Mobile Application
Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle
Client: Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle
Services Provided
Mobile App Development
The client wanted to bring the simplicity of the real world into satisfying game mechanics by building a hyper-casual puzzle game for iOS users that would be a tactile and user-engaging experience. The game Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle was designed and created using Unity. It uses 2D physics to mimic how bolts work in the real world.
The game is exclusively launched on the Apple App Store and is aimed at casual users who want easy-to-understand gameplay, touch-based interaction, and pleasing visual feedback. Its rising complexity curve and simple interface make it great for both short and extensive puzzle-solving sessions.
Business Goals:
Several business goals were involved in building this kind of project:
Develop a hyper-casual game that is visually appealing and intuitive.
Build game mechanics that can be used with 300 or more levels.
Integrate monetization using Unity Ads and In-App Purchases (IAP).
Make sure the game performs smoothly on all modern iPhones and iPads.
Allow offline gameplay and iCloud backup progress.
Follow Apple's design and technical performance criteria.
The core idea was to find a balance between simplicity and satisfaction. The game should be easy to pick up but hard to put down.
Challenges:
The idea behind the game was simple, but making it work was hard in terms of design and technology:
Physics Simulation: Using Unity's 2D Rigidbody framework to make nuts and bolts act like they do in real life, with twisting, friction, and gravity.
Progressive Level Design: Making a scalable structure where complexity increases naturally without frustrating new players.
Performance Optimisation: Ensuring that frame rates are consistent (60 FPS) and minimal loading times, even on older iPhones and iPads.
Monetization Without Disrupting: Implementing Unity Ads and IAP to generate sustainable revenue without bothering or overwhelming players.
File Size Control: Ensuring the software stays lightweight without losing quality in the animations or graphics.
Offline Functionality: Enable gameplay without an internet connection, while offering optional iCloud save sync.
Solutions Delivered
To overcome these problems, the game was entirely made in Unity, leveraging its ecosystems of SDKs, asset management tools, and strong 2D physics engine.
Tools and Technologies Used
Game Engine: Unity 6
Programming Language: C#
SDKs: Unity Ads, Unity IAP, Unity Analytics
Asset Types: 2D Sprites, Physics Materials, UI Canvases
Animation Tools: Unity Animator Controller, DOTween
Level Management: ScriptableObjects and JSON-based level data
Core Features Implemented
Realistic Nut and Bolt Interactions:
Torque-based input required to twist bolts, with hinge joints and physics materials mimicking friction and mechanical resistance.
Checkpoints and Level Progression:
ScriptableObjects were used to design modular levels, allowing rapid iteration and dynamic difficulty scaling. Checkpoints guaranteed that players didn't lose progress in harder levels.
Hint System Built In:
A contextual hint system was added, which lets players use in-app purchases or view rewarded advertising to find out the next move, ensuring user retention and monetization.
Unlockable Customisations:
Players could unlock bolt skins and visual effects by gameplay or making small transactions, which added a cosmetic layer of replay value.
In-Game Tutorial and Onboarding:
A simple tutorial system was added to the first few levels to help new players learn by doing instead of reading a lot of information.
Responsive User Interface for iOS Devices:
The UI was designed to work on many screen sizes and followed Apple HIG guidelines to ensure ease of navigation on both iPhones and iPads.
Support for iCloud and Offline:
Players could play the whole game offline, and there was an optional cloud save feature powered by iCloud that let them sync their progress between devices.
UX/UI design Strategy
The main goal of this project was to improve the user experience. The game had a clean, wooden look that fit with the real-world mechanics of unscrewing bolts. The UI was kept simple on purpose so that players could focus on the game without becoming distracted.
Touch Controls:
Controls were designed to respond with brief taps and drags, with haptic feedback and soft auditory cues, it developed a sensory loop that felt satisfying and grounded.
Feedback Loop:
Every bolt interaction triggered a succession of animations, click sounds, and motion reactions. These were amplified with DOTween and Unity's Animator. These little interactions kept gamers interested and encouraged experimentation.
Process and Workflow
The whole development process was built on an agile, sprint-based model:
1. Discovery and Prototyping:
Made prefabricated nuts and bolts to test the main mechanics.
Fast iteration cycles with Unity's Play Mode and physics adjustment.
2. Integration of Assets:
Used custom-made sprites and components from the Unity Asset Store.
Impelemnted physics materials and audio effects to make things more realistic.
3. Gameplay Systems:
Level manager made with logic based on coroutines.
Player progress is saved on the device and can be synchronised with iCloud if desired.
4. Monetization and Data Analysis:
Set up Unity Ads (rewarded and interstitial) and IAP with non-intrusive strategy.
Configured Unity Analytics to track events and analyse funnels.
5. Quality Assurance and Optimization:
Testing on devices from the iPhone 8 to the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Optimised memory use and file size by reducing draw calls and compressing sprites.
6. Publishing in the app store:
Followed the best ways for App Store Optimization (ASO).
TestFlight was used to test it before public release, which supported feedback before the launch.
Client Feedback:
The team appreciated Unity's grid and physics framework since it simplified prototyping and iteration. The monetization integration (advertising + hint system) generated sustainable revenue without hurting the user experience. They discovered that the iOS-only strategy provided better optimization and higher polish.
Conclusion
"Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle” is a well-made Unity-powered puzzle game that combines realistic interaction and smooth, easy-to-understand game mechanics with clean, engaging graphics. This is an excellent example of how Unity can be used to quickly prototype, construct, and successfully monetize a casual game, all while delivering iOS gamers a seamless experience.
The game is exclusively launched on the Apple App Store and is aimed at casual users who want easy-to-understand gameplay, touch-based interaction, and pleasing visual feedback. Its rising complexity curve and simple interface make it great for both short and extensive puzzle-solving sessions.
Business Goals:
Several business goals were involved in building this kind of project:
Develop a hyper-casual game that is visually appealing and intuitive.
Build game mechanics that can be used with 300 or more levels.
Integrate monetization using Unity Ads and In-App Purchases (IAP).
Make sure the game performs smoothly on all modern iPhones and iPads.
Allow offline gameplay and iCloud backup progress.
Follow Apple's design and technical performance criteria.
The core idea was to find a balance between simplicity and satisfaction. The game should be easy to pick up but hard to put down.
Challenges:
The idea behind the game was simple, but making it work was hard in terms of design and technology:
Physics Simulation: Using Unity's 2D Rigidbody framework to make nuts and bolts act like they do in real life, with twisting, friction, and gravity.
Progressive Level Design: Making a scalable structure where complexity increases naturally without frustrating new players.
Performance Optimisation: Ensuring that frame rates are consistent (60 FPS) and minimal loading times, even on older iPhones and iPads.
Monetization Without Disrupting: Implementing Unity Ads and IAP to generate sustainable revenue without bothering or overwhelming players.
File Size Control: Ensuring the software stays lightweight without losing quality in the animations or graphics.
Offline Functionality: Enable gameplay without an internet connection, while offering optional iCloud save sync.
Solutions Delivered
To overcome these problems, the game was entirely made in Unity, leveraging its ecosystems of SDKs, asset management tools, and strong 2D physics engine.
Tools and Technologies Used
Game Engine: Unity 6
Programming Language: C#
SDKs: Unity Ads, Unity IAP, Unity Analytics
Asset Types: 2D Sprites, Physics Materials, UI Canvases
Animation Tools: Unity Animator Controller, DOTween
Level Management: ScriptableObjects and JSON-based level data
Core Features Implemented
Realistic Nut and Bolt Interactions:
Torque-based input required to twist bolts, with hinge joints and physics materials mimicking friction and mechanical resistance.
Checkpoints and Level Progression:
ScriptableObjects were used to design modular levels, allowing rapid iteration and dynamic difficulty scaling. Checkpoints guaranteed that players didn't lose progress in harder levels.
Hint System Built In:
A contextual hint system was added, which lets players use in-app purchases or view rewarded advertising to find out the next move, ensuring user retention and monetization.
Unlockable Customisations:
Players could unlock bolt skins and visual effects by gameplay or making small transactions, which added a cosmetic layer of replay value.
In-Game Tutorial and Onboarding:
A simple tutorial system was added to the first few levels to help new players learn by doing instead of reading a lot of information.
Responsive User Interface for iOS Devices:
The UI was designed to work on many screen sizes and followed Apple HIG guidelines to ensure ease of navigation on both iPhones and iPads.
Support for iCloud and Offline:
Players could play the whole game offline, and there was an optional cloud save feature powered by iCloud that let them sync their progress between devices.
UX/UI design Strategy
The main goal of this project was to improve the user experience. The game had a clean, wooden look that fit with the real-world mechanics of unscrewing bolts. The UI was kept simple on purpose so that players could focus on the game without becoming distracted.
Touch Controls:
Controls were designed to respond with brief taps and drags, with haptic feedback and soft auditory cues, it developed a sensory loop that felt satisfying and grounded.
Feedback Loop:
Every bolt interaction triggered a succession of animations, click sounds, and motion reactions. These were amplified with DOTween and Unity's Animator. These little interactions kept gamers interested and encouraged experimentation.
Process and Workflow
The whole development process was built on an agile, sprint-based model:
1. Discovery and Prototyping:
Made prefabricated nuts and bolts to test the main mechanics.
Fast iteration cycles with Unity's Play Mode and physics adjustment.
2. Integration of Assets:
Used custom-made sprites and components from the Unity Asset Store.
Impelemnted physics materials and audio effects to make things more realistic.
3. Gameplay Systems:
Level manager made with logic based on coroutines.
Player progress is saved on the device and can be synchronised with iCloud if desired.
4. Monetization and Data Analysis:
Set up Unity Ads (rewarded and interstitial) and IAP with non-intrusive strategy.
Configured Unity Analytics to track events and analyse funnels.
5. Quality Assurance and Optimization:
Testing on devices from the iPhone 8 to the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
Optimised memory use and file size by reducing draw calls and compressing sprites.
6. Publishing in the app store:
Followed the best ways for App Store Optimization (ASO).
TestFlight was used to test it before public release, which supported feedback before the launch.
Client Feedback:
The team appreciated Unity's grid and physics framework since it simplified prototyping and iteration. The monetization integration (advertising + hint system) generated sustainable revenue without hurting the user experience. They discovered that the iOS-only strategy provided better optimization and higher polish.
Conclusion
"Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle” is a well-made Unity-powered puzzle game that combines realistic interaction and smooth, easy-to-understand game mechanics with clean, engaging graphics. This is an excellent example of how Unity can be used to quickly prototype, construct, and successfully monetize a casual game, all while delivering iOS gamers a seamless experience.
Results
The Wood Nuts & Bolts Puzzle debut was a success, and it did better than expected in several areas:
300+ handcrafted levels available at launch with progressive difficulty.
Smooth 60 FPS gameplay across all Iphones and Ipads.
4.5+ Average App Store Rating with thousands of positive reviews from users.
High Retention Rates due to the satisfying game mechanics and hint system.
Monetization Success with strong rewarded ads and IAP.
Featured by Apple in multiple puzzle and casual game categories.
Low Crash Rate and Minimal Uninstalls, thanks to QA that focuses on stability and user-first design.
