Small studio.
Serious game design.
Derp Studios is a micro indie studio led by designer Chris Ledger. We're building our flagship game, Iron Cocoon, and we take on work-for-hire game design for studios of every size.
Iron Cocoon
To kill ‘Wartomata’, you must become one.
Iron Cocoon is a third-person action shooter roguelike set in the late 19th century, in the aftermath of a catastrophic industrial revolution. The automata built to serve humanity have turned against it, all while an ice age closes in.
Lead your squad across a campaign map, take on assault and rescue missions, and push the story forward one objective at a time. Built in Unreal Engine 5.
A senior designer, without the overhead.
We join your team for a feature, a milestone or a whole project, working with your IP or helping you build a new one.
Our design work is grounded in Self-Determination Theory, a model of what makes people intrinsically motivated. We design systems that meet players' core needs, so they keep playing because they want to, not because they're made to.
Selected work
Making work play.
Derp Studios was founded in 2012 during Make Something Unreal Live. We're a player-centric team, passionate about giving players intrinsic and impactful experiences, and we've worked with both original and established IPs.
The name is silly on purpose. The work isn't.
Got a game that needs a designer?
Tell us about your project and we'll get back to you within 5 working days.