Game design

Design philosophy

We believe that all games are made better when there's a thought-out world and story at their heart. A good world doesn't have to be complex or even take you too far away, it just needs to be drawn from real values. 

We want our games to feel immersive and lived-in because they reflect the things that matter to us -- the ideas we care about and the stories we want to tell. We pour ourselves into these games, wrap them up in joy and hope they create some lasting memories.

Our principles

Our philosophy informs how we want our games to feel and these principles guide how we translate that into reality.

Let players find their way

We aim to design mechanics that allow for depth and complexity to emerge, rather than baking them in with more rules or material. This openness means players can discover new strategies and playstyles, so they’re rewarded for experimenting.

Function begets form

An elegant solution gets you where you want to go without showing off. Designing for hype or around a single cool idea can lead to shallow games. We want our games to sit with you after you’re finished and make you excited to try our new ways of playing.

Led by curiosity

We want to let curiosity keep pushing us towards the unexplored and away from the status quo. We’re blessed with a huge number of creative games in the world, so it’s not always easy to find a new path to take, but keeping ours fresh is a challenge we enjoy.

A universal experience

Games should be for everyone. Making games accessible is about more than just the barrier to entry. We try to design for the vast number of contexts and configurations that might affect someone’s experience of playing our game.

Human through and through

We’re huge fans of tactile fun and analogue entertainment. We want to make games that feel human and remind people of the joy of social interaction, away from notifications and subscriptions. Our games are all tested with real people, many of whom are not gamers.