Since 2018, we've been helping mobile game teams in Taiwan and across Asia design mechanics that keep players coming back. Not because of tricks or dark patterns—just solid design thinking.
Back in early 2018, three of us were sitting in a cramped office in Taoyuan, frustrated with how most mobile games felt the same. The mechanics were copied from one successful title to another without much thought about why they worked in the first place.
We figured there had to be a better approach. So we started consulting with small studios who couldn't afford big teams but needed someone to really think through their progression systems and reward structures.
Seven years later, we're still doing exactly that. The office is bigger now, and we've worked with about forty different studios. But the core idea hasn't changed—understand what makes a game engaging at the mechanical level, then build around that.
These aren't corporate slogans. They're the principles we actually use when deciding what projects to take and how to approach design challenges.
We dig into the underlying mechanics before suggesting anything. If a progression system doesn't make mathematical sense, no amount of visual polish will fix it. We've turned down projects where clients wanted flashy features without solid foundations.
Sometimes your monetization strategy is going to frustrate players. We'll tell you that upfront rather than after launch. It's uncomfortable but saves time and money. One client disagreed with our assessment in 2023, launched anyway, and came back six months later asking us to redesign the whole economy.
Every mechanic gets prototyped and tested with real players before we recommend implementation. We maintain a small testing group in Taipei who play builds and give feedback. Their opinions have changed our recommendations more times than we can count.
Most studios contact us when they're stuck on specific design challenges. Here are three situations we encounter repeatedly, along with how we typically approach them.
You've spent months building a game. The first session goes well. Then 70% of players never open it again. This usually means the gap between tutorial and actual gameplay is too wide.
We map the entire first hour of gameplay minute by minute. Where does complexity spike? When do rewards feel too distant? Then we redesign the early progression curve to maintain momentum while teaching mechanics gradually. One puzzle game we worked with in 2024 increased day-two retention by 28% just by smoothing out this transition.
Your in-game currency system made sense on paper. In practice, players either have too much or too little. They're either bored or frustrated, and you're not sure which levers to adjust.
We build economic models in spreadsheets before touching the game. Every source and sink gets documented. We simulate hundreds of player paths—conservative spenders, aggressive grinders, moderate players. Then we identify which parameters have the biggest impact and test adjustments systematically. Usually the problem isn't the numbers themselves but the ratio between different currency types.
You need to make money but don't want to annoy players. Every monetization test feels like a gamble. Either you're too aggressive and players complain, or too cautious and revenue stays flat.
We design monetization around convenience and optional depth rather than mandatory purchases. What takes time that players would willingly pay to skip? What adds interesting choices without creating unfair advantages? We test different price points and package structures with small groups before rolling out. The goal is players who pay should feel smart, not exploited.
We're a small team. Everyone here has shipped games before joining. We don't hire junior designers fresh from school—not because they lack talent, but because this work requires understanding what happens after launch.
Lead Game Mechanics Designer
Liora spent six years at a midsize studio in Singapore before moving to Taiwan in 2019. She's worked on everything from match-three puzzles to strategy games. Her specialty is balancing competitive multiplayer mechanics—making sure skill matters more than wallet size.
Mobile Design Strategist
Nadia joined us in 2021 after running her own small studio that made casual mobile games. She understands the business side as well as the design side, which makes her particularly good at finding solutions that work within budget and timeline constraints. She's also brutally honest during playtests.
Not every project is a good fit. Here's a simple framework to help you figure out if working together makes sense.
We work best with teams who have a working prototype or existing game that needs improvement. If you're still in the concept phase without any playable build, it's probably too early. We need something concrete to analyze and test.
Proper game mechanics design takes time. We typically work with clients for three to six months. If you need someone to quickly add features before launch next month, we're not the right choice. But if you can dedicate time to testing and iteration, we can help.
We rely heavily on testing and data. If your team makes design decisions primarily based on personal preference or executive opinions, that'll cause friction. We need partners who are willing to let player behavior guide design choices, even when it contradicts initial assumptions.