Mobile gaming is a fast-moving industry, and developers need to keep up with the latest developments in order to stay ahead of the competition. This article will help you determine what technologies you should learn for mobile game development in 2022/23.
It’ll also provide a few recommendations on where to start, whether you want to create some weird web games or addictive apps for people to play on their morning commute.
High-level programming languages
High-level programming languages are the most popular for mobile games development. JavaScript, Java, and Python are three of the most popular high-level programming languages, which means they’re easy to learn and use.
JavaScript is a scripting language; it’s used to add interactivity and animation on websites, but you can also use it to develop mobile games. A script is an application that runs when you load a web page; for example, if you want to make something happen when a user clicks or touches an element on your website, then you need to write some JavaScript code that performs that action when those events occur. It works in the same way when it comes to creating games.
A JavaScript framework (or two)
As your knowledge of JavaScript grows, you will want to pick up a JavaScript framework for building mobile apps. There are two that are extremely popular: React Native and NativeScript. Both frameworks fall under the umbrella term of “cross-platform development,” but they differ in how they approach this goal.
- React Native is more popular with iOS developers (because it uses native components), while NativeScript is more popular with Android developers (because it uses web components). The good news? Both options are solid choices if you want to build cross-platform apps. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses as well as its own community, so make sure you consider which one fits your needs best before diving in.
- Regardless of which one you choose, both React Native and NativeScript allow developers to create native user interfaces—which means your users will get a consistent look and feel across their devices no matter what platform they’re using.
Data analysis tools
Data analysis tools are used when you want to find out about your game. You can use them to see how players are spending money or time in your game, or even just the basics like who their favorite character is and what level they reached. This will help you as a developer know where you might want to invest more and which features can perhaps be dropped in future updates.
DevOps tools (plus Docker)
DevOps tools are software development practices that emphasize communication, collaboration, and integration between software developers and IT operations professionals. DevOps tools make it easier for developers to deploy their code, for IT to monitor and manage the infrastructure and for everyone to work together.
Docker is an open-source tool that helps you package your applications into containers that are easily deployed across different environments—from development machines to production servers. Containers allow you to create lightweight virtual machines that contain only what they need from your operating system (OS), making them faster than virtual machines (VMs).
Testing, testing, testing
Testing is a crucial process in any software development lifecycle. The more testing you do, the better your product will be. However, not all types of testing are equal—you want to make sure that you’re doing the right kind of testing for your game and its target audience. Here are some of the most common types of tests you might need to run on your game:
- Unit Tests: Small pieces of code (like functions or methods) which test individual units (like classes). They are usually written by developers themselves and run during compilation stages.
- Integration Tests: Are used to ensure that different components in an application work together as they should.
- System Tests: These tests are meant to measure how well an application performs under real-world conditions.
- Acceptance Tests: These tests ensure that users will be able to use a product after it’s been built, making sure every feature works properly on their devices/systems
Final Thoughts
We hope this article has helped you get a sense of the technologies that are likely to be important for mobile game development in the next few years.
It’s always helpful to look at the trends and make sure that your skills are up-to-date, but we’re confident that these are some of the most promising areas for mobile games developers to focus on right now.
