Game development is full of expensive decisions — from art direction and mechanics to positioning and audience targeting. The earlier you validate those decisions with real players, the less time and budget you risk investing in the wrong direction.
This playbook walks you through a structured concept validation process using PickFu. You’ll test key elements of your game idea (including concept appeal, audience preferences, visual direction, competitive positioning, and gameplay mechanics) so you can move forward with confidence before committing engineering, art, and marketing resources.
Goal: Validate your game concept and core creative decisions with real players so you can confidently build the right game for the right audience.
💡 Note: Every game and studio is different, and there are many ways to approach pre-development research. This is our recommended process, but you should adjust the tests based on your specific game, goals, and budget.
If any step isn't relevant to your situation (for example, you've already locked in your core mechanic or art direction) feel free to skip it and run a different test instead. See the Other pre-development questions to ask section at the bottom of this article for inspiration.
When to use this playbook
You're planning a new mobile game and want to validate the concept before production begins
You want to understand what your target audience actually wants in a game like yours
You need to choose an art direction before briefing your art team
You want to benchmark your concept against existing competitors in the market
You need to prioritize gameplay mechanics before writing your first line of code
Prerequisites: 3-4 written game concept descriptions (2-3 sentences each), reference images or mood boards for art style options, and screenshots from 2-3 competitor games for benchmarking.
How to use this playbook
Log into your PickFu account. On your PickFu dashboard, you'll see a section called Playbooks. Find the right playbook and click on it!
You'll be redirected to a PickFu project that contains the steps of the playbook, with links to run each test. All the polls you launch from the playbook will be automatically added into this project so you can easily reference all of them. You'll also get an AI-powered report on your results across all tests in the project.
Follow the steps below to run the ASO playbook, get pro tips and best practices, and learn more about supplement tests you can run.
Steps
1. Competitive research
Before designing your game, understand what players already love, hate, and wish existed in your genre. This 3-question survey surfaces engagement drivers, pain points, and unmet needs straight from your target audience — giving you a research foundation that informs every step that follows.
Follow these steps:
Use this structure:
Q1 (Open-Ended): "What do you like most about the mobile [GENRE] games you currently play? What keeps you coming back?"
Q2 (Open-Ended): "What frustrates you most about current mobile [GENRE] games? What would make you stop playing?"
Q3 (Open-Ended): "What kind of gameplay would you expect or want in a mobile [GENRE] game? What features would make you play every day?"
Set audience to 100 respondents · Mobile gamers · Match your target genre
What you'll get: A competitive landscape map — what your genre does well, where it falls short, and what players are actively wishing for. This feeds directly into Steps 2-4.
How to use the results:
Q1 — Extract the top engagement drivers for your genre; these are table-stakes features your game must have
Q2 — Player frustrations are your differentiation opportunities; prioritize features that address the most-cited pain points
Q3 — Cross-reference desired features with your planned design; surprises here are worth taking seriously before you commit to a direction
2. Game mechanics validation
Gameplay mechanics are the most expensive element to change post-development. This test validates which core mechanic combinations resonate with players before you commit engineering resources.
Follow these steps:
Add 3-4 mechanic scenarios as text options (2-3 sentence descriptions per mechanic). Add visual mockups as context images if available.
Use this question: "In a mobile [GENRE] game, which gameplay scenario would you prefer? Rank from most to least appealing, and explain why your top choice is the most fun."
Set audience to 100 respondents · same targeting as Step 1
What you'll get: A ranked order of mechanic preference with qualitative explanations of why each mechanic appeals — or doesn't. You'll learn whether your audience values depth, accessibility, social play, or progression.
How to use the results:
Clear mechanic preference (40%+) → design your core loop around this mechanic
Look at why players prefer a mechanic — depth? Simplicity? Social element? Progression?
Cross-reference with Q3 from Step 1 — your winning mechanic should align with the desired features players described
Watch for "complexity fatigue" — if players rank the simplest mechanic highest, your audience may prefer accessibility over depth
3. Visual style exploration
Art direction is the first visual signal players see and one of the most expensive decisions to reverse. This test identifies the visual direction that resonates most with your audience before you brief your art team.
Follow these steps:
Upload 3-6 images representing distinct art styles or mood boards as image options (use the same game concept rendered in different styles for a clean comparison)
Use this question: "Which visual style would you prefer for a mobile [GENRE] game? Which style makes you most interested in playing?"
Set audience to 100 respondents · same targeting as Steps 1-2
What you'll get: A ranked order of art style preference with qualitative feedback on mood, tone, and perceived genre fit.
How to use the results:
Clear winner with 30%+ first-place votes → art direction confirmed
Pay attention to mood/tone feedback: "feels epic," "feels casual," "feels premium" — match this to your intended positioning
If the top styles are within 5% of each other, you have more artistic freedom; if one dominates by 15%+, follow it
If players say the winning style "looks like [competitor]," that's a signal of genre fit but also a risk of being perceived as derivative
4. Feature preference ranking
Once you know what mechanics and art direction resonate, drill into the specific features that will define your game's depth and retention. This test prioritizes your feature backlog using real player preferences rather than internal assumptions.
Follow these steps:
Add 4-5 specific feature options as text (include a 1-sentence description of each feature so respondents understand what it means)
Use this question: "Which of these features would you most want in a mobile [GENRE] game? Rank them from most to least important."
Set audience to 100 respondents · same targeting as previous steps
What you'll get: A ranked feature priority list with qualitative explanations — what players are excited about, what feels like filler, and what they'd pay for.
How to use the results:
Top-ranked features → must-haves for your MVP; cut scope here at your peril
Cross-reference with Q2 from Step 1 — features that address frustrations and rank highly are strong differentiators
Low-ranked features that your team is attached to are a risk; weigh the development cost carefully
Check the demographic breakdown: feature priorities can vary significantly by age or gender
5. Overall concept validation
With your mechanics, art direction, and features validated, test the full concept as a cohesive package. This is your final pre-production gate — a star rating against real concept art and a game description tells you whether the complete vision is ready to move into development.
Follow these steps:
Add your game name and a 2-3 sentence description as the context (cover: genre, core mechanic, setting)
Upload your concept art as the poll option
Use this question: "How likely would you be to download and play this mobile strategy game? What do you like or dislike about the concept?"
Set audience to 100 respondents · same targeting as previous steps
What you'll get: A download likelihood score (1-5 stars) plus open-ended feedback on what's compelling and what's giving people pause — a direct readiness signal before you commit to production.
How to use the results:
4.0+ average → strong signal; proceed to production with confidence
3.0–3.9 → directional interest but friction remains; read the qualitative feedback for recurring objections
Below 3.0 → revisit the concept or art direction before moving forward; re-test after revisions
Look for mismatches between the description and the art — if feedback suggests players expected a different genre from the image, alignment is needed
Once you have results from all five steps, you have a player-validated pre-production brief: confirmed mechanics (Step 2) + art direction (Step 3) + feature priorities (Steps 1 & 4) + overall concept readiness (Step 5). Use this as the foundation for your game design document.
Other pre-development questions to ask
Willingness-to-pay research: Understand what players are willing to spend money on before committing to a monetization model.
💡 Example question: "What are you most willing to spend money on in a mobile strategy game?" | Poll type: Multi-Select, Ranked, or Open-Ended
IP/license audience validation: For games based on licensed IP, validate that the target audience cares about the IP and would download a game based on it.
💡 Example question: "Are you a fan of [IP/FRANCHISE]?" followed by "What would you expect in a mobile game based on [IP]?" | Poll type: Survey (Q1: Single Select Yes/No, Q2: Open-Ended)
World/theme selection: Test which game world or setting creates the most player excitement before world-building begins.
💡 Example question: "If you could start an adventure in one of the following worlds, which one would you be MOST excited to explore?" | Poll type: Ranked
Character design preference: Identify which character archetypes resonate most with your audience.
💡 Example question: "Which of these characters would you most want to play as in a mobile strategy game? What appeals to you about them?" | Poll type: Ranked
Troubleshooting / FAQs
My overall concept scored below 3.0 stars in Step 5. What now?
Read the qualitative feedback carefully before making any decisions. Low scores are usually traceable to one of a few issues: the concept description didn't communicate clearly, the art style mismatched player expectations for the genre, or the core concept itself isn't resonating. Identify which is the culprit, revise accordingly, and re-test Step 5 before moving forward.
How do I write a good concept description for Step 5?
Keep it to 2–3 sentences and cover the essentials: genre (what type of game?), core mechanic (how does it play?), and setting (where does it take place?). Avoid internal jargon or feature lists. Write it the way you'd describe the game to a friend who doesn't work in games.
Should I target general mobile gamers or a specific genre audience?
Target the genre your game is entering. Use PickFu's mobile gamer targeting, then add genre-specific traits if available (e.g., strategy game players). For broad casual games, general mobile gamer targeting works well. For niche genres, be as specific as possible — the feedback will be more useful. You can also layer in demographic traits (age, gender, spending habits) depending on your target audience.
How many respondents do I need?
Each step uses 100 respondents for solid directional data. You can use 50 respondents for early-stage tests to save budget, then re-test with 100 or more before locking major decisions. Adjust the sample sizes as your budget allows — any amount of consumer feedback is valuable.
Can I run these steps out of order?
Step 1 (competitive research) works best first since its findings inform every step that follows. Steps 2-4 are fairly flexible once you have that foundation. Step 5 (overall concept validation) works best last — it's designed as a final gate once your mechanics, art direction, and features are settled. The bonus tests in the "Other pre-development questions" section can be run at any point.
What image format works best for Steps 3 and 5?
Use high-resolution images on a clean, consistent background. For Step 3 (visual style), keep the angle, lighting, and framing as consistent as possible across all art style options so respondents are reacting to the style rather than differences in composition. For Step 5 (concept validation), mockups and mood boards are fine — the art doesn't need to be final production quality.