The Pattern Everyone Ignores
Every few years, a small game studio drops something that resets the industry. Take Expedition 33—a recent example that perfectly illustrates the pattern. Look closer and you’ll notice the same formula: smaller teams, more ownership, and a philosophy that sounds almost naively simple.
The best products aren’t built by committees. They’re made by people who genuinely want to use what they’re building.
Why Small Teams Always Win
Small groups move faster and care more. No army of middle managers turning creative sparks into bureaucratic processes. Everyone who touches the product actually owns the outcome.
More importantly, the people building the product decide what to build next. Not stakeholders in boardrooms who’ve never used the product. The team understands user needs, technical constraints, and what’s actually possible. They’re driven by the game itself, not external demands.
Testing isn’t a scheduled phase—it’s constant conversation between people invested in the same goal. If something’s broken, everyone knows and everyone fixes it.
Co-Creation Beats Validation
Most product teams “validate” ideas with users. Game developers co-create with players from day one. They’re in forums, reading feedback, watching real usage, absorbing insights in real time.
The line between creator and customer gets blurry. That’s where breakthrough products are born.
Games Understand What Apps Forget
Humans are wired for specific engagement patterns. We crave progression, meaningful choices, just enough challenge to stay interested.
Successful games provide:
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Clear objectives (you know what you’re trying to accomplish)
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Visible progress (you see how close you are to success)
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Immediate feedback (satisfying responses to your actions)
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Strategic failure (you almost won, try again)
Most app onboarding? Dumps features and hopes users figure out the value.
The Stupidly Simple Formula
Here’s what the best teams do:
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Build something they want to use themselves
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Create it because it doesn’t exist, not for market share
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Don’t chase arbitrary sales targets
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Protect the team from revenue-focused feature bloat
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Believe happy teams create happy users
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Respect developers and users equally
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Actually care about the problem they’re solving
It sounds naive. But the best products in any category come from people who care about what they’re building, not just the metrics.
Why Games Feel Better Than Apps
Games design for player agency—every choice matters, progress is meaningful.
Apps design for business logic—every click serves company goals first.
It’s the difference between exploring an open world and being guided through a sales funnel.
Real-Time Adaptation Wins
The best teams don’t predict the future—they watch users closely and change course fast. When the market shifts or users ask for something new, you can’t schedule a “pivot meeting” for next quarter.
Successful products come from teams who can evolve ideas, admit when things aren’t working, and turn feedback into improvements before competitors recognise the need.
Respect Is Your Competitive Edge
Respect your team by protecting them from impossible deadlines. Respect users by not cramming revenue-generating junk into your product.
Respect creates loyalty that can’t be bought with marketing spend.
The Only Question That Matters
Think of this pattern like a river versus a dam. Most companies build dams—massive structures designed to control and direct flow according to predetermined plans. They’re impressive, expensive, and eventually get overwhelmed when conditions change.
Small teams that follow this pattern? They’re like rivers. They find the natural path, adapt to the terrain, and keep moving forward. When they hit obstacles, they flow around them. When the landscape changes, they change with it.
The dam looks more impressive on paper. The river gets to the ocean.
Start Where You Are
You don’t need permission to follow this pattern. You can start today:
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Build something you actually want to use
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Talk to users like they’re collaborators, not data points
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Protect your team’s focus like it’s your most valuable asset
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Measure success by whether people genuinely love what you’ve made
Every breakthrough product started with someone ignoring conventional wisdom and asking a different question. Not “How do we capture market share?” but “How do we solve this problem so well that people can’t imagine living without our solution?”
The pattern isn’t hidden because it’s secret. It’s ignored because it requires courage—the courage to care more about building something meaningful than hitting quarterly targets.
The question isn’t whether this approach works. The question is whether you’re brave enough to try it.
After all, the river doesn’t ask the dam for permission to flow.