Have you ever thought about the reasons why mobile games were so popular? Sure; they are colorful, fun, and engaging. They have awesome graphics that prove the big progress technology has made over the years. But even Snake, the pinnacle of mobile games in the early 2000s, was addictive and popular.
People love mobile games because they are accessible at any time, they keep them focused on a particular task, and they help them relax from the stressful daily life.
Playing is a way to relax, but what about developing games? It’s a challenging process and not everyone can do it. But imagine if you could come up with the next crazy-popular mobile game? You can start studying mobile game development, obtain some skills, and bring your ideas to life.
How To Learn Mobile Game Development As A Student
1. Choose a Course
Do you have to attend a specialized mobile development program at college? It’s not a necessity, but you might consider entering a software development program. There are BA and MA programs in mobile development. However, they limit you to this precise career, which you may consider changing in the future. If you see mobile game development as a way to spend your free time, committing your entire education to it is not needed.
This brings us to a question: how do you learn development then? You have two options:
- If you’re already at college or university, see if there’s a specialized course. Attending classes in person is different from learning online. You’re doing this for the credits, so you’ll pay much more attention and you’ll try harder when working on projects.
- Take an online course in mobile game development. You’ll find awesome courses on Coursera, Udemy, and edX. Michigan State University offers a Game Design and Development Specialization through Coursera. A qualified instructor will guide you through the steps, and you’ll gain a certificate when you complete the program. It’s challenging, but it gives you opportunities to work as a mobile game developer if that’s how you see yourself in the future.
2. Arrange Your Schedule
Maybe you study marketing and you’d like to learn mobile development just for fun. Maybe you’re focused on general software development and you want to take an online course for mobile games on the side.
If you’re combining this activity with your regular studies, you’ll encounter a problem: lack of time. There’s a way to combine multiple tasks in your schedule.
Academic writing is something you can easily manage in less time. Instead of spending additional hours to provide proper references, you can rely on the CSE generator from EduBirdie’s developers. The CSE generator offers an automated, properly formatted CBE citation when you enter correct information. You’ll spend minutes entering data, and you’ll get a list of references that are ready to use.
In addition to a citation generator, you can also save time by planning your schedule in a more effective way. Maybe you’ll give up on a TV show, but you’ll be able to attend online classes in the evening. It’s possible!
3. Explore Development Tools and Platforms
When you cover the basics and you’re ready to start working on your own mobile game, you’ll need to choose a development platform. That’s when you’ll face a variety of options:
- Unity – a collaborative cross-platform that lets you create games with 3D and 2D features
- AppGameKit – it’s based on the C++ coding language, and it works for all mobile platforms
- SpriteKit – it supports Objective-C and Swift languages, and it’s perfect for those who develop games for iOS
- Unreal Engine – a game development platform created for beginners with no programming skills
- Buildbox – another platform that doesn’t require experience in coding
The choice of a platform depends on your coding skills. Also, you should think about your preferences: will you make games for Android, iOS, or Windows?
4. Practice!
Don’t expect to pass an online course, choose a platform and develop an impressive game from the first attempt.
It will probably take you months or years of practice to improve your skills. That shouldn’t disappoint you. The fact that there’s always room for progress is inspiring. You’ll be getting better by the day.
It’s okay to work on multiple projects at the same time. If you have several ideas for games, organize your schedule in a way that allows you to bring all of them to life. But it’s also important to focus! A successful mobile game takes a lot of work, so be ready commit the needed time to it!
Mobile Games Are Awesome!
They are getting more popular by the day. Many smartphone users try new games on a daily or weekly basis. If they like some of them, they keep playing.
Mobile games are easily accessible and fun to play. With the growing popularity of game-based learning, they are important for education, too.
As a developer, there will be no limits to what you can create. It takes a lot of work and a bit of luck for one of your projects to reach crazy popularity. But when it does, you’ll be happy you learned how to develop mobile games.
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