Game & Interactive Studio System

Every game or major feature starts as a card in “Prototype”, where the team builds a rough version that tests the core fun before any major investment — an idea that is not fun in a rough prototype will not be saved by lavish production. Once the prototype is approved, it moves to “Production”, where developers and artists work together with tasks on the card, then “Playtesting” with sessions of real players whose notes are documented on it, then “Release” on stores and platforms, then “Updates” for content and fix cycles, and “Revenue” to track the game's commercial performance and the decisions to continue or pivot.

The Forum is the floor for documented creative decisions: art-direction choices, gameplay mechanics, and what content was cut and why — because an undocumented cut decision comes back for discussion every month. Chat is for daily coordination among disciplines, and Announcements is for what concerns the whole studio: release dates and their initial results. Dues posts publisher payments where they exist, store revenues, and the dues of external collaborators such as composers and translators.

The lead designer owns the game's vision, approves the “Prototype” before production, reviews “Playtesting” notes, and settles what gets cut; developers build gameplay mechanics and tools; and artists produce visual and audio assets against lists on the card. Playtest sessions are the court of appeal: a card does not pass “Playtesting” on the team's opinion alone, but on what players actually showed — and documenting every session builds the studio's cumulative instinct.