Hook, Line, and Axe
Mission
Our goal was to validate demand for an underutilized game genre among PC indie players by delivering a focused MVP within a limited timeline and significant resource constraints, including the absence of a development budget.
Success was defined by engagement, retention, and community response on Steam, while maintaining production efficiency across a small, distributed team.
Success was defined by engagement, retention, and community response on Steam, while maintaining production efficiency across a small, distributed team.
Product Skills Demonstrated
Skills demonstrated in this project apply directly to SaaS and platform PM roles:
- Roadmap ownership
- KPI definition
- Cross-functional leadership
- User research
- Experimentation
- Stakeholder alignment
Vision
We aligned on a cohesive visual and gameplay identity early to reduce iteration cycles, improve cross-discipline alignment, and ensure consistent player expectations.
To demonstrate the product vision, below are some reference images that closely matched what we wanted our game to look like.
To demonstrate the product vision, below are some reference images that closely matched what we wanted our game to look like.
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Level Environment, Design, and Tone
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Gameplay Mechanics and Genre
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Creative Elements and Story
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Insight
Observation: Establishing a shared visual reference early reduced aesthetic misalignment across art and gameplay teams.
Impact: Improved production efficiency and reduced rework during asset creation.
PM Takeaway: Early alignment on product vision mitigates downstream execution risk.
Observation: Establishing a shared visual reference early reduced aesthetic misalignment across art and gameplay teams.
Impact: Improved production efficiency and reduced rework during asset creation.
PM Takeaway: Early alignment on product vision mitigates downstream execution risk.
How It Started
- Original team of three determined goals, theme, and genre of the game
- Conducted early capability assessment to restructure team roles, reducing delivery risk.
- Implemented sprint-based planning to stabilize velocity and improve cross-team accountability.
- Established that meetings would be once per week in-person, hybrid, or remote throughout for consistency
Product Roadmap
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Phase
Pre Prod Post |
Primary Goal
Validate core loop Ship quality build Grow audience |
Key Risks
Scope Creep Burnout Retention |
PM Focus
MVP definition Tradeoffs Live ops |
Pre-Production --> Production --> Post-Production
Pre-Production:
Thoughtfully planned out WHAT the product/game would be, WHO we were making the game for, and HOW we intended to craft a unique product that would be satisfactory and memorable. The product/game's functionality and user experience was very important to us (the team) which is why I helped define features, metrics, and user stories, all of which are contributing factors.
Production:
Diligently worked towards establishing that the product/game provided the best possible user experience. Trade off decisions were made, competition was studied, and research was done to fully understand the nature of the project and the significance of the work that went into it. I ensured that the team's initiative aligned with customer needs, strategic objectives, and business goals.
Post-Production:
Concurrently managed quality assurance based on playtesting (personal, team, and volunteer conducted) and executing an engaging marketing campaign. Doing both simultaneously was a challenge, which is why I created a separate product roadmap for marketing with its own unique milestones, goals, and measurements for success. These separate projects were managed simultaneously by alternating whenever my progress depended on a teammate or external factors (such as waiting on the programmer to implement the solution based on my documentation), which maximized overall efficiency to over 150%.
Following this phase the team released the game, and I conducted quality assurance on the feedback we received from customers and other stakeholders. This meant that I had to diagnose the WHY behind how our players/customers/consumers felt and to make decisions accordingly using empathy, data. research, and observation. Additionally, I prioritized what bugs, patches, or enhancements I believed would have the largest impact on our product/game and community.
Pre-Production:
Thoughtfully planned out WHAT the product/game would be, WHO we were making the game for, and HOW we intended to craft a unique product that would be satisfactory and memorable. The product/game's functionality and user experience was very important to us (the team) which is why I helped define features, metrics, and user stories, all of which are contributing factors.
Production:
Diligently worked towards establishing that the product/game provided the best possible user experience. Trade off decisions were made, competition was studied, and research was done to fully understand the nature of the project and the significance of the work that went into it. I ensured that the team's initiative aligned with customer needs, strategic objectives, and business goals.
Post-Production:
Concurrently managed quality assurance based on playtesting (personal, team, and volunteer conducted) and executing an engaging marketing campaign. Doing both simultaneously was a challenge, which is why I created a separate product roadmap for marketing with its own unique milestones, goals, and measurements for success. These separate projects were managed simultaneously by alternating whenever my progress depended on a teammate or external factors (such as waiting on the programmer to implement the solution based on my documentation), which maximized overall efficiency to over 150%.
Following this phase the team released the game, and I conducted quality assurance on the feedback we received from customers and other stakeholders. This meant that I had to diagnose the WHY behind how our players/customers/consumers felt and to make decisions accordingly using empathy, data. research, and observation. Additionally, I prioritized what bugs, patches, or enhancements I believed would have the largest impact on our product/game and community.
Experiments and Iteration
- Iterated enemy difficulty curves based on playtest completion rates
- Adjusted onboarding and tutorial pacing after early user drop-off
- Refined marketing messaging through multiple trailer cuts
- Validated environmental mechanics through internal and community testing
Trade Off Decisions
1. Boss Fight Scope Reduction
Decision: Reduced planned boss fights from two to one
Context: Limited engineering and design capacity late in production
Impact: Redirected time toward stability, polish, and core gameplay improvements, contributing to stronger player reception
2. Campaign Restructuring
Decision: Reduced campaign structure from three levels to two
Context: Risk of shipping unfinished or inconsistent content
Impact: Delivered a tighter, more cohesive experience and increased narrative engagement through a cliffhanger ending
3. Dynamic Content Prioritization
Decision: Prioritized dynamic environmental features over additional mechanics
Context: Feedback indicated risk of repetitive encounters
Impact: Increased gameplay variety and replayability through Drop Pods, UFOs, and spreading fire systems
4. Trailer Production Approach
Decision: Produced an abstract teaser-style announcement trailer
Context: Limited access to live-action assets and cast
Impact: Generated curiosity and sustained audience interest, improving early marketing performance
Decision: Reduced planned boss fights from two to one
Context: Limited engineering and design capacity late in production
Impact: Redirected time toward stability, polish, and core gameplay improvements, contributing to stronger player reception
2. Campaign Restructuring
Decision: Reduced campaign structure from three levels to two
Context: Risk of shipping unfinished or inconsistent content
Impact: Delivered a tighter, more cohesive experience and increased narrative engagement through a cliffhanger ending
3. Dynamic Content Prioritization
Decision: Prioritized dynamic environmental features over additional mechanics
Context: Feedback indicated risk of repetitive encounters
Impact: Increased gameplay variety and replayability through Drop Pods, UFOs, and spreading fire systems
4. Trailer Production Approach
Decision: Produced an abstract teaser-style announcement trailer
Context: Limited access to live-action assets and cast
Impact: Generated curiosity and sustained audience interest, improving early marketing performance
Drop Pods were not part of the original plan but were added as a feature to make encounters more engaging.
Insight Observation: Mid-level engagement dipped during repetitive enemy encounters. Decision: Introduced Drop Pods as dynamic encounter injections. Impact: Increased unpredictability and combat intensity, reducing monotony. PM Takeaway: Systemic event design extends content lifespan without expanding core mechanic scope. |
Implementing fire was always an idea that the team had, but we decided to spend extra time to accomplish the ambitious goal of making it spread, creating a dynamic environment.
Insight Observation: Static combat environments reduced tactical variability. Decision: Invested additional development time into a spreading fire system. Impact: Increased environmental reactivity and player-driven strategy variation. PM Takeaway: Dynamic systems amplify depth without requiring additional level content. |
Execution and Cross-Team Delivery
Maintaining alignment around product vision and identity was critical to preventing scope drift and inconsistent player experience. My execution focus centered on translating high-level goals into concrete, cross-functional deliverables.
- Defined milestone-based deliverables
- Aligned art, design, and engineering priorities
- Prevented feature creep
- Maintained release cadence
- Ensured vision consistency across disciplines
Level Environment, Design, and Tone
Insight
Observation: Increasing environmental complexity created navigation friction for players in later levels.
Impact: Playtesting showed elevated drop-off rates during late-stage progression.
PM Takeaway: Simplifying level layouts reduced cognitive load and improved player retention.
Insight
Observation: Increasing environmental complexity created navigation friction for players in later levels.
Impact: Playtesting showed elevated drop-off rates during late-stage progression.
PM Takeaway: Simplifying level layouts reduced cognitive load and improved player retention.
Gameplay Mechanics and Genre
Insight
Observation: Playtesting revealed two dominant player behaviors: high-speed traversal-focused players and precision-oriented combat players.
Impact: The dual-function grapple hook (rapid mobility + slow-time aiming) increased session engagement and broadened player satisfaction across both cohorts.
PM Takeaway: Designing mechanics that serve multiple player archetypes increases retention potential and reduces audience fragmentation.
Insight
Observation: Playtesting revealed two dominant player behaviors: high-speed traversal-focused players and precision-oriented combat players.
Impact: The dual-function grapple hook (rapid mobility + slow-time aiming) increased session engagement and broadened player satisfaction across both cohorts.
PM Takeaway: Designing mechanics that serve multiple player archetypes increases retention potential and reduces audience fragmentation.
Creative Elements and Story
Insight
Observation: Playtesting revealed two distinct narrative engagement patterns: exploratory players who absorbed environmental storytelling and efficiency-driven players who prioritized progression.
Impact: Time-to-completion variance increased, but overall session duration remained strong across both segments.
PM Takeaway: Layered storytelling (optional depth without mandatory pacing friction) supports both immersion-driven and goal-oriented users without increasing churn risk.
Insight
Observation: Playtesting revealed two distinct narrative engagement patterns: exploratory players who absorbed environmental storytelling and efficiency-driven players who prioritized progression.
Impact: Time-to-completion variance increased, but overall session duration remained strong across both segments.
PM Takeaway: Layered storytelling (optional depth without mandatory pacing friction) supports both immersion-driven and goal-oriented users without increasing churn risk.
How It Went / Results / What I Learned
- Successful product launch on Steam, a public platform, with 132 million monthly users and 69 million daily active users
- Generated 130K+ impressions and 28K+ downloads within a month of the game's release
- 47.1% CTR (Click-Through Rate)
- Demonstrated repeatable product launch framework applicable to consumer SaaS and marketplaces.
- Received and sustained consistently high ratings and positive user feedback on Steam
- Acquired interest of numerous stakeholders looking to become business partners or use the game for entertainment media content
Key Learnings
- Early MVP discipline prevented late-stage rework
- Player feedback was strongest predictor of retention
- Marketing and product must be planned together