Mobile Games are the top-grossing apps on both Google’s Play and Apple’s App Store. The global mobile games market generated $7.7 billion from player spending across the App Store and Google Play in August 2021, marking an increase of 8.6 percent year-over-year (SENSORTOWER).
In this short article, we will guide you through step by step the general process of developing a mobile game, monetizing, and deploying it. For Diana’s sake, let’s quickly jump in.
BASIC TOOLS
You will need a computer and install a development Environment (Software to develop your mobile game). You will also need a real or virtual device to test your game.
Next, determine what kind of a game you need, write down the general game flow, character features, game logic, etc. This will help you to ascertain whether you need an extra software (e.g. animation software).
PLATFORM | OS TARGET
You need to decide whether you want your mobile game to run on Android Devices or IOS Devices or both. If you are developing for IOS, you will need a Mac and Xcode, if on the other hand, you are developing for Android, you will need Android Studio installed on your computer.
DEVELOPING A MOBILE GAME
Now that you have all the basic tools ready, it’s time to start developing your mobile game.
If you want to develop any serious game, you must be familiar with at least one programming language used in mobile game development. This can be C/C++, C#, Python, Lua, or Javascript. Familiarity with a programming language will help you develop a more specific and custom mobile game. You will need to be familiar with a game engine as well.
Can web developers make video games? Find out.
GAME ENGINES
A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games, and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. A game engine lays the software framework to build and create video games.
They provide features from animation to artificial intelligence. Game engines are responsible for rendering graphics, collision detection, memory management, and many more options.
Some of the most popular Game Engines includes Unreal, Unity, A-Frame (VR), Cocos2D, Panda3D, and many others. Unity and Unreal are the two widely used and most recommended Game Engines.
UNITY GAME ENGINE
Unity is beginner-friendly and highly recommended for beginners, it uses C# programming Language for development and has a drag and drop feature. You can also use assets developed by other developers on the Unity Asset Store to quicken your development.
Unity can help you develop games for Android, IOS, Playstation, Windows, Xbox, Tizen, Fire OS, VR hardware, etc.
Some of the notable games made with Unity include Tempo Run, Subway Surfers, Robocraft, Angry Birds Epic, Sonic Dash, Fallout shelter, Lara Croft Go, Marvel Future Fight, Pokemon Go, Super Mario Run, Star Trek Timelines, and many others too numerous to mention. Check out more games Made with Unity
UNREAL GAME ENGINE
Unreal uses C++ Programming Language. It also includes a drag and drop feature to make development easier. Many free and priced assets are available at the Unreal Engine Marketplace.
Unreal Engine games have amazing graphics and performance. You can develop Android, IOS, Windows, Xbox, Playstation, etc. mobile games using Unreal Engine.
Some of the notable games made with Unreal Engine include Batman Arkham, Demons Score, Dreamscape, Mortal Kombat, Wild Blood, WWE Immortals, World War Z, Xcom2, and many others.
MONETIZATION
Once your mobile game has been developed, it is time to make money from it. There are many monetization strategies that can be used. The most popular ones are In-app-purchases, in-app-advertisement (especially rewarded ads), and subscriptions.
PUBG Mobile has grossed 1.18 billion US Dollars in the first nine months of the year 2021 (Statista), nearly all of that amount came from in-app purchases.
There are many monetization methods that you can explore HERE.
You can integrate ad networks in your mobile game to provide ads, these include Google Admob, Unity ads, and many others.
DEPLOYMENTS
Once you are done developing your mobile game, you can deploy it to Google Plays for Android users or to Apple’s App Store for IOS users. You will need to create a Google Developer account in order to deploy to Google Play, you need to pay a one-time fee of $25.
If you want to deploy to Apple’s App Store, you will need a developer account at $99/year.
That’s it, It’s done, it’s time for the world to play your mobile game.
