Mobile game development has witnessed a spike in recent years. This surge is primarily due to advancements in mobile technology, low-cost high-speed internet, and earning opportunities offered by the play-to-earn-model of the games. Building a mobile game application is a profitable venture and its future certainly looks promising.
This is mainly due to advanced technologies like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. With such evolving technologies around for help, developers can craft innovative games like League of Legends, Angry Birds, Among Us or Grand Theft Auto V. But this also increases the challenges for developers. We need to first understand that game development is a complex process and the challenges involved in it are real. If you are curious to discover the top seven challenges faced by mobile game app developers, please read on.
We might have many game development ideas. But it’s important to understand the market demand first. Ignoring this variable may cause product failure in the market. Various tools provide information across factors like demand, audience, lifespan, and earning potential of the product. Sometimes, one may start with the idea assuming it to be an ice breaker. But it often ends up becoming a very complex game that does not meet the market requirements.
Being flexible is the key here. You can develop the core functionalities and launch a beta version of the game to see the response. Based on the market and audience response, you can make necessary changes to the design, flow, and interface. Hence, this is one of the most important steps i.e to identify the game concept that aligns with the market demand and audience preferences.
When developing a game application, it is extremely important for mobile game app developers to understand the target audience. Though it is difficult for a developer to research and analyze the market, you don’t want to develop something that does not have enough market and users. Hence as a developer, it is crucial to know the regional taste, target age group, and trending games. We can use online survey tools to get this information. Another concern is how to make the game visible in the marketplace. You can use social media, ad campaigns, Play Store, App Store, and influence marketing to publish your game.
Making your product visible is one of the tedious tasks for the developers. Most of us might have seen how a good product could not make it to the mainstream merely due to bad marketing strategies. Once you have marketed the game, the next step is to tweak your marketing strategy to grab the attention of the users.
Each operating system has its software development kit and set of rules. But that does not mean you will have to design a game for each operating system separately. There are many cross-platform utilities like MOSync, Unity, and PhoneGap that can make your game work on multiple operating systems. Scaling up your business at the right time is very important. You keep your expenses constant but grow your business. Mobile game app developers must constantly work on game logic to make it cross-platform, user-friendly, and adapt to scalability. To maintain the interest of the audience, developers must focus on resolving the issues related to bugs and SDK updates.
To play a mobile game, you need to provide personal information. This personal data must be kept safe. It is the responsibility of the mobile game development company to ensure the security of that data. To avoid unauthorized access or fraudulent activities, encryption methods can be deployed for peer-to-peer communication. Hence, in case a user loses the device, he or she should be able to continue playing the game from other devices without losing any of the content. To achieve this, game developers must understand various encryption techniques. Also, it is extremely important to understand the trade-off between security and performance.
Technology is constantly evolving and even the unique products have become dormant. This is one of the most critical challenges for any game developer. It would be our immaturity to consider our product value and demand to remain the same. And for this very reason the lifespan of the games in the marketplace is shrinking considerably.
No game can sustain the market variation using the same old business model. Also, once a game is launched, the developer needs to pay attention to tweaking and adding/removing features. This is the reason why it is a constant process to update the features to align with the market for regular maintenance assessment. If this aspect is left unattended, the game is gradually going to become dormant and lose its user base. Hence, this periodic maintenance is vital for the sustainability of the game.
Revenue generation is key to the growth and life span of the game. There are a lot of marketing strategies that can be used. Developers may find initial hurdles in deciding the best model for monetization of the mobile game.
Based on the game type, platform, and target audience, you can decide on the monetization model. In-app purchases are offered by many mobile game companies. The CPI model is best suited for iOS whereas advertisements generate revenue for Android games.
Mobile game development is an innovative task. Be it a simple Space Invaders type game or a complex multiplayer game like the World of Tanks, it requires patience to transform an idea into a tangible product. Mobile game app developers need to understand the market and possess good technical skills to make a huge difference. Hence, outsourcing mobile game development will always be a thoughtful decision.
If you want to convert your innovative game idea into an exciting mobile game app, consider Juego Studios. Juego Studios has a seasoned team that consciously follows agile methodology, and multiple engagement models, and relies on flexible communication to deliver the end product on time. Go through the game development service section of Juego Studios on the website. Juego Studios have created many viral mobile game apps and have collaborated with many reputed companies including the ones on the Fortune 500 list.