world. View the Domi Online project → | Read: Building Infinite Progression Systems →

4X strategy game design with procedural map generation, AI opponents with distinct behavioural profiles, and a multi-resource economy that remains balanced across different map sizes and player counts. The design challenge was creating enough strategic depth for replayability while keeping individual sessions completable. View the Empires Rise project →

Educational game design that embeds vocabulary learning into core gameplay mechanics rather than bolting quizzes onto a game shell. Players engage with words through contextual use, spatial puzzles, and timed challenges rather than rote repetition. The design challenge was making the learning invisible so children want to keep playing. View the Word Fun World project →

Idle/tycoon game design with layered progression systems: factory expansion, product unlocks, prestige resets, and monetisation that complements rather than gates gameplay. The design challenge was creating enough long-term depth in a genre where most titles become repetitive within hours. View the Pocket Factory project →

A comprehensive, living document covering all systems, mechanics, content plans, UI flows, and technical specifications. We use a structured format that development teams can work from directly, with version history so the document evolves alongside the project rather than becoming outdated the moment production starts.

Visual maps showing how your game's systems interconnect: what feeds into what, where players make decisions, and how resources flow through the economy. These diagrams are essential for communicating design intent to engineers and stakeholders who don't read 80-page documents.

Screen-by-screen layouts for every menu, HUD element, and player flow. On mobile projects, these include thumb-zone heat maps and gesture specifications. On PC and console projects, they include input binding maps for keyboard, mouse, and gamepad.

Mathematical models of your game's economy: currency earn rates, spend sinks, progression curves, and difficulty scaling. These are working spreadsheets you can continue to use and tune post-launch, not static PDFs.

Unity greybox prototypes that validate your core mechanics before you commit to full art production and engineering. These builds are playable on your target platform and include the core loop, basic UI, and enough systems interaction to evaluate whether the design works. We iterate on the prototype until the game feel is right.

Game design does not end at launch. We offer ongoing design support including analytics review, balance tuning based on real player data, content roadmap planning for updates and seasons, and design consultation for new features. This is available as a retainer alongside our game development services.