The number of games in the mobile market is growing rapidly each day. This is a good thing, because consumers are able to find a game that suits them and at the same time, because of the growing number of apps of good and high quality games that are buried beneath an ocean of cheap and poorly produced games.
Brainstorming an Original Idea
Before picking your tools and start developing something, you need to have an intensive brainstorming session. In today’s world, it may feel that everything that can be done, any idea, but it may also seem that everything has been done and it can be really hard to figure out something new, something original. It’s a good idea to look back at other games in the mobile market and see what made them popular and why people liked to play them and keep playing them.
The variety of games on the mobile market has increased exponentially in a very short time. Because of this, mobile games are becoming more varied and more complex. During the brainstorming session, developers should focus on what kind of genre they are most passionate about and, at the same time, they also need to think about the consumer’s gaming interests.
Conception and Design
When it comes to mobile games, simple concepts work better than complicated ones. If we take a look at some simple and popular mobile games, a trend that can be found is the fact that they all take a minimalist approach regarding gameplay and graphics design. Games like Flappy Bird, Candy Crush and Temple Run, offer simple yet satisfactory gameplay which is easy to learn but hard to master. You should also avoid the ongoing trend of copying other successful games hoping that it will have the same popularity.
Not everyone can afford a high tech smartphone in order to run graphically intensive games, therefore, finding a good art style with minimal performance impact is a good practice when designing a mobile game. Make a game too complicated or to hard and people will not play it, or they will get frustrated with it.
Online casinos are good examples of simplistic gameplay and good art design, especially slot games. Slot games come in a variety of different styles and are very popular amongst the general audience and the demand for these types of games is still growing. New game developers should do some research on how these types of games are made and they may even try making one themselves.
The first impression that you have from online slot games is their visual impact. Each slot game is designed differently in order to appeal to many people. For example, let’s compare Flappy Bird and Sizzling Hot. Flappy Bird’s design looks like something taken out of a Mario game and has a retro feel to it. The game is played by simply tapping the screen in order to make the bird avoid the green pipes. Sizzling Hot takes a similar approach to its visuals, offering a classic slot interface with fruit elements and the gameplay being that of a traditional slot machine.
The important part mentioned in the comparison provided above is that each one of them has a minimalist art style and has a very simple gameplay design. All it takes is a simple action to play the game and because it doesn’t require much learning curve, the game can be played at almost any time and for any amount of time.
Some Final Thoughts
Depending on what type of game you want to make, developing a game can be both a frustrating experience and an enjoyable one. Getting past the frustration part often leads to learning new and more creative ideas that are so called “happy accidents” and great personal satisfaction in overcoming a development obstacle.
An important thing to remember is that good games don’t have to be complicated and they don’t need to have realistic graphics in order to be enjoyable. The most important elements to take into consideration when it comes to mobile games is minimalism and creativity.
