Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Cross-Platform from the Start
If you do have experience creating and publishing apps for iOS, Android, and/or other
platforms, you should definitely start a new project with both platforms in mind. This in-
cludes designing the game such that it handles multiple device resolutions well. Plan to
have different code paths and resources for slower devices, or plan ahead and exclude cer-
tain devices that you expect to be running your app too slowly.
Your day-to-day work with SpriteBuilder and Android will be such that each new feature
is added and tested on one platform. Typically, initial development will be done on iOS
simply because it's generally quicker and more reliable to deploy and run apps on iOS
devices. When it's confirmed to be working, you immediately test the new code and re-
sources on an Android device. If there are any unresolvable platform-specific issues, you
can continue working on other iOS features while waiting for an answer to a question you
posted.
Note that the overhead of compiling, deploying, and running each feature on two plat-
forms alone means the time it takes to develop for both platforms increases. Like I said,
there's no such thing as free ports.
Adding to that: even on iOS it's not a good idea to only ever test your app on one particu-
lar device, and doing the same on Android is almost wantonly negligent. Most developers
making a living off of selling mobile apps juggle several different testing devices to cover
the most widely used screen sizes and performance specs.
You should have at least one device that represents the minimal specifications your app
will run on. This enables you to tell with near certainty that your app meets the perform-
ance requirements even on the slowest supported devices.
Doing cross-platform development from the start and frequently testing your app on both
platforms will lead to better cross-platform apps. You'll also learn to understand the dif-
ferences in OS design and behavior for both platforms along the way. One problem with
apps that have been ported late is that they often feel foreign to users of the other plat-
form. Foreign in terms of terminology, how the app responds to user input, how it integ-
rates system menus, how the user interface is designed, and so on.
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