Development
Game development
Core mechanics, scenes and levels, art and sound assembled. A build for every target platform, run on real devices, and the store page prepared.
- Reply to your brief
- within 24 hours
- First call
- 30 minutes, no commitment
- First working version
- in 4–6 weeks
Process
What happens, and when
The work is split into stages, and each one has a named result. You see it yourself rather than reading about it in a report.
Days 1–7
Loop and scope
We work out what the player actually does: the one action they repeat, how long a session runs, which device, which controls. Content is counted here too — levels, enemies, items: that is what sizes a game, not a screen count.
You get — The loop described and the content counted
Weeks 2–3
Grey-box prototype
A grey-box prototype of the mechanic goes up, no art and no sound: if it is dull to play there, good graphics will not rescue it. The engine and the target platforms are picked at this point, along with how scenes, states and saves are put together.
You get — A playable prototype, engine and platforms chosen
Weeks 4–6
Art, levels and balance
By the end of this stretch there is a playable build with a working loop, and art, sound and levels go on top of it. Balance is tuned from recordings of other people playing: you can see where a player gets stuck and where they stop knowing what is wanted of them.
You get — A build with art, levels and tuned balance
Before release
Platform builds
We produce builds for every target platform and run them on real devices rather than in the editor: frame rate, heat, build size, what happens when the game is backgrounded or loses the network. The store’s own checklist is worked through before submission — icons, age rating, the permissions being asked for.
You get — Builds checked on devices and a submission pack
After release
Retention and patches
We look at where players stop playing and fix that, instead of what looked like the problem on paper. Then patches, more levels and modes — if the game found its people.
You get — The points where players stop playing
What the work covers
The core mechanic
controls on keyboard, touch or a gamepad, the one action the player does, win and loss rules, score and progress
Scenes and states
screens and the moves between them, pause and restart, saved progress, sound and control settings
Levels and enemies
level layout, enemy behaviour and waves, the difficulty curve, the hints of the first few minutes
Art and sound assembly
importing your own or licensed models, sprites and animation, action sounds and music, texture atlases and load order
Builds for the platforms
a build for every target platform, launched on real devices, different resolutions and aspect ratios, scene loading times
Getting ready to publish
icons and screenshots at the required sizes, the store page copy, the age rating questionnaire, a build signed for your developer account
What we need from you
- The game you compare it to, and the one thing the player should be doing differently in yours
- The content list for the first version, in numbers — how many levels, enemies and modes the release has to hold
- The target platforms, and the weakest device the game still has to run on
What people usually ask
Contact
Send a description of the task
A reply with the scope, the timeline and a budget estimate comes within 24 hours.
The first call is 30 minutes, with no commitment on your side.
01
You describe the task
Five questions in the form, or a plain email — whichever suits you.
02
We answer within a day
With the scope, the timeline and a budget estimate, based on what you told us.
03
We talk for 30 minutes
To clear up whatever is unclear. It commits you to nothing.