Did you know that Google Play and Apple store recorded 14.4 billion mobile game downloads in 2022’s first quarter? With an active gamer base of over 2.2 billion worldwide, the mobile games industry is on a growth trajectory with an estimated revenue of $103.5 billion. This is why more and more companies are focusing on game app development to attract, engage and retain their customers. The gaming trend that started, due to COVID’19, to mitigate the stress and boredom of being locked at home is here to stay. Currently, the mobile gaming industry is worth $300 billion! Players spend more than 16 hours a week playing games and over 8 hours participating in gaming competitions and streams. But with so much happening in gaming, what are the things one should know and understand before diving into mobile game development? This article will look into all steps you need to know and understand to start your mobile game app development process.
Market Research
Study the mobile game market. Understand the gamers’ perspective and learn their behavior. Dive into what games are popular, why people like playing them, and how long gamers spend on a certain game. Create a question list: Which game genre is the most popular? What games are most popular? Why do people prefer a particular game genre? How much time do gamers spend on that game genre? What kind of graphics can we use? What type of characters do gamers find interesting? By answering such questions, you can better understand and, in some cases, come up with your game idea. You can analyze an existing game and make tweaks and changes to improve it or come up with something completely different. In any case, knowing about the market and your audience is crucial for mobile games.
Game Idea and It’s Story
Once you’ve answered all the questions, it’s time to refine your game ideas; you don’t need an innovative or creative idea. Start with basics and work your way to make it into a super cool one. Try to make the gaming experience as good as possible. It’s what keeps gamers coming back. The gameplay story is super vital in mobile game development. Educate your potential gamers about the purpose and features of your game, what characters they can play with, the game levels, and the rewards for each stage. For instance, what will they get if they complete a level with a 3-star or 5-star rating? Remember, the story is the key to keeping them hooked and playing longer.

The Game Plan
Your game plan can make or break your game. A proper game plan can help you steer in the right direction and keep you in line with your game idea. Think of the technicalities of your game. Is it a 2d game or a 3d game? What will be the art style of your play? Do you want a ghibli/anime-style game or a cartoon/low-poly-style game? Keep a detailed log of what you want and how you want to execute it. You can also look into the monetization strategy for your game, it’s not mandatory to implement it right away, but it will help later. Trust us that the work log will help you in the long run.
Development and Publishing Platform
Now that the game plan is ready. What platform do you want to create your game on? Android or iOS? You can start with one platform and then work your way to make for the other platforms. In this situation, if your game is developed on Android, you will not need to change it according to the Apple store guidelines to publish it for iOS users. However, creating a cross-platform will save you the hassle of revisiting and tweaking the development process for the other platform. Thanks to the advancement in game development. Now there are multiple development platforms that you can use to develop your game. These platforms take out the hassle of coding, which helps you concentrate on the creative side of your game.
Unity
Unity is free to use and is considered one of the best software among mobile game developers. The platform has a user-friendly interface and offers amazing photographic effects and other creative tools like collaboration, rendering, and next-gen runtime. Moreover, it covers the following platforms: Tizen OS, Windows, Fire OS, and Android. Unity also offers paid versions like plus, pro, and enterprise versions.
AppGame Kit
AppGame is another game development platform based on the analogous coding language C++. The best feature of AppGame is that it’s a cross-platform development tool which means that games created with it can quickly be released on different platforms, Androids, iOS, and Windows phones. It is paid software with different pricing options.
Gamemaker Studio 2
With Gamemaker Studio 2 you can create an entire game by just using its drag-and-drop feature. But it gives developers a lot of flexibility with its Game Maker Language. It gives you the leverage to export your game for any platform, Play station, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Android, Windows, Mac, iOS, and others, without changing or tweaking the code. Currently, it is the most active and popular game development software available.
Build Your Mobile Game
Before you go into full-blown development, it is always wise to create an MVP. The MVP should have all the vital components or mechanics of the game in place. Although this process can be time-consuming, it is better to identify and improve any design or control errors in the MVP stage. After the MVP is good to go, you can start the actual development process. In this stage, try to create an experience that transforms players’ traditional gaming experience by putting your creativity on display. Once everything is figured out and documented, work on making an app back-end that focuses on the technologies, functionalities, experience, features, etc.
Execute Your Mobile Game Graphics
You’ve already decided what type of game you want to build in the planning stage, 2d or 3d. The question is whether you want to create the graphics or hire a game designer. With software like 3ds Max, Maya, or Photoshop, you can easily create your game graphics. But we suggest you hire a professional to handle this time and resource-consuming task. Outsourcing your game design and development can be more cost-effective than creating a game in-house.
Elevate Your Game
Great! Now that you’ve completed the game, it is time to refine it and create an enjoyable player experience. You can make a few tweaks to enhance the user experience and ensure gamers love it. Make sure the graphics don’t pixelate The game controls are intuitive Add sound effects Testing is important to deliver a good game
Releasing The Game
Don’t try to make the perfect game. The perfect game doesn’t exist; that’s why we see so many game updates now and then. Test and refine the game to your best abilities and release it. Once your game has its audience, they will better guide you on what to improve so you can send updates accordingly. Or even introduce new features or levels. Just remember to follow the guidelines of Apple and Google Play store in the development process.
Want to have your mobile game idea developed?
Here at Vimapps, we have seasoned game developers and designers to help you with your mobile game development needs. Our experts have decades of experience designing and creating mobile games with a fantastic user and player experience. From ideation to execution, we take the hassle out of your hands and give you a final product that drives results. See our latest works here.