You have a game and the fans love it. Eventually they ask for a verso of it on their phones. Now you’re thinking about pushing it in the mobile space. But is your game made for the mobile market? Here is a quick con and pro analysis of some issue when porting to mobile:
Cons:
1. Not Mobile friendly
Games made for pc, macs, and consoles have a similar ways to play in terms of controls. This is very different from mobile where the interation comes from gestures and tilting. Can your game efficiently use these controls?
2. Graphic/Gameplay Intensity
How much of the graphics or gameplay mechanics need to be revised to be mobile friendly? Smartphone are not all bred for games and depending yon the market ou want to target in mobile, you’ll have to make certain compromises to ensure quality assurance. This is especially true for markets with a wide range of phone requirements,such as the Android.
4. Standards of Gameplay
This is based off of an existing title, and must meet the standards and expectations the original one made. That can sometimes mean forcing some functionality and features to be included that works on other platforms, but not for the mobile market.
5. Higher Expected Cost?
Given the above description, will this game be profitable in terms of the work involved? You will have to revisit certain areas of your game to make it mobile compatible. It could even turn out to be like developing a near different game. What are you to gassing vs. the costs?
Pros:
1. Exposure
More exposure is always good. Having something on people’s phones is a good way to get people spreading the word about your game.
2. Retention
What if I don’t have enough time to play because I’ always on the go? Glad you guys have a mobile version. Now I can have a play and keep my busy lifestyle.
3. Large Market
The amount of people with smartphones is HUGE. enough said. Who wouldn’t want to expose their product to a rapidly growing market?
4. Creativity in your games
You can also extend your games in ways to enhance gameplay of other platforms by using mobile as an extension of your already included services. For example, you can have a shooting game on the PC and a mobile game to increase your stats for when you return to the PC title. Oh the possibilities…
5.Cross Promotion
Your game is already selling o other platforms. One thing a phone app can suffer from is limited exposure in the market. You can use your existing media to cross promote your mobile version and vice versa. This can be used to increase exposure and sales on both ends. The iPhone also has lots of ways to cross-promote with other games as well.
A lot of difficulties that can come form porting is gauging the overall vision of the game can come from a lack of planning. When planning a project, these topics are in my head before any development occurs:
What is my roadmap?
What is the end goal of your game? What do you hope to accomplish? What roads will you take to get there?
How will I extend features to customers?
What are the main concepts I want to portray in my game?
Let us know what you do for planning a game? What are the most important things do you consider before starting a project?
