Astro Siege, shaped into a confident mobile-first product.
This engagement covers the product design work required to turn the existing game concept and mechanics into a coherent, testable beta. I will build the product understanding, define the experience, design the interface system and priority journeys, then validate and hand over the work for Simon to build.
Design only. Simon owns implementation. The work is organised around product outcomes, weekly decisions and a complete design route from current game to credible beta.
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.
- Understand the game well enough to make informed decisions.First-hand play, Simon's expert context and the current Astro Siege product are used together. Research supports the work rather than becoming the work.
- 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.
- Leave Simon with something practical to build and present.The final output combines a design system, priority flows, a joined prototype, implementation guidance and an investor-ready product walkthrough.
Learn, decide, design, validate
Each stage closes a real product question and feeds the next. Some stages overlap once the direction is stable, so progress continues without waiting for one large reveal.
A useful result every week
The collaboration should be light enough to sustain for four months and structured enough that decisions do not drift. Work continues asynchronously, with one dependable weekly point for review and direction.
| Moment | What happens |
|---|---|
| During the week | Focused design production, product analysis and short questions as they arise. |
| Opening research | Approximately five to seven hours of first-hand play per week during the first three weeks, alongside the design outputs. |
| Async update | One concise progress note with the current artefact, decisions needed and the next priority. |
| Thursday review | A 30 to 45 minute working session, likely at 4pm, to review tangible progress, add Simon's expert context and agree the next decision. |
| Phase close | A short summary of what was decided, what was delivered and what moves forward. |
Default Thursday session. We review the work on screen, make the important calls and leave with one agreed priority for the following week. No presentation theatre and no long gap between design and feedback.
Broad enough to make the beta feel whole
The detailed screen list is confirmed through the early product work. The quote is built around the following product areas and the reusable patterns beneath them, not an arbitrary promise of one-off screens.
- Product wrapper and global state.Navigation, account and planet switching, resources, queues, timers, alerts, responsive layout and persistent actions.
- Economy and progression.Buildings, resource production, research, shipyard and defence patterns, requirements, unavailable states and completion feedback.
- Galaxy and fleet activity.Discovery, target inspection, action entry points, fleet composition, mission setup, movement tracking and the time-critical fleet-save journey.
- Reports, messages and decisions.Combat and espionage information, notifications, filtering, comparison, urgency and the route from information to action.
- Onboarding and supporting experience.First session, goals, guidance, recovery from mistakes, settings, social and progression surfaces needed for a credible beta.
- System and presentation layer.Reusable components, responsive behaviour, key interaction notes, a joined prototype and an investor walkthrough.
Repeated systems are designed as patterns rather than redrawn page by page. If early work reveals a materially different product shape, we agree the trade-off before changing the scope.
Approximately four months, with purposeful overlap
Sixteen weeks is the planning basis. The exact start date can move, and later stages can overlap once the architecture and visual direction are stable.
One engagement, one quote
The phase figures are rough allocations inside a single project total. They show where the work is concentrated and provide a sensible invoicing record. They are not separate packages or competing options.
Product understanding, architecture, product system, priority flows, prototype, validation and handoff.
- 01 · Product understanding and beta direction£6,750
- 02 · Experience architecture and wireframes£4,500
- 03 · Visual direction and product system£6,000
- 04 · Priority product flows£6,000
- 05 · Prototype, validation and handoff£2,250
- Four monthly invoices£6,375 each
- First invoiceProject start
- Total design fee£25,500
All prices are in GBP. No VAT is charged. External motion production, production art, user recruitment and implementation are outside this quote and only proceed with separate approval.
Enough structure to reach the outcome
- One agreed priority at a time.The Thursday review sets the next design decision, while the larger phase plan keeps the engagement moving towards the complete beta.
- Representative patterns, not unnecessary duplication.Shared page families and components allow more of the game to be covered consistently within the time available.
- Scope decisions happen with evidence.The first product stage confirms the final priority flow list. If a new area enters, we agree what it replaces or quote the additional work.
- Simon stays close to implementation detail.Handoff is continuous enough to answer practical questions, while design remains independent from the build schedule.
- Motion follows stable interaction design.I will identify valuable moments during the work. If specialist animation is worthwhile, it is scoped only after the relevant interface is approved.
Two useful things to settle before kickoff
The current Astro Siege build, existing concepts, backend summary and any reference material Simon already relies on.
Microtransactions, optional extras and advertising create different product needs. We only need enough clarity to design the right surfaces and make the investor story credible.
From approval to the first working week
- Approve the engagement and start date.The estimate is £25,500 across the four-month planning window.
- Share the current product material.I will review it before kickoff and prepare the first set of questions.
- Book the Thursday cadence.We can protect 4pm if that works. The first session aligns the beta goal, product access and the opening design work.
- Begin with the product in context.Gameplay starts immediately alongside the first audit, flow map and direction work.