Mobile phones are a crucial part of our daily lives, and so are mobile applications. There is a surge in mobile applications, and millions of apps are available for serving various purposes of different industries.
Mobile game development involves three significant steps, which are as follows:
- Pre-production processes
- Production processes
- Post-production processes
These are the three significant steps involved in the mobile game development process, and each of them consists of some sequence of steps.
Pre-production:
This is the initial stage of the game development process and starts with having an excellent idea for the game app development solution. It is the foundation for the entire app development process as the significant steps involved in this phase are the backbone provider for the mobile app development process. The significant steps that are involved in the process are as follows:
Requirement Gathering –
This is the first step in the pre-production process that involves gathering the requirements based on the target audience’s needs and expectations. Based on detailed market research, further decisions are taken on the app development’s final results and the right platform and budget. The game’s significant aspects are then decided precisely, including the gaming mechanics, story, game design, UI and UX, gaming engine, and much more.
Further, in this stage, it is also decided what the preferred platform for the target audience is, and this helps in selecting the first platform for which the app development is required. Preferably, most games are now developed as a cross-platform one, as they fit the users’ varying needs.
UI/UX Designing –
After gathering all the details about the target audience’s requirements, we move on to the UI and UX designing phase. Using the latest and trendy design tools, eye-catching and interactive UI/UX is done to make the application more appealing.
Prototype generation –
As the designing phase completes in the pre-production step, the prototype is developed for the application. Developing the prototype is done using the recently available tools to ease the task. This ensures that the clients can check for the right model suited for the target users. There is effective testing carried for the prototype, which eventually leads to the app developer’s correct solution. It also helps find the profit that every model might inculcate, thus reaching out to the best model.
Production (Game development) –
As the plan action gets ready, and all the designing part is completed, the next step is the final production completion. It is the time to start the development to get the final product for the requirement. The development begins on a priority basis, like starting with the significant modules first and then the other add-on features. The team begins with the development, designing special buttons and characters, and other navigation features to make the game the best one!
The production phase also involves adding the graphics, animations, sounds, and other mechanics on how the game will work. The games can affect both 2D and 3D experience and can be of any genre. Thus the development team must be well-versed in using multiple tools and the development of different types of games.
According to the clients’ needs and the platform that the target audience prefers, the development is prioritized. First, the game development begins for the platform with a higher preference and then the one with a lower priority.
Post-Production –
This is the final and last stage for mobile game development. It involves various steps that the different experts perform. After completing the development, we decide on the monetization mechanic and do the testing before deploying the app stores’ final product.
App Monetization:
Several monetization mechanics are useful for different types of apps and games. After thorough market research, it is clear that the best monetization mechanic for the game is under development. Then we move on to integrating the right monetization model with the game or app under development. We choose from the range of best monetization mechanics, including ad monetization, freemium model, premium model, in-app purchase, and hybrid model.
Testing and Quality Assurance:
The final application or game will only attract more users and influence them to get back to it now and then if only the game is free of bugs. There must be no issues with the game, and it runs smoothly on any device.
Testing and quality assurance are done on various levels during and after the development to ensure no issues in the final product. Additionally, multiple people are involved in these activities to ensure that none of the bugs are left untouched, and all the problems are timely tracked and eradicated.
Marketing the Game and Doing the Optimization:
The next step is to perform the search engine optimization before submitting the final game to the app stores. Along with the optimization, it is essential to do the proper marketing for the game to acquire it. The marketing campaign that you run must be beneficial to attract the users, and it must also adequately reach the target audience.
The marketing mechanic must fascinate the users and influence them towards downloading and accessing the game. Decide the perfect platforms that most users access, which is successful in attracting more customers for the given service or application. Before developing the marketing campaign, the key points that must be taken note of are as follows:
- It must have a catchy headline.
- There must be some relevant keywords present over there.
- The images must also be eye-catching.
- There must be social sharing buttons present to help it reach more number of people.
- The CTAs must be placed smartly.
In the modern era, since more people are engaged with digital platforms and social media platforms, digital and social media marketing is a preferable mechanic. However, too much use must design everything precisely to reach out to more people and fascinate and influence them.
Deployment:
Now the final stage is the deployment of the game in the app or Google play store. Doing so helps make sure that more users can access the download links and access the game without facing any issues.