The Gaming Industry is constantly changing, and game developers are required to adopt new and emerging technologies to create the most incredible and entertaining games.
You will lose your audience on the other platform if you only focus on one. Why limit your game’s potential to a single platform? Focusing on multiple platforms and developing cross-platform games is the solution. Thus, your game can target multiple platforms’ audiences, and users who can play it on any platform will benefit.
Mobile gaming is the most dynamic and rapidly expanding platform, but serious gamers prefer PC and console games. Cross-platform like Unreal Engine game development enables you to target users on multiple platforms, giving your game the best possible chances of success.
Definition Of Cross-Platform GameÂ
Cross-platform, The process of creating a game compatible with multiple platforms is called Game Development. The Game Developers will build the game from a standard code and distribute it across multiple platforms using various tools and techniques.
A full-cycle development process is followed to create a cross-platform game. The game is developed for all targeted platforms and is simultaneously released on all platforms. If a game is exclusive to a single platform, it can be ported to other platforms to become cross-platform.
Developing a game that supports multiple platforms takes more time. Cross-platform development is faster than developing a game for one platform and then porting it to multiple platforms.
Benefits of Cross-Platform Game Development
A cross-platform game, playable on PS5, PC, Mobile Device, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, etc., will allow your game to reach a larger audience and attract more potential players. A cross-platform game will also increase the impact of your game on the gaming industry and its intended audience. The following are additional benefits of cross-platform games:
1. Faster Game Development
Cross-platform development is more efficient than developing a game for a single platform and then porting it to other platforms. Cross-platform game development from the beginning will also help to attract more users.
2. Accessible
Typically, a player’s preferred game is exclusive to their preferred platform. The introduction of a cross-platform game will allow your game to gain popularity and users rapidly.
3. Better Experience
Cross-platform games enable the communities of multiple platforms to play together and have fun. This will provide a vastly superior experience to a single-platform game with a limited user base.
4. Cost Savings
Creating a game compatible with multiple platforms will save you money during the development, marketing, and customer acquisition phases. Additionally, cross-platform games are significantly more profitable than single-platform games.
Additionally, cross-platform games are significantly more profitable than single-platform games.
5. Reduced maintenance expenses
Regardless of the number of platforms, if the game’s development team needs to push out a patch or update, they will be able to do so more quickly and at a lower cost because the game has a single base code. Therefore, developers need only make changes to one code base. This saves time and money because updating and debugging a single code is more efficient than updating and debugging multiple codes.
6. More Effective Marketing
A cross-platform game eliminates platform-specific sales competition. Consequently, video game advertising is more centralized and demographically specific.
How to Develop a cross-platform game?
Cross-platform game development does not require multiple programmers to code the game for multiple platforms. Cross-platform game development is a single stream; the developer can create the game with a single code base using cross-platform development engines. The developer can translate the source code into multiple languages and assemble applications for multiple platforms.
Consider the cross-platform game development pipeline:
1. Pre-production
The initial phase of cross-platform game development involves planning and laying out the project’s structure. The game’s concept or vision is the basis of pre-production. The concept will then be implemented into a gameplay structure with distinct objectives and goals. The company will then create a client-approved game prototype, after which production will commence.
2. Production
This is the most difficult and time-consuming phase of developing a cross-platform game. The company will start designing and developing the game using the prototype as a foundation. The designers will develop the characters, setting, UI/UX, and other elements of the game. The game will be developed using a development engine that supports multiple platforms.
By implementing game logic and mechanisms, the gameplay experience will be created. The programmers will write a single, unified code that will be translated into multiple platform-specific versions of the application.
3. Testing & Publication
The QA Testers will start their work by thoroughly testing the game for bugs and errors; if they find any, they will eliminate or correct them. In addition, the game will be tested on multiple platforms, as it is possible that some code portions will not translate well. When the game is free of errors and bugs and provides the optimal user experience and gameplay, it is time to release it.
The game can be partially released as a beta version to determine its performance, or it can be released simultaneously on all platforms.
4. After Production
After the game’s release, the company must appoint developers for routine maintenance, bug fixes, patches, and updates. Without post-production work, the game will lose its grip, and the user experience will be diminished. To preserve the game’s appeal, new levels will be added. Moreover, monthly passes and challenges will amuse users.
Effective guidelines for cross-platform game development:
Here are some considerations to keep when developing a cross-platform game to ensure a smooth and efficient development process.
1. Utilize social functions to increase your audience
If your game is a multiplayer game, users from multiple platforms can play using social features. In addition, they can add players to their friend list. In addition, they can share their scores or gameplay on social media platforms, which will serve as free marketing for your game.
2. Do not hesitate to develop internal tools.
There is a chance that the developer will encounter bottlenecks or problems requiring repeated resolution. In such situations, it is strongly recommended that internal tools be used to automate the work so that developers can focus on more important responsibilities.
3. Select the microservices strategy
Microservices enable developers to address minor issues by modifying a specific module rather than the entire architecture. This will save developers substantial time and make problem-solving more accessible and faster.
4. Whenever possible, reuse materials
Multiple aspects of the game, including codes, 3D models, various elements, etc., can be repurposed. This reduces time and labor. Using available and premade codes can also help speed up the procedure.
5. Maintain a consistent artistic style
Graphical and additional capabilities vary between platforms. You may be tempted to add different art styles to various platforms, but doing so would defeat the purpose of a cross-platform game. A cross-platform game must provide a consistent experience across all platforms; therefore, different art styles cannot be used for each platform.
Conclusion
Cross-platform game development is more expensive than development for a single platform, but it provides access to a significantly larger audience. In addition, developing a cross-platform game from the beginning is less expensive than releasing it on a single platform and then porting it to others.
Why settle for a smaller audience if you can attract a larger one? Even though gamers are currently divided by platform, cross-platform game development allows you to reach all gamers.
Selecting a cross-platform game development company will be better for the environment. They possess the knowledge, tools, and experience necessary to create the best cross-platform game.
