3rdsense.com

3RD SENSE is a software studio that describes itself as being in “the serious business of fun and games.” For more than 20 years, according to its website, it has built engaging software for major brands. The company works across three areas — games, gamification and the metaverse — and offers design, development and deployment services. This overview is useful if you are evaluating the studio as a potential partner or trying to understand what kind of work it takes on.

The three areas of work

3RD SENSE presents its business as three connected practices:

• Games. The studio says it has built games “several times over” for brand promotion, learning, serious games, simulations and entertainment. Its site describes game design as “down to a fine art.”
• Gamification. It applies game-design methods to non-game software, with the stated aim of making otherwise boring business software engaging, rewarding and fun.
• Metaverse. In this emerging area, the company says it works with clients on strategies and applications that use virtual environments, crypto, smart contracts and NFTs.

How a project runs

The site lays out a three-stage process:

1. Design. A “Collaborative Experience Design Process” that the company describes as strategic, objective-driven and focused on return on investment.
2. Develop. Delivery based on what it calls best-in-class technology, agile processes and client involvement, with a stated goal of on-time, on-budget delivery.
3. Deploy. Launch support including marketing, PR, community support and engagement, with the platform built to enterprise-level security, reliability and scalability.

Examples of its work

The homepage lists several named projects that show the range of formats:

The studio also offers an avatar creator for people who want to make their own avatars.

What this means if you are considering them

The site positions 3RD SENSE as a partner for brand games, learning and serious games, simulations, gamified business software and early metaverse work. It emphasises long client relationships, a structured design process and end-to-end delivery from concept through launch marketing.

The website does not publish pricing, package details or a client list beyond the featured projects, so cost and fit are things to establish directly. The practical next step is the site’s “Contact Us” route to discuss a specific project; the blog also covers related topics such as the New York Times’ purchase of Wordle, metaverse readiness and outsourcing digital product development.

3RD SENSE provides metaverse services as one of its three core areas, alongside games and gamification. According to the company, it works with clients to develop strategies and applications that exploit virtual environments, crypto, smart contracts and NFTs. This makes it a fit for organisations that want a partner to help define a metaverse direction and then build applications around it, rather than for readers looking for an off-the-shelf metaverse product.

What the metaverse work covers

The company describes its metaverse offering in two connected parts:

• Strategy: working with clients to develop metaverse strategies.
• Applications: building applications that make use of virtual environments, crypto, smart contracts and NFTs.

The page does not break these services down further, so the exact deliverables, platforms or technical stack are not specified. What is clear is the framing: the metaverse is treated as an emerging space where clients need both a plan and something built.

How it sits alongside the other two areas

3RD SENSE presents three areas of work, and the metaverse is the newest of them:

This matters for choosing the company: metaverse projects can draw on the same design and gamification skills used in its other work, which is relevant if the goal is an engaging virtual experience rather than a purely technical build.

Who this is for

The metaverse service is aimed at organisations exploring virtual environments and related technologies who want a partner to help shape a strategy and then deliver an application. The company's broader positioning — over 20 years creating software for global brands, with a stated focus on engagement and return on investment — suggests it is set up for client-led, custom projects rather than self-serve tools.

If you are looking for a defined metaverse product, published pricing or a list of supported platforms, the page does not provide them. In that case, the practical next step is to contact 3RD SENSE directly and ask for scope, timeline and commercial details for your specific project.

What to check before engaging

Because the public description is high-level, it is worth confirming the following in an initial conversation:

• Scope: whether the engagement covers strategy only, build only, or both.
• Technology: which virtual environments and which crypto, smart-contract or NFT capabilities are in scope.
• Evidence: relevant past metaverse work, since the page's featured examples are games and apps rather than metaverse projects.
• Delivery: how the company's design, develop and deploy process applies to a metaverse build, including security, reliability and scalability expectations.

These points turn the broad service description into a concrete brief you can evaluate.

3RD SENSE applies game design methods to software that isn't a game, with the stated aim of turning "otherwise boring" business software into something engaging, rewarding and fun. The company describes itself as working across three areas — games, gamification and the metaverse — after more than 20 years building software for brands. Gamification is the middle of those three: the same design craft used in its games, pointed at tools whose main job is something other than play.

What gamification means in 3RD SENSE's model

The company's own description is the clearest definition available: "Applying game design methodologies to all kinds of non-game software has meant that business software that would otherwise be boring is now engaging, rewarding and fun."

That framing matters for anyone evaluating the approach. The gamified product is still business software — it has a real task behind it. Game mechanics are the layer that changes how people feel about doing that task. 3RD SENSE connects this to a commercial argument: "When people really love the software they use, they use it more, which makes it more valuable."

So the logic runs in three steps:

1. Take a non-game task (a trip, a lesson, a practice test).
2. Apply game design to the experience of doing it.
3. Expect higher engagement, which the company treats as the source of value.

Examples from the company's portfolio

The site lists several apps that show the pattern in different settings. These are the company's own project descriptions, not independent reviews.

Two of these are worth reading closely because they show how far the method stretches. Powour gamifies everyday movement rather than a workplace tool, and Bring Back The Beat applies it to a rehabilitation-adjacent experience — a reminder that "business software" in the company's usage covers consumer and public-interest apps too. The McDonald's example is the most commercial: the game exists to drive visits, so engagement is the whole point rather than a side benefit.

Where gamification fits in the delivery process

3RD SENSE describes a three-stage process, and gamification decisions sit inside it rather than being bolted on at the end:

• Design — a "Collaborative Experience Design Process" that the company calls strategic and objective-driven, focused on return on investment. This is where the behaviour you want to encourage should be defined.
• Develop — agile delivery with client involvement, with claims of on-time and on-budget delivery.
• Deploy — marketing, PR, community support and engagement, with enterprise-level security, reliability and scalability.

For a buyer, the practical takeaway is that the engagement goal should be agreed during design. A gamified layer is only useful if you can say what behaviour it should change — trips taken, tests completed, visits made — before build starts.

How to judge whether this approach suits your project

Gamification is a good fit when the underlying task is repetitive, optional, or competing for attention against more enjoyable alternatives. It is a weaker fit when users have no choice but to complete the task and speed matters more than enjoyment.

Questions worth asking before committing:

• What behaviour changes? The portfolio examples all name one: more active trips, kids learning to manage anxiety, more practice tests, more visits. If you can't name yours, the design stage has nothing to aim at.
• Who is the audience? The examples span children, millennials, implant recipients and travellers. Mechanics that work for one group rarely transfer unchanged.
• What does success look like? The company ties its design process to return on investment, so agree the metric up front — usage frequency, completion rates, or visits.
• Is the fun load-bearing or decorative? In the McDonald's app, the game is the product. In a business tool, it has to support the task without getting in the way.

The site does not publish pricing, package details or client outcome data, so cost and measured results can't be assessed from it. For those, the company directs enquiries through its contact page.

The bottom line

3RD SENSE's gamification offer is straightforward: take a non-game product, apply the game design skills it has built over two decades, and aim for software people use more because they enjoy it. The portfolio shows the method applied to health, education, marketing and consumer behaviour. Whether it fits your project depends less on the mechanics than on whether you have a specific behaviour to change and a way to measure it.

3RD SENSE runs projects through a three-stage sequence: Design, Develop, and Deploy. The design stage uses the company's Collaborative Experience Design Process, described as strategic, objective-driven, and focused on return on investment. Development relies on what the company calls best-in-class technology, agile processes, and client involvement to keep projects on time and on budget. Deployment covers marketing, PR, community support, and engagement, with the finished platform built for enterprise-level security, reliability, and scalability. This model suits clients commissioning custom games, gamified software, or metaverse applications who want one partner across the full lifecycle.

Design: the Collaborative Experience Design Process

The first stage is built around a process 3RD SENSE calls its "famous Collaborative Experience Design Process." Three attributes define it on the company's site:

• Strategic — design decisions follow an agreed direction rather than ad-hoc requests.
• Objective-driven — work is anchored to defined goals.
• Focused on return on investment — the process is framed around getting value back from the project.

The word "collaborative" signals client involvement starts here, not at handover. The site also notes the process is "good fun too," consistent with a studio that describes itself as being in "the serious business of fun and games."

What this means in practice: expect a structured discovery and concept phase before production begins. If you need a fixed specification before any creative work starts, clarify that expectation early — the process is presented as iterative and objective-led, not as a hand-off brief.

Develop: technology, agile process, and client involvement

The development stage rests on three stated commitments:

These three are presented as the reason projects are delivered "on time and on budget." That is the company's claim, not an independent guarantee — treat schedule and budget as things to confirm in your own contract terms.

The scope this stage covers is broad. 3RD SENSE says it has built games "several times over" across brand promotion, learning, serious games, simulations, and entertainment. It also applies game design methodologies to non-game software, so the development stage can produce a gamified business tool rather than a game.

Deploy: launch support and platform qualities

Deployment is not treated as a handover. The site lists four launch activities the company stays involved with:

• Marketing
• PR
• Community support
• Engagement

Alongside these, the delivered platform is described as enterprise-level in security, reliability, and scalability. For a client, that combination matters most when the product is consumer-facing or handles user accounts — for example, a gamified app with a public community. Ask for specifics on security testing and expected load during launch, since the site states the qualities but not the methods behind them.

Where this approach fits — and where to check further

The three-stage model maps cleanly onto three kinds of work 3RD SENSE says it does: Games, Gamification, and Metaverse. Metaverse work is described as strategy and applications that use virtual environments, crypto, smart contracts, and NFTs — an area where you should confirm current capability and any regulatory considerations directly with the company.

The site gives no pricing, timelines, or package details. The next step it offers is a conversation: "Let's have a chat about your next project" via its Contact Us page. Before that call, it helps to arrive with a defined objective and a sense of the return you expect — the design process is explicitly built around both.

3RD SENSE has publicly showcased six named projects on its site: the Powour app, The Thinking Brain Game, Excel Test Zone, a McDonald's game app, Bring Back The Beat, and a South Africa destination app. Each is a working example of how the studio applies game design to a non-game goal — activity, learning, health, or marketing. The list below reflects what the company itself presents as portfolio highlights, so treat it as a starting point rather than a complete catalogue.

The named projects at a glance

What each example shows about the studio's range

Behaviour change and motivation

Powour and Bring Back The Beat both target habits rather than entertainment. Powour nudges people toward active travel; Bring Back The Beat addresses a specific accessibility need — helping implant recipients re-engage with music. If your goal is encouraging a behaviour, these are the closest reference points.

Learning and wellbeing

The Thinking Brain Game and Excel Test Zone sit in the education space from different angles. One supports a help line teaching children to manage anxiety; the other is a practice-test platform for exam preparation. Together they show the studio works on both emotional and academic learning products.

Brand and destination engagement

The McDonald's game app and the South Africa app are marketing-led builds. The first is framed around re-engaging a specific demographic with a fast-food brand; the second is about keeping a destination top of mind. These are useful references if you want a game tied to a campaign or place rather than a standalone product.

How to read this list when choosing a partner

• Match on the problem, not the industry. The common thread is engagement design, so look for a past project with a similar behavioural goal — activity, learning, or brand recall.
• Check the delivery model. 3RD SENSE describes a design–develop–deploy process, with design framed around return on investment, development around agile delivery, and deployment covering marketing, PR, and community support. Ask how much of that scope you actually need.
• Ask for depth on your closest example. The site gives one-line summaries only; request case detail on the project most like yours before committing.

Where to see the work

The project summaries and "find out more" links appear on the 3RD SENSE homepage (3rdsense.com), alongside the studio's descriptions of its games, gamification, and metaverse work. That page is the most direct entry point for reviewing the portfolio before making contact.