Nowadays mobile games are considered the fastest growing area of the gaming industry. Most people play just to spend time, but for some gamers, it is a fascinating hobby. This popular mobile application category covers an incredibly wide audience, which reveals the potential for business. "We see big opportunity and we're confident that our approach will deliver." says Dr Daniel Bailes, Director of Development at Niantic Labs. "What started as one game concept in 2010 has grown into multiple titles with over 10 million installs on iOS, Android or PC already – not bad from this small startup!" So why now? Why hasn't someone figured out how they could turn their unique idea into something worth millions of dollars sooner rather than later - perhaps even making money like everyone else doing before them? The short answer is because there's nothing new under water anymore!
You probably know such games as Angry Birds, Clash of Clans, and Plants vs. Zombies. They prompted many people to plunge into the mobile application industry and start developing their own product, despite the fact that it requires knowledge of technology, creative thinking, and the ability to build technical processes efficiently.
Six steps to create a mobile game
How to develop a mobile game and take your first step to success? To create a high-quality game that can become profitable, you must study the market, generate an idea, develop exciting gameplay, choose a platform, create a design, and build a plan to monetise the application.
1. Formulate an idea
First, start working on the idea. This is an important step to facilitate further success. Since there is a huge number of ideas already implemented in the mobile industry, you must offer something brand new or something already familiar in a new wrapper. The most important thing is that your idea must be addressed to a mass audience in order to receive a potentially greater profit. Thus, don't forget about the people who will play the new game you created. The next piece of software and content should come as part at least one separate programmable system within another product area (e-commerce). You are able add any single item such: retail catalogs, ebooks, websites, social media accounts (such Facebook) etc. for each respective market segment with little effort necessary from customer side. In other words; no fancy interfaces but rather simple user interface components using only text inputs can make everything more transparent than before. For example - web store price conversion tool would allow us easily calculate shopping cart/shopping route rate based upon online retailer's cost structure so it may help customers pick up products faster
First of all, decide what kind of a game you want to develop. Choose the category of games and the type of audience you will focus on. Choose a genre: would you like an arcade, a simulator, an action, a strategy, or an RPG? Do you want to attract young people or middle-aged users? These are the questions you need to answer.
2. Involve in the gameplay
A slight dependence on the gameplay helps you to keep most users. There is a proven way to keep users involved in the game: it should be easy and captivating with a gradually increasing level of difficulty. As a rule, players often lose interest in games that are too long. To avoid this situation, you can create short levels with plenty of unlockable content and introduce various bonuses and secret items. This is done to keep the user interested in your product.
3. Choose a platform (OS)
To develop games for mobile devices, you need to choose a platform. Mostly, you choose between two kernels: Android or iOS. A cross-platform model would simplify this task, but its development will require additional costs. So your target market should be the determining factor. Focus on the OS that will be used by the most profitable users. This will help you to prioritise. However, if additional costs are not a problem for you, then supporting two platforms at once will be the best choice.
4. Create a unique design
Designing a game is much more complicated than designing a regular mobile application. You must take into account a thousand nuances and pay attention to details. Perfection is made up of little things, and experienced users will definitely notice it. As a result, an attractive design can become an original feature that will stand out in the competitive market.
5. Plan a monetisation strategy
Lots of games are not profitable at all. You should set up a monetisation strategy before you start developing your product. Project development can be expensive and time-consuming, so you should have a plan for returning your investment. There are 3 common ways to monetise mobile games:
- In-app purchases. The Freemium model is the most common type of monetisation. Though such purchases make up only 2% in Android games and a bit more in iOS games, this is an effective way to generate income.
- Advertising in the application. Plenty of entertainment applications combine advertisements and in-game purchases. This is a great solution since other methods alone cannot bring substantial revenue. However, you must pay attention to the content of advertisements. If it is not related to your topic, then results will not be productive.
- Premium versions. The Premium model offers a free demo or trial and asks players to pay for future usage. Of course, you can request a payment from the beginning, but this will significantly reduce the number of purchases.
6. Order game development from professionals
The final step towards creating a successful product is choosing a mobile game development company. You need a team of experienced developers who have all the necessary skills to turn your idea into a profitable business. Game development is a complicated process, so creating unique and memorable projects requires a professional approach.
Mobile game development specifics
The gaming industry has provided developers with many suitable tools for creating games. The following game engines became popular: Unity, Unreal Engine, and AppGameKit.
Unity
It is an integrated development environment that offers multi-platform solutions for creating 2D and 3D games. It includes a large number of functions, predefined models, textures, and documentation. Developers use this IDE to create any kind of games from simple ones to AAA games. Unity advantages:
- Creating objects and adding various components to them;
- Functional graphics editor;
- Built-in Play Mode for quick debugging;
- Support for multiple platforms, APIs, and technologies.
Unreal Engine
It is the time-tested engine for developing games, mainly of the AAA class. Many worldwide games are based on it. UE allows you to create games supported by most platforms and operating systems.
Unreal Engine provides developers with two main tools: traditional C++ and Blueprints visual scripts that help you quickly figure out game logic. It is designed to meet the needs of both giant and small game projects.
AppGameKit
It is a powerful engine for multi-platform gaming products suitable for any independent mobile game development studio. AppGameKit advantages:
- Fast compiler, numerous ready-made solutions for easy development;
- Cross-platform engine;
- Built-in monetisation of games.
How to avoid development mistakes
The game world does not stand still. Progress provided us with augmented and virtual reality opening up new opportunities for both developers and customers. Now everyone is eager to release a new super hit for mobile devices. But many developers do not allow for risks and make typical mistakes in the process of work:
- Overloading the game with a large number of functions. It is not a good idea to release a mobile game right away with the full range of features trying to include all your ideas in the first release. It is better to launch a mobile game step-by-step. Each next version with new functionality will give an idea of user behaviour. So you will be able to decide which next improvements should be added.
- Inadequate monetisation policy. You must think in advance how to monetise your game. The choice of model depends on your goals (for example, achieving profitability), as well as on the market demand.
- Loss of interest by users. You must constantly make efforts to keep the players. Before you attract new users, find out why the old ones leave. These are the possible reasons: errors, lack of gamification, complex interface, better alternatives, and other issues. Even uniformity may annoy a user. You will have to regularly update your game with new levels, characters, design elements, and other items. It is useful to study player reviews as guidelines for fixing errors and introducing new ideas.
- Weak promotion. Even a perfect game will not cover costs without promotion. Continuous user engagement is important for revenue dynamics. To make an application viral, you must invest in marketing, branding, and promotion. With a large budget, you can get reviews in famous blogs, advertise on social networks and game portals. Only a comprehensive approach can bring results.
- Inappropriate development team. If you do not know how to program yourself, you will have to decide who will develop a game for you. Do you need to hire staff? How many people do you need to develop a mobile game? Can you hire freelancers to work remotely or is it better to find a company that will develop a turnkey game? When a serious approach is needed, quality cannot be neglected, and the process should not be stretched out for many months, it is better to contact professionals like Polygant.
Mobile game development for iOS and Android
Our company’s specialists possess the appropriate technical knowledge of game development for any mobile OS. We initiate the process with a clear understanding of the details and specifications, plunge into the flexible development cycles, and quickly release the product. We develop all types of games including the following:
- Writing and modifying the game engine (2D, 3D);
- Creating a game core;
- Developing subject and gaming assets;
- Entertainment applications;
- Game educational applications;
- Full integration of advanced gaming features and porting the game;
- AI including the design and development of games;
- Games on social networks, integration of social networks with games.
