The Gateway: 7 strategic decisions for efficient and impactful game development
The game is set in a brutalist, post-apocalyptic world where the player's objective is to collect "Gate Energies" to restore a gateway, promising a return to bygone glory days. To do so, players must clear three distinct levels, each with its own theme and mechanics.
The Gateway is a 3rd-person, non-linear adventure puzzle platformer for PC, developed at Magnopus during a project transition. With just three weeks and a five-person team of designers, artists, and producers, the challenge demanded focus, creativity, and seamless collaboration.
Here are the seven strategic decisions that guided our development.
1. Defining core objectives & value early
Working under severe time and resource limits, we had to be clear about what "value" meant for this project. For us, it wasn’t about long playtime or complex features; it was about clear, expressive core mechanics, memorable level variation, and a strong visual identity. This early clarity became our design compass, guiding every decision.
Before diving into ideas, we clarified what the game absolutely needed to achieve. Our key objectives were defined by a high-level brief: to create a short, impactful game that showcased our team's ability to deliver a polished experience within a tight deadline. The team opted for a puzzle platformer set in a brutalist, post-apocalyptic world.
2. Research, ideate, filter
Armed with this understanding, we explored ideas that excited us and fit within our constraints. Our process relied on brainstorming and comparing successful games within the puzzle-platformer genre to find a middle ground between ambitious art direction and fun game design. This led us to prioritize a core magic system that could be visually distinct across three levels (Fire, Gaia, and Phase) while reusing underlying technical logic, balancing creative ambition with our tight schedule.
3. Leveraging team strengths and understanding constraints
Rather than fighting our constraints, we leaned into what our team was great at. In our case, having only a few engineers meant technically complex systems weren’t possible. We evaluated our timeframe, team composition, tools, and delivery expectations, then focused on maximizing the game’s artistic, atmospheric, and gameplay value. This approach gave our designers and artists the freedom to create visually distinct levels with minimal custom coding.
4. Design modular, versatile systems
We multiplied gameplay possibilities without multiplying work. A single mechanic used in multiple contexts (puzzles, traversal, challenges) can feel fresh each time, especially when changing the aesthetic context when the system is re-used.
For The Gateway, we developed a core mechanic that uses magic to trigger various interactive puzzle components. We split the gameplay possibilities across three differently themed levels while using the same underlying mechanic. Splitting the gameplay content in this way allows the player to feel like they are experiencing greater diversity while using familiar inputs. More on this here.
5. Strategic progress tracking & agile pivoting
We maintained constant vigilance over our progress compared to the ambitious three-week scope. Daily stand-ups and frequent internal playtests allowed us to quickly identify any areas falling behind or exceeding expectations. Our modular foundation, established in pre-production, proved invaluable here; it allowed us to be "pivot-ready." For example, if a particular puzzle iteration proved too technically demanding or time-consuming, we could quickly re-scope it or swap in a simpler, pre-tested modular element without disrupting the entire level's progression. This agility ensured we could make informed scope changes midway through development with minimal disruption, guaranteeing a shippable, polished experience within our tight deadline.
We saved time by avoiding design decisions that required significant amounts of custom code for each power, and instead focused on making the interactive elements behave in different ways, which was simpler to develop and had fewer contingencies.
6. Lightweight processes & the importance of communication
Working with a tight deadline meant that time had to be spent very wisely. Early on, we chose to prioritise speed of implementation over deep planning and tracking. While those might have provided stability later, they offered little benefit given our timeframe.
Instead, we kept momentum through fluid and efficient communication. Key information and blockers were shared during our regular standups, while the team chat was used to raise any collaborative requirements throughout the day. Smaller chat groups were created for detailed communications, allowing information and collaboration to flow without disruption.
This method relied heavily on individual ownership and autonomy: when every team member does their part, micro management isn’t needed, and efficiency is improved. The key to making this work was trust in each team member’s ability and clear alignment on objectives throughout the process.
7. Focus on simplicity
When faced with decisions around systemic or puzzle complexity, our ethos was to favour straightforward implementations and build depth through iteration on the base system. This approach enabled us to quickly validate or discard ideas by testing them early in the game engine. Time was saved by avoiding intricate and intertwined systems that might not ultimately deliver a positive player experience. Instead, we focused on what we could get our hands on early and developed those systems further while fully understanding their value within the experience.
Final thought
Working under tight constraints was a profound reminder that clarity, alignment, and modularity are not merely desirable traits; they are force multipliers in game development. By meticulously front-loading smart design decisions in pre-production, balancing creative innovation with technical feasibility, and maintaining an agile, pivot-ready approach throughout production, we successfully delivered a rich gaming experience in an intense timeframe that met all our objectives.
