Cross-platform development usually meant game development for consoles or PCs. However, in the current scenario, its definition has been modified a bit and extended to include mobiles as well. The market is witnessing a sky-rocketed growth when it is concerned with mobile gaming, and this sector holds much broader prospects for the future as well.
Undoubtedly, the creation of gaming for varying devices will continue. But yes, cross-platform development, brings with it, rays of hope and much higher expectations. There are nearly 3 billion mobile-gamers who actively play games. A surprising fact is that these figures outscore the combined number of players on other devices. While the console players are nearly 730 million, there are around 2 billion players for PCs. So, developing multiplatform games is a bigger opportunity for survival in the long run.
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An insight into the cross-platform game development
If we dive deeper into this concept without briefing its basics, it would be very stupid of us. The basic idea behind cross-platform game development is curating a game that works on any and all platforms. Simply put, a game that runs on all sorts of devices is a cross-platform game. It must run on the web, the browser, or the phone also.
Working on cross-platform game development
The primitive one utilizes varying tools provided by the operation creators. However, cross-platform unity game development employs the most decent, unique software that creates the same code for different systems. Automatically, the code base does not change for any of the developers. Different components, that have their own significance, are used while creating platform-dependent parts of the game.
Cross-platform development is detail-sensitive and quite complex. When one plans to run the game on umpteen platforms, he or she tends to miss out on minute, yet very important, details. Often the developers of major, most demanded games face the consequences when they fail to ensure everything is fine. Improper testing or fixing inadvertent bugs and errors cost a huge amount for these publishers.
This type of game development turns out to be successful when the developers invest in an idea game engine. While everyone has the option of choosing the most common ones, some people prefer to choose the less-used game engines that perform the job perfectly. The idea is to utilize the best available game engine and use it in a way that offers the maximum benefit.
Benefits of cross-platform game developing
There are certain things that revolve around the idea of cross-platform game creation. People often perceive wrong about it and conclude in their own ways. Well, without much ado, let’s give a read to the benefits of this idea. After going through these benefits, you will get a better understanding of the cross-platform development of games.
- Faster development process- If the idea is to run the game on varying platforms then sticking to the plan is the proper way. Something worse can be interpret as developing a game that only runs on one platform and later adapt it for the other platforms.
- Exponential impact- There’s no doubt in the fact that people use mobiles for gaming, quite frequently. However, when your game runs on all types of devices that your target audience uses, your game will make a better impact.
- Easy marketing- Developing such games attract audiences easily and makes marketing easy. The developers tend to surpass the figures they expected when they opt to create games for multiple platforms. The players keep spreading the good word and catch the interest of a wider segment.
Minute hindrances
One cannot deny that there are obstacles or challenges to cross-platform games. There has to be a visible difference between the interface display for games for different devices. If it’s not, there might be a problem when you try to accommodate the game for mobile. Gaming controls are another important area of specific concern because it is different for each type of device the gamers use. However, it is important to not compromise on the striking features and the inner world of the game.
The best game engines
Creating cross-platform games is not just about the expertise of the person but also requires special languages that simplify the process of game designing. The best way is to enlist the platforms that will serve the gaming audience.
Unity
This C++-based giant adapts perfectly to varying types handheld devices. Also, the development cost tends to be quite low when you choose this gaming engine. It is the first choice of small gaming companies and developers who work on limited graphics.
Godot engine
This open-source language comes with a good number of features that ensure promising game development. The editor helps to simplify the design and speed up the gaming process. If you plan to create games for any device whether mobile or desktop, you can choose this game engine without a doubt.
HTML5
This is a good option for browser-based games and rules more than half of the mobile apps. It is often used in combination with CSS and JavaScript. This game engine usually helps create games that run on any device or browser, on a decent budget.
Cocos 2D-x
This open-source framework is a free engine available for creating games. If the developers are targeting mobile players, they usually go for this engine. As the framework of this engine is understandable, the developers can employ it to their best use.
Unreal
The most progressive game engine when it’s about developing the best cross-platform games is Unreal. It helps curate game visuals that adapt to any hardware easily. The developers usually gain access to the source code through this engine and make the desired modifications. Companies aiming at bulk projects choose this game engine.
Future prospects
A wide array of cross-platform solutions are accessible in the market and companies planning to enter the cross-platform game market are using these solutions. Single code base use allows working on a tight budget, too, without putting in extra effort of updating two different code bases. Every penny saved in the initial stages helps in game improvement, without the worry of budget, at the later stages.
