An honest perspective on your game’s systems.
I’m Nick Roth. I’ve spent 17 years designing AAA live-service games, and I bring that experience directly to your project. Whether you need a single system reviewed, an audit of your whole game or a lead embedded in your team, I’ll help you find the best version of your game.
Who You’re Hiring
For eleven years I worked on the Destiny franchise at Bungie, from The Taken King through all 32 content releases of Destiny 2, as a systems designer, design lead, and people manager. If you run a live game, this is the scale and cadence I’ve been designing at for over a decade.
Before that, I spent five years developing content systems at Carbine Studios on the MMO WildStar, where I designed objective systems, progression systems, and custom game content data auditing tools that caught hundreds of thousands of data errors prior to launch. That’s why an audit here goes down to the data level: I’m looking for what breaks before your players do.
I’ve also spent ten years leading design teams, mentoring designers along the way. When I work with your team, the standard is the same: your people end up making these calls, and the system is built to be owned by them, not by me.
Solvable Problems
You have all the pieces, but not the pacing
Your team has built amazing experiences, but parts of the game sing stronger than others. How you roll out your game to players matters. Whether unlocking abilities, timing cinematic moments, or tuning your economy systems to match expectations, I’ll help you develop a plan.
Making changes to live systems is delicate work.
Each change to one live system ripples out to others in often unpredictable ways. I bring the experience of maintaining AAA live services to help you understand the best way to make the changes your game needs.
You caught a lot of eyes, and want to keep them.
Not every game intends to support a large player base. I’ll help you get a handle on a roadmap that prioritizes the right path to where you want your game to be.
You have data, but no analysis
Your playtests are great and generate tons of feedback, as well as logs and data. If you need help making sense of yours, I’ll go through it with you.
Three ways to bring a principal eye to your systems.
Tailored to whatever stage your project is at.
System Evaluation
A focused, principal level review of a single system: economy, progression, matchmaking, live ops, retention. Clear, actionable recommendations you can hand straight to your team.
Full Game Audit
A comprehensive review of your entire systems stack. Architecture, interdependencies, and the live service model. I’ll surface the root causes of friction before they become crises.
Part-Time Systems Lead
Many teams aren’t big enough to carry a dedicated systems design lead. That doesn’t mean the perspective isn’t worth having. A systems lead works with your team for part of the week, making the architecture calls above your team’s current depth, unblocking the decisions that stall a sprint, and reviewing before things ship.
No friction, no strings.
You’ll know whether I’m a fit on the first call.
Talk
A free intro call to understand your game, your systems, and where the pain points actually are.
Scope
I’ll define a clear, fixed scope and timeline for whatever you need. One system, the whole game, or ongoing leadership.
Deliver
You get honest findings, actionable recommendations, and a team that knows exactly what to do next.
Let’s talk about your systems.
Tell me where you’re at. I reply within one business day, and there’s no obligation to continue.