As you probably are aware already, video games are rather popular in the modern-day. Whether or gaming consoles, personal computers, or mobile devices, there are some of the most intriguing and fan-favorite pastime activities, for younger and older generations alike. Games can be both challenging and quite complex, and easy and simple. Depending on what kind of fun you enjoy, you have a lot of freedom to pick and choose what you like.
When it comes to the latter type, they are also much easier to develop and make. If you have a dream to develop such a game, you have come to the right place. The main advantages of a simple mobile game are the comparative ease of project implementation for the developers themselves, quick immersion, and quick “emergence” for users.
Every single video game starts at the same type of place, with an idea of a game designer or a developer who has a rough plan that needs fine-tuning to become real. It is this idea that goes a certain way before it turns out to be a finished product. But not every idea can go this way to the end and many fail at one of the many crucial stages of the process.
According to statistics, less than 1% of all games that started launching have actually reached a commercial launch and therefore became successful and returned some of the investment. Most novice developers often mistakenly believe that the idea of the game is the main thing. But an idea becomes a value only when the following two conditions are met. First of all, it has to be at least in the form of primary documentation, and secondly, you have to assemble a team that can bring this idea to life.
The process of mobile game development also includes these four important stages:
- Preparation
- Pre-production
- Production
- Release
Preparation
The preparation stage includes the formation of an idea and the whole vision, the search for a strategy, a preliminary analysis of the market, the search and formation of a team, the choice of management methodologies for mobile game development. Basically, you start with every single detail that you need in order to take the project off the ground and into the initial form.
Market analysis is one of the most important stages in the preparation of every business and any idea. The key is understanding your audience and finding the model customer. Who will play your game and who will find it worthy of their time? Why will it stand out in the ever-saturated and challenging market? These questions need to be answered precisely at the preparatory stage, otherwise after the release of the game it may turn out that it is not interesting to anyone and that you have a product that completely lacks an audience.
Vision is the most important thing you have at the initial stage of development. A good vision occupies one A4 page, which should contain a description of the game first and foremost. This includes the platform, the genre, the story and the setting, a distribution model, a short gameplay description, all the main features and mechanics, and player goals. Furthermore, there should be references, USP (1 killer feature + 2-3 unique/new features, etc.) As for mobile game development cost, it is created on the base of the difficulty of the game and how much time and resources are needed. Additionally, the size of the team also dictates the price.
Pre-production
The stage of pre-production includes preparation of documentation, a concept, the list of features, art-style documents and descriptions, a rough budget, a complete business plan, a project plan, adaptation and “work” of the team, and building processes. The most irreplaceable document is of course the concept, which later “grows” into a game design document. The budget and the business plan should not be neglected either, since without them it will be difficult to understand how much you earned from selling the game, whether it is profitable for you to sell the game for the amount that the interested publisher will offer, and similarly important financial aspects. The result of pre-production is a prototype of the game, also known as the demo version of your game, which serves for demonstration purposes.
Production
Obviously, the production is the development of itself and it encompasses all the technological and intellectual work that the team does on a daily basis, during their work hours. In addition, the preparation of documentation (game design document, marketing plan, promotion plan) and day-to-day project management happen at this time. Furthermore, solving problems that arise, adjusting plans and installations from preproduction are all to be expected on a weekly basis. The result of this stage is a version of the game, not yet final, but already ready for demonstration to users, as well as potential investors looking to get in on the fun and perhaps fund your other projects in the future.
Release
This is what all developers strive for and what the ultimate goal of every video game project is. Therefore, the release period is one of the most important things for the project. Will the audience see it, what marks will the game receive from the specialized press, will it be possible to count on the platform’s support? To do everything possible for the game to get its “start in life” is the task of marketing at this stage. The final stage includes polishing the game to the final version, optimization for various devices, versions of the game for different platforms, and publishing the game in stores. The result of this stage is the final version of the game available in stores. What should also be mentioned is that the initial month or so after the release still require constant work on your side in order to make sure everything is running smoothly and that the customer base is happy with the product.
Game design and creativity in game development
What is the difference between game design and production? What is the role of game design in making games? What are the benefits and harms of creativity?
Game ideologist
Many people who ask how to make a mobile game think that games are invented and made by game designers, but this is not so. The game’s ideologist is the producer. The main tasks of the producer are to provide everything you need to create a game, attract resources (money, people, time), have a clear vision and plan for achieving goals, bring the project to release and commercial success. It is the producer who makes all the key decisions on the game but bears full responsibility for the result and quality of the project https://kevurugames.com/blog/mobile-game-development-cost-factors-influencing-cost-and-clear-estimates/.
Game designer
A game designer is a person who does everything at once, so he is the one who knows how to create a mobile game. This is a rare specialist who needs to have experience and knowledge in almost all areas, but one need not be a professional in each of them. The game designer implements the producer’s vision, writes and updates the GD documentation, calculates the characteristics, balance, and economics of the game, participates in the development of the plot / ENT, narrative, develops technical specifications for other specialists, controls the execution of these tasks, configures the product, creates tools, participates in work on level design, testing. When the game designer and the game ideologist are on the same page with everyone else, and when al the operations run smoothly, the game is always guaranteed commercial success.
