Without a doubt, mobile devices are at the forefront of entertainment delivery systems. They are a very effective and natural way to directly engage millions of consumers, personally with limited development and distribution costs. With the unstoppable rise of smartphones as the universal portable hand-held device, many organizations and businesses look to game apps to engage with consumers, push advertising and encourage participation. In this blog, we discuss how to create a game app and outline the steps you can take to achieve your goal.
Getting started checklist
Creating game apps is a little different from developing apps that serve other functions. The following list offers a rough guide as to the things you need:
- A dedicated ‘game engine’ specifically designed to create game apps. It provides all the necessary components for creating game apps
- A sufficiently powerful computer, either PC or Mac that can support the game engine
- Multiple smartphone models and makes for testing app performance on your desired platform
- A developer account for submitting your game apps. The App store account costs about $99 per year, whereas the Play Store costs about $25 per year. Unlike with app makers, you’ll be in charge of updates and making sure the game works on all devices which could mean several new updates per year
- Graphics designing and other creative tools for producing all the visuals you need for your game to stand out
However, if you want to avoid the unnecessary hassle of procuring the items mentioned above, you can hire a competent app development company instead. This company can guide you as to how to create a game app from scratch.
How to create a game app?
The following ten steps clearly outline the process you should follow to ensure you create a relevant and contemporary app:
- Generate an app idea
- Conduct competitive market research
- Map out the features you want
- Make design prototypes of your app
- Design and map the necessary graphics
- Build a comprehensive app marketing plan
- Creating a game app
- Submit your app to the App Store
- Market your app for maximum exposure
- Improve your app with user feedback
Step 1: Generate an app idea
Keep in mind that indeed original ideas are rare these days. With over 4 million apps available on Google Play and the Apple App Store combined (Statista.com), the chances of coming up with an inspirational idea are rare. In most cases, app ideas are variations and alternate combinations of existing apps. Here we go through some of the sources you can use to develop your game app idea and discover something worthwhile in the process.
One great approach for coming up with an idea is to put a twist on an existing design or try to combine elements from various apps that you like. Think of apps that you use regularly and enjoy using. Is there any way you can adapt the core concepts and meld them together to form a new type of app?
The second technique you can use is to solve your problems. Think of a tricky situation you face in your own life and work out how to solve it. The chances are that if you have this problem and need a solution for it, there has to be someone out there that requires the same.
The third method you can try is to improve an existing app. You use a wide array of different apps every day without realizing it. Look through these again and see if any elements could use an overhaul or a facelift.
Step 2: Conduct competitive market research
Depending on what technique you used to develop your game app idea, you may or may not need to conduct some market research to determine possible competitors. Go through popular app stores and see if any other apps are solving the same problems you are. Or if other apps are offering the same services.
Also, go through reviews and ratings for competitor apps to see where they excel and where they fall behind. You can use this evidence to refine your app. In short, when going through app store reviews, take note of the following:
- App Name
- Feature set
- Price/Monetization scheme
- App publisher
- Last updated
- Ratings and Reviews
- Downloads
Step 3: Map out the features you want
In this step, map out exactly how you want each element of the app to interact with the user and each other. If you wish to monetize the app, now is an excellent time to plan how. Initially, try and come up with an ideal version of your app. As you go along, your vision will undoubtedly evolve and change according to actual user feedback and testing. Nonetheless, it is always good practice to flesh out your app idea at this stage as much as possible. Once you move towards execution, any changes required will have to be in the form of updates.
Many app development companies such as Folio3 aim towards the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). It is the smallest or lightest version of the app while remaining useful. Once you have the MVP, you launch in beta testing and get actual feedback which you can then use to edit the app design further.
Step 4: Make design prototypes of your app
In this step, explore how the user interacts with your app. Try and design the app to maximize functionality and usability. Develop a design that is intuitive and pre-empts ease-of-use issues. Think about what the user sees and how they will interact with your app to use its features?
You can start with a pencil and notebook or piece of paper in the beginning. Since most designs stay in flux throughout the app development process, you will be doing a lot of rough sketching as your ideas grow.
Step 5: Design and map the necessary graphics
At this stage, you need to understand what visuals you need and how you can use them in the final product. In the same way that brochures for new construction projects use 3D images to show the building concept or when luxury car manufacturers release a concept car.
Consider the following when developing your graphics design:
- The design should accurately represent the final product since developers will integrate the graphic assets into the project;
- You will likely present your plan to potential investors or partners;
- The work you do at this step significantly impacts the interface and user experience (UI/UX) of the app.
If you prefer, you can instead hire a professional through websites such as Dribbble, Behance and Pinterest. Make sure to select one that has experience working with UI and app design. Also, check their portfolio and see if they do freelance work.
If neither makes sense, you can also hire an app development company like Folio3 that employs an in-house team of designers to help you create a game app from scratch.
Step 6: Build a comprehensive app marketing plan
Given the sheer volume of apps available in the market right now, you need to be able to market your app to the right audience if you want to be successful. Similarly, most of this marketing begins before the app is eve launched. Pre-hype is the key to generating a large number of downloads on the first day and achieving a high rating.
Keep in mind that building a landing page for your app is a compelling way for you to inform potential customers about what is available and learn more about your app. Add a call-to-action for email subscriptions. It is an easy way to collect emails for future marketing endeavors and also create a potential pool of customers that have already expressed interest in playing your game.
Make sure familiarize yourself with the App Store Optimization (ASO) concept. It is the process by which you refine and optimize keywords, titles and app store descriptions to enable higher positions in search results.
Step 7: Creating a game app
Now we come to building the app itself. At this stage, use all the design and requirements planning you conducted earlier. Furthermore, you have a couple of options for creating your game app. You can either learn to code and build it yourself, enlist a freelance developer or hire an app development company like Folio3.
If you choose to create the app yourself from scratch, you will need to learn all the necessary coding languages and the appropriate way to use it. It is by far the most complicated and time-consuming technique for creating game apps.
Alternately, hiring a freelancer through websites such as Freelancer.com or Upwork.com is a good option if you want to save on time and costs but are willing to take the risk of using untested service providers. So far, the best option, in this case, is to hire an app development company. Established and experienced companies such as Folio3 provide consulting and project management services, whereas a freelancer will look to you to provide direction. However, hiring a company may cost more than working with freelancers.
Once your app is complete, you need to figure out any possible glitches and bugs. You can complete this process yourself or with the development company you hired depending on your choice earlier. Try and solve as many bugs as possible before the launch to minimize mandatory updates later on. Focus on viruses that could potentially cripple the app. Users are likely to uninstall your app immediately after it crashes the first time in case of game apps, especially if any progress is lost.
Real-world testing should be the next step. Testing is a vital aspect of the development process and therefore requires some focus. Ideally, you should test in multiple formats. First conduct manual testing through actual users and then automated testing using computer software.
Step 8: Upload and submit your app to the relevant store
Once you’ve worked out all the kinks, it’s time to launch. Make sure your app qualifies by checking it thoroughly against app store guidelines and any relevant regulatory authority guidelines for games.
Remember, regardless of which app store you want to upload your game app to, you need to sign up and create developer accounts on that specific platform.
However, Last but not least, release your app into the market and distribute it among the audience. The rules of iOS are stricter compared to android. Due to the tighter controls, iOS setting up on iOS may take longer than Android. The former will review your app before it goes online while Android teams will review as soon as you release it.
Step 9: Market your app for maximum exposure
Once you’ve launched your game app, you need to put your marketing plan into practice. There is no more effective way to lose the momentum garnered at launch than a weak marketing effort. Try and get your app into the featured section of whichever app store you aim for and try releasing a free version of your app for a limited time as well. This tactic will give you a presence in both paid and free app lists.
Step 10: Improve your app with user feedback
Constant vigilance for potential vulnerabilities and continuous improvement is the key to a successful game app. Regular changes and upgrades keep the game feeling relevant a long time after the initial release. For this purpose, the best source of data is user feedback. Once real users start playing your game and experience the game dynamics and physics first-hand, they can provide accurate and detailed points of improvement.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you can use the checklists and the ten-step guideline discussed in this article to easily create your app from scratch. Your game app idea does not have to be the best in the world, especially given the sheer volume of apps available in the market. After reading this article, you should have a good idea of how to make a game app and all the necessary elements for making it a success.