Game Design Offer

Question 1

What is a game design consultancy?

Accepted Answer

A game design consultancy supports teams in validating and improving their core gameplay. If you already have an experienced game designer, we complement their work with outside perspective and support. If your team lacks experience, we can guide your designer, provide training, and help ensure the foundation of your game is solid.

Question 2

Why is building a game design foundation important?

Accepted Answer

Without a clear foundation, projects often overscope, stall, or waste development resources. A strong foundation ensures that the core gameplay loop is tested early, feedback is gathered quickly, and the design aligns with production constraints. This saves time, reduces risk, and helps teams move confidently from concept to demo.

Question 3

How do you prototype during the foundation stage?

Accepted Answer

Prototyping can take many forms, depending on the game. It might be a rulebook sketch, a paper or card prototype, a physical exercise, or a digital build. The goal is always to test the player experience as early and cheaply as possible before committing full development resources.

Question 4

What is playtesting in game design foundations?

Accepted Answer

Playtesting is the process of putting prototypes in front of real players to observe how they interact, where they struggle, and what excites them. Feedback is then used to refine mechanics and validate whether the intended experience matches reality. Playtesting is repeated in cycles until the foundation is strong enough to move forward.

Question 5

Who should hire a game design consultant?

Accepted Answer

Indie developers who want to strengthen their ideas before investing heavily in production benefit the most from this service. If you’re an indie team with a strong vision but need help with structure, scope, or early testing, a consultant can guide you through the foundation stage. Larger studios often have trained designers in-house, but indies gain massive value by bringing in outside expertise early.

Question 6

How do game design consultants help improve player engagement?

Accepted Answer

We identify why mechanics may not be resonating, refine systems, and ensure the game delivers on the intended player experience. By testing assumptions early, we help reduce churn and improve long-term engagement.

Question 7

At what stage should I hire a game design consultant?

Accepted Answer

The best time is during prototyping or pre-production, when ideas are still flexible. In mid-production, we can step in to uncover gaps, diagnose why players aren’t engaging, and help “stop the bleeding” before it impacts your launch.

Question 8

Do consultants work with prototypes?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Prototypes are one of the best times to bring us in. We can validate what’s working, refine mechanics, and help you test engagement before you commit major resources to full production.

Question 9

Do game design consultancies help with finished games?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but with limits. We can help identify and resolve bottlenecks that prevent players from fully engaging, such as unclear mechanics, progression issues, or usability gaps. However, if a finished game has major design flaws, those are much harder to overcome late in development. In those cases, our role is to help you minimize risks, learn from the experience, and refocus efforts on building stronger foundations for your next game.

Question 10

Can consultants help improve mobile game design?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Many indie teams struggle with retention and monetization. We help you validate mechanics and design loops that keep mobile players engaged.

Question 11

Can I hire a game design consultant for just an early prototype?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Many developers bring me in at the idea stage to quickly test prototypes, playtest, and identify what makes the game compelling before committing to full development.

Question 12

Can game design consultants help prepare a pitch for investors or publishers?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. By refining your prototype and uncovering the game’s value proposition, I can help you create a stronger pitch that demonstrates player appeal and project viability.

Question 13

What’s the difference between playtesting and QA testing?

Accepted Answer

Playtesting is about understanding how real players experience your game: what’s fun, what’s confusing, what feels rewarding. QA testing focuses on finding technical bugs. My work emphasizes playtesting to improve design foundations.

Question 14

Do game design consultants help identify the target player?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Part of building strong design foundations is knowing who your game is for. I guide you through creating a player profile that clarifies your audience, their motivations, and how your game can best engage them.

Question 15

Can a consultant help me create a player profile?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. A player profile is a simple tool to understand your ideal player, their interests, play habits, and expectations. This helps shape mechanics, progression, and even the look and feel of your prototype.

Question 16

Do game design consultants offer monetization advice?

Accepted Answer

While I don’t handle full business development, I do help identify a realistic pricing and monetization approach by comparing your concept and scope to similar games in the market. This ensures your design choices support your business goals.

Question 17

Can you help estimate the right price point for my game?

Accepted Answer

Yes. By analyzing games with similar scope, style, and audience, I can suggest a target cost and monetization model. This helps you align your game design with both player expectations and revenue potential.

Uneasy About Your Game? Get a Free 30‑Minute Game Design Core Session.

We’ll look at where your game is right now and show you a simple way to spot what’s not working.

You’ll leave with one concrete playtest you can run in the next 7–14 days and a short checklist of what to watch for.

Want the details first? See what we’ll cover in your session below 👇

Who Is This For?

If you’re on your 1st–5th game development and something about it just feels off, this is for you.

🤔

Players say your game is “interesting”… but they don’t keep playing.

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Your core loop feels messy and you don’t know what to cut or keep.

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You’ve tried lots of ideas, but you can’t tell which mechanics actually work.

✨

You keep polishing art and UI, but the game still doesn’t feel “right.”

Ready to stop guessing and start testing what actually works in your game?

What Makes This Program Different?

Game design help focused on your core mechanic and real player behavior, not another vague “tell me about your game” chat.

01

Core Loop First

We skip feature tours and go straight to what the player actually does: inputs, feedback, and moment‑to‑moment feel. If your core loop isn’t clear and satisfying, nothing stacked on top will save it. This session focuses there first.

02

Real Player Signals

We look at how real people play, not just what they say. Where they hesitate, get confused, or lose interest tells us exactly what to change, cut, or double down on.

03

Small, Fast Changes

Instead of month‑long overhauls, we plan tiny, testable improvements you can ship quickly. Each session ends with a short list of focused tweaks so you learn fast and stop drifting for months.

Ready to clarify your game’s core and next steps?

What You’ll Walk Away With?

In 30 minutes, you’ll know what to fix, what to keep, and what to stop changing in your game.

🧩

A quick snapshot of where your game is breaking down right now.

❓

Clear reasons why players aren’t feeling what you want them to feel.

📝

Specific activities you should start doing to improve the game.

🚶‍♂️

Simple next steps to move your project forward without guessing.

You don’t have to guess why your game isn’t clicking. Let’s learn it from real players fast.

What You’ll Get When You Book?

30‑minute live session on Teams

A quick intake so I understand your game, goals, and current worries before we start.

A fast review of your game that highlights the key areas holding it back.

Clear reasons why those issues are breaking the experience, in plain language.

Practical activities and a simple playtest plan you can run in the next 7–14 days.

Simple next steps for your project, plus room for 1–2 teammates to join.

What It’s Like To Work With Us?

People I’ve worked with on titles like Pokemon Go, Minecraft, Halo Infinite, and more:

Ready to make your core game feel better to play?

Projects our team has worked on

Pokemon GO

Ark Survival Evolved

Minecraft

Halo Infinite

Catan

Crucible

Elo Hell

Epsilon

Pokemon Go

Ark Survival Evolved

Minecraft

Halo Infinite

Catan

Crucible

Elo Hell

Epsilon

Toño Jiménez

Game Design & Development Strategy Consultant

Toño has spent over a decade in game development on projects like Halo Infinite, Minecraft, ARK: Survival Evolved, and Pokémon GO. He’s worked across engineering and production, helping teams ship things that actually reach players.

In this free 30‑minute Game Design check, he uses that experience to quickly spot where games are getting stuck and give you simple tools to find and fix issues through your own playtests.

Our Guarantee

You don’t need more theory. You need clearer signals about whether your core design is working.

If you show up and stay open, you’ll leave with a snapshot of where your game is struggling, one concrete playtest to run in the next 7–14 days, and clear next steps to improve from what you learn.

If, by the end of the call, you feel this wasn’t helpful at all, just tell me and we’ll wrap there with no pitch and no hard feelings.

Ready to stress-test your core game design?