Have you ever thought about what it takes to develop a game like Angry Birds? What about a car racing game that responds to the cyclometer of your phone when you turn it? Let´s take a quick look at how mobile web app developers can make games that rise up in the ranks of mobile app listings. Here are 5 tips to create the next big mobile web app game!
1) KISS –
What´s one thing Angry Birds, Hopscotch, and casino games all have in common? They are SIMPLE to understand, which means that the user has a good experience from level one ans doesn’t have to spend a lot of time learning how to navigate the interface. Mobile web app developers, the UK, and across Europe should remember the phrase that get’s used across the pond quite frequently: Keep It Simple Stupid! Remember that most user’s who are going to play games on a mobile app are not necessarily gamers or people that are used to navigating complex technical issues. Make is easy and fun for them to succeed by letting them understand what they have to do.
2) WHY would they play?
What´s the incentive? The user needs a gaming structure to feel like he or she is making progress in your game, and some developers forget that the game matrix and reward system is both highly effective, lucrative, and essential if you want o make a game that is both profitable and popular. Game developer´s sometimes forget that a game that is technologically quite simple with low resolution graphics can become quite popular if it structures it´s levels, badges, and other virtual incentives to target player´s at key points throughout their user experience.
3) It´s all about the Quid, and the Quid Pro Quo
Games like the Sims, Game Show Network´s virtual casino games, and general racing games all have something else in common - There is a virtual currency where players can earn more and more of a given amount but never cash out. The idea of paying real hard currency within the game to increase your status and buy a virtual good is not novel; it is just something that has been perfected in the last couple of years. Mobile app developers need to have a firm understanding of how a micro economy will work, and how to successfully convert “free” players into players that will want to pay to level up to the next sports car, the next badge, or unlock a new feature. If player’s pay, remember that they expect that it will be worth it! Make the feature they bought seem essential so that the car is super fast, or the casino spinner is extra lucky, or the virtual currency gives status and standing in a virtual world.
4) Know your target audience
Before you develop the app, try be in contact with the rest of the marketing team who will be promoting the new mobile web app. The idea is that different types of mobile web app and different types of games should be structured differently depending on the type of user taht the company wants to entice to play. If you re going to target thirteen year old girls with an app that lets them build a farm and raise horses, you are going to want a different incentive program than if you are targeting 16 year old boys that are playing a racing car game or a war game. One tip is to create a game that is broad enough to appeal to a wide range of people, and yet specific enough so that it stands out from the crowd.
5) Make it Social!
Too many mobile apps, and mobile games, forget that an essential change we have seen over the past 10 years in mobile gaming and mobile app development in general is that people want to show their friends, their enemy´s and the world what it is they are doing. Try and integrate a social component to your mobile web app so that you can not only create dialogue between users but so that you can also allow them to post and share information on twitter, facebook, and other social media outlets about their gameplay. They more people actually want to talk about your game, the more people will actually hear about, and the more profitable it will be.
Are you looking for a mobile app developer to integrate your ideas into a full fledged interactive experience? Shop around, and pick a mobile app developer that feels right for you. One that continues to get top marks and is used by top rated organizations like BBC (home of Top Gear) is Nimble Mobile, a mobile web app development company based in London. Good luck and remember these 5 tips to get your game on!