One can have an idea of the potential of the worldwide mobile gaming industry whose worth in the year 2018 was quoted at $137.9 billion. The same is expected to exceed $180 billion in total revenues in the year 2021. We at Vyrau Labs have also created a game without using any of the given platforms just by customizing the entire app (link of the same is provided below).

The success stories are countless, Candy Crush, Angry Birds, Flappy Bird, Super Mario, etc. These have acted as an inspiration for many who took to game development in a big way. Also, it is equally true that there are only a couple of games who have been able to recover the expense incurred during their development process.

How do I start?

If you are keen on knowing — how to make a game app, it is a must that you should be able to identify the target audience for which it is being developed, develop a game which is very engrossing for the viewer and use resources at your disposal in order to monetize it successfully. Market research will guide you through the process of selecting your audience. Selecting your preferred audience can depend on many factors such as area, age, and maturity. Before you can start with the research you will have to understand which type of game you will develop.

Well, this is where we had started our journey of making a game app.

The Types of Gaming Apps

Before selecting the type of a game you will first have to conduct the research as it is very important to understand the group of people that you are planning to target. Depending on your audience you will be able to choose the right type of game, that will not only entertain people but also be profitable to you. 

The following are the types of games from which you can choose one or more than more if you are interested in understanding how to make a game app:   

1. Action games– These type of games generally involve the action games which we have played when we were young. There is a storyline and the player has to perform certain activities to complete the tasks and complete the stories. More like taking over the real-world actions, like vehicles and attacking opponents. 
2. Adventure games– These are the types of games where there are the players who run around the entire game collecting coins and completing tasks to move up a level.
3. Racing games– In these games, the players are given vehicles such as cars, motorbikes, etc for racing on virtual tracks and completing the story or the goal that is set for that particular player. 
4. Board games– These are the typical board games that we have grown up playing generally with our family members or friends. Examples like Chess, Cheekers, etc can be used in these cases.
5. Role-playing games– These are the type of games where you will be able to your character and play the game according to the given storyline that you choose. These are generally paid games and the free ones have a lot of premium features. In these games, you will have to think a lot to be done with a level.
6. Sports games– These are inspired by real-world sports. You will be able to play lawn tennis, basketball and so on as if you are present in the real court, needless to mention how famous the FIFA series is.
7. Trivia games– The type of games that involves puzzles are known as trivia games. These are different kinds of games that will provide you with a lot of puzzles and you will have to complete those puzzles to complete a level. In these types of games, you generally have to think a lot in order to complete a level. This also involves mind games like quizzes and general question answers. 
8. Educational games– These are the types of games that generally teach you a lot of things that you feel are mundane when you are studying them out of the books. The games make the learning process fun and countable in comparison with real-world studies. 
9. Strategical games– These are the types of games where you will have to play using a lot of strategies hence, plan before you play. The best example can be Clash Royale. These games are typically addictive, not like the other games are not, however, users engage while playing these kinds of games.
10. Card games– The typical card games, needless of mention Solitaire which has been in our computers right from the time we knew computers existed.
11. Casino games– There are a lot of casino themed games like Bingo which can be played directly from your phone. In some games, you can also use real money to bet on your game.       
12. Music games– These are the type of games which can be played where you can play some instruments like guitar, piano, etc. The music that comes out feels just like you are playing the real instrument.
13. Word games– In these games, you will be able to play games like Crossword where you have either have you make words by following the guidelines or you will have to see an image and make the word.
14. Stimulation games– These are close to role-playing games, only that this will have one particular story that you will be able to select and play till you figure a way to end that story and move on to another one. You can also play more than one story at a time.
15. Casual games– The type of games are normal games, the one which does not have a very strong storyline and graphics but still is played as it is very close to arcade games. 
16. Puzzle games– These are only puzzle games where you will have to complete the puzzles that are given to you. These are the type of games where there will be a given puzzle which will be jumbled up for you to make right or you will have to deal with aligning blocks or something like that.         

Build on an idea

The most crucial element involved in developing a successful game is to have an idea which users shall be hooked on to. Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule on this as there is no guarantee on what will be a hit with users. There is one thing which you can try although, which is to build on an existing idea and to improvise it with new features which make it more exciting than the original game.

Storytelling

If you are serious to know, how to make a game app and want to come up with a truly good game, it is important that your game must have a story in it, however simple it may be. The storyline acts as a motivation for your users to finish the game. Additionally, your journey on how to make a game app shall be all the more fruitful if you can make your game addictive for users.

The best way to do so is to create short game levels with a difficulty level which increases gradually, not all of a sudden.

Choose the right platforms

The platforms of choice for your games shall be the iOS and Android platforms. Consequently, you shall have to work with compatible languages associated with these platforms in order to bring your game to life, namely Java for Android and Swift for iOS.

Game engines

For those who want to know, how to make a game app, it is a must to know that game engines are the software that actually makes a game work. Game engines provide the core functionalities like graphic rendering, sound, animation artificial intelligence, etc. Let us have a look below at some of the most popular game engines.

1. Unity 

It is a   tool, created by Unity Technologies. Using Unity, you shall be able to create your own game using 2D, 3D mobile development features. The advantage of using Unity is that it allows you to import files from different 3D applications like Maya etc. Also, you can purchase a wide range of assets from their own store. If by chance you are a first-time game developer, Unity has a lot of tutorials to which you can refer to when required. It provides support for both iOS and Android.

2. Unreal Engine

This is for developers who are not at the expert level or are beginners themselves. It’s user-friendly features ensure that you do not need any programming skills to develop games. The interface is easy to work with and you can test your game within the platform itself. Additionally, the software provides a wide range of 3D graphics which you can use to make your game more attractive. It supports both Android and iOS applications.

3. Corona SDK — The 2D Game Engines

This 2D game engine uses the Lua scripting language which makes coding quite easy. It supports both iOS and Android platforms and has an active user community from where you can get support when needed. Their Corona Marketplace provides for many plugins that you can easily incorporate in your game. Lastly, the documentation provided from their end is surely going to help you when you face roadblocks in your developmental work.

4. Spritekit — 2D sprite-based games

Well, this game engine is solely for those who want to develop 2D games for the Apple platform. It supports both Swift and Objective-C while offering a wide range of features. Also, since it is supported by Apple, you can rest assured that it would fit in with all devices that work within the Apple ecosystem.

5. Marmalade SDK

It allows you to build native games for desktops and mobiles and this is what makes it a preferred platform amongst developers. You can create both 2D and 3D titles, use different libraries for programming and testing purposes. The language used is C++ and it supports both Android and iOS platforms.

6. Buildbox

This is an ideal platform for those who are not experts at coding, in fact, you do not need to code at all while developing this game. You can make up your characters, assign them roles, do the decoration etc and you can have your game up and running within a short time. Additionally, the changes made by you can be checked in real-time. The limitation of this game engine is that it supports only the iOS platform.

7. AppGameKit

Here the platform is very user-friendly and uses a language that is similar to C++. The main advantage of this tool is that it supports multiple platforms that ensure that your game will be available for all different platforms at the same time.

8. Construct 2

Construct 2 is an HTML based platform is used for creating 2D games and supports both iOS and Android platforms. This is mainly for beginners who do not have much knowledge of coding since it has many features that help in developing feature-rich games without writing any code. Lastly, if you use this game engine, you can launch your game on different devices at the same time since it allows for multiplatform export.

9. Fusion

Fusion is the platform you need to choose if you are thinking of creating an event-based game. Also, you need not be an expert in programming if you plan on using this game engine. It’s easy to use interface and library which consists of numerous graphics options that make it a preferred tool amongst game developers. It can be used for both iOS and Android platforms.

10. GameMaker Studio 2

This platform was launched by Yoyo Games for creating 2D games. The language is very easy to learn and it supports both iOS and Android platforms. As it has a very good “drag and drop” feature, you shall be able to develop your game in the shortest possible time. Lastly, in order to get started, you do not need to make a large financial investment.

11. Game Creator App

This is an app that will help you to make your own game using the app right from your Android phones. By using this app you will be able to make the types of games that you want. However, this has not gained much popularity and even though it lets you make the app that you want but they won’t provide any authenticity to the app. Similarly, the App Store has a similar app called Ready: Make Games & Apps which will also allow you to make your games but has the same story with authentication.

Choose the appropriate monetization strategy

If you remember correctly, I did mention that at the end of the day, your game should be a revenue earner for you and there are many games that have been developed and have not been able to recover the cost of their investment. You can monetize your mobile game by the usage of any of the below-mentioned ways:

• In-app purchase: It is an effective way by which money can be earned from players even though the percentage of earnings is very low when compared to the investment made.
• Place ads within the app: Many games combine placing ads within the apps along with the in-app purchases. Do make sure that the content of the ad is in tune with the game in some way. The ads can also act like reward winning areas. For example, some apps allow it, viewers watch an ad just to get a reward in return.
• Freemium versions: Freemium versions first offer players a demo version or free version. Players are later asked to pay for further use. This is a nice way of monetizing your game after it has gained some popularity amongst its users.
• Premium Features: Just like the in-app purchase feature you can introduce premium features that will be paid and your users will have to pay for using them. For example in Clash Royale the Royal Pass allows its users to get more emotes, better treasure boxes than those who do not have this feature.

Well, by now you very well know how to make a game app and the ways by which you can monetize your game. If you are in need of an expert game development team, feel free to get in touch with us. Our team of experts shall deliver the gaming solution you need taking into account parameters like budget and schedule. As a starting point if you want to know about the 2d game development, read along. This contains details on the latest game developed by our developmental team.

Feel free to drop in suggestions as well as queries, if any from your end.