Mobile game development services are one of the cornerstone offerings of the Magic Media group. Though PC and console games have a significant share of the gaming market, mobile gaming is massively successful and continues to grow in popularity year after year. As such, Magic Media is proud to offer mobile game development services for all our clients regardless of project scope and genre.
No two mobile game development projects are the same, but through our extensive experience, Magic Media has developed a broad approach to these projects that can be modified as needed depending on our client’s project requirements. Bolstered by the expertize of the Magic Media Mobile Studio, we’re ready and willing to take on mobile game development projects of all shapes and sizes.
Continue reading our ultimate guide below to learn more about the mobile game development process, what is mobile game development, Magic Media’s perspective as a mobile game development company, and more.
Preparing for Mobile Game Development Projects
The first step for Magic Media on the mobile game development services journey is to gather as much information about the project as possible. We need to clearly define critical aspects of the game, such as its genre, target platforms, target audience, monetization strategy, and much more. Additionally, the success of mobile games often depends on user retention. We consider this part of our mobile game development services and craft strategies related to marketing and gameplay incentives to keep players engaged.
Understanding target platforms, in particular, is crucial information we need to understand from the beginning of a project. Despite the similarities between iOS and Android games, each operating system has different requirements and considerations we know intimately well. For iOS mobile game development, Apple requires using tools like Xcode and TestFlight. Android tends to be more lenient with its requirements, and development is compatible with Windows and Linux PCs, but this also necessitates critical decision-making on our part to decide on the best tools possible to deliver Android games.
Mobile Game Development Testing and Platform Requirements
Compared to their console and PC game counterparts, mobile games require particular attention due to their relative lack of power compared to other platforms and the requirement for rapid testing across a wide range of mobile devices.
Mobile games need to be playable on multiple devices, both new and old, so they require rigorous fast-paced testing to ensure smooth performance across the board. Magic Media has a two-pronged approach to testing mobile games, leveraging the talent of our technical artists and quality assurance testers. Our technical artists work on assets to compress textures and use LOD (Level of Detail) models to ensure smooth performance without compromising visual fidelity. They play a crucial role in adhering to performance constraints.
Our QA team is an essential part of the mobile game development process. They identify code inefficiencies and bugs and regularly test features and performance across many devices of varying power and screen sizes. This compatibility testing consists of testing across mid-range and high-end mobile devices to ensure smooth performance. Extensive user experience testing is undertaken to identify issues related to lag, user inputs, gameplay fluidity, and anything else that could negatively impact the player’s experience.
Performance profiling is a crucial part of the mobile game development process. Our QA team works diligently to monitor performance and identify possible bottlenecks in GPU, CPU, or memory usage. Once these issues have been identified, our quality assurance department sends detailed reports to the development team so they can be resolved.
Mobile Game Development Considerations
Working within the realm of mobile game development necessitates certain requirements regardless of the game’s genre. User-friendly UI is critical to a trouble-free user experience. Considering the limited screen space afforded by mobile device screens, especially compared with TV screens and computer monitors, we believe making the most of the space available is paramount in providing our mobile game development services. Most mobile games need to rely on their touchscreens for players to interact with their game, so they must be well laid out and easy to understand.
Online connectivity is a primary concern for some mobile games. Slot machine games, for instance, require seamless online functionality to provide stable real-time interactions in multiplayer games. In our experience, even the most seemingly simple mobile games, such as multiplayer word games, require painstaking diligence to provide stable connectivity. Depending on the game’s genre, further considerations are related to gameplay logic, mathematical equations, and real-time data synchronization.
Developing Mobile Games for Android and iOS
Android and iOS game development are not just cornerstones of the mobile game development industry but significant parts of game development as a whole. Games for both mobile operating systems occupy a large portion of the gaming space. Despite their outward similarities, there are significant differences between Android and iOS mobile game development.
Though both are mobile platform operating systems, the tools, rules, regulations, and processes for developing games for either platform have some stark differences while also possessing many similarities.
Differences in Development
Android game development primarily uses Java or Kotlin programming language, whereas in iOS game development, developers can expect to use Swift or Objective-C. The difference in language is crucial as they’re fundamentally different languages and demand expertize from respective developers. Though an experienced developer will understand the fundamentals, writing code for a mobile game development project as cleanly as possible requires in-depth knowledge of the languages mentioned.
A critical consideration for Android game development projects is the wide variety of screen sizes that Android devices come in. Due to the sheer variety, this can make testing and optimization more challenging and time-consuming. This is less of a concern with iOS game development, where Apple devices come in far fewer forms and screen sizes.
It’s also important to note that both Android game development and iOS mobile game development projects are subject to different rules and guidelines on their respective app marketplaces. Apple’s App Store tends to be more exact in its rules and regulations for app submissions, whereas the Google Play Store is considered by many to be more lenient. Understanding the approval process and rules is equally important outside the expertize required for developing the actual game.
Similarities in Android and iOS Mobile Game Development
Despite some notable differences in iOS and Android game development, there are numerous similarities when it comes to any mobile game development project. Both Android and iOS game development projects are widely supported by many popular game engines, most notably Unreal Engine and Unity. This is helpful for developers working on Android and iOS cross-platform development mobile game development projects who can work from a single codebase that can be deployed on both platforms.
Another advantageous similarity is that both Android and iOS games require touch-based interactions. Though developers working on Android game development projects need to be more aware of screen sizes for testing and optimization purposes, the method of interaction for players remains the same. However, refinements would be needed to support screen sizes for various Android and Apple devices, this means that a single design is needed for both iOS and Android game development projects, which can be adapted depending on device needs.
Benefits of Developing for Both Operating Systems
The challenge of developing for both Android and iOS systems is arguably outweighed by the potential benefits. Android and iOS, by far, have the largest shares in the mobile gaming market, making both platforms the most sensible targets for mobile game development projects. Releasing a mobile for both iOS and Android isn’t a guarantee of success, but it can greatly increase the chances of it because of the significance of their combined mobile market share.
Furthermore, releasing a mobile game on iOS and Android provides more revenue streams and more opportunities for financial success. Like console and PC titles, mobile gamers are more than willing to pay for high-quality gaming experiences. Even for free games, cross-releasing mobile titles on both Android and iOS opens up opportunities for success through microtransactions and consistent live operation efforts.
Mobile Game Development and the Magic Media Team
Mobile game development is a complex process that involves a well-oiled team working together to deliver high-quality experiences. At Magic Media, we’ve had the opportunity to work on a diverse range of mobile projects and learn from each of those experiences, refining our knowledge and helping us cultivate an innate understanding of how to deliver second-to-none games.
Collaboration is key in delivering mobile game development services, and the importance of having a team of experienced and talented individuals cannot be overstated. At Magic Media, we work as one team that we construct in a curated manner with the best-suited people for any given mobile game development project.
Our approach is fluid, ensuring our team is always built from members with the most relevant skills and experience to bring mobile game development projects to life. Throughout the lifecycle of mobile game development projects, we’ll scale our team appropriately, meaning, that if more help is needed, we add further team members possessing the skills required and positively contribute to the collaborative nature of our work.
Clients and Mobile Game Development
From the outset of every mobile game development project that we’re part of, we aim to understand our client’s requirements and vision as early as possible. We immediately establish communication pipelines to ensure our clients can communicate with us as often as they need to at their convenience, and to facilitate regular meetings to discuss the project’s particulars and progress. After gaining an understanding of their goals for the mobile game development project, we devise several potential creative avenues before deciding on a direction with our client.
Thanks to our experience as a mobile game development services provider, among development services for other platforms, we’re more than comfortable taking on an advisory role to help your mobile games realize their full potential. From suggesting changes to game mechanics to art style changes and user experience tweaks, we’re happy to consult on these projects to bring them to the next level.
User Experience and Mobile Game Development
User experience is an essential part of any game regardless of platform, but for mobile game development projects in particular, we emphasize the importance of UX to a high degree. Mobile devices primarily use touch screens for player inputs and mobile devices come in various screen sizes on both iOS and Android. Our goal is always for players to be able to navigate gameplay and menus with ease, necessitating us to spend ample time designing and testing interactions, assuring the quality of the user experience regardless of the player’s mobile device.
Technical Expertize in Mobile Game Development
Bringing mobile games to life is no easy feat, but we use several industry-standard tools to help us exceed client expectations. Some tools will be familiar names to many, including Unreal Engine and Unity, but for mobile game development, there are specific tools that are indispensable to our work.
Mobile devices feature many different versions of iOS and Android, different hardware configurations across manufacturers, and many further notable differences. Debugging tools are exceptionally valuable for mobile game development to provide us with insights into how the game’s code is performing and to identify inefficiencies. Profiler tools help us gain insights at runtime and to understand CPU usage. Memory snapshots are valuable for understanding memory usage, identifying problem areas, and resolving these issues to ensure top-notch performance across a wide range of mobile devices.
Cross-Platform Game Development and Mobile Projects
Mobile game development continues to evolve in the modern gaming industry, with mobile platforms becoming increasingly attractive to developers for their increasing power, cloud streaming solutions, and portability. Mobile games have progressed significantly from their humble origins as simple puzzle games to viable platforms that can run classics and AAA games.
Many developers choose to include mobile as part of cross-platform game development projects, where games are created to be released on multiple different platforms. Though game porting projects are still viable, choosing to develop your game for mobile at the same time as other platforms can be beneficial.
Cross-Platform Game Development Instead of Porting
Choosing to do a game porting project at a later time can be a time-consuming process. Though engaging in cross-platform game development can extend the overall game development cycle, This saves time in the long term. While the game is being actively created, it makes sense to develop it with mobile in mind rather than revisiting it later and needing to refamiliarize with its code and assets before even considering the work required to adapt it for mobile devices.
Cross-platform game development including mobile platforms is also beneficial for the greater sense of community and inclusion surrounding a game’s release. Mobile releases often come later than console and PC launches, so simultaneously releasing all versions of a game, including mobile, can help improve the sense of community, especially for mobile gamers. A later release date risks diluting the potential reach to mobile gamers and dividing the community.
Mobile as part of cross-platform game development projects is a wise investment. Some people with busy personal lives or other commitments prefer to use mobile because it facilitates quick play sessions and advantageous portability. Allowing a game to be accessible on mobile from day one maximizes its reach and potential revenue.
Mobile-Specific Considerations
Cross-platform game development projects including mobile are subject to the same considerations as any mobile game development process. Mobile devices are simply not as powerful as consoles and PCs, meaning that development studios will almost always need to downgrade visual fidelity for the mobile version. In some circumstances, where the game is accessible to players through cloud streaming solutions, this isn’t the case. Without downgrading the visuals for a game’s mobile version, developers risk significant performance issues that could render the game unplayable and harm the studio’s reputation.
Further adjustments are required for mobile games, most notably input methods. Consoles and PCs use controllers and keyboard and mouse setups, whereas mobile devices primarily use their native touchscreens. This necessitates adjusting UI elements, screen resolution, and screen usage to refine touchscreen controls and ensure a comfortable experience for players.
Cross-Platform Game Development is Efficient
Engaging in cross-platform game development as one development cycle saves time as opposed to game porting projects, where subsequent development cycles are required further down the line to launch games on different platforms. This proves to be a cost-effective method of getting your game on mobile and other platforms without dramatically increasing the workload or financial resources required.
Cross-platform game development projects can also be highly beneficial for your game’s marketing efforts. Simultaneously releasing on multiple platforms means that one cohesive marketing strategy for all platforms can be devised. Promoting each game version concurrently means saving resources in the long term, rather than crafting many separate marketing plans for releases at different times.
Magic Media is your one-stop solution for your game development projects on all platforms, in addition to services for the entertainment and tech industries. Whether you need full-cycle game development services, game porting, or the dozens of others we offer, contact us today, and let’s create magic!
