Shape a concept
Start with an idea, a market and an audience. We define the core loop, pressure-test it against session expectations and turn it into a Game Design Document a team can build from.
How the process works
Game Design Services
Turn an idea into a game your team can build. We shape mechanics, progression and player journeys, document the design and test the important interactions in Unity.
Designing procedural generation into Time Runner
Internal IP, designed and built by Ocean View Games.
Time Runner is a self-published endless runner we built to test a design question: is procedural level generation from pre-compiled assets worth the investment against hand-curated levels? The answer was yes, but only when procedural generation is treated as a core part of the design from the outset rather than bolted on later.
We layered rigid-body physics over that structure to add surprise without destabilising the carefully paced core loop, and the payoff from the procedural system grew as the content library did.
An unfinished brief is fine. The first conversation helps establish scope.
What are you starting with?
You do not need a finished concept. We can join at the idea stage, work from existing content or validate a design that is already on paper.
Turn content into a game
Bring a curriculum, research or a body of material. We work alongside your subject experts to design mechanics that carry the learning rather than bolt a quiz onto a game shell.
Explore educational designValidate a design
You have a design and need to know whether it plays. We build a Unity greybox prototype and iterate on game feel before anyone commits to art production.
Explore rapid prototypingOur game design process
Concept, documentation and a playable prototype. Each stage checks the design against the market and the player before the next one adds cost.
1. Concept and market strategy
Define the core loop, profile the target audience and identify what makes the game different in a crowded market, so the design has a clear identity and a viable audience before detailed work begins.
2. The Game Design Document
Translate the validated concept into a living document covering mechanics, controls, UI flows, economy and technical specs, structured so a development team can work from it directly.
3. Prototype and iterate
Build a Unity greybox to test the core mechanics in real time, tune controls, camera and feedback until the loop feels right, then balance the systems with structured playtests and spreadsheet models.
Our design track record
Games designed across genres, platforms and audiences by Ocean View Games and its team.
Domi Online
MMORPG systems design
The Challenge: Design skill progression across 20-plus disciplines that rewards long-term investment without alienating new players joining an established world.
The Result: Interlocking skills where one feeds another, a player-driven economy with server-authoritative validation and social systems for guilds, trading and chat.
Pocket Factory
Idle and tycoon design
The Challenge: Create long-term depth in a genre where most titles turn repetitive within hours.
The Result: Layered progression across factory expansion, product unlocks and prestige resets, with monetisation that complements the core loop rather than gating it.
Through previous employment, our team contributed to educational titles for Cambridge University Press and the BBC. That cross-audience design experience, from preschool learning apps to complex MMORPGs, informs the work today. See our educational game work.
The design disciplines we work across
Game design is a set of interconnected disciplines, each with its own methods and outputs. We treat every one as a distinct workstream.
Core loop design
The sequence players repeat most often. We define it first, map it against your audience's session length and make sure it delivers a sense of completion inside that window.
Systems design
Combat, economy, progression, social and crafting systems, designed to be modular and scalable so content can be added post-launch without redesigning core mechanics.
Economy design
Currency flows, earn rates, sinks and sources modelled so free players stay engaged and paying players feel their purchase was worthwhile, with analytics hooks for tuning after launch.
Level and content design
Difficulty curves, tutorial design that teaches through play, and advice on where procedural generation earns its place against hand-crafted content.
UX and UI design
Game UI is not web UI. HUDs that communicate state without obscuring the action, menus navigated under time pressure, and feedback that makes interactions feel responsive.
What you receive
A GDD, core loop and systems diagrams, wireframes, working economy spreadsheets and playable prototype builds, handed over for use with any development team.
Working together
Start with a free conversation about what you have so far, the player experience you want and where you need help turning it into a workable design.
For an early idea, the work usually starts with concept and market validation, then moves into the Game Design Document. For an existing design, a prototype may be the useful first step.
David and Adam stay close to the design and technical decisions, and we bring in trusted specialists for art, audio or research where a project needs them.
Where gameplay assumptions need testing, a Unity prototype helps us gather feedback before expanding the design. Playtesting informs the next step; it does not guarantee commercial success.
Meet the teamPlan your project
Free interactive tools to help you scope the design before we talk.
Build your project briefCapture your concept, platforms and requirements in a structured brief.Explore →Get a cost estimateSee how design and systems complexity affect your project budget.Explore →Compare game enginesSee how Unity, Unreal, Godot and others compare for your project type.Explore →Read: infinite progression systemsA technical breakdown of the progression design behind Domi Online.Explore →
Frequently Asked Questions
We agree the decisions and documents your team needs: core mechanics, player flows, progression, economy design or a playable prototype. The number of systems and the depth of testing shape the estimate. We set out deliverables and assumptions before work begins.
Once payment is complete, you own the bespoke documentation and deliverables created for your project under our agreement. Pre-existing tools and frameworks remain ours and are licensed for use within the delivered project.
Yes. Bring the audience, platforms and experience you have in mind, along with any references or constraints. We can help define the core loop, which is the set of actions players repeat, and turn it into a design your team can build.
We use playable Unity prototypes, structured feedback and systems models to test specific assumptions. For example, a prototype can reveal whether controls are understandable or a gameplay loop holds interest. The findings guide revisions before full production.
Yes. We agree a handover that can include the game design document, wireframes, systems diagrams, economy spreadsheets and prototype builds. We can also walk the receiving team through the decisions and unresolved questions.
Yes. We work with your subject experts to connect gameplay with learning objectives. See our educational game development service for examples and our approach to content review.
Have a game idea that needs shaping?
Tell us what you have so far, what you want the player experience to be and where you need help turning it into a workable game design.
Tell us about your project