We offer a variety of Strategic Design services that can be tailored to the needs of your project and team. 

Design KickStart  

Are you creating a new product or service, and wishing for some expert game design help? Then a Design Kickstart is for you. We work with your team to understand the context, goals and audience for your game. Then we review, brainstorm and evaluate game ideas that can connect your goals and audience.  Finally, we develop the most promising ideas into a Game Scenario that outlines the basic experience from a typical player’s POV. This short, intensive engagement will give you a clearer idea of what you want to build, and why.

Design Audit  

Are you creating (or re-designing) a product or service, and wanting to improve your game design and social features?  Then a a Design Audit is for you. We work with your team to conduct a short, intensive review of your product’s strategic design in the context of your market, audience and revenue model We then deliver a short, prioritized list of high-impact improvements and changes to help your product deliver a compelling player experience.

Design Retainer  

 Do you want to add world-class game design expertise to your product team?  Then a Design Retainer may be for you. We can take a leadership role, or supplement your team with targeted guidance and feedback. Activities can include presentations, brainstorming, conducting/analyzing player research, reviewing designs/specs/prototypes, creating scenarios and design sketches, and creating functional specs, wireframes, and mockups.

Project-based Design

For projects with known deliverables, we work with your team to create key design deliverables for your game or product. Deliverables can include pitch docs, scenarios, game design docs, functional specs, wireframes, and mockups.

Speaking & Workshops 

Amy Jo Kim (Shufflebrain CEO) is an in-demand public speaker and educator. She’s given internal design workshops at numerous companies including Disney, Yahoo, LinkedIn, BBC, Electronic Arts, and MySpace. She’s also Adjunct Professor of Game Design at the USC Film School. Amy Jo is available for select speaking engagements and workshops on Metagame design, game mechanics and player experience design