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Merge Clean 3D

A fast-paced mobile idle/merge game set in a house-cleaning environment. Players merge vacuum cleaners to evolve them into stronger units and clean their way through rooms while earning coins, upgrades, and rewards.

Role: Game Designer · QA Tester
Team Size: 6 (Producer, 2 Designers, Artist, 2 Programmers)
Studio Collaboration: TrueMyth Games & Lion Studios
Duration: 4 Weeks
Downloads: 1,000+
Platforms: Android
Tools: Unity, Xcode, Trello, PlayFab, GameAnalytics

Screenshot_20250506_223534_Merge_Clean_3D.jpg

Expanded Game Description

 

Merge Clean 3D is a casual mobile game that combines idle mechanics with a satisfying merge-and-upgrade loop. Players place vacuum cleaners in dirty rooms, collect coins for cleaned tiles, and combine same-level vacuums to evolve stronger, faster units. Once a room is cleared, the player moves to the next.

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Key Features:

  • Merge Mechanic: Players drag and drop two matching vacuums to combine them into the next tier, unlocking better performance and new visuals.

  • Evolving Units: Each vacuum level has unique UI icons, faster cleaning speeds, and updated 3D models.

  • Idle Progression: Cleaning continues in real-time, even when the player is idle, especially for longer tile durations.

  • Progression System: New rooms and levels introduce different layouts and cleaning challenges, pacing player advancement.

🧩 Responsibilities

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Main Role – Game Designer

  • Interpreted and applied market research provided by the publisher, identifying high-potential concepts based on genre trends and performance metrics.

  • Collaborated with the producer to define the MVP scope: two levels, each with two rooms and five vacuum tiers with distinct characteristics.

  • Created and maintained Trello backlogs, prioritized tasks based on team discussions, and ensured alignment across design and development.

  • Designed merge classes and vacuum upgrade mechanics (DPS, costs, speed) using Excel sheets for balancing.

  • Worked closely with programmers to implement vacuum stats, room progression, and level-based difficulty using scriptable objects.


Secondary Role – QA Tester

  • Built test builds for Android and iOS using Unity and Xcode, and tested across devices for functional bugs and UX issues.

  • Logged and described bugs in Trello, assigning them to team members based on discipline (designer, programmer, producer).

  • Ensured clarity in environment labeling (e.g., dev/staging/production) to reduce confusion during iterative builds.

  • Reported test results and build statuses during sprint meetings to keep the team aligned on QA progress.

🛠️ Production Pipeline

Concepting & Pre-Production
(1 week)

  • Evaluated confidential market research and trend analysis provided by Lion Studios
     

  • Brainstormed and pitched multiple design directions, refined them collaboratively, and finalized the core loop with the producer
     

  • Defined initial content scope (2 levels, 4 rooms, 5 vacuum tiers) based on production feasibility and market fit

Production
(2 weeks)

  • Designed five unique vacuum cleaner variants in collaboration with another designer and the artist
     

  • Maintained ongoing testing of the game build, reporting gameplay-breaking bugs, analytics gaps, and UX flaws
     

  • Onboarded new team members (artist, designer) mid-cycle, introducing them to the project vision, documentation, and tasks
     

  • Assisted in game analytics setup and testing user interactions against KPIs

Release & Live Support
(2 weeks)

  • Conducted final round of QA with internal testers and approved the build for launch
     

  • Integrated PlayFab and GameAnalytics for tracking user behavior and monetization metrics
     

  • Monitored performance via key indicators:

    • Stickiness: DAU/WAU × 100

    • IAP Conversion Rate

    • CPI (Cost per Install) from the publisher’s campaign data

  • Offered light-touch player support for IAP and progression issues by checking user data through the backend
     

  • Game was sunset by the publisher post-launch despite initially promising metrics

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