Mobile games are one of the prime influential factors amongst potential users in the recent years. People no longer take phones as a device to make calls or send text messages. Phones not just connect people through conventional lines of communication, they also flourish the users need to be engaged as much as possible. Games have been the favorite pastime for most cell phone users.
However in the past few years, gaming industry have grown beyond snakes & ladders. Better hardware has allowed developers to pursue game development that leave the users spellbound. Better graphics, better audio-visual, easier interface makes it a hit amongst consumers but behind the scenes, developers put in hard labor to make it work behind the scenes.
The latest platform where mobile gaming is showing progress is the Android Game Development sector. Android is an open sourced Operating System (promoted by Google) that takes on Apple’s iPhone in the smartphone category. Android is the fastest growing smartphone in the world, piping big boys like Nokia & Motorola (ya they got acquired by Google too). Being used by over 200 devices worldwide in multiple configurations, its Game Development has its challenges. Essentials for Android gaming platform include: Eclipse & Java JDK Version 6 (recommended).
Some Android Game Development challenges include:
1. Evolving OS : Android has many different versions. Most popular include V2.03 ‘Gingerbread’, V3.x ‘Honeycomb’ & V4.0 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’. These versions were released within short period of time. The trouble is when OS gets a makeover so soon; it takes time for developers to understand the functionality & hardware collaboration. Game development is not an overnight phenomenon. It takes hundreds of hours to calibrate game requirements.
2. Configuration alterations : Game development is just not linked on OS. Although various games have certain accepted configuration protocol, every developer looks forward to outperform with their game development strategy. Another fact is handset manufacturers are increasingly getting competitive, offering consumers the very best of features but again, game architecture is largely based on handset hardware configuration, after you don’t want a messed up game in this dynamic world.
3. Unique Sells : Unique Selling Proposition. Well, layman terms it says an objective that differentiates you from the crowd. Do you offer something different? Something challenging? Some that catches the fancy of consumers? Android Game Development is still in nascent stage. Being unique is an uphill task as if you choose to invent your own genre of gaming, that’s a tough move as investing so much time & resources could be devastating if it flops. Going by the current, could be challenging too as hundreds of other games share the same platform.
