Mobile Game Development - A Great Career
Mobile game development has
been a consistently developing field for almost half a decade now. With growing
number of mobile platforms and their capacities, games have become an integral
part of a mobile device.
Regardless of a phone’s
sophistication, appearance etc the most common feature every device provides
its user is a platform for games. During the process of Game Development the mobile game
developer should be aware of both the technical as well
as the non-technical aspects. The team that is developing the application can
decide on the type, graphical specs and other aspects according to the model of
the mobile. The techniques used for building and strategies used for designing
also changes accordingly.
The most important aspects of
developing a game is the entire game plot and the game play involved. The most
innovative projects are the ones which get the most number of users and more
downloads. With touch screen devices
abundantly available it has become easier for
users to play even complex games in their phones. As developing is a very
expensive process companies have started using offshore development centers
too.
With the widespread users of
games using the mobile platform it is estimated that the already booming
profits will reach $11 Billion in 2014. This stat makes it obvious that the
growing field of game development will reach a point where the profits are
enormous. The number of users of mobile game
development has increased threefold just
in the past couple of years. The major mobile device companies for which games
are being developed are Apple,Samsung, Nokia, and Blackberry. There
are many platforms which are being used by these companies and for each
platform applications have to be developed natively.
Apart from segregating these
games according to the platform users tend to browse through categories too.
Games are categorized in various genres namely Action, War, Strategy, Sports etc.
Thus companies these days test their games and applications with seasoned
professional gamers and amateur users to have an overall feedback to market
their product in a better way. These are the basic steps involved in developing
a mobile game for the market today.
Mobile devices offer interesting new ways to experiment
with controls and interaction. Features such as multi-touch, accelerometer and
the camera allow games developers to innovate in ways that are not possible in
a desktop environment. Games such as Znipball have shown that multi-touch can add innovative
and intuitive controls to familiar game play.
It is also possible to create something simple,
yet innovative, using these mobile-only features. This makes it easier to
create something really impressive for mobile without having to work on
detailed graphics and gameplay. Think about a game such as Cut the Rope – it's simple, yet addictive and intuitive to
play using touch controls. Now consider a classic game such as Pong: what sort
of innovative controls could be implemented using the touch screen or
accelerometer?
There are also various different mobile
platforms to target and developers have already seen the benefits of targeting
multiple mobile platforms.
Developing for mobile can help you reach a huge
audience and the distribution channels make it easy to showcase your game once
you have made it. The App Store and Google Play offer you the chance to reach
about 500 million potential users. There are different development environments
using various programming languages that will allow you to create your game for
mobile. Each platform offers its own SDK too - you can program in Objective-C
for Apple products, and Java for Android devices using the platform SDKs
provided by Apple and Google. Consider that if you choose a platform SDK, your
game will only run on that platform and you will most likely need to rewrite
your game to target others.
Choose powerful and flexible tools
It is essential that you have the right tools
for the job. You need flexibility and power to make the most of your time.
Choose an environment that is familiar and gives you the flexibility to change
direction quickly if you need to.
Don't reinvent the wheel
It is a big challenge to write a game engine in
24 hours, so taking advantage of existing engines and libraries will save time
and effort. This also ties into your choice of tools - make sure they give you
the flexibility to use existing libraries. Cocos2D offers developers an easy to
use and flexible framework. The cocos2d-x project allows developers to target multiple
platforms and can be used with the Marmalade SDK for easy deployment to phones
and tablets.
Use flexible asset tools and pipelines
Use simple tools to create your assets quickly.
In 24 hours it is unlikely you will be able to create well-polished and
detailed assets, so use tools that are simple but flexible. Pyxeledit is a simple free tool for creating 2D images; Blender is a free tool that can be used to create 3D
assets.
Powerful debugging
Use a development environment that offers
powerful debugging tools that allow you to debug your code as it is running,
perhaps in a simulator. Visual Studio and XCode both offer powerful debugging
features and Marmalade provides a simulator environment for debugging.
Keep it simple
It is easy to get carried away when designing
your game for the hackathon. If you think something will take about four hours
it will probably take you the whole time available. Try to plan the work you
do, particularly when it comes to the time spent on creating assets. When
developing for mobile you might even consider using existing game code but
innovate using mobile specific features.
Statistics and study :-
Apps
are big business, and the biggest app business is games. In 2012, revenue
earned from apps will approach $10 billion, with games taking over 80% of the pie. The free-to-play business model , where
consumers download and play the “core loop” of a game for free, but then pay
for virtual goods and currency through micro-transactions, is the most prolific
business model in the new era of digital distribution. When it comes to app consumption on iOS and
Android smart devices, consumers spend over 40% of all their time using games.
Mobile Social Gamers: The New Mass-Market Powerhouse
As the growth of iOS and Android mobile devices continues to
explode, there is a tectonic shift in the landscape of video gaming, a medium
that continues to reach the most powerful spenders in the economy. Not only are these emerging platforms
attracting droves of existing gamers, but also spawning a new and highly
engaged audience: the mass-market mobile casual gamer. The era of marketing singularly to the 18 –
34 hardcore male gamer is officially over.
Given
the sheer size of the video game industry, this is a watershed moment. In January 2011, according to the NPD Group,
2010 worldwide video game revenue, excluding hardware, exceeded $15 billion. Strikingly, console game sales were down by
5% in 2010 over 2009. PC sales were up
slightly by 3%, primarily due the release of the latest StarCraft installment
by studio veteran Blizzard Entertainment. Hardcore gaming is facing competition
from more mass-market-friendly gaming apps on mobile devices. In particular, iOS is taking a bite out of
portable platforms.Below are two charts that demonstrate how age and gender
demographics vary between the traditional gaming audience and mobile social
gamers.
Reviewing
the charts, it’s clear that mobile social gaming is attracting a much stronger
female base, as well as a younger average user.
Among mobile social gaming, there is also greater density in the 18 – 49
year old bracket, which indicates that iOS and Android devices are attracting
users during their earning years versus, in particular, their teenage years,
where they likely cannot afford more expensive mobile devices.
Standard Mobile Game Development Tools and growth of Mobile
Development
Nowadays Cell phones are not only an interaction device;
they have appeared to be complete fun and enjoyment system with integrated
games, music, camera etc. Mobile game development is no more a niche and
limited area. Each day, mobile game designers are imparting ever interesting
and entertaining programs. Be it iPhone activities or for other devices, these
enjoyment programs have come a long way since the first activity Reptile made
its first appearance in the 1997.
One of the growing styles in the mobile market is the java
games. Nowadays, such programs are being launched with multi-player options
with some going 3D, which is being recognized as the standard of future
activities. Cellular game playing has thus become a multi-billion dollar
market. Gone are those times when mobile game playing intended a few fun programs
set up in the device. With increase in the handling abilities of cell phone,
mobile game playing has developed a lot.
Mobile Game Development
Tools
Maya- A preferred with designers around the world. Initially
used for movies, tv and PC activities it has created inroads into the mobile
game playing market as well. This foundation is known for producing amazing 3D
resources for activities.
UNITY- unity is a publishing device for developing 3D activities
or other entertaining material such as structural visualizations or real-time
3D animated graphics. It can be used for the iPhone activities as well as other
systems such as Search engines Android operating system.
Blender Game
Engine- This is an open-source extensive 3D
development package, used for making real-time entertaining material. It has
been published from the beginning in C++ as a mostly separate element, and
contains assistance for functions such as Python scripting and OpenAL 3D audio.
It can be used to make online questions.
Cocos2D- It is a free 2D structure being commonly used in mobile
game development. There are two editions, one published in Python and one
published in Purpose C focusing on iOS. The API comes incorporated with Box2D
and Chipmunk game engines
Flash Lite- Flash Lite allows customers to perspective multi-media
material. It is nothing but a less large edition of Display mainly objectives
cell phone gadgets with large visual handling abilities. Display activities can
be created suitable for the mobile foundation using Flash Lite.
Need of Mobile Game Applications in Modern World
Trapped in a traffic jam or getting tired in the office,
mobile phones can come to our save. Cellular activities have been one of the
best inclusions in our life. Today mobile activity growth is a
multimillion-dollar market. Mobile Game
designers break their minds to bring us
latest programs with enhanced experience and functions. Since the days of the reptile
activities, cell phone programs have come a long way. With enhanced device
functions and handling abilities, they are providing PC activities a run for
their money. Activities and activities programs have become the fashion of
today’s globe.
So, since the choice of the individuals keeps on modifying
the latest growth in mobile game enjoying market just seems to be the perfect
medication for the stay full of stress and stress. Seeing all these things one
thing is for sure that the market is going to be bombarded with the newest
programs and it will provide a very good option for the clients to choose
according to their need and need.
All about Making Money with Mobile App
Development
How the Mobile App Business can be Profitable
for the App Developer
With so many types of mobile devices and new mobile OS’
coming into the market today, app development is emerging more profitable than ever before. The app
developer, even about 5 years ago, had a limited choice of mobile OS’ such as
Windows Mobile, BlackBerry and Apple. But today, with the emergence of so many
new mobile platforms
and their different versions; also with the concept of cross-platform
formatting of apps getting more popular; the field of mobile app
development becomes a veritable treasure-trove for the developer to make a
decent sum of money every month, by way of creating mobile applications.
Highly
Profitable Business
All the major app stores such as the Apple App Store,
the Google Android
Market, RIM’s App World, the Nokia Ovi Store and so on, have already
made billions of dollars in terms of profit, over the last few years. Mobile
apps have now emerged as one of the easiest and best ways to advertise and sell
products and services, encourage social sharing of information and generally
encourage mobile users towards developing and maintaining brand loyalty.
The mobile app development market is vast and offers great
scope for app developers and companies to succeed beyond their expectation, by making
very little initial investment. Angry Birds is one great game app that has
maintained its immense popularity among the masses. While many other such apps
have been successful, this one has emerged a top-selling app,
by making the maximum amount of revenue for its creator, Rovio.
The Secret Formula of Mobile App Success
There are several thousands of popular apps
out there, which have been downloaded millions of
times by users. But very few among them are capable of generating the kind of
revenue that the biggest players did. The actual reason behind this has nothing
to do with the company’s lack of insight.
Quoting the example of Angry Birds once again, Rovio had
released a free version
of the app for the Android Market. This
version also came with an advertising bar on it and this is exactly where the
actual revenue came from. Today, the company still manages to earn much more
from these adverts rather than from the actual sales of the app.
Of course, the success of an
app depends upon the number of people
using it, as also amount of time they spend on it. Rovio is an established
company that has had years of app development experience behind it. The
developer team focused on trying to engage mobile
users, creating a game that would
encourage them to repeatedly use the app. The company came out with regular app
updates, also releasing free versions of the updates, which were eagerly lapped
up by its audience. Angry Birds is now much more than a mere mobile app – it is
now a brand name, which boasts of users from all over the world.
Using Mobile Social Sharing to Advantage
Developing mobile social
apps is a great way of achieving success in
the app marketplace. This encourages users to share the information
with their friends online, with very little extra effort on the part of the app
developer. Mobile services such as Facebook
and Twitter are the finest examples of such apps, which are a rage among the
current generation of users.While developing social
apps may not rake in massive returns, combining this with in-app purchasing
would be a great way for developers to attract much more revenue from their
app. As far as mobile social
gaming is concerned, the developer could
possibly offer users a completely ad-free version of the game at a nominal fee.
Certain games also make money by encouraging users to purchase virtual cash or
enhanced game themes for small sums of money. This technique, while effective,
also takes a lot of time and effort on the part of the app developer.
So You Want Your Game On The Mobile Market?
A Pro And Con Analysis.
You have a game and the fans love it.
Eventually they ask for a verso of it on their phones. Now you’re thinking
about pushing it in the mobile space. But is your game made for the mobile
market? Here is a quick con and pro analysis of some issue when porting to
mobile:
Cons:
1. Not Mobile friendly
Games made for pc, macs, and consoles have
a similar ways to play in terms of controls. This is very different from mobile
where the interaction comes from gestures and tilting. Can your game
efficiently use these controls?
2. Graphic/Gameplay Intensity
How much of the graphics or game-play
mechanics need to be revised to be mobile friendly? Smart phone are not all
bred for games and depending yon the market ou want to target in mobile, you’ll
have to make certain compromises to ensure quality assurance. This is
especially true for markets with a wide range of phone requirements,such as the
Android.
3. Standards of Gameplay
This is based off of an existing title, and
must meet the standards and expectations the original one made. That can
sometimes mean forcing some functionality and features to be included that
works on other platforms, but not for the mobile market.
4. Higher Expected Cost
Given the above description, will this game
be profitable in terms of the work involved? You will have to revisit certain
areas of your game to make it mobile compatible. It could even turn out to be
like developing a near different game.
Pros:
1. Exposure
More exposure is always good. Having
something on people’s phones is a good way to get people spreading the word
about your game.
2. Retention
What if I don’t have enough time to play
because I’ always on the go? Glad you guys have a mobile version. Now I can
have a play and keep my busy lifestyle.
3. Large Market
The amount of people with smart phones is
HUGE. enough said. Who wouldn’t want to expose their product to a rapidly
growing market?
4. Creativity in your games
You can also extend your games in ways to
enhance game-play of other platforms by using mobile as an extension of your
already included services. For example, you can have a shooting game on the PC
and a mobile game to increase your stats for when you return to the PC title.
Oh the possibilities…
5.Cross Promotion
Your
game is already selling o other platforms. One thing a phone app can suffer
from is limited exposure in the market. You can use your existing media to
cross promote your mobile version and vice versa. This can be used to increase
exposure and sales on both ends. The iPhone also has lots of ways to
cross-promote with other games as well.
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