How To Design A Game App For Android

How many hours on an average do you spend playing video games? That's right, people can spend half of their time playing games or searching for them, especially, on their mobile phones. It can take about 2 to 10 hours for searching and playing. Approximately 61.6% of people play on their smartphones daily. More than half the population is in mobile games. Nowadays, even children and old-aged people are into light games to spend time.

What Makes People Get Addicted to Games

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The biggest question is how to design a game app that will make people addicted so that they would ask for more. It all depends on the design of the app itself. Well, partly it is the design and parts is psychology. The human mind is one difficult nut to crack. Thousands of psychologists have been spending their time and money trying to understand that.

The way people get hooked to the game has a specific classification. Some apps grasp the clients based on their competition for the high score or completing the mission. Between 6-15 percent of gamers have game addictions. The world is simply changing.

You must have seen that some games are not difficult to play, nor do they contain a lot of graphics. It is due to the attractive design, great User Interface (UI) and animation that makes it so desirable.

So, Why is Designing so Important?

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Before we jump right into the answer, we would like you to know what game app design is. When you plan or draft how the game emerges, that is the design. Additionally, the final look of the product which users see when they download the app is also considered part of the design.

Talking about what is important, people only install the app after looking at the screenshots which show the design. They might uninstall it if they don't like the design. This is the single most crucial motivation for you – building apps that have an excellent design. Hold up, we have more reasons:

Mobile app designing is a completely different field of study and work;
Design helps in keeping the players engaged and motivates them to wait for the further extensions;
The design takes half the credit for the revenue generated from the app (the other half is for the actual game): the better the designs, the higher will be the pay.

Game App Design Differences

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The design of each game is different, but the processor of the smartphone also plays an important role. Did you notice that there are more games on Android Google Play compared to Apple Store and some of them are exclusive to one type of processor?

This is because both of them require different app design development. If you want to design a game app for Android, you need to have slightly different skills compared to Apple.

Characteristic	Android	iOS
Coding	Java is most commonly used in Android applications. It is one of the most commonly used programming languages but has less security	Swift is the programming language of choice for iOS. It is easy to use, has almost human-like interaction but crashes on its own
Integrated development environment	AndroidStudio is used while developing game apps	For devices running on iOS, Xcode is utilized
Style and design	Completely opposite of Apple, they like the extravagant but have a natural look	Mostly simple and maintains a minimalistic style

3 Tips to Develop the Best Game Design Application

How to design a mobile game app? Here we will provide some exciting secrets and tips that will help you develop a riveting game. People won't be able to leave that game. These tips have been provided by experienced professionals. Also, customer feedback has been contemplated to develop a comprehensive plan for you.

#1: Test at every point of development and save on a design cost

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An application development passes through many stages. It is crucial to test the design at each and every step so that mistakes can be worked out. The advantage of such a method of testing is that you won't have to do it from scratch when you test it at the final step. This would help you save thousands of dollars doing major changes after developing the final template.

If you're asking "how much does it cost to design a game app", we understand that you do not want to give up all your possessions when building a game. A simple design starts around 3 thousand U.S. dollars while a 3d game like Grand Theft Auto might take 250-300k U.S. dollars, including the design and development. A 2d game might cost anywhere between 30-50k U.S. dollars. Almost half of the price usually is spent on the design. It depends on the complexity and the processor along with some other factors.

It is better to take some time in processing, but rushing to the market with a bad design of an app will be disastrous for you and the company. While testing you can weigh whether the color scheme was better before or after or whether the text looks too small.

You may also use tools like BitBar to identify any flaws in the design. It has many features that will help you judge your design from a gamer's point of view. Always remember that every user is different and subsequently it is advised to have many options.

People love to have many options and choose the best one. If they are not able to complete one mission, make sure there are many other missions that the gamer can proceed to. Pros of testing again and again are:

Your app will have a flawless design at the end of all your efforts;
Gamers will be waiting for a part-2 of the game;
Although it takes more time, the design will gain higher profits;
During this process, you get actual feedback from players who test the prototype;
The market gets an app that has been tested and now is ready to be played by millions of people without any bugs.

#2: Focus on detailing as it is a crucial aspect of the design

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People often focus on the overall look of the game app. We would suggest you concentrate on the small detailing. For example, your game has a shark eating up people, make sure the graphics are equally good for both the shark and the human beings.

The biggest mistake software developers often make is that they leave out the minute details in the game like the people on the street, the plants inside the water, or the sky detailing. These details bring out a perfect graphic design.

Some other points to be kept in mind are:

You have to wow your player within the first few minutes of downloading and playing and this can be done by an awesome detailed design. This way they look perfect and addictive.
Another important thing is to have a minimalistic design so that the player doesn't get confused. Too many tabs to tap on might create a mess.
All the apps which became famous have clear detailing of each and everything present on the screen.
Do not make the user waste time on too many sign-ups because they just want to kill the time by playing (not by wasting their time).

#3: Concentrate on the appearance – it has to be catchy

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As said before, the first few minutes are the most decisive moments. The users do not have time to play the whole game and find out whether it was worth playing and spending time on or not. Even if the app has an excellent concept, the design is what makes them stay.

Make sure that the first few tabs that open are catchy and attractive which will make the player think "Wow this is great. I wonder what the design looks like". Also, an audio-visual design plays a key role in keeping the players captivated.

Nowadays, people do not want to imagine, they want to see, feel and hear. That is exactly what you need to provide for them. A perfect visual appearance with great animations, less text, and powerful clear audio is what gamers need.

Additionally, here are some key points to look at:

Do not have too many tabs before starting the actual app – it may irritate the users;
Try to ask all the required information or permission within 1 or 2 tabs;
People do not want to give away too much information, therefore, it is best to develop games which require less information;
Be aware of every feature of UI/UX, and do not forget vibrant color schemes.

The above tips will help you to focus on the main characteristics which you should provide for your users. However, when creating an app, you have to check your competitors and research other examples with great design. Let's check out some of them!

3 Examples of Game App Designs

Knowing what is important is not enough. You need to feel the games yourself. Consider the fact that you need to look from a gamer's point

of view. Find the good and the bad points.

If you feel something can be improved, note that point and include it in your game. Do not leave out any detailing and try to find out why the games mentioned below are the best functional apps.

1. Angry Birds 2

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One of the most played free games is Angry Birds 2. It has a great color scheme and clear motivation for gamers. The way the levels have been provided and the gifts and offers are to die for. The design is simple and has easy touch controls.

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The addiction is in completing a level and moving on to the next. There seems to be an infinite number of levels and there is always competition among the players. Another thing that caught our eye is the exquisite detailing of every aspect of the app.

2. Asphalt 8 – Airborne

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What is not good about this game! It has everything that a gamer needs – perfect visual appeal, great audio, and adrenaline rush (the speed). Winning a race releases a great amount of adrenaline which gets people begging for more.

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Whether it is an offline (actual) race or an online game, the feeling is the same. The only problem is that the game is too difficult to win which leaves the gamers disheartened.

3. Mortal Kombat

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This game has everything that is needed in a perfect mobile game application design. The way the characters have been designed and the moves (animation) is just perfect. It has a clear concept that you have to kill your opponent and win.

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It could have been better (it is already perfect) if there were further levels to play for. Also, it is fun when played with friends but playing alone is equally addictive. The only problem is the computer plays exceptionally well and sometimes it's hard to win.

Conclusion

Those are the secret ingredients for developing the best game app. Of course, everyone has their requirements which remain unknown sometimes, and that is why pre-development research is essential. Now it is time to make a game that people will remember for ages, like Mario due to its exceptionally amazing design yet a simple style.

We hope your question "How to design a game application?" has been answered with some additional suggestions. If you need any help to design your own game app or you have any questions regarding the process, feel free to contact Fireart.Studio. Additionally, if you want assistance to create the gaming app from scratch, we would be pleased to offer a helping hand.

Update: 2021-02-18