Assignment Content
People who grew up playing “Pac-Man” or “Pokémon Pearl” might think of game development as an expensive endeavor that takes a team of experienced programmers. But game engines and other tools have made it easier than ever for anyone with a little coding knowledge to get into game development. It takes more than technology to build a great game, though. So here are a few essential gaming elements that mobile game developers should consider well before writing their first line of code.
Challenges
Image via Flickr by Just Boys
Whether it’s checkers or an elaborate role-playing game that requires players to master multiple levels while facing new pitfalls, every good game has a goal. Indeed, most mobile games consist of a series of challenges that keep players coming back.
When choosing challenges, developers should strike a balance between easy and impossible. Objectives should require some skill, but not be so difficult that players give up. Aspiring developers know they’ve hit the sweet spot when achieving a goal gives gamers a sense of satisfaction that makes them want to keep playing.
Choices
While successfully completing challenges often involves some luck, games that rely entirely on chance aren’t that engaging for most players. Those gamers would rather make meaningful choices that affect the outcome of the game. But, just as with challenges, choices shouldn’t be easy or overwhelming.
Developers should give the player enough control over the game’s outcome to keep them interested, but not offer them so many choices that they’re overcome with all the options. One way to achieve balance between the two is to offer players more choices as their skills increase. Similarly, if a game is well designed, players should naturally learn to make the best possible choices more often as their skill levels grow.
Competition
In multiplayer games, the source of this important element is the other players. Likewise, any game that involves defeating a monster or other foe offers an obvious opponent. Even puzzle-type games like “Tetris” can be incredibly engaging since players — who have no way of knowing the shape of the next piece that will appear at the top of the playing field — are testing their speed and skill against the unpredictability of the game itself.
Connection
So games don’t have to be complicated to be competitive. After all, almost anyone who’s ever played “Pong” or “Pole Position” can attest to their addictive appeal. But today’s gamers tend to expect more from their mobile games, including voice and video capabilities that allow them to interact with other players in real time.
Fortunately, such features are easy to integrate through a mobile gaming platform provided by Agora. Even amateur developers can include chat capabilities, in-game broadcasting, and other features that today’s gamers have come to expect.
Indeed, while the essential elements of a good game haven’t changed for centuries, aspiring mobile game developers now have access to tech tools that can make their creations more competitive and collaborative than ever before.
