Product design proposal
Astro Siege, shaped into a confident mobile-first product.
A complete product design engagement to turn the existing mechanics into a coherent beta that players can understand, Simon can validate and investors can believe in.
Starting pointDeep mechanics and an existing product
Design leverageClear architecture and one reusable system
OutcomeA beta ready to test, present and build
Mission
Make the whole experience feel intentional
The core concept and most of the game mechanics already exist. The design opportunity is to make that depth understandable, usable and convincing without flattening what long-term strategy players value.
- Develop domain fluency before making product decisions.Structured first-hand research, Simon's expert context and the current Astro Siege product are used together so the work is grounded in how the game is actually played.
- Design the system before multiplying screens.Navigation, hierarchy, status, actions, data patterns and responsive behaviour need to work as one product.
- Make the important journeys genuinely mobile-first.The aim is not a compressed desktop interface. It is a web application that remains clear and fast on a phone and can later support an app.
- Create an asset that compounds beyond this engagement.The product system, priority journeys and documented decisions give Simon a coherent beta to validate now and a practical foundation for future implementation.
Workflow and cadence
From planning to a validation-ready product
The work moves through four clear phases. Each phase answers a different question, produces something tangible and includes its own review, refinement and organised outputs.
01Planning and direction · Weeks 1–3
Build practical domain fluency, then use that understanding to decide what Astro Siege needs to become, what the beta must prove and where design will create the greatest product value.
Work involved
- Run a structured three-week OGame immersion across the core loops, progression systems and player decisions, supported by session notes and synthesis
- Audit the current Astro Siege interface and map its recurring loops, dependencies and important player decisions
- Identify new-player friction without losing the depth experienced strategy players expect
- Define the tester and investor story, including the role of monetisation
- Set the first wrapper, navigation and mobile direction, then turn the findings into a prioritised plan reviewed with Simon
OutcomeDomain fluency, a beta brief, opportunity map, flow priorities and an agreed design direction that concentrates the remaining investment where it matters most.
02Experience architecture, wireframes and prototype · Weeks 4–5
Turn the plan into a clear product structure and test the important journeys before visual detail makes changes expensive.
Work involved
- Define global navigation, account and planet context, resources, queues, alerts, page families and action hierarchy
- Map the end-to-end journeys connecting overview, economy, galaxy, fleets and reports
- Design reusable low-fidelity layouts and wireframes for mobile and desktop
- Cover loading, empty, unavailable, error and completion states where they materially change the journey
- Join representative screens into a prototype, refine it through weekly walkthroughs and document the approved behaviour
OutcomeAn approved product structure and low-fidelity prototype ready for visual design.
03Product system and high-fidelity direction · Weeks 6–8
Create the visual and interaction foundation that makes Astro Siege feel like one product and gives every later screen a consistent set of rules.
Work involved
- Develop the visual direction from low-fidelity layouts into representative high-fidelity screens
- Define colour, typography, spacing, sizing, radius, elevation and responsive tokens
- Design core components and repeatable patterns for navigation, actions, data, resources, queues, timers, requirements and alerts
- Define interaction, loading, disabled, success, warning and error states
- Prove the system on representative mobile and desktop screens, refine the direction and document the approved components and decisions
OutcomeA documented product system and an approved high-fidelity direction.
04Priority journeys and high-fidelity beta design · Weeks 8–12
Apply the product system at full fidelity to the agreed journeys that make the beta useful, convincing and representative of the wider game.
Work involved
- Overview, global state, navigation, economy, buildings, research, requirements and progression
- Galaxy browsing, target inspection, fleet composition, mission setup, movement and fleet save
- Combat and espionage reports, messages, notifications, onboarding, recovery and selected monetisation surfaces
- High-fidelity mobile and desktop layouts for the agreed priority journeys, including the edge states that materially change player decisions
- Review and refine the journeys with Simon, join them into a convincing prototype and prepare tester and investor walkthroughs
- Organise the final screens, system, behaviour notes, implementation guidance and deferred backlog into a complete handover package
OutcomeA validation-ready high-fidelity beta design, joined prototype, investor and tester walkthrough materials, implementation notes and an organised product system.
Working cadence. Review and refinement are part of every phase. We have one useful review each week, likely Thursday at 4pm, with a tangible artefact, the decisions made and the next priority. Short updates and questions can happen asynchronously through WhatsApp or email at the cadence that works for Simon. Formal tester validation begins after this engagement.
Timeline
A focused twelve-week sequence
The work is delivered across a focused twelve-week engagement, with one purposeful week of overlap. Product System and High-Fidelity Beta Design overlap because approved patterns can move directly into priority journeys while the remaining system work is completed. The engagement ends with the product ready for structured validation.
Planning
Architecture
System
Beta UI
Week 1471012
Scope and quote
Astro Siege product design engagement
From domain immersion and product architecture through high-fidelity priority journeys, a reusable system and a validation-ready prototype.
£28,000
12-week engagement · one purposeful overlap
Phase allocation
- 01 · Planning and direction£6,500
- 02 · Architecture, wireframes and prototype£4,250
- 03 · Product system and high-fidelity direction£6,500
- 04 · Priority journeys and high-fidelity beta design£10,750
Included delivery
- Beta brief, opportunity map and agreed priority-journey planIncluded
- Mobile and desktop architecture, wireframes and high-fidelity journey designIncluded
- Documented tokens, components, responsive rules and interaction statesIncluded
- Joined prototype, walkthrough materials, implementation notes and an organised handover packageIncluded
Billing
- 50% · Project initiation£14,000
- 25% · Project midpoint, before full high-fidelity beta design£7,000
- 25% · Final payment due at design handover£7,000
- Total design fee£28,000
Payment milestones. The second payment of £7,000 is due at the project midpoint, before full high-fidelity beta design begins. The final £7,000 is due when the completed design system, agreed priority journeys, prototype, walkthrough materials and implementation notes are ready for formal handover.
Terms
- CurrencyGBP
- VATNot charged
- Interaction design and prototype behaviourIncluded
- Specialist animation production, production art, recruitment and implementationExcluded
Project controls
Enough structure to reach the outcome
- The agreed priority-journey plan defines delivery.Planning confirms the definitive journey list and representative states. Once agreed, new areas replace comparable effort or are quoted separately.
- A reusable system multiplies the value of every screen.Shared page families, components and responsive rules cover more of the game consistently and leave Simon with a stronger implementation foundation.
- Review and refinement are built into the work.Weekly walkthroughs, organised decisions and phase approvals prevent one expensive reveal at the end.
- Fast access and consolidated feedback protect momentum.Simon provides product access, source material and timely decisions; Reiss keeps the work moving and the open questions visible.
- Prototype depth stays purposeful.Key interactions, states and transition intent are defined where they improve validation and implementation. Specialist animation production remains outside the engagement.