Concept · UX/UI · Design System · Games
Dragons Lake — a game studio that looks the part.
For a senior engineer, the studio's own website is the first tech demo. Dragons Lake shipped work on AAA titles like Outriders and Godfall, but next to giants like Keywords and Virtuos it was a smaller name — and its hardest problem was hiring. I designed its site from scratch as a business card and a careers hub in one: AAA proof up front, a dark, high-craft interface, and a short path from openings to Apply.
Background
Great AAA work, quietly told — and a talent market on fire.
Dragons Lake does console-grade co-development and porting on AAA and AA+ projects, but had no site to show it. Experienced game specialists are scarce, and the big studios out-spend everyone for them. The brief: a studio that reads as premium and technological — enough for a senior engineer to apply, and for a publisher to trust it with a console milestone.
Challenge
A smaller name, competing for the scarcest people.
- Visibility. Keywords (12,000+ people) and Virtuos (4,000+) win on scale; Dragons Lake had to win on craft and focus.
- Hiring. Senior engineers and artists judge a studio by what it has shipped — and by how its own site looks.
- Trust. Producers and publishers need proof a partner won't miss a console milestone.
Discovery
The site isn't a brochure — it's the studio's first tech demo.
Work started with client discovery and competitor research, then a sitemap and grey wireframes. The market signal was clear: hiring senior game talent is the industry's hardest problem, and employer brand is the lever. A studio that builds a beautiful, fast, technological site proves it can build beautiful, fast, technological games.
| Who | Fears | What closes it |
|---|---|---|
| Senior game-dev specialist · candidate (primary) | Low-tech work after AAA; a no-name studio; a site that looks cheap; an outsource-conveyor vibe; friction in applying | Real AAA and console proof; a visibly high-craft site; clear role tracks; fast Apply and "Let's talk" |
| Producer / publisher · co-dev & porting client | A partner that misses a milestone; hidden technical gaps; NDA and IP risk; poor communication; a team that can't scale | A shipped AAA track record; detailed case studies; clearly scoped services; a presentation that reads "safe pair of hands" |
No documented personas were handed over — these come from market research and the site's own logic.
Thinking
Prove you're real — then attract, then grow your own.
Both audiences share one pain: credibility. Close that first, and the hire or the deal follows.
| Move | In the site | Who it serves |
|---|---|---|
| Prove the craft | A dark, cinematic interface with custom motion and a tight responsive build | Both |
| Detailed case studies | AAA titles up front; each case told as challenge → tech → result | Both |
| Careers as the hero | Openings by department, vacancy search and filters, easy Apply, a conversational "Let's talk" | Candidates |
| Grow your own talent | A University / academy page for aspiring developers | Future candidates |
| Sell services quietly | Full development, co-development, porting — clearly scoped | Clients |
Outcome
Every page earns a hire or a lead.
The site has two jobs — convince, then convert. At its centre is the page that carries the studio's hardest job: careers.
Careers at the centre
Openings grouped by department — game and level design, engineering and QA, art and UI, management and operations. Search by location, team and level, see the filters as chips, apply in one short form.
Proof in depth
About us says what the studio does and shows the titles it had a hand in. Case studies go deep — task, solution, key highlights, what the client says — because for an engineer or a producer, depth is the trust signal.
Growing its own, selling quietly
An education call to action says the studio doesn't only hire talent — it grows its own. Services explain full development, co-development and creative services, each with its own page.
What shipped
Results
The live site is gone — the design is the record.
Dragons Lake was later absorbed into its parent group, Room 8, and the original site is no longer live. The build still lives in the Awwwards directory, where it earned an Honorable Mention. This case shows the design, prototype and system as the record of the work.
Looks its level
A technological interface built to win scarce senior talent.
How→HowThe site as a tech demo- Dark, cinematic UI
- Custom motion
- AAA titles up front
- A tight responsive build
End-to-end delivery
Research, wireframes, prototype, UI, responsive build spec and a tokenised system.
What I did→What I didConcept to dev spec- Client discovery and competitor research
- Sitemap and grey wireframes
- Prototype and UI
- 375 / 768 / 1440
- Design tokens and dev spec
Recruiting, first-class
Careers built as the core of the site, not a link in the footer.
What's in it→What's in itThe careers hub- Openings by department
- Search by location, team and level
- Filter chips and results count
- Short Apply form with states
- "Let's talk" for candidates and clients
Recognised craft
The site earned an Awwwards Honorable Mention.
Recognition→RecognitionAwwwards- Honorable Mention
- Still listed in the Awwwards directory
Selected screens
A dark, technological interface — the studio's first tech demo.
