F2P Mobile Game Design - Q&A with Chris Williams (Game Designer at Midoki)
- Quest Team
- Feb 21
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 1
Mobile game design is a constantly evolving field that requires a deep understanding of player psychology, monetization strategies, and accessibility. In this Q&A, we caught up with experienced mobile game designer Chris Williams about the challenges and intricacies of designing free-to-play (F2P) games. From balancing fun with monetization to avoiding common pitfalls, Chris shares valuable insights into what it takes to create engaging mobile experiences and break into the competitive world of game development.
Chris is currently a game designer at Midoki (Knighthood, Plunder Pirates), working on their latest title “Ghost HQ” (Currently on App Store and Google Play). Chris has been in the games industry for over 5 years and started his career out in QA, after getting a degree in Game Design.
How useful do you think that a degree set you up for the industry, and do you think it’s important for aspiring game designers to obtain one first?
I would say it very much depends on your route and how much work you are willing to do in your own time. Some of the best designers I've known have no formal game development education, but often those people come from the generation of game developers before our current one. There is so much competition out there for junior roles in today's industry that anything you can do to give you an edge will go a long way towards getting your foot in the door. A lot of studios, especially AAA, offer graduate-level positions also which are a fantastic way to get started in the games industry that's only accessible to those coming out of the education system.
How do you balance fun, monetization, and accessibility in mobile game design?
You have to create a core loop to the game with fun, monetization and accessibility in mind from the get-go. The fun and the monetization need to live together as the backbone of a F2P game, where the fun feeds the economy and the economy encourages fun. Season Passes are a fantastic example of selling players something that unlocks a load of fun with a really good value proposition to make it almost a no-brainer purchase. This wouldn't work if your minute-to-minute gameplay wasn't fun, the incentive to engage wouldn't be strong enough to justify the purchase. You also need to make sure engaging with the systems you are monetizing is fun and accessible before you try and convert players to payers. For example, if your main sell for a game is opening packs of cards, make that core loop to the game really fun to do and let the player do it for free in their first session or two before showing them how to spend money to do more of it. Pokemon TCG Pocket is a fantastic example of this in action.
What are some common mistakes new game designers make when designing for mobile?
With F2P specifically, it's not planning the meta and economy features early enough in the development cycle. This stuff needs to be core to the game loop if you want players to care about it, so tacking on a random track or loot box system on top of an already-designed game is almost always going to feel shallow and unengaging.
What tools and software are essential in your daily workflow as a mobile game designer?
Spreadsheets are potentially the most powerful tool in our arsenal. Use them to balance, plan and communicate with the wider dev team, especially QA.
Has there ever been a feature you thought would work well but completely flopped? What did you learn from it?
It wasn't a total flop, but we had a feature that was a way to control the amount of XP a player could earn per day which was framed as a modifier to their XP called 'Alert Level'. It was a bar that started full at the start of the day and emptied as the player played missions with the idea being that we wanted to define an 'ideal' amount the player should play our game per day and build a habitual relationship. However this didn't work very well, it was too negative feeling like you earned less and less XP per mission. So we pivoted it a bit, turned it around and renamed it to frame it more positively. Now the feature is basically to earn a certain amount of XP per day, when you reach the cap you get a prize which is some of our other progression currencies, once full you can then spend some hard currency to reset the cap and earn another prize. This worked so much better even though the end result is still you play 10 levels and earn the same fixed amount of XP per day.
What are some unexpected challenges unique to mobile game development compared to other platforms?
Controls and cameras take a lot of work depending on the game genre. I'm currently working on a twin-stick shooter and so much time, thought and iteration went into getting the cameras and controls feeling good.
How do you approach designing around competitive F2P models without making the game feel pay-to-win?
It depends on the level of competition. We are working on a co-op game with very light competition and currently a single Team Vs Team race mode that is unranked with no concept of ELO or any other ranking system so we aren't too worried about pay-to-win. However we have had lots of talks about these TvT modes and if we find that they are a huge success and the game starts to pivot towards being mainly competitive modes like that we are aware that we might have to make some sizeable balance and economy changes to make sure players don't just get stomped by whales constantly. On the flip side, you do also need a compelling reason for players to convert and buy things so it's a tough balancing act that needs constant care during a game's live ops cycle.
What advice would you give to aspiring game designers who want to break into mobile game design?
Make some games and get them live on app stores, even if they are tiny. I've seen the hiring process being decided over details like this countless times. Candidates who show they can create something from start to finish and get it to market and have a stable playable game will stand head and shoulders above candidates who don't. Make sure you are very familiar with the iteration cycle of design > implement > play, you need to know how to play your games on a mobile device so make sure the majority of your playtesting is done on an actual device.
Are there any underrated mechanics or design principles that more mobile games should be using?
Social and group features that bring players together and make the game feel alive. Helldivers 2 is a masterclass in this with their global quests system, these are sort of present in mobile games but I expect to see way more of it in the coming years.
What’s one mobile game (besides your own) that you think every game designer should study?
It's not one mobile game but there is a tonne to be learned by studying the Supercell back catalogue, especially Brawl Stars if you are interested in a mobile 'esport' with F2P monetisation that doesn't feel pay-to-win.
Key Takeaways:
Game Design Degrees: Helpful for securing junior roles, especially in AAA studios, but not essential if you can build a strong portfolio.
Balancing Fun & Monetization: The core game loop must integrate both from the start, ensuring that monetization enhances rather than hinders enjoyment.
Common Mistakes: Failing to plan the meta and economy early can result in shallow gameplay loops.
Essential Tools: Spreadsheets are a powerful tool for balancing, planning, and communication.
Failed Feature Lessons: Framing matters—a negatively perceived XP limiter was reworked into a rewarding daily cap system.
Mobile-Specific Challenges: Controls and camera systems require extensive iteration, especially for action-oriented games.
Avoiding Pay-to-Win Models: Competitive balance must be maintained while ensuring players have incentives to make purchases.
Breaking into Mobile Games: Getting small projects live on app stores is a major advantage in the hiring process.
Underrated Design Principles: Social and group-based mechanics can enhance engagement and retention.
Must-Study Game: Supercell’s games, particularly Brawl Stars, offer great lessons in F2P monetization without feeling pay-to-win.
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