The market for mobile games has a lot of potential. However, mobile game development is no walk in the park. While successful games like Angry Birds, Candy Crush and Clash of Clans among others have spurred developers to step into this games development foray, most games, however, do not become profitable. However, that does not mean you cannot try your luck. To help you try and beat the odds, we have compiled the essential steps you need to take to successfully develop a great mobile game. These are simple to follow and designed with the major reasons for mobile game failures in mind. According to research, most mobile games fail because they lack creativity and innovation; they have no engaging features; they fail to use interesting monetization tactics and user acquisition techniques and finally, employ complicated gameplay. Below are steps and tips to follow to avoid falling victim to these mistakes.
Work on Your Idea
In the world of mobile game development, having game development skills without an idea is a recipe for failure. Ideation is the most crucial and most complex stage in the creation of a successful mobile game. To do this, game app developers need to think of something that is engaging and innovative. You can also improvise existing ideas such as in the case of Candy Crush.
Excellent Story Telling Technique
For a game to be successful, you need to give tour players a purpose or a goal for them to play and finish the game. Fortunately, unlike in creating an idea, telling your story is not hard and the formula involves identifying the hero and villain, their strengths and weaknesses, why they are at loggerheads and how the hero can become victorious. This will make your players intrigued and invested in playing your game.
Engage the Players
You would not play a boring game now, would you? Another step into the mobile game development success is to make your game easy, fun to play, addictive and with a lot of unlockable content. This targets user acquisition and retention.
A Great Platform
Finally, once you have your idea, story and way to engage and retain users, the next step is to identify the platforms your game will be based on. At this point in time, you probably have to choose between Android and iOS or even go for a hybrid model. This depends on your target market and where the most profitable players lie.
Design, Monetization, and Technology
This part is important as it involves the characters, appearance, and story. It can be flat, comic style or 3D but ensure the design weight is kept to a minimum without compromising on user experience. Then create a monetization strategy, whether in-app purchases, premium versions, or ads. Finally, choose between native, HTML5 and hybrid development processed as your main design tools. Once you have gone through these steps, you can then engage appropriate, experienced developers to work with in making your idea a successful mobile game.