Gaming on mobile devices is very important and developers often earn a lot of money. Granted, not every game is the same and neither is every developer. And well, that’s only natural. Everybody has their own opinion after all.
However, when it comes to developing and designing games, sometimes we need to take in some an opinion that isn’t ours, as maybe some other people have advice for us that we might benefit from. In order to design and develop games for Android and iOS devices, you need some skills and software. Here is our advice for you; Look up these software programs and maybe they’ll help you become a successful designer and developer for mobile phone platforms.
Unity – A Developer’s and Designer’s Dream
Unity is one of the most-used game engines for the mobile platforms, specifically the Android and iOS devices. It is often used for a few specific reasons, namely its community support and a plethora of templates available to both developers and designers. Developers love it because they can use the same engine for multiple games, thus not having to do more coding in different languages. It is great for making 3D games, even though you could just as easily make 2D games, albeit there are simpler tools for 2D games.
Designers love it because they can use the Unity database of sounds, templates, images, animations and quickly make it into a seriously competitive game. Now for some statistics, Unity is used in at least 34% of the top 1000 free games on the mobile market. That is a lot, especially for a single engine.
Stencyl – A Tool for Simple 2D Games
If you wanted to design and build a 2D platformer, this platform allows you to do it in a simpler way. It does come with a price, however, as does Unity. Unlike Unity, you can do things quickly here, and is a perfect way for designers to show off their abilities. 2D platformers cannot really offer something extraordinary in terms of gameplay, but when it comes to design, they are the perfect place to showcase a designer’s talent.
Unreal Engine – The Pinnacle of Gaming
It could be said that the Unreal Engine 4 is the pinnacle of gaming, and one wouldn’t be that far away from the truth. The engine is immensely powerful and is used for so many things, from PC games, 3D modelling to Android and iOS games.
Have in mind that the new Unreal Engine uses C++ as its scripting language, meaning that even the best of game designers will have to learn something new. It is well worth it, though as the engine is very capable and therefore quite competitive, if used by the right hands.
There are many platforms and engines which can be used to create your own Android and iOS games. While developers are more interested in those, designers should also be, as they will likely be working hand in hand with the developers, as this is a long-term relationship.
You can also use native languages like Java to code for Android games, yet using an already existing engine is much simpler and more rewarding, for both the developers and the designers. If you can choose a single platform and stick to it, you will likely have less trouble when going from game to game.
