4 Simple Steps to Successful iPhone Game Development

One of the best things that could have happened to game developers in this world took place in 2008. This was when Apple opened the doors of its app store to the public. Of course, it would benefit Apple even more but then even the most amateur of game developers stood to gain. It was not long before this online store proved to be a goldmine for the developers. Stories have been told of game developers who have made millions in just a few months from cheap and simple games.

Consider a game like Flappy Bird. Everyone loves this game for a number of reasons. To start with, it is challenging but in a very simple way. The idea behind the game is so simple yet extremely sophisticated. It is the kind of game that you play to kill time. You can play it in the bus on your way home, over lunch time as you wait for your classes to begin, in the bank queue and just about anywhere. There are many other games on the iOS platform for you to enjoy. As a game developer, this store presents a whole lot of opportunities for you to earn lots of money. How do you get to do that? It all starts with developing the game and releasing it for people to download.

How to get started

In order for your game to be successful on the Apple Store, it has to be promoted and even before you release it on this platform you need to register as an Apple developer. When you register you will get to learn the ups and the downs of the iOS programming tools. It is the easiest part of the whole iOS game development. The part that is not straightforward at all is developing the game concept, graphic designs and actually creating the game. Bringing the idea from your head to the app store is not going to be an easy job.

Therefore, let’s get started with the whole process of creating a cool iPhone game that will sell out. As experts’ advice, put yourself in the position of the end-user. IPhones and iPads do not have physical buttons or rather there are none that can be used to play a game. This is something that you will have to embrace and always keep in mind. A number of developers add awful artificial virtual controls and d-pads to their games instead of taking advantage of the touch screen that smartphones have to offer.

Once you have that locked in mind, you can proceed to the next step which is planning to develop the game. The above are just the preliminaries. The actual iPhone game development usually starts at this stage of planning. It is the same case as developing a regular application that will be posted on the App Store.

Coming up with a game concept

Here is a piece of advice that will come in handy when you are trying to come up with a concept for a game. Consider all the top selling games on the App Store and even other mobile platforms like Android and Xbox 360. They all have one thing that is common amongst all of them- fantastic concept. The storyline behind all of these games is just amazing. Even if it is not a story then probably it is a simple goal that is difficult to achieve as in the case of Flappy Bird.

There are several ways you can develop a concept for a game. The first option is to actually start from scratch. Come up with an idea of what you think people would want to jam the App Store as they try to buy the game. In as much as people say that there is nothing new under the sun, you will be surprised that you can come up with something that others have not thought about yet. Second, you can innovate and idea that everyone knows. People are creating games about the Kardashians and they are selling out.

The first thirty seconds of the game are the most important. They are what people use to determine whether to continue or not. It helps a lot if you have a fantastic hook for your game. The App Store is packed with a myriad of alternatives and so if your app is substandard, people will not think twice about shifting to the next developer’s product.

Create a prototype

The prototyping is one that you can skip if you want but then things become more difficult at some point. The prototype is going to tell you what you can do with your ideas. There are some ideas that will definitely be unrealistic and others too boring. The rule of thumb is that if the game is fun to play at this prototype level then it will definitely be a hit when you complete it.

Prototyping is helpful when it comes to chunking your ideas. During the planning and concept development activity, your mind will be racing and thousands of ideas will be coming to you. You are encouraged to write down all of these ideas. When you create the prototype then you will be able to dismiss the ones that will not work out for your game.

Development and release

The last step will be to develop and release the game. This is where a majority of developers lose their interest and desire to keep up with the game creation. Do not be dismayed though! If the first two steps are done successfully then you should just hold on and psyche yourself up to finish your game. There are so many resources that you can summon to help you in this stage. There are free game assets, free code libraries and a bunch of other online resources that you can use.

Conclusion:

Game development is fun, easy and difficult. It is easy because there are resources to help you out. It is difficult because you have to be creative enough to compete with the many developers out there. In a case of platforms like iOS, you will need to be extremely competitive. Still the steps that you need to follow to develop a fantastic iOS game are very simple: create a concept, create a prototype and then proceed to develop the game. Follow this method and you will be good to go.

Author bio

Miriam Michaels is an avid gamer, perhaps the only female gamer, she loves to think. She has been blogging about tips for iPhone game development for a very long time now.