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Gokulnath B
November 28, 2023

How to Use Hybrid Apps to Create a Mobile Gaming App?

The mobile gaming landscape is vast and ever-evolving. In 2023, an estimated 700,000 mobile games will be available across the Play Store and App Store, highlighting the immense global demand for these applications.

Despite this popularity, creating native gaming apps for both Android and iOS platforms presents significant challenges, including high costs and complex development processes. As a result, many developers are now pivoting towards hybrid app development as a more feasible alternative.

In this guide, we take you through the process of building a hybrid mobile app from the get-go. Read on!

Table of Contents:

What Are Hybrid Apps, and How Do They Differ from Native Apps?

In its simplest form, a hybrid app is one that’s designed and coded to run across all major operating systems, be it Android, iOS, or Windows. They’re typically a combination of web apps and native apps.

While they typically have a single code that allows them to run on either operating system, these apps require specific tools to help them communicate between the native platform and the web view easily. 

Native apps, on the other hand, are built individually for both operating systems, allowing them to leverage the unique features and hardware they have to offer. Facebook and Google Maps are key examples of native apps and are created separately for both operating systems. 

Also Read: Different Types of Mobile Applications: Native, Hybrid & Web Apps

How to Create a Hybrid Mobile Gaming App? 

Creating a mobile gaming app using hybrid app development involves various key steps, each of which contributes critically to its seamless functionality across operating systems. 

Below are the steps to create a hybrid mobile gaming app:

1. Pre-Production and Planning

The mobile game development process is crucial to its seamless functioning at every stage of the process. The initial phase also referred to as the pre-production phase, involves creating core concepts and the game’s initial design documents.

The extensive planning at this stage ensures the development process is streamlined across every step. 

This stage involves understanding factors such as the game’s target audience, the game’s demography, and key elements in the app’s gameplay. Other key considerations to keep in mind include: 

  • Identifying the game’s key concept – the story, the characters, the key elements, the marketing strategy, and strategies for monetization, and also defining the game’s unique value proposition. 
  • Identifying what makes your game different from those of your competitors. 
  • Who your target audience is and how you can make them care about what your game has to offer. 
  • Planning out the various game mechanics – these include the objectives of individual players, the rewards for their progress, how they interact with each other, resource management systems, and a whole lot more. 
  • Identifying the various components of the game’s user interface. 
  • Keeping in mind the various technical considerations for both operating systems. 

While we’ve just mentioned each of these briefly, there’s a lot more to each step of the pre-production stage. However, this should give you an overview of everything you’ll need to consider during this first phase. 

2. Production – Building the Game From Scratch 

The production of the game is the stage at which all the data and market research compiled at the pre-production stage is used to build the game from scratch. It involves working on the character models, the gameplay, and the rendering.

At this stage, developers must decide which hybrid app development frameworks they’d prefer to use. Some key options include React Native, Ionic, Flutter, or Cordova.

Additionally, the developers must also choose which coding language to use, with JavaScript, CSS, or HTML being some of the most popular options.

You’ll also have to make sure you optimize your code and assets to ensure the game works seamlessly on a mobile device. Some of the other aspects that you’ll have to take care of at the production stage include: 

  • The app’s art and design. These include 2D and 3D game assets and characters and optimizing the app to function on different screen sizes and resolutions. 
  • Composing the background music and all the necessary sound effects. 
  • Implementing your chosen monetization strategy through ad networks, in-app purchases, and more.

3. Post-Production – Testing the App 

Once the app has been developed, it must be tested for bugs and any improvements that can be made to the overall gameplay. While it can be tempting to want to eliminate every single bug, the truth is that any new app will face a few bugs in the first few months. 

The primary goal at this stage of the process is to fix any bugs that may appear and do your best to retain the app’s initial users.
Additionally, with time, you’ll also need to routinely update the game to improve the overall user experience and offer your users something new each time.

This helps a great deal with user retention and can also increase your mobile gaming app’s user base over time. 

This stage also involves Quality Assurance (QA) testing, which includes regression testing to ensure all existing bugs have been fixed and that no new bugs or issues have been introduced throughout the development process. 

Also Read: What is Mobile Application Development? A Comprehensive Overview

Conclusion 

Building a hybrid gaming app can be a rather challenging process. Every stage of its development must be comprehensively looked into to ensure the game offers its target audience a reason to download and continue using it.

While it can seem rather overwhelming at first glance, one of the key benefits of the age we live in is that one has plenty of skilled parties they can rely on to help them with certain aspects of their gaming app’s development.

If you’re looking for a reputed third party to help with your app’s design and animation, Hurix Digital can help. We provide some of the most well-known design and animation services and also offer you a demo of our workflow to help you make the right decision. 

Reach out to us for more info!