Joe Baxter-Webb

Sometimes, as game devs, we are just too close to our projects to see what’s really working with them, and what needs changing. We get over-attached to the way we’ve done things, even if it’s not what’s best for the project overall. And, like a frog sat in a pot of gradually boiling water, we don’t perceive the danger until it’s too late.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Hiring a design consultant to look at your game might seem like overkill, but it can be a great way to solve some of the above issues. Having an external expert view can help to get a project “unstuck”, maximising the fun elements of a game while giving clear and actionable guidance on what to change or cut. Naturally, you’re not bound to making any of the changes I suggest, but they can be extremely helpful when you’re stuck, and can even – in some cases – help to diffuse issues surrounding office politics and individual team member’s attachments to particular features or ways of doing things.

As a design consultant I can help you with:

✔️Quick reviews of your entire game, resulting in a report giving clear, actionable feedback.

✔️Focussed reviews on specific elements such as narrative, balancing, or core mechanics.

✔️Re-organising existing design documentation into more usable or client-friendly formats.

✔️Flexible rates based on hourly or daily workloads.

I’ve worked with multiple videogame studios over the years, and seen all sorts of team dynamics and different ways of doing things. I’ve also worked in the more experimental area of “serious games”, which are meant to impart some sort of marketing or political message. During my time as a Game Design educator, I’ve also read extensively on topics such as the psychology of game design, and I know how to communicate with different sorts of people and for different purposes. Whatever your game’s needs, I have insights to share, and an initial scoping call is free before any contracts are exchanged.