How to Make a Mobile Game: Key Points to Remember

Learn How to Make a Mobile Game Following Best Industry Practices

The gaming industry is evolving rapidly with the passage of time. It has seen a massive growth during the last few years due to the advancement of technology. Furthermore, the introduction of games to the mobile devices has also played a key role in elevating the stature of this industry. Today, many people like to play games on mobile, as it is one of their favorite hobbies in the free time. This has presented a good opportunity for the developers as they want to know how to make a mobile game for this wide audience. They know that mobile gaming is in the trend, hence companies would look for developers who can help them to create/launch games on mobile.

However, creating games for mobile is also not an easy task. It is something that requires great technical knowledge as well as understanding of the market. If you have both of them, then you could move forward in this field, otherwise you will struggle at different points. The reason is that mobile game development is different from the conventional software development. It requires the knowledge of some specific tools that are built specifically for mobile app development. If you know how to use these tools, then you could start your career as a professional game developer.

But, if you do not have much knowledge about these tools, then you will need to learn some basics first. In this blog, we will talk exactly about that. We will discuss how to make a mobile game using core software development methodologies that can provide quality results. If you are a beginner, this blog will definitely prove to be a good read for you, provide you pay full attention to it.

Let us first start from the basics below understanding what type of things you will need to develop a mobile game effectively. A lot of times, these basics are ignored by the people, and then later they get confused while missing some core elements of mobile game development. Let’s dive into the details below.

Getting Started with Mobile Game Development

Mobile game development

Being a beginner, it often looks easy to develop games for mobile. Well, it is certainly not the case because there are various things you need to know before starting game development. First of all, you need to brainstorm unique mobile app ideas and access the right platforms on which you will be working to develop mobile games. This means that you need to have a computer with advanced specifications that can support various softwares required for mobile game development. It is an essential need of game development, because machines with lower specs do not supports latest game development platforms.

Besides that, you would also need a smartphone with better specs for sure. It is required to test your game when it is developed on the computer system. It is best advised to have both Android and iOS devices, as you will need to check the performance of the game on both platforms. Similarly, you would also need a developer account for iOS and Android, as that gives you access to Google Play Store and App Store respectively.  

Lastly, you will need some core gaming assets that are used for development animation. This means that you will need to download some readymade packs of characters, maps and other stuff from any proper source. If you are working with any team that can create these assets by themselves, then you will not require an third-party source. It is therefore best recommended to work as a team to achieve better results.

Best Mobile Game Categories to Pay Attention

Before starting game development, you need to select a category on which your game will be based on. Right now, there are different types of mobile games available on Play Store and App Store, and people simply love to play them all the time. Some like to play action-packed games, while some go for the exquisite class of racing games.

The basics of developing these games remains the same, however, you need to select a category first to clear some concepts in your mind. The genre selection helps you to stay focused on a particular path and devise strategies according to it. Currently, the most favorite games people like to install and play on mobile devices are:

  • Action
  • Racing
  • Sports
  • Cards
  • Arcade
  • Puzzle
  • Role Based
  • Casino
  • Simulation
  • Strategy

How to Make a Mobile Game: Important Steps to Follow

Game development team

Developing a mobile game is certainly not an easy task. It requires in-depth technical knowledge, as well as good understanding of the gaming industry. Unfortunately, many beginners do not have this detailed knowledge, which is why they usually struggle to develop mobile games.

If you are also one of them who is facing a similar type of issue while developing mobiles games, read the below given tips properly. It will help you to understand the basics of development, so that you can create quality mobile games for iOS and Android every time. Let’s take a look at these points in detail below.

Evaluate the Market

Before starting any software development project, you need to conduct a thorough research of the market. This rule is recommended for all types of development, ranging from mobile apps to desktop applications and more others. A proper market research helps you to get many answers that are often not cleared at the initial stage. It is something that lets you know what type of projects are being currently developed in the market and how your application can relate with them.

For mobile games, it is an important analysis that needs to be done with an open mindset. It lets you know which type of games are currently popular, and why people are attracted more towards them. This way, you can decide about the game category better and can plan your strategy accordingly. It further allows you to build a plan that is needed to build applications as per the given objectives.

Pick a Game Development Platform

Next up, you have to select a game development platform that can help you to build quality mobile games. Right now, there are tons of game engines available in the market, so you need to choose the best one very carefully from them. It could be done by first knowing your game requirements. If you will not what type of features will be required in your app, then the selection process will become easier for you. It will clear up different queries, allowing you to pick the best game engine precisely.

Talking about the best names available in the market currently, Unity and Unreal are preferred by majority of game developers. Both of these platforms provide plethora of features that help developers to easily perform different types of tasks. But, if you do want to work these game engines, you’ve got other options available as well including BuildBox, GameMaker Studio 2, GameSalad and more others.

Select a Precise Programming Language

Now that you have selected a development engine, the next task is to pick a programming language that can help you in coding the application. Currently, there are dozens of programming languages available in the industry. You need to pick the best one from them that can specifically help you in game development. If you know which type of languages are required in game development, then this selection process will become easier for you.

From Java to Kotlin, there are different types of options available with which you can start game development. It basically depends on your choice, hence you need to do it by keeping your proficiency in check. If you are not sure which one should be picked, start off with the simplest development language i.e. C++. Try to first build your grip in this language, and then you can move towards advanced coding platforms that are recommended for development.  

Start Game Development

Once you have selected the game development engine and programming language, move towards the actual development phase. It is an important stage that will require your complete attention and knowledge. Many people often struggle in this phase due to not having enough knowledge about core software development process. It is therefore recommended to keep your basics right, as the pillars of development will also be used in the same manners here.

To keep things simple, it is best recommended to divide different jobs into subtasks. You can then designate them to different teams, or could plan their completion based on the given priority. Here, you will need to use agile methodology to plan all these things smartly. It is said to be the best approach that helps to manage everything with perfection, no matter how lengthy or critical the tasks are.

Develop Graphic Assets

Another thing you must need to do is to develop graphic assets for your game. Here, these assets refers to those components that are displayed in the visuals of the game. It includes components like character faces, body animation, terrain maps, and more others. Developing these things locally allow you to save a good amount of time. It also helps to design things rightly according to your demands, as there is no lack of communication found between the internal teams.

As per the best market practices, these graphic assets should be designed on platforms like Photoshop or Illustrator. These names are pretty good when it comes to design 3D characters and other stuff professionally. Here, you can either design graphic assets completely from scratch, or could also customize premade components downloaded from different online sources.

Finalize the Project

Coming to the end, you need to finalize everything in the game app smartly. It is best advised to run a QA testing process at the end, so that you can evaluate the performance of whole project. It will also let you know whether the app has any hidden errors or not. This way, you will get to know about everything before taking the app towards deployment.

Once resolved all the errors and issues found during the testing process, you can finalize the project without any hassle. You can then submit the app on the Play Store and App Store, as the review process there will also take some time.

Best Mobile Game Development Engines

Being a developer, it is quite important to know which platforms should be used for mobile game development. There are plenty of names available in the market right now, however, we have chosen some of the best engines that can assist you to build quality mobile games.

Here are the best development platforms you should know about.

Unity 3D

Unity 3d logo

Unity 3D is undoubtedly the most popular platform known for game development. Though it is mainly used to develop high-end PC games, but you can also use it to develop interactive mobile games as well. The platform is quite advanced, which is why it requires a good technical understanding. It supports C++ as the core development language, hence you can easily get started with the platform having core information.

Unreal Engine

Unreal engine logo

Another platform that is widely popular for game development is Unreal Engine. It offers plethora of features to develop quality mobile games. The official visual editor of the platform, Blueprint, can be used to develop amazing graphic themes and environment perfectly. It is often considered a direct competitor of Unity 3D, as the platform boasts many advanced features for high-end game development.  

BuildBox

Buildbox logo

BuildBox is a new entrant in the list of game development engines. It is quite different from the other platforms, as it offers simply drag and drop functionality to build games. This means that using BuildBox is relatively more easy as compared to other development engines. It does not require any technical knowledge, hence people can easily get started with it having the core concepts of game development. The platform also offers different types of premade templates, so that developers can save time and build quality mobile games quickly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why mobile games are very popular in the industry?
Mobile games are increasingly getting popular in the world day by day. The reason is that many people like to play games on their favorite smartphones. From kids to adults, mobile games are loved by everyone, which is why they are also in demand.
How to make a mobile game?
To develop creative mobile games, you need to keep several important points in mind. From thorough research to platform selection, there are various things that should be planned smartly to develop quality mobile games for iOS and Android.
How many types of mobile games are currently popular in the industry?
There are different types of mobile games currently available on Play Store and App Store. They are related from various categories including action, sports, racing, arcade, simulation and more others.
Which development platforms are recommended best for mobile games?
Right now, there are plenty of game development engines available in the market. These platforms are quite advanced as they provide plethora of features to create quality mobile games. Some of the top names among them includes Unity 3D, Unreal Engine, GameMaker Studio 2 and more others.
Which languages are considered best for mobile game development?
Developers use different languages to create mobile games for iOS and Android. Some of the top picks among them includes C++, Java, Kotlin, Python and few more others.

Final Words

That takes us to the end of this blog in which we have discussed how to make a mobile game professionally. It is one of those questions that is often asked by the beginners, as they really want to excel in this field of development. However, many of them fail due to not having enough knowledge of game development. Therefore, this blog is primarily written to help them out in mobile game development. It has defined some good tips that will let them understand how the whole development process works and what type of tools are required in it.

Meanwhile, if you are looking for an agency that can help you to develop quality mobile apps, give us a quick call today. We have got years of experience in this field, hence you will always get quality services from our side fulfilling all the functional requirements.

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