7 Steps to create a mobile game

1. Prototype.

A game, like all beauty, starts with an idea, but in the gaming industry, the idea must take on a digital form. A game designer creates in one of the available editors (the Unity platform is especially popular among independent developers) something where there are no graphics, no sounds, no interface - but there is already a so-called core loop - the main mechanic around which everything else is built. The challenge at this stage is to figure out if the potential game will be interesting at least in theory - read about game development outsourcing company to learn more.

2. Iterating.

If the prototype is given the green light, other specialists are connected to the team (before that, one designer and, possibly, a programmer pored over the game): artists, programmers, level designers, and so on. A work plan is drawn up, the team decides how they would like to see the game. And it begins: all new elements of the game are added to the prototype, tested for strength. Many ideas are discarded at this stage. This long but interesting process of trial and error is sometimes referred to as "iteration."

3. Vertical Slice.

One of the important goals of the processes from paragraph 2 is to collect a small, stripped-down, but - the most polished version of the game. If shown to players, it would be a demo version, but this option is for internal use and is usually called a vertical slice. You can already play it, but you won't get far: most of the content, as well as complex things (like the game economy), are either absent or are in their infancy. In fact, vertical slice is a seriously extended prototype, in which the outlines of a big game are guessed.

4. More iteration.

By the time the vertical slice is ready, developers usually understand how interesting the game turns out to be, what ideas they can implement, and what they will have to give up - right away or in case of emergency. Then the delicate work begins: at this stage, the elements of the game are tightly connected with each other, to abandon them - the further, the more difficult. It's like taking bricks out of a freshly built wall: not necessarily fatal, but unpleasant anyway. Nevertheless, even at this stage, a fatal cross can be put on the game. 5. Alpha and beta tests. After several months (the average development time for a serious mobile game is from six months to a year), the project is ready. Well, almost: the authors still have a lot of fine work to do, and at this stage, third-party testers are often involved in the process - both hired (there are whole companies that test other people's products for money, in the hope of breaking them), and voluntary, usually from the number of relatives, friends, children and classmates of the developer's children.

6. Soft launch.

Or "soft launch": a special stage in the life of mobile games (most often distributed under a shareware scheme). The project is released in some quiet country that is closest in characteristics to the target market. For example, those who want to sell a game in the USA choose Canada. European players are often checked out in Switzerland, and Asian novelties appear earlier than usual in Thailand. Thus, you can test the game with a relatively small audience, which at the same time behaves and spends money in about the same way as the bulk of potential players. The game is already completely ready, but even at this stage it can be put under the knife if for some reason it does not work as intended - it does not enthrall the players or does not bring enough money: 3d game character assets is a good example here.

7. Launch.

The last step into the big world for the game, and the hard chores for its creators. A special person - his position is called "release manager" - prepares the game for the shelves of virtual stores: Apple, Google and others have specific requirements for descriptions, accompanying pictures and game functionality, without which the project is wrapped up for revision. While most of the team is opening champagne, the server programmers (if the game has a network component) and testers are sweating nervously - they have to rake in the inevitable force majeure after launch.