Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Designing mobile games
So far we have discussed game design in general. In this section we will cover design
specifically aimed to the mobile platforms. Designing for the mobile platform has its
own unique drawbacks and advantages and only by overcoming its traps and exploit-
ing its features will you be able to create a product that can emerge from the compet-
ition and make money.
The differences between mobile and other platforms such as
Personal Computer
(
PC
) and console are significant, ranging from hardware capabilities to control
schemes, to fruition, business models, and pricing policies. Let's delve into each of
such categories.
Hardware limitations
Though the advancement of mobile technology allows high-end devices to have the
same capabilities of the former generations of consoles, an average mobile user pos-
sesses an average mobile device with limited capabilities, especially with regards to
memory and processing power. As the mobile market is a mass market, it is a good
practice to target the broadest audience possible, which means it is mandatory to
design games that run smoothly on less than edgy smartphones and are fun to play
on small screens.
Hardware variability also matters here. The one thing you can be sure of when you
plan to design a mobile game, especially if you target the Android market, is that the
game will have to run on several different device configurations. Screen size and res-
olution, CPU speed, touch screen responsiveness may vary, and so on.
Let's see how these factors pose a completely new set of challenges for the game
designer.
Screen size
Let's face it, except for the pad style devices; the screen on most of the mobile plat-
forms is tiny. This presents two problems: how to show enough information for the
gameplay to be meaningful and how to make that information identifiable.
