Game builds, scoped in three stages
We build games in stages, because committing to full production before a prototype proves the loop is how budgets disappear. Each stage ends with something playable and a decision.
The three stages
Each stage is a decision point. You can stop at the end of any of them and keep everything built so far, which is the point of splitting them.
- Prototype: the core loop, grey-boxed, playable, no art. Answers whether it is fun
- Vertical slice: one level at final quality. Answers what the full game costs
- Production: the remaining content, built against the slice as the standard
What arrives at each stage
Every stage hands over a build you can run, the project source, and a written account of what was learned.
- A playable build for the target platform
- The full Unity or Unreal project, in your repository
- Source files for every asset, not just the exported versions
- A written record of what the stage proved and what it ruled out
What is quoted separately
These are the items that most often surprise people, so they are named here rather than discovered during production.
- Original music and voice recording
- Console certification, which is its own process per platform
- Localisation beyond the first language
- Live operations, events and seasonal content after launch
- Store page assets, trailers and marketing
Platforms
We build primarily for mobile and PC. Console work is possible but adds certification, a dev kit and a separate submission process per platform, so it is scoped as its own stage rather than folded into production.
Questions we get asked
You can, and we will say plainly that we think it is a mistake. The prototype costs a fraction of production and answers the only question that matters: is the loop fun without art carrying it. Games that skip it usually discover the answer during production, when changing the loop means discarding finished content.
You do, including the project files, the art sources and any tools we build along the way. Third-party assets bought for the project are licensed to you and listed with their terms, so you know exactly what you may and may not reuse. We keep no revenue share unless you specifically want that arrangement.
A prototype is typically four to eight weeks. A vertical slice is eight to sixteen, because it sets the quality bar for everything after. Production depends entirely on content volume and is estimated from the slice, which is the main reason the slice exists.
We tell you, and you stop. That is a good outcome, not a failure, because you have learned it for the cost of a prototype rather than a production budget. In practice we more often find that one mechanic works and another does not, and the second prototype is cheaper because the engine work carries over.
What clients say on Google
Unedited, pulled live from our Google Business listing.
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Have an idea worth prototyping?
Describe the core loop in a paragraph and we will tell you what a prototype would need to prove.
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