GOING MOBILE WITH CROSS-PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT
The mobile gaming industry continues to grow year after year, making it a more appealing choice to release games for many developers and publishers. Releasing games on mobile platforms is commonplace within the modern gaming industry, as mobile devices have progressed past their humble beginnings running simple monochrome puzzle games.
Game Development
Developing your game for mobile platforms simultaneously with console or PC releases can be a beneficial process in numerous ways. With the growing mobile gaming audience, there is a higher chance for a return on investment than ever before. Though there might be a temptation to port your titles to mobile at a later time, concurrent development can be a great opportunity.
Cross-Platform Development Instead of Porting
Porting at a later stage after a game’s initial release can be a time-consuming process. Though developing for mobile at the same time as PC and console platforms can extend the overall length of the development cycle, this will ultimately save time in the long run. While the game is actively being worked on, it makes more sense to develop with mobile in mind rather than having to revisit the title later and the team needing to re-familiarize themselves with its code and assets.
Cross-platform development
The release onto mobile with other platforms can also be beneficial for the sense of community and inclusion around the game. With mobile being such a popular gaming platform, your title will reach more people from day one. A later, separate release on mobile devices could hamper its potential reach and create a sense of division within the community between players depending on their platform of choice.
Mobile platforms are preferred by many people with busy personal, professional, and family lives who can’t commit to using PCs and consoles. Making your title accessible to this important demographic from day one of its lifecycle can mean greater overall success.
Mobile Platform Considerations
It can be challenging to develop games for mobile platforms at the same time as PC and consoles. It’s crucial to remember that mobile devices, compared to modern consoles and PC setups, are nowhere near as powerful. With this in mind, it’s necessary to downgrade the visual fidelity of games for mobile compared to higher-end platforms. Failing to do so would lead to technical issues and mobile devices being unable to run the game in the first place.
It’s also important to remember that most players will be interacting with your game using its touchscreen interface rather than a traditional controller or keyboard and mouse setup. Though peripheral controllers for mobile gaming are more widely available than ever, the core audience will be using the device’s native screen. It’s important to consider UI elements, screen resolution, and the wide variety of screen space available across Android and iOS devices.
Cost-Effective and Efficient
Developing for mobile at the same time as other platforms will mean having just one development cycle rather than having a second one down the line with a future port. This a cost-effective means of getting your game on mobile platforms. By comparison, doing a port of the title at a later stage would mean having to fund a new development cycle. Completing a mobile version at the same time as other platforms means less time and lower costs.
Further to this, it’s to the game’s benefit of the game’s marketing campaign. A simultaneous multiplatform release including mobile creates an opportunity for a singular, unified marketing campaign. Promoting each version concurrently, without spending finances later on a separate campaign just for a mobile release, will save money. Additionally, this helps reinforce the sense of an undivided community enjoying the game regardless of the chosen platform.
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