A production-oriented mobile strategy concept created for an external client.

GONE BY DAWN is a mobile SLG / Tower Defense hybrid designed for a client who wanted to enter the competitive zombie survival market with a large-scale multiplayer experience.

The initial vision combined ideas from several successful mobile games but lacked a clear production scope, feature prioritization, and a realistic development plan. My role was to transform this ambitious concept into a structured, scalable design that could realistically be developed by a small indie team while preserving the client's long-term vision.

The primary objective wasn't simply designing gameplay mechanics.

It was defining what the project should actually be.

The client wanted an MMO-scale strategy game with LiveOps, PvP, progression systems, hero collection, and base building, while working with an indie-level budget. Rather than cutting ideas arbitrarily, I restructured the project into a realistic production roadmap that identified what belonged in the MVP and what should become future expansion.

Key design priorities included:

defining a realistic production scope

creating a scalable systems architecture

balancing short mobile sessions with long-term progression

designing retention-ready gameplay loops

planning a clear MVP → Live Product → Scale roadmap

The biggest challenge was managing scope.

The project started as a broad collection of ideas inspired by large-scale mobile strategy games, but many systems competed with each other and exceeded what a small development team could realistically produce.

Instead of reducing the vision, I reorganized it into a modular structure where every system supported long-term scalability while remaining achievable for an initial release.

To solve this, I designed the project around a modular gameplay architecture centered on a dual gameplay loop.

During the Day Phase, players expand and manage their settlement, assign followers, upgrade buildings, and prepare for future encounters.

During the Nightfall Phase, gameplay shifts into an active session-based combat mode where players survive increasingly difficult zombie waves using heroes, weapons, abilities, and temporary upgrades.

Beyond the core gameplay, I structured the surrounding meta progression, including:

scalable hero progression

settlement development

world map structure

clan systems

PvE and PvP progression

LiveOps foundations

long-term retention loops

Rather than treating these as isolated mechanics, I designed them as interconnected systems capable of growing alongside the project over multiple development phases.

One of the most important parts of the project was transforming an undefined feature list into a realistic production roadmap.

Instead of attempting to build a full MMO immediately, I divided development into three clearly defined stages:

MVP

Live Product Foundation

Long-Term Scale

Each phase introduced new gameplay systems only after the previous foundation had been established, giving the client a practical path from prototype to a long-term live service while keeping the project's ambitions intact.

To help communicate the visual direction of the concept, I collaborated with a concept artist from our team who created several character and simple environment illustrations.

My primary responsibility throughout the project remained systems design, gameplay architecture, progression design, and production planning.

Systems game design

Gameplay systems architecture

Core & meta gameplay loop design

Progression systems

Hero progression design

World map structure

LiveOps framework

Retention systems

Production scope definition

MVP planning

Development roadmap

Game Concept Documentation

The client received a complete production-ready Game Concept Document that transformed an ambitious but loosely defined vision into a structured development plan.

The resulting design established a realistic production scope, scalable gameplay architecture, and a clear roadmap for future expansion, allowing the project to remain achievable for an indie team without sacrificing its long-term ambitions.