Category: Industries

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As they say, word-of-mouth is a powerful tool any business can have. To enable this tool, all you need to create is an exceptional user experience for your end users. This is the principle many startup as well as successful ecommerce companies have adopted for their mobile apps. As nearly 85% of consumers rely on mobile applications to conduct online transactions, businesses must understand the potential of delivering pleasant user experience in their marketplace apps.

Mobile technologies provide heroic help in creating a clean and custom infrastructure for cutting-edge mobile apps for online marketplaces. The biggest challenge is to use technology to build a responsive and interactive app feature that engages customers completely. So what are the features for typical online marketplace apps that boost revenue?

15 Must Have Features For Online Marketplace Apps-ad banner

Based on our experience and insight, we have presented the 15 must-have essential features to be noted while marketplace app development:

1. Spectacular Brand Logo

Logo symbolizes trust and brand commitment for online stores. A clear and outstanding logo can also be used to define business promises and identity for online marketplace brands. Built perfectly, it has reassuring qualities and trust value that help attract more users.

Popular brands can create a sleek and fashionable homepage with minimalist features, logo and a captivating image and video that can also persuade visitors to tap on ‘Buy’ button.

2. Simplified and Straightforward on-boarding

Not every customer loves the concept of filling long forms for registration or sign up process that demands a lot of information. Amazon is a typical example of globally celebrated ecommerce app that keeps things simple and easy from sign up to checkout.

 Like Amazon, you can allow users to explore and sign up only at the checkout. They can sign up using their email or mobile number with provision to save information for future use. The simplicity and straightforwardness of user onboarding helps keep buyers hooked and get them through checkout process.

3. Effortless Navigation

Nobody likes to see their space cluttered with uninteresting or useless elements. Your marketplace app should also be deprived of unnecessary distractions that may obstruct user’s journey. To enable smooth and neat navigation, the content of the app has to be optimized for the screen size of mobile screen (which is always limited). Hence, don’t cram mass of content on a small device. Make the app design responsive to automatically adjust to any given screen. Instead, emphasize on having an uncluttered design that encourages seamless navigation. Display your brand products in a clean layout.

4. Use Rich Customization

Users download a mobile app with an intent to take action and achieve the target in minimum time with minimum hassle. Online ecommerce customers also expect an excellent personalized experience while finding the best deals possible.

Customization is key to enabling rich user experience with engaging elements tailored only for specific users. Make sure your app has unique customizable features that complement user preferences and attitude to build a lasting relationship.

5. Search Box For Easy-to-Find Convenience

If your online marketplace app is really huge and showcases a wide variety of products and items, it is vital to have a search box option that helps customers seek and discover the desired item in little time. Customers who especially prefer your store to a specific product, should be able to find what they need without juggling much with keywords.

6. Latest Attractions and Trending Products

In the time of sales spree or exciting events, make it easy for buyers to know about it right there on the home page. When buyers enter your app, they must be presented with the best  offers immediately so that they won’t have to struggle to get to the exclusive deals.

7. Payment System Icons

Now that we are living in a highly dynamic, globally connected world, ecommerce apps can get orders from customers located in any part of the world. And users prefer an effortless payment system including credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, PayPal or COD. These are primary options for online transactions whose icons can be displayed clearly at the top corners or somewhere near landing page banners or alternatively in a menu section.

8. Online Chat

Customers tend to rush to a customer support at the moment of need. This is why it becomes essential to include the feature of live chat or 24/7 hotline for your online store. Customers appreciate online shops that provide value-added customer service for pre-sale and after-sale problems. People usually go online and explore marketplace apps after workhours, so they expect their inquiry to be handled round the clock.

9. Irresistible Deals and Alluring Temptations

You have only a few seconds to please and coax users who are always quick to judge your app the moment they enter. To beat the competition and capture their interest, make a deal they can’t resist. People feel excited about lower prices and discount offers or even free gifts. you can make they buy under ‘Sale’ tag during peak shopping seasons

10. Reviews and Ratings

It is impossible to go forego this feature for online marketplace app. Reviews and ratings are meant to help customers understand the market scenario. It develops certain clarity and trust between a publisher and customers. With this feature in place, customers are able to express and see their views on listings and sellers can implement a strategy based on user comments.

Read also : Why You Need Mobile App For an E-Commerce Business

11. Push Notifications

Push notifications feature is crucial to making the ecommerce mobile app business successful and profitable. This is one of the undeniable features incorporated by today’s many established online marketplaces.

Push notifications instill instant interest in users and have subtle ability to inspire quick action by psychologically tempting them. You may include time-sensitive offers like hourly promotions, coupons, bank-related discounts or new product launches.

12. Social Media Buttons

After on-site reviews and ratings, online s made by users are often attributed to social media visits. Approximately, 20% of ecommerce s are fulfilled based on what people have to share about d products.

Facebook and Twitter are a few reliable sources for honest general public opinions on everything online. Apart from this, online community on social platforms can drive lead generation based on active prospects. This is why online shops must integrate social buttons.

13. Accurate Product list Management

The way your products are listed and managed on marketplace app matters to a great extent. Sellers must be able to publish and manage the items effortlessly. More accurate the product list is, more there is a chance for visitors to easily locate what they need as they enter your app.

Today, ecommerce mobile app developers have evolved enough to implement superior functionality for product listing (add, view, publish, edit) on marketplace apps which helps customers search, use filters and view detailed info.

14. Security

Security has become a top concern for all digitally powered online solutions. No wonder why GDPR for EU clients came into existence. With personal data being at risk of loss, customers and vendors will not feel confident about joining your online marketplace.

For modern ecommerce marketplaces that process payment details of customers must comply with encryption practices such as SSL digital certificates and PCI compliance. Application of both in your online platform ensures strict data protection and inviolable connections with server.

15. Analytics

From seller’s perspective, having an online business presence is not just about delivering superior user experience, but also about generating constant revenue and keeping customers clung to their business. Analytics assist online shop owners satisfy this motive by offering the clear insight into behavior pattern, buying tendencies, session time, click-through rate, page views and more. This buying scenario displayed by powerful analytics helps make better decisions.

Read also : How Apps Are Changing the World

 Conclusion

While building a marketplace app, you should always keep customers in focus as they are the ultimate drivers of growth. Your online store app, therefore, needs to deliver immersive and interactive user experience with features that stand out from other niche apps in similar market.

Make every attempt to enable simple, intuitive and seamless shopping journey for customers, which eventually pays off in form of increased sales and revenue.

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With GPS or Global Positioning System, the method of tracking has got to be easier where you can easily find where something is.

Of course, even now there are people who still give such broken directions, most of the times, we just prefer to send them our location pin that shows where we are exactly standing. And that is the beauty of GPS tracking.

To find a specific place, we certainly don’t require a road map or to ask unknown people for directions. Our smartphones have all the capabilities to guide us toward the particular place we want and tell the exact place that we are looking — A nearby drug store, restaurant, etc. For businesses, location-based tracking services provide a comprehensive suite of opportunities also — Right from improved customer services to detailed marketing and greater in-store traffic.

Now, before we start getting deeper into the technical stuff, there is another essential question that you have to ask yourself: What do we have to build a GPS tracking app at all?

What is the purpose of your GPS Tracking application?

The main purpose of a location tracking app is to get information about the person’s current place and pinpoint the exact position. However, this information and functionalities can be utilized in multiple ways across industries and here are some of the instances for your understanding:

  • GPS location tracking can be combined with time tracking to determine your remote employees’ efficiency and performance. Also, it’s up to you if you want to integrate automatic reporting and payment depending on the extra time they did. That’s it. You now have an effective and robust employee management tool.
  • Location tracking is frequently utilized to streamline fleet management operations. Users can offer their drivers with mapping and routing functionalities and through the app, produce reports and forward warnings if there is any emergency scenario. In situations like these, a GPS tracking app completely rules out the requirement to buy and download GPS handheld electronics.
  • You can create a GPS tracker application for outdoor and sports enthusiasts so that they can organize their everyday routes, get statements on the distance, and ensure never left behind.

User Privacy — Important Concern

Many times, users find that the rate of access to their location data surprising and feel like they are being followed by their own smartphone.

Read also : Best GPS Location-Based Games On iOS and Android 2023

Also, a study by Pew Research Center says that in most of the situations, people feel completely normal regarding giving their personal information against some personalized deals or any other tangible benefits and on the other side there are scenarios where such close monitoring becomes too intimidating.

  • Almost 45 percent of participants said that it is highly unacceptable for insurance companies to provide them surveilling their driving practices and provide deals or discounts for safe driving.
  • More than 50 percent felt uncertain about social media networking applications which collect their exact location and other related info and utilize it to send them personalized ads or even trade it with 3rd-parties.
  • 55 percent participants said that they never even think of installing s “Smart thermostat” as it would pursue their in-house actions and make its own temperature changes/modifications to minimize the electricity bill.

If you indeed want to build a GPS tracking application then ensure that your location-based functionalities really offers some great benefits for your customers. Put your theories to test with your customer pool clearly and tell them why they should choose to share their locations with you.

Know How Mobile Location is Received

Now, how to develop GPS tracking apps which are exact enough? Let us take a detailed look at what affects the quality of data in this scenario:

  • Users’ actions and the frequency of re-evaluations have to be conducted as and when the user changes his or her position.
  • Multitude of location references.
  • Wi-Fi, Cell-ID, Network data, and GPS can provide data on users’ location. But depending on just either of the choices can be a bit difficult as they each have their own speed, exactitude, and battery efficiency.

The last two can result in unfolding prevalence of assisted GPS — A method which utilizes both GPS and network data to receive location data. Google Maps and some other map apps usually utilize this style and recommend to connect your device to the network for an enhanced positioning.

Another concern for this GPS tracking application development is that location data received 10 seconds past from one channel could be more exact than the present location received from another channel. Such stabilization might be needed to obtain accurate information.

APIs for Location-based Services

If your GPS app customers are iOS users, then you need to compare the Core Location Framework and related APIs before you start doing anything else. This will let you identify the user’s status and direction, design, and plan the delivery of place and managing events, create a geofence if it is required and make sure the application works with iBecaons.

Thinking about a GPS application for Android users? Well, in this case, elements are a little less easy since there are two distinct approaches to receive the users’ location on this platform:

  • Utilizing Google Play services location APIs
  • Utilizing Android framework location APIs

The below are a couple of tips for app developers to take into consideration:

Android Location API

This earlier released API utilizes 3 separate providers to receive user’s position data:

  • LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER identifies location utilizing satellites and takes some time to deliver the information.
  • LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER identifies location depending on the reachability of a cell reception tower and Wi-Fi access networks.
  • LocationManager.PASSIVE_PROVIDER returns location produced by different providers. You indirectly obtain locations’ updates when rest apps or services ask them without having to request the location yourself.

Google Play Services Location APIs

How To Create a GPS Tracking Application?-ad banner

Nowwadays, Google is actively promoting thischoice as a robust, less-battery consumption solution and dynamic solution for identifying user’s location. It is a component of Google Play Services APK and is developed on best Android’s APIs.

The provider automatically chooses which location channel to utilize depending on the efficiency and battery utilization and lets set up more cutting-edge features such as geofencing.

Read also : 24 Best GPS Tracking Apps For Android in 2023

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In this info graphic we discuss about how you can retrieve your phone that has been lost or misplaced. It is a matter of anxiety if happens to you and we are concerned about that. But now, there are many phone recovery options or anti-theft apps on the Google Play Store which can be a lifesaver in case you lose your phone. But many of us might only realize this after the phone gets lost. If you haven’t installed a tracking app or it’s too late that you have already lost the phone you can use these techniques to retrieve your phone or lock your phone so that no one can access it.

The most important thing is that, you set your phone up so that you can find it or else you are on your own to find out your phone. Most Android phones now come up with a ‘Find my device’ feature. This will automatically track your device no matter where it is.

You can wipe your phone of any sensitive data like work data in case you think it is really necessary. Whether you forget where you left it or it was stolen, these measures can help you retrieve your phone in the best way possible.

In some cases, it can be frustrating if you leave your phone somewhere in your house and you are about to go out somewhere. As long as your phone is on and is connected to the internet all you have to do is say ‘Ok Google, find my phone’ and Google will ask which device you want to find and turn the ringer on no matter if you have turned it to silent mode.  You will need to turn on the ‘Find my device’ option on your phone.

If all these steps are rightly followed your chances of getting your lost or misplaced Android smartphone is more.

find your stolen android phone

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The business models have changed substantially from the old barter system to direct selling and to e commerce platforms with the advent of technological innovations. With more and more applications being integrated into the smart phones, their popularity has been ever rising. E-commerce applications now no longer need a computer to perform and the ease of shopping has paved way to development of dedicated mobile apps for business.

Why You Need Mobile App For an E-Commerce Business-ad banner

Mobile apps serve more than just business for e-commerce industry. Undoubtedly, the M-commerce is going to change the way the world shops in future. Most firms have found it beneficial to have a dedicated app for mobile platform for customer satisfaction as well as increased business. Well, the benefits can go beyond mere shopping ease.

1. Creating a brand consciousness

What you see gets into your brain unconsciously. Mobile apps serve as constant ad for the prospective customer. Some prefer window shopping and it’s easier on a mobile platforms. Seeing the app icon on a regular basis can make their choices biased to your favour too in a subtle way. Once customers experience the ease and comfort of shopping through mobile apps, they are sure to turn into loyal customers of your brand, thus indirectly contributing towards creating brand recognition in the virtual market.

2. Better customer satisfaction

Customer is is a part of the business on the long run since mobile apps have facilities for push notifications about new offers and latest arrivals. With mobile apps, the customer can thus be informative about the product, comment on the usability and review items based on known experiences too. Since the customer is no longer a silent participant in the business process, their satisfaction levels are higher than that of a direct buy/sell approach.

Push notifications do the business promotion rather discreetly without annoying the customers. Usually promotional ads and e mail notifications get ignored in a customer’s busy life schedule. Push notifications are a great way to keep in touch with them in the midst of hectic life styles.

3. Mobile apps can display customised products

Customised display of products and notifications based on user experience and behaviour is possible with mobile apps without affecting their privacy. Things are likely to get sold when the users really want them. Big data analysis has made things easier for e–commerce giants to customise the notifications to suit the customer interests. Relating with the customer can be easier with a mobile app.  Rewards and coupons about particular products of customer interest can lure the customers into buying too.

Personalized gifts can be bought and delivered anywhere around the world at the tap of the icon with a mobile app which makes life moments special for the users. Ability to integrate the built in apps for better performance

Mobile apps can make use of the smart phone features such as GPS location, camera, voice search functions, etc. to provide a seamless experience of shopping. For example, products or brands popular and available in a specific region/country can be customised to be displayed based on geolocation facility. Such minute modifications can save the valuable time of the customer and hence increase the customer satisfaction. Reminders about big discount sales can be set up along with an inbuilt calendar function of smart phone thus not losing customers.

4. Social media sharing

Products info can be shared online via social media with ease for better suggestions from friends and family. Facebook, Twitter, instagram all of them can be integrated with the mobile apps with users permission so that the shopping experience can be shared. With online reviews, customers can ensure the quality of the product and hence can choose wisely. Reviewing the d products via text/video blogs can generate income for regular buyers too.

5. Mobile apps can be accessed offline

Some apps are accessible offline too without consuming data for the user. Such apps tend to load faster too as they need not rely on the speed of the internet. This might be a boon for the customers from countries with poor bandwidth and internet facilities. They can browse through the products offline and internet requirement might be limited to payment and .

Conclusion

The level of competition in any business is a crucial factor and there’s no doubt that mobile apps are reshaping the ecommerce industry. Exposure of a brand is more wider to its users through an ecommerce app or website and be a small or established business its high time that you take the advantage of mobile apps. However, what you offer is for the users and they always prefer easy shopping with the perfect user experience.

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We are officially in the digital transformation era and the IoT devices have become one of the hottest in the industry. The automotive sector is the perfect fit for the IoT because this helps vehicles turn smarter.  The speed with which development of vehicles are unfolding is partly due to the demand and the number of competitors in the IoT app development market. The sector is now looking at enhanced convenience, comfort, maintenance and transport safety.

Here are seven of the top reasons that justify investments in IoT automotive apps.

  • Natural partner to the concept of connected machines

One of the very recent and popular developments has been the Tesla automobile supported by the IoT. Way back in 2014 Tesla announced the rollout of a car that was supported by many IoT features. An app framework permitted developers to build apps that would work with the car. The car was loaded with features that offered information about the performance and the utilization of energy, braking effectiveness, Geolocation and a host of other useful information.

  • Cars have transformed into machines that work with advanced software

Cars are not more the typical mean machines that get tuned at a garage or workshop. They are advanced machines with latest software and automotive technology. As a result, modern day cars possess the capability to update the service center about a problem in the car, which will receive a response from the service center. Depending upon the need, the service center may call in the vehicle for servicing or may dispatch a team to carry out repairs or replacement of defective components.

  • Self-driving vehicles

In Europe, a convoy of self-driving trucks moved across borders as part of a challenge, though the trucks did have drivers onboard the vehicles. Computers and connectivity between the six trucks ensured that the trucks moved smoothly in a convoy across Europe to their destination safely, with drivers only taking over the driving at times. One of the advantages that were seen in this demonstration was the ability to conserve fuel and prevent accidents. The trucks were able to communicate to each other at high speed and maintain a very short distance with each other. This helped the driverless trucks to react quickly to the turns and obstacles on the road. With a smooth movement, the trucks were able to collectively cut down on fuel emission by as much as 10%.

  • Fixing problems remotely

Another famous example is also that of Tesla, where car owners received a fix over the air. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued two recall announcements. The problem related to a safety aspect that had a high risk of a fire breaking out. Here, Tesla’s cars were fixed over the air, with owners not having to drive them to a service center. The fixes happened without interrupting the routine of owners. The problem was resolved ‘over the air’ while the cars were parked in the garage at home or at a parking lot in the office.

  • Vehicle to Infrastructure technology will improve road safety

With a large number of cars, especially high-speed models on the road, it is necessary to have systems that help in preventing accidents with an advanced warning for preventing collisions. The Vehicle to Infrastructure technology that has been demonstrated in many vehicles is a case in point. This will help drivers with an early warning to prevent accidents. More often than not, the lack of reflexes or a split second delay is all that it takes for things to go wrong on the road.  With V2I technology this is all set to change.

  • Telematics to prevent car thefts

While engine immobilizers have been around for quite some time, car thieves have found a way to beat the technology, indulging in sensational car thefts of high-end vehicles. Telematics and IoT working together are expected to offer solutions to prevent car theft by pinpointing the locations of vehicles and controlling access to the vehicles. The advanced apps that are finding their way to the market will make it nearly impossible to steal a car in the near future.

  • A Better connected world

The world and all the devices are slowly getting connected into an intelligent grid to improve performance and cut down on time spent for individual actions. This massive integration is slowly happening and it will not be very long before intelligent cities will have a vast grid of integrated and interconnected devices, from street lights to appliances, to wearable devices and diagnostic tools. And in this connected world, automotive apps will find an important place. This will make it easier for technology to transmit an occupant’s expected time of arrival. This will find greater use among the hospitality industry and also among individuals who can then plan accordingly.  Route changes for vehicles involved in medical emergencies will become a lot easier depending on the information collected from all connected vehicles in moving traffic.

Final Thoughts

The speed of developments in IoT automotive apps makes the future exciting. Cars have transformed from simple vehicles of transportation to infotainment packed vehicles that are a lot smarter and connected. It would have been hard to imagine a few decades back that a navigation app can help drivers to smoothly find their way to any place in the world, without having to know the local language.

The turn by turn instruction has transformed the way people reach a destination. Similarly, the future is exciting in IoT automotive apps and it certainly makes a lot of sense to invest in the apps. The performance of vehicles can improve up to a point, but beyond a point, it would not be possible to make it any better. But the experience inside the vehicle and the various aspects of safety and convenience can be improved as technology moves into the next generation.  Investing in IoT automotive apps will prove to be a wise decision, considering the demand and the shape of the future.

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It is time for soccer mania to grip the whole world, as the quadrennial FIFA World Cup is about to kick off in Russia literally. For fans around the world, nothing can be more thrilling and exciting than watching their favourite stars in the play. Yes, we are officially in the planet of the apps and we use apps to follow our most loved game.

Follow the most critical moments of the game without missing a single signature move of your favourite stars –that keeps you in the game, even if you are not near a television screen.

For those of you who may not be fortunate enough to be up and awake to watch the games, here are seven of the top apps that you can consider to have on your phones to catch the action.

1) Official FIFA App:

Obviously, this could be your first choice, because of the official tag. This app comes with a load of features with a classic image gallery that will reproduce the action in breathtaking images.

Available for both Android and iOS platforms, the app lists out all details exhaustively, including the team composition, the match schedule, a professional minute by minute update of all the action and one of the best video libraries that will enthrall you.

Download : Android, iOS

2) One football App:

If you are looking for a lightweight version, an app that is easy to navigate and offers you the information that you need, then Onefootball is a good option. Available for both Android and iOS platforms the app allows you to pick the team you love to watch and follow them all the way through their FIFA world cup journey.

With crisp updates about fixtures and scores, the recap section will undoubtedly keep you abreast of all the action that unfolds in Russia.

Download : Android, iOS

3) Goal Live Score:

If you are the nerdy type and would like to follow the game through figures and scores, then Goal Live Score would be the most suitable app for you. As with most of the apps that are developed for football crazy fans, this app is available in both Android and iOS versions.

It keeps you updated with the happenings on the field in real time. The only catch is that you get to see the scores on the app and no other action or feeds as offered by other apps. However, it serves its purpose efficiently and is a lightweight app.

Download : Android, iOS

4) Goal Fantasy Football:

This is one app which is intended to meet the needs of soccer fans who like to have a slice of the action. Made available for soccer lovers in both Android and iOS versions, this app permits users to get their own team and try their hand at a fantasy session of soccer with their own pick of team members. This is an exciting way to take your interests forward and be more involved in the game rather than being a spectator. Get the adrenaline to rush as you get your own team into play in the mini-leagues.

5) Stats Zone App:

Another app that is targeted more at the nerdy soccer lovers, it offers exciting tidbits of information and vital statistics. Football has a lot to do with statistics, and the game would never be entertaining without the knowledge of knowing how goals were scored by a team or by your favorite star. The manner in which maneuvers resulted in successful goals will be of interest not just to a nerd but also to individuals who are looking at taking to the sport. The only downside to this app is that it only works with iOS.

Download : iOS

6) BBC Sport App:

Can BBC be far behind where football is involved? Yes, this app available for Android as well as iOS is from the reputed British broadcaster. True to their inimitable style, the app is packed with loads of information about the game with a lot of interesting background information that adds to the spice of soccer. The analysis is in-depth and will throw great insights into each game and will keep you riveted to your seat. Moreover, unlike most of the other apps on this list, you get the benefit of podcasts with this app.

Download : Android, iOS

7) Sony LIV App:

If you would love to get streaming videos of the action in Russia, then this is the app for you. It supports Android and iOS devices and offers users the options of going in for a paid subscription or a free service. The difference between both the options are ads and deferred streaming of the games. With the paid subscription, you will not get to see ads and you can watch the action live. With the free download, you will get to see the action deferred by five minutes with ads playing out in between to support the free streaming.

Download : Android, iOS

8) ESPN App:

ESPN being one of the biggest American sport media has made their mark on the digital space with their app that provides users with constant coverage of all major sports, including football. As its the FIFA world cup time, ESPN app has a dedicated section where you can view the games updates, get the schedules of upcoming games and even read articles from ESPN writers about the game.

Download : Android, iOS

Closing Thoughts:

The four year wait is nearly over as the world cup is just around the corner s. As media and entertainment industry is grown so much at the touch of smartphone screen, all major mobile companies and platforms have come up with apps for their customers. According to a recent Google survey, 30% of sports fans now rely on live streaming on their smart phones or tablets. As the upcoming 31 days starting from June 14th 2018 will be dominated by football with the FIFA World Cup 2018 kicking off, take your right pick from the apps listed above and download to catch all the actions in real-time.

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Introduction

Game development is not just a profession limited to building games for PCs, consoles and other programmable hardware. Today, digital world is equipped with advanced gadgets and evolved technology that offer great portability, flexibility and engaging experience. Android is quite a famous operating system for mobile and is also used as OS for TVs, wristwatches, PC’s, digital cameras and consoles. Android game development became prominent when it was successfully integrated into many hardware platforms and the mobile game industry realized the importance of opting for Android over Symbian or Java. The reasons for the growth and success of Android development services are:

  • Flexible and efficient software ecosystem
  • Interactive features
  • Intuitive and smooth user interface
  • Customizable look and feel
  • Developer-friendly characteristics of hardware platform
  • Power to create more design elements

Because of these pros, Android game developers are thriving exponentially and developers go beyond the limitations to explore the wide spectrum of innovations based on Android OS.

Moreover, mobile games in Google Play store now claims 90% of profits. From simple and intermediate games to exceptional Android game apps, Google Store is crawling with thousands of big titles, and the numbers ceaselessly increase. So why do most game developers increasingly choose Android OS over other alternatives?

This guide covers many areas of Android Game development and focus on everything an Android game developer should know. People with existing background in Android or willing to learn about Android games will be able to imbibe a lot from this guide.

Android Game Development

Features:

Some of the significant trademark features supported by Android platform are:

a) Familiarity of programming languages

Android app development consists of most common programming languages like Java and C++ which are widely recognized throughout the entire world. Since Android SDK and NDK are built using known languages most developers are familiar with, developing Android games look much easier and swift.

b) Direct manipulation

Android is perhaps better worshipped for its unique interface that offers direct manipulation. This supreme feature makes it possible to interact with users by means of objects of interest, dynamic real-time action and feedback. Users can perform real-time gestures using touch interface such as swiping, tapping, dragging and also multi-touch actions. These are of great essence when it comes to crafting user-friendly and highly interactive Android game apps.

c) Sublime support

Another attribute that makes Android development a popular domain is its ability to provide excellent support for multimedia operations. Using multimedia supports, Android developers can gain freedom to use multimedia objects inside the game to enhance gaming experience for users especially those with live and sharable elements.

d) Updates and services

Google has tendency to always serve customers innovative updates that do something amazing to users. After its version 2.2 called Froyo, Google has cultivated an integrated, closed-system service known as Google Play Services. It a unique API service provider that has emerged quite useful for Android game development.

e) Ease of Game-making

Android is fertile with a gamut of third-party tools which further help make the job for game developers easy and agile. Some the tools that are illustrious in the world of Android development services are:

Apart from this, configuration procedure for Android device hardware easier for Android developers to understand and implement the steps quickly. When it comes to running game applications, the device hardware configuration offers minimum standard and feels less conditional.

f) Interaction with Device environment

What makes Android games special is that you can design different controls of a game by using a range of sensors available in Android mobile devices or tablets. Furthermore, Android offers solid connectivity via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LTE, GSM/CDMA/EDGE, IDEN and more. Due to such incredible support on various networks, game developers build a multiplayer game with uninterrupted gameplay.

g) Minimum-barrier ecosystem

Android ecosystem is generous in offering Android developers utmost liberty to explore the best features and tools to build sterling game design with vibrant characters and themes. Android relieves from the pressure of restrictive conditions for app distribution compared to other platforms.

h) Effortless submission/distribution process

The timeframe involved in the app submission process in the online Android market is leaner than other platforms because Android allows developers just one-time charges to submit the app. hence, developers can launch their apps effortlessly, engaging an enormous user base across the globe without spending huge. Another gem of Android app development is that developers can enjoy the incredible facility to distribute the app from their personal active channels or website, which eliminates the need to submit the app to Google app store and wait for approval and review.

i) User experience

Android games have a vibrant impression of providing a memorable user experience through incredible game controls and real-time interactions with gravity and GPS sensors based on the game theme, which is an added advantage. Due to dynamic gesture control and OpenGL enabled for better graphic visual quality, Android game apps deliver exceptional user experience. Android also supports Virtual Reality through Cardboard SDK to develop VR-based games.

Challenges:

Developing game apps using Android platform involves certain challenges such as:

a) Efficient use of available features

Utilizing the absolute power of Android’s available features in developing games would be the primary challenge for any Android app development services provider. Every game built on Android platform have to offer the best of features and engaging elements by seamlessly interacting device’s local functionality and environment.

b) Targeting the range of device configurations

Since Android hardware configurations have a wide range, games must be designed with the focus on targeting most of them to achieve maximum reach and touch the broad spectrum of users. Building games for specific hardware configurations like Tegra or Snapdragon, or for specific devices is common for Android games developers However, the challenge is that most smartphones, esp LTE handsets, don’t support Tegra and are migrating to Snapdragon, which provokes the questions of attaining consistent performance across various graphic processors.

c) Imagining a fascinating Story

When we are speaking about setting up a good story in mobile game development, we are referring to its story line ? or to the game’s dynamics in the absence of such story line. Creating a captivating story will always better when it comes to retaining users.

Believe it or not, creating Android games with a good and original story line is not easy. In fact, we could say “it’s all been done before” probably without failing to say the truth. There are hundreds of Android games that deal with war, fantasy, racing, etc.

d) Respecting User’s perspective

Another challenging part is making sure the game is simple, clear and user-friendly. This is not to say that the game has to be on basic or superficial level, but to say that it should feel and look intuitive and have easy-to-understand rules and levels even though it is strategic games you are building.

e) Design concepts and limitations

Without a proper, thoughtful design, an Android game does not really exist. A successful game design demands a lot of mature expertise about target devices including its interactive capability and support features. It is a challenge for designers and programmers alike to incorporate current trends and practices while crafting a spot-on structure of Android games along with common device-independent features.

Best Practices:

Building a user-oriented, highly engaging game with vibrant graphics and impeccable performance is as important as the idea of making it in the right way. It could be a real challenge for Android developers to enable the game design and components that not only look dazzling but also functions perfectly across most of Android devices. For this to happen, here are the best practices they can adopt:

a) The quality of concepts and creativity

Android game market is crammed with millions of games and more are introduced to Google Play store regularly. But not all of them deserve a chance to enjoy longest lifecycle on gamers’ device. Every Android developer must possess outstanding skills and creativity to leverage modern technology for building incredible games that can thrive on the competitive Android game development landscape.

b) Minimalist approach for User Interface

Long-form and prolonged UI could be a less pleasant design approach for today’s Android game development company and can repel impatient users. As opposed to hectic user interface, a modern and much typical practice should be a kind of interface that spends minimum time to take players to the core gameplay. Having minimalist and concise UI design ensures that the players will not have to pull more efforts to reach the real exciting part of Android games.

c) Supporting maximum devices & configurations

Many Android development services providers prefer to design games considering just one aspect: screen resolutions. However, this is not a good practice since Android comes with various configurations. Android developer should also filter target devices based on its configuration status.

d) Background activities

The subliminal part of game software continues to run in the background while the gamer is absorbed in the play. Such tasks known as asynchronous tasks are responsible for either fetching relevant information or processing large files. Asynchronous tasks also come into the picture when game is connected to internet, ensuring dynamic feedback without affecting the working of main thread.

Developers should utilize and harness  background service features in the Android games to ensure uninterrupted game sessions for users and maintain fruitful communication with users. This way, game makers receive information regarding user experience for further improvements and users get notified about latest updates.

e) Battery power consumption optimization

Since Android device hardware is running on limited power capacity and big part of battery is consumed by network connections, power saving is an essential requirement for gaming. Android games are admired for its power efficiency. By focusing on proper visuals and technical aspects of graphics, game developers can save a lot on power consumption. The good practice for optimizing battery power is to build game assets that do not trigger excessive processing in platform environment.

f) Ensuring uninterrupted gaming experience

Interruptions occurring during the ongoing game could tarnish the gaming experience. Handling those external or internal interruptions is a tricky mission for Android developers. In any case, the gamers must be able to remain engaged with the game without a friction or pause. In Android games, the game often restarts after a pause or the game activity is killed post the prolonged idle state. Such instances hurt the progress of users.

The best approach is to save progress frequently to prevent the data loss. Hence, it is developer’s job to identify the moment when data or progress is saved without diluting gaming experience. The best way to handle it is to control pause/resume of running threads to ensure the game loop remains consistent after interruption.

g) Providing better visual quality

Apart from configuring games for different device screen sizes, Android game development should also essentially focus on supporting multiple resolutions for enhanced gaming experience. The available standard Android devices follow are:

  • QVGA
  • WQVGA
  • HVGA
  • WVGA
  • SVGA
  • VGA

Graphics of Android game apps can be shaped using this standard in order to achieve highest possible visual quality on assorted Android devices.

h) Social networking and multiplayer trends

The modern game development practices should incorporate social components with custom profiles for gamers. Some real-time multiplayer games online also support the concept of more than one user having the same game stats and interactions. The trend is more pronounced in board games such as Ludo, Snakes and Ladders, Chess, Monopoly and many more. Google Nearby of Google Play services offers multiplayer support and has launched a feature to enable close proximity among players on a single platform.

Introduction to Different Android Platforms

With HTC Dream, Android was first commercially launched in 2008. Being a Linux-based operating system, Android was used by immense number of Android developers ever since and became the most popular among other mobile operating systems. The major success of Android was attributed to its ability to offer smart new-generation technology that was unusual, user-friendly, light in weight and comparatively affordable.

Android device platforms have achieved greatest momentum which is clear from the record-breaking 76% of the digital market share in the first quarter of 2016. Since Android OS has sprawled from mobile to other hardware platforms (Tablets, Watches, Televisions, and consoles), games are not just restricted to PCs and consoles. Therefore, game developers need to understand different platforms and hardware in order to develop games

Here we are going to explore each platform insightfully, focusing on the Android game development aspect.

1) Android Mobiles

Introducing most competitive versions and updates over years, Android has brought glorious revolutions in its operating system and attained an unstoppable drive. Android has excelled in both software and hardware, leading the digital market with a significant margin.

More leverage, more polish

Having potential for constant, user-oriented innovations, Android devices are capable of giving rugged competition to its closest rival iPhone. This is why Android offers tremendous leverage to Android developers and game development companies.

Ever since Android 2.3 was released, Android reached the finest juncture. Many devices and cross-platform gaming engines support Android 2.3. From minimum initial specification of 32MB RAM, 32MB of disk space and 200 MHz processor, current Android devices specifications have drastically progressed to 1 GB RAM, 4 GB of disk space with 1 GHz processor.

Game portability

Ideally, it is important that the game built by Android developers should run consistently across multiple Android devices and configurations. However, a single game build can’t perform consistently across all devices. The game designed for Micromax Bolt A24 is likely to underperform on Samsung Galaxy S6 with poor quality. Hence, it is important to ensure game portability for all Android devices involved.

General Points to consider

Developers need to nurture decent knowledge of Android for game design and development. The following points will enhance your general awareness:

  • Android is an expansive, ever-growing market
  • Thousands of game apps are launched everyday on online stores
  • The design and development is getting intense and trickier.
  • Device configuration and price help determine the target audience
  • Targeting maximum devices is a great practice to deliver best gaming experience

Technical features & points to remember

Getting technical about Android game development system is quite important for modern developers. Here are certain features & points:

  • The variety of mobile display & resolutions
  • A wide range of Pixel density
  • A wide range of RAM capacity
  • Multi-touch Interface and full-screen experience
  • Sensor support for GPS location, compass, ambient light, accelerometer, etc
  • Different Types of processors, speeds and performance
  • Network connectivity strength
  • Instances of interruption
  • Battery life

Essential pros behind Android’s success

Due to its unrivalled profitability, Android devices sweep through the mobile gaming market, creating better opportunities compared to other mobile OS. Android platform is the primary choice for today’s developers for building Android games because of:

  • Incredibly vast user base
  • Constantly improving development ecosystem
  • Best advertising platform for advertisers
  • Liberal game publishing terms and conditions
  • Extremely intuitive and user-friendly UI
  • Ease of transactions on popular ecommerce stores
  • Ease of cross-promotion of games and apps

2) Android Tablets

Started as a device for experiencing an enhanced view of objects, Tablets have come a long way ever since its inception and became a daily lifestyle device for better digital gaming and entertainment experience. Through tablets, Android helped redefine an all-new category of user-oriented devices in the digital hardware market, evolving year after year. Here is what Android developers need to know about Android tablets.

Fact files of Android tablets

  • What differentiates Android tablets from Android mobile devices is its physical screen size and resolution.
  • Usually, Android tablets are bigger, slightly heavier and less compact than smartphones.
  • Android tablet has a lower PPI than a mobile and requires minimum specifications of 200 MHz processor, 32 MB RAM, and 32 MB disk space to work.
  • Due to good battery capacity, tablet-specific games need to be energy-efficient.
  • Latest android version 4 requires advanced ARM v7 though initial-stage tablets had low-grade hardware system with humble configurations.
  • Modern tablets are getting better and emulate smartphones as smartphone size is growing bigger and more enhanced.
  • Nowadays, tablets support most smartphone features, opening new doors for Android development services However, the use of tablet as a phone is gradually diminishing.

Tablet Evolution

Tablets have interestingly grown from the perception of tablet computer to smartphone equivalent with inclusion of smart features like camera, touchscreen display, speaker, microphone, GPS and native apps, reader-friendly interface and dedicated physical buttons.

Surprisingly enough, 2013 saw Android tablet sales growing to 62% which accounted for over 121 million devices globally. Amazon Kindle Fire devices sale touched 7 million as well. Owing to so much demand for Android tablets and Android game development, the configurations have also improved.

3) Android Televisions and STBs

Inspired by the emerging market of smart TVs, Android saw Television platforms as a next big thing especially after hitting great success with mobiles and tablets. Google made Television set an interactive experience and to make it more enhanced it launched additional accessories to go with Android televisions.

Breakthrough Names in Android televisions

  • Nexus Player was the first Android television launched for consumers on November 3, 2014.
  • Forge TV was announced by Razor in January 2015 and had impressive hardware specs.
  • Shield Android TV was announced by NVIDIA in March, 2015 and has everything that can overshadow 8th gen consoles. Its hardware is equipped with an NVIDIA-branded game controller.
  • Arcadyan Bouygtel TV is from a French Telecom company and was announced in June 2015. It comes with an integrated STB code-named as “Miami” based on Android TV.

4) Android Consoles

Console set is made of an adapter and a device dedicated to control the adapter which is connected to a TV set. Android game consoles thrive on two major benefits:

  • Cost-effective, economical operating system
  • Easy and simple integration with any mobile hardware platform

Points of consideration

Being exclusively dedicated to enhancing user’s gaming experience, Android consoles fulfil the objective quite satisfactorily. Above examples of different console specifications are enough to signify the improvements and advancements introduced over the years in Android game hardware.

Android developers should:

  • Target specific device for consoles
  • Portable games should be compatible with console quality
  • Focus on excellent game performance
  • Build games that engage wide user base

Being an Android developer, it is good to explore the entire range of modern-age gaming platforms instead of just opting for conventional ones like Tablets and mobiles. In this time of rapid changes, developers should update their technical expertise.

Game consoles at present

Recently, the gaming market is flooded with glorious game makers like Amazon, Google and other top names giving tough competition to supposedly dominant platforms for console games such as PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Wii U.

Leaders like Amazon and Google are all emerging successful in the Android game development arena, creating competitive console hardware to give gamers of all kinds an affordable way to play their favourite games with utmost comfort.

The future road for Android gaming consoles

Because of ongoing evolution in Android-based gaming console platforms, the future market for Android games are all set to perform well. Users are increasing and so is the number of games on Android platform.

It is evident that in near future, Android is likely to be the confident choice for the vast base of console players. Android will grow bigger in console game market, opening a new era of opportunities for Android developers who are ready to shift to Android consoles now.

5)Android Smart Watches

The wave of smart technology entered wristwatches as well, digitalizing the analog world of watches to make it smarter, interactive and purely computerized. The flexibility of open source Android platform offers gigantic opportunities and options for building sophisticated, user-friendly smartwatches.

Smartwatches for game development

The trend of playing games on Android watches started from its early days, which encouraged enhanced capabilities in Android game development domain. These tiny devices are no less advanced than computers with integrated features like internet connectivity, sensors, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, card slots, real-time notifications and GPS and much more.

Smartwatch replicates computer in many ways such as:

  • Collecting information from internal/external sensors
  • Retrieval of data from other devices or instruments
  • Displaying real-time push notifications or messages
  • Support for location-based alerts, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
  • Interactive control of data with other digital instruments

The latest in the Smartwatches

As the latest smartwatches have advanced, it offers more class features mentioned below:

  • Finding directions by voice from phone
  • Selection of a transport mode for journey
  • Tactile interaction to indicate turns
  • The use of smartwatch for controlling the smartphone
  • Better control and management of personal requests

Thus, users can travel without looking at their watch screen or phone. They can even have Android smartwatch control their phone.

Android wearable makers constantly upgrade their devices to integrate latest standards and technology trends in their hardware. Hence, while crafting Android games for smart watches, developers should consider specific configurations of the device.

We have realized that Android game development landscape has gone through great changes and boost when it comes to hardware and software upgrades. This turns the equation for the Android gaming market as well as application development methods.

Android Game Makers

The domain of Android game development is blooming with many development tools. You will require the right set of tools to make a successful Android game. There are plenty of popular game makers and engines, each with different capability to the other. From our industry-wide experience, we have composed a list of hand-picked tools to help you build your dream Android game.

Based on their calibre and complexity level, we have divided the list in 3 major categories where Expert level Android game makers are being the most illustrious engines equipped with maximum amount of power, Mid-Level makers are aimed for Android developers with intermediate experience whereas Entry level ones are for those who are beginners embarking on building their first ever mobile game.

To help your game development journey shine, here is the list of tools:

Entry Level Android Game Makers:

1. GiderosMobile

GiderosMobile is a highly customizable and productive game development engine that has recently been made open-source for Android developers. Great for entry-level game developers, it is based on C/C++ and OpenGL and has excellent power to make give your app the run speed of native apps.

It has enormous market of third-party plug-ins and the IDE offers everything you need to build outstanding game elements. Its forums exhibit quite a dynamic, thriving and cooperative community. GiderosMobile offers easy learning curve, speed in testing apps and reliable OOP support for leading platforms like iOS, Android and Windows.

The tool has created impressive games such as Miner Z and Galactic Blaster.

2. Fusion 2.5

Fusion 2.5 is an amazing scripting tool that would be the appropriate choice for building simple 2D games. It is especially helpful if you wish to create Android games with side scrolling shooters and point-and-click themes. It offers basic and developer version with a modular price plan for building Android or iOS games. Developer version is meant to give you more power with monetization features and in-app s.

It is available on Steam and provides luxury of visual programming, fast-and-easy learning curve. It comes with a free version. Additionally, you can pay only for what you want in the game though extra modules cost you more money.

Several successful Fusion 2.5 games include Dead of Day, Lost Jelly, and Megacity.

3. Engine001

Released in 2006, Engine001 was relaunched on Steam in 2015 and is packed with both graphical and text scripting tools. Graphical scripting works well for Android developers with limited or no coding experience whereas text scripting is best for those with some level of experience in coding. Typically supporting retro-type Android games, Engine001 can be used for Android, iOS and Windows and building 3D games as well.

It also offers free version. The best pros are its relatively affordable cost compared to other game makers on the list and its great environment for programming.

Its prominent real-time examples are The Soul Master 1 and Solitary.

4. GameSalad

Considered as quite an intuitive platform, it enriches Android game development experience with drag-and-drop interface. With GameSalad, developers are sure to learn different game creation concepts. Though it does not support full 3D feature and has limited graphics, it nonetheless supports major known platforms without a need for additional coding.

It is simple to use and has good prototyping. Its in-app testing tool facilitates incredible game testing, which is a boon to any Android development company since you can see the performance of your app across each platform. GameSalad also relishes reputation of developing games that make it to top 100 games in the App Store.

It has a free version, too. The top example of GameSalad is Volty.

5. Stencyl

Stencyl is a quite a suitable choice for beginners in game development since it is a cross-platform game engine that supports behaviour-based programming. It is packed with impressive visual tools including textures and sprite creators. To explore its various features (like drag-and-drop interface) and other tools, Stencyl offers Android developers a free web publishing version.

It has good pricing plans for publishing on Android. Stencyl has a “high level Lego block” style of development though it allows you to change the code for visuals. The downside is, it only supports tile-based 2D games and has little collaboration support and no offline documentation.

Some of the games built using Stencyl are Ghost Song and Mibibli’s Quest.

Mid-Level Android Game Makers

1. GameMaker Studio

Released in 1999, GameMaker Studio is one fantastic Android game development tool that has been featured in the Humble Bundle many a time. It uses the GML language and the library of pre-set events to create games and develop in-game actions. It affords an intuitive game development experience to users especially to those who have some knowledge in the domain.

Simple to use, GameMaker Studio also has a wide support community and has a free trial version. It supports Android 2.3 and onwards, and it clear from the level of complexity that it might not be a good choice for a complete novice.

The tool has created remarkable hits like Tiamat X, Hotline Miami, Default Dan, Spelunky, and Savant – Ascent.

2. GameBuilder Studio

GameBuilder Studio has multi-layered editor along with drag-and-drop interface. It has extensive assets store on its website and experienced developers can build games by adding custom code. The platform includes great support especially for Ouya Android console and has Spine Pro integrated to enable users to create modern 2D animated characters through procedural bone manipulation.

It has free version available for Android developers. However, its pricing plans are pretty relaxing with one-time payment though its multiplayer support has quite a high price.

3. Appypie

Appypie is a relatively new in the domain of game creation and aims to provide tools for non-coders to build Android game apps. Greatly flexible in its price plans, Appypie offers variety of options for aspiring and emerging developers. Like several game creators in the list, this one also provides drag-and-drop UI along with ready-made templates.

It contains out-of-the-box templates and is quite easy to use. It has its own marketplace so that developers can publish directly to it. However, job of publishing or submitting to App Store or Google Play is manual. Its free version has 24 hr trial. Its fresh arrival also means lesser user reviews.

4. Moai

It is quite a straightforward game maker that comes free and open-source. It has ability to create games for almost every platform available in the digital market. It is based on Lua and uses C++ for programming. It effectively works with Linux and Mac and Windows. Android developers are sure to find it easy to write games in clean code using Moai platform.

The main flexibility of Moai lies in instructing developers about how to do things. However, as a beginner, you may struggle getting on with game design without necessary coding. Also, documentation is not enough in Moai.

Best examples of Moai-made games are Freedom Falls, Invisible Inc., Lost in Paradise.

5. Corona

Created by Corona Labs, Corona is a famous Android game development tool. Extremely polished, it offers free version along with three price plans. The pro is that it comes with extensive API documentation. It supports cross-platform development for iOS, Android and Kindle. The games built using Corona impress with great visual appeal and simple monetization options.

Since it lacks visual scripting tool, Corona is suited for those with some level of exposure in game programming. Developers can easily get started with Lua on which the tool is based. Corona has strong community support and better emulators for testing with “right once, run anywhere” facility. However, it has limited plug-ins and certain add-ons are paid.

Corona game examples are Streetfood Tycoon, Gravity Maze.

Expert Level Android Game Makers

1. Unity 3D

Unity 3D is on the top of the business and offers full support for 3D game development. It is by far the most exquisite, sophisticated tool admired for the crème-de-la-crème of features. Along with its incredible development suite, it provides a great range of tools for monetization tools. Unity 3D is free as long as your game revenue does not cross $100,000 per year.

The platform is graced with massive community and support network and has been used to create the most singular titles in Android game apps. However, the expenses increase with extra features, add-ons and access to the source code.

Some of Unity 3D big hits are Monument Valley, N.O.V.A, ChronoBlade.

2. Unreal Engine 4

After Unity 3D, Unreal Engine 4 is an eminent name in the world of Android game development and a superhit tool as well. It has a highly sophisticated set of tools and offers a full 3D support. It gives you complete access to its C++ source code. It has a free version, and its pricing plan follows a royalty-based system in which the services remain free until certain limit of game revenues. Then it demands 5% of royalties.

However, you also have a choice of one-time payment. It equips users with visual scripting, reliable UI and has extremely active community along with ample resources, including tutorials videos and documentation. The downside is that it comes with few extensions and offers poor collaboration and workflows creation.

Unreal Engine 4 game examples are Shadow: Deadzone, Epic Citadel, and Wild Blood.

3. Marmalade

Marmalade has been acquired by GMO but its SDK is still available. It is considered to be a high-end cross-platform development solution and it is agile in developing Android games. Due to its low-level language, one can experience rapid pace while running the app. Moreover, its significant pro is the facility of “write once, run anywhere.” The engine has got great support for physics and building 3D games.

It requires no Mac for iOS code compilation and delivers brilliant performance for an Android development services provider. However, Marmalade is not for beginners since it requires extension making and involves good amount of coding in place of visual scripting.

Some of Marmalade games are Plants vs. Zombies, Bejeweled Blitz.

The Android Game Development Process

The quality of Android games is directly related to the game development practices, tools and innovative approach taken to create it. The development process has to be clean, modern and full of creative components. The entire cavalcade of designers, project managers, developers, thought leaders and testers must form a unique, synchronized structure that complies with best industry practices to ultimately give a shape to a stunning Android game app.

Usually, based on latest standards and general Android game development practices, the development process should cover the following segments with utmost precision:

1) Project Estimation

Project estimation is the first and foremost part from where the game development process actually commences. Based on the game specification sketch communicated and conceived by the client, the estimation is prepared by the Android development company. The estimate includes major and most influential components of games along with the general cost of their development. After estimate is approved by the client, the next phase to consider is Requirement Analysis.

2) Analysis

There are four significant slices of game analysis we need to penetrate before going further down the process line.

Requirements:

The head of project management analyzes different aspects of Android game and assesses its various features to be included. The person in charge studies precisely the client’s requirements and expectations and scours through the available resources needed to build specific components of Android games. Based on software requirements, the designer composes a script or a storyboard.

Resources:

Resource analysis determines the availability of staff, their skill level, potential, technical tools and software, testing hardware and other material required to fulfil the entire process. After the complete analysis of resources, they can be more accurate about estimating project size, development cost estimate and timeframe involved.

Scope:

Android game apps must have predefined scope with certain limits. The scope of game design is a technical subject that focuses on minimum required configuration, project-specific configuration, recommended features and target device configuration to build game with flawless performance.

Risks:

Risks analysis is quite mandatory for it helps developers find the solution as the time of problems and technical incidents. For instance, during the Android game development process, there might be the need to address the changes in technical requirements, game design or external outsourcing partners. It all depends on the expected game quality. While calculating the risks, the main project flow should not be affected.

3) Game Design Aspects

The game design phase entails the game essentials such as UI flow and game play mechanic development. This is where concept art also takes the shape. The Android development company put together the design documents like:

  • Architectural design structure
  • Database design
  • Class design
  • UI flow
  • Gameplay mechanics

Once prepared by the team, the game design documents along with UI flow and gameplay are eventually forwarded to the client for review and approval. The reviews and feedbacks from the client on game design are further considered by the project leader and team members during the successive meetings.

Concept Art design

At this stage, creative team of artists and designers gear up for creating different characters and core assets of the game and prepare concept art of the project in its raw, unpolished form. Android games designers prepare and send the concept art document along with 2D images of characters closely matching client’s requirements. The client then suggests desired changes in the concept art model, which, after the approval, leads to the Art development phase.

Art Development

Here different game elements and assets are mulled over and developed, which necessarily includes graphics, 2D and 3D models followed by the concept art. The art development has many segments such as modelling, texturing, unwrapping, animation, visual effects. For this, designers leverage software resources such as Blender, Maya, Adobe Photoshop, ZBrush or others to finish developing the game art.

4) The Core Game Development

The crucial phase of Android game development now takes off. Developers garner and use most suitable game engines and tools to bring the concept to reality. The game builds are often share with customers during the process to make sure feedback are implemented to adjust the look and feel of the game to user satisfaction. Developers work on code reviews, testing and bug fixing to refine the game. It is better to choose game engine that enables multiplatform support across iOS, Android, PC, Mac, Web, Consoles and TV.

5) Polishing Android games

The final polish speaks a lot about the Android games and their personality. Since polished game has better visibility, performance, and user experience, it is better to improve certain aspects of the game to ensure the best user experience. Android developers should dedicate time to polish the game elements before it is ready for release since it demands substantial amount of time and is important to retain maximum happy users. Under the directions of product manager, the whole team of designers, artists and developers come together to achieve target polish.

The three major areas for game polishing are:

Development polishing:

It goes deep into the technical and engineering aspects of the game development to enhance the playability of the game. The main parameters addressed in development polishing are memory optimization, code refinement, performance optimization and portability.

Art polishing:

The target area of art polishing is to ensure much better visual quality to users by polishing the game art. Game art can write the fate of the Android games especially for Android where varieties in device visual quality are ample. Art polishing mainly touches on UI, animation and graphics.

Design polishing:

Despite the fact that the design comes during the production phase, it is critical to polish the design post development to achieve improved quality in the final game app. It emphasizes user-specific areas such as the game flow, meta game improvement, UX design, game difficulty adjustment and game economy.

6) Quality Assurance & Testing

Android basically is the most diversified platform with numerous devices having varied screen sizes. This is why the QA testing team needs to test Android games precisely to optimize its performance across multiple devices. They must make sure all the game functionalities work smoothly on different environments. Testing is done using detailed testing plans and different combinations of use cases.

The game should be checked for its performance, gameplay consistency, device compatibility and user experience. Beta testing phase is also conducive to adjusting game difficulties and controls to the preferences of the target audience. For this the game is released to a preferred external user group.

7) Launch

This is the conclusive phase of Android game development. After implementing the client’s feedback for enhancing the game features and functionality, it is appreciable to think of user acceptance testing before it is finally released to the respective app stores marketplace. After the evaluation and approval from the client, it is time to publish the app in the Google Play store.

8) Maintenance and Support

Ideal game development process should extend beyond the launch of the game since the Android game needs to be updated from time to time. Developers must prepare for additional support and maintenance long after the game is launched to the market so that it can enhance the chance for client’s games to perform the best in the competitive domain.

To create a high-quality Android game, you will need to partner with a reliable and versatile Android development company who is committed to deliver all the latest technologies, industry-grade experience, updated knowledge and creativity and support needed to build your dream Android game.

Cost of Developing an Android Game App

If you are thinking of developing an Android game, you must know that the entire process from concept and planning to execution and to making your game live on Google Play is both overwhelming and painstaking. It requires a lot of specialized expertise to build perfect Android game apps with incredible user experience. However, a lot of game-constructing depends on the budget, which is a crucial factor in justifying the number of challenges and resources invested in the game.

Mainly, when it comes to Android game development, the developers calculate the cost with enormous focus on:

  • Desired features and UI flow
  • Project level and class
  • Gameplay mechanics
  • Technological resources
  • Expectations about User Experience
  • Allotted Timeline
  • Post-development involvement

In order to achieve the perfect balance between desired results and expected budget, the team of Android developers and the client must synchronize together on various game aspects including game idea, economy and availability of resources and time constraints.

A Glance at Major Cost Drivers

  • Concept:

The major part of the budget possibilities receives clarity when the game is in its conceptual stage. If you want to clone an existing Android game app or already have a tested model on paper, a good chunk of your investment will be saved and can be used for more significant activities later.

  • Story Development:

If you lack a powerful game story, characters, graphic vision, background music and UX perspective, the integration of all such essentials into Android games will cost you a bit more.

  • Level & Scale:

If the game you want to build has simple design and straight arcade structure, you will get more relaxed around cost constraints. Simple the design, more easy the UI would be, which further shrinks down the investment considerably. On the contrary, as the levels and contents of the game grow complex, your budget should be enough to accommodate changing requirements.

  • Outsourcing model:

Mid-level and high-level Android game apps with outstanding features and graphics require sharp skills and experience often found in outsourcing partners. In many cases, recruiting dedicated designers and developers for outsourcing the game creation helps optimize the Android game development.

1) Mini Game ($5k to $25k)

A simple mini game with basic features and theme is going to cost you around $5000 to $25000. Here the idea of small game consists of 2D appearance, simple visual style and graphics, plain characters and straightforward gameplay with single level like Flappy Bird.

If it is a clone or re-skin of existing Android games like Pac-Man, you can have it built in less than the mentioned price bracket. However, note that grand-scale expectations rarely go hand in hand with limited budget and may see you ending up with mediocre product.

2) Basic standard Game ($25k to $70k)

Basic games bracket includes a range of medium-budget adventure or Indie type games. If you are looking for paid games with great value for users, you will realize that you should be willing to invest justifiable amount of money for your game development project. When you approach an Android development company for estimate, the usual price estimate for basic game quote you will hear sits between $25k and $70k.

3) Medium Game ($70k to $100k)

The games with more depth of content and detailed mechanics fall in the category of medium scale games. Many independent games that have more layers of levels, exciting storyline and interesting characters join this price bucket. Due to its mature design and replayable material, such games successfully capture the wider audience. Temple Run, Angry Birds (early version) and Cut the Rope belong to this bracket.

4) Large complicated Game ($100k – $250k)

Android games of this calibre are hit titles of grand scale and demand great attention and investment. Often they are funded by publisher or investment partners especially when a small team of Android developers take on the ambitious game development project. In this category, it is most likely that the game has both free-to-play and premium versions requiring small transactions to support monetization within the app. Here the content complexity and gameplay go even larger and deeper.

5) Very High-Quality Game (Over $250k+)

This is where things go biggest and expectations touch the highest bar. Very large, high-end games will involve the streamlined job from veteran developers, large studios and intrepid publishers. The scope of this kind of Android game apps is quite enormous with rich graphics, powerful features and engaging gameplay. The cost of development may touch even 7 figures in some cases. Famous Titles like Clash of Clans and other paid hits like Infinity Blade 3 fits into this bracket.

Summary

Here you learned about various facets of Android game development cycle that can help developers make right decisions to achieve success. There is no doubt that Android dominates the global smartphone market with increasing number of users across all demographics contributing to the success of Android-based games. Such splendid influence of Android OS opens immense opportunities for Android developers to craft brilliant, high-quality games.

Making a good game with excellent graphics and design requires a lot of efforts and agility from today’s developers and designers. You surely need a perfect combination of a right publisher, experienced Android development company and target audience down the road.

At Redbytes, we understand the precise requirements and specifications of the client and have worked on wide range of games including arcade, puzzle, action, adventures, strategy, education, social, RPG, MMO and board games and more. If you have a game plan to discuss, you may contact us to build a solid game development strategy.

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Mobile has evolved a lot over years and has risen up to a great platform that has greater potential to reach the audience all over the world. These days’ people tend to gravitate to platforms that are more reliable and accessible. As Android is becoming a popular platform to play games, many of us prefer these devices to play games on Android.

The Google Play Store is now loaded with a variety of games that fall into various categories like adventure, puzzles, shooters, racers, runners, fantasy quizzes, board games, word games, education based games, casino based games, sports games and much more. With the integration of AR and VR to smart phones, many of the gamers are jumping from PC to Android devices to enjoy much better gaming experiences.

Now if you are interested to know about a verdict about the top-rated Android games of 2018, then take a look at this info graphic.

Android App Info-graphics

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The industrial world is going through a digital revolution and IoT is making a remarkable change over the past few decades. All kind of services in various industries are getting smarter with sensors as well as intelligent controls. Using the advanced technologies, the data is being used in a better way to improve operations, minimize expense, enhance productivity and importantly offering a safer workplace.

The idea behind the use of IoT is to establish a good connection between independent entities such as robots, machines, and humans to get the best of all. Even when more or less all the industries are witnessing some positive changes with IoT, certain sectors such as education, hospitality, advertising, automobiles as well as manufacturing is undergoing some serious changes.

Let us have a look at the impact that is made by IoT in the main industry platforms:

Manufacturing Industry:

With IoT, the typical machines are now getting replaced with innovative systems that offer unparalleled performance with sensors and intelligent controls. Data is easily transferred between the machines and storage and retrieval of data is taking place easily over the internet.

Here are some key changes in the manufacturing industry with IoT:

  • The time of service of a machine is predicted in advance avoiding an unexpected breakdown.
  • The intelligent power solutions are helping to get things done in minimal time and effort and saves the power for future
  • Data from the machines is used wisely and circulated among the team to find solutions in a quick mode
  • IT-optimized smart manufacturing helps to use the staff in a more productive way.

Automotive Industry:

This particular industry is witnessing an absolute revolution with connected vehicles. The artificial intelligence and sensors are in fact taking the driver’s seat and the touch of a button is giving you everything you need inside a car. Here are a few IoT trends in automotive sector:

  • Connected vehicles: Traffic congestion is eased off to a great extent with vehicles connecting each other
  • Innovative sensors: The car’s operation is regularly monitored and alerts are provided to assure safety and security
  • Driverless cars: Last but not the least, cars without drivers are in the market now where artificial intelligence is replacing humans

Healthcare Industry:

Unlike any other industry, IoT has a remarkable value when it comes to health care industry. The right mix of IoT features and medical devices can help get the best of science advantages while saving lives of many people. The IoT apps help with preventive interventions and constant monitoring and providing personalized care which is the most important.

Some key benefits of IoT on healthcare include:

  • Wearable devices: The instant feedback with such devices helps to prevent emergencies
  • Remote healthcare: The healthcare apps helps patients with real time data access and analysis and timely notifications on check ups
  • Patient centric care: Services are offered depending on the specific care needed for the patient

Education Sector:

With availability of affordable IoT enabled devices, teachers, students as well as school administrators are getting the better out of today’s technology. This is causing serious changes in the way boring classroom sessions are slowly changing into interactive classrooms where students are craving for more learning.

Here are some key areas where IoT helps educational sector:

  • Safe learning environment: The options such as sensors and empowered cameras monitor and secure students within the premises.
  • Engaged learning: The advanced options such as interactive whiteboards keeps students engaged for a long time
  • Support for special need students: IoT enabled classrooms helps to overcome their physical and cognitive limitations
  • Quality school administration: Practical solutions with quick data storage, tracking and analysis saves space and time while improving overall efficiency

Retail World:

We saw that online shopping trend is taking over the retail shopping and IoT is gradually changing this trend with the benefits of both in a single mode. The augmented and virtual reality headsets are going to be the key to help the customers to make their selection from variety of choices. In the case of outfits, you can simply try hundreds of outfits in a few minutes and go for the one that suits you the best. The selection can be made from larger catalogues unlike the retail shops but getting the feel of actual retail shopping.

Construction Industry:

Smart buildings are the best sign that internet of things is making a drastic impact on the construction industry. In addition to impressive occupant comfort, they are helping to save costs and offer unprecedented energy. The improved physical security is the highlighted benefit of smart buildings equipped with IoT apps. The protection of buildings can be established in real time with sensor cameras that works round the clock. The official buildings are making use of these features to avoid the possible potential security breach that can cause them huge.

Here are a few benefits for construction and real estate industry with the influence of IoT:

  • Efficient building operations
  • Improved margins for building developers
  • Good tenant relationships
  • Innovative revenue generation opportunities

Hospitality Industry:

The experience of people abroad and on air is witnessing a drastic change with the influence of IoT. Custom meals with their personal preferences can be made well in advance before they fall hungry. The facial recognition features at the place of stay helps managers to identify the person and treat them with all honour. Personalization is the key when IoT takes over as guests can be provided with automated temperature and light settings of their preference upon arrival.

Here are some key benefits of IoT in hospitality:

  • Guestroom automation
  • Location based suggestions
  • Key-less entry with mobile apps
  • Predictive maintenance

Advertising Industry:

With an increase in the wearable devices with IoT, advertisers are finding it really easy to improve the reach of their customers. The product or service promotions can be circulated among the potential users at a comparatively faster rate. The advertising professionals are considering the smart products as a better screen or channel to convey their information.

As smart devices can easily monitor a person’s behaviour pattern and areas of interest, a wise professional can grab the opportunity at the right time. Moreover, the advertising can be tailored to encourage conversions. Effective ad campaigns are built over the IoT platforms in the global digital space.

Engineering Industry:

IoT creates a lot of opportunities in the engineering industry and the professionals are turning more creative and facing new challenges each day. As more and more connected devices are in demand every day, the professionals get chance to explore what they have learned in the span or think out of the box to come up with even more exciting solutions.

According to IDC research, IoT market is expected to hit $1.7 trillion by the year 2020. In order to give a good competition in your industry, it would be a wise idea to go for IoT apps. It may seem optional now but if you set back now, it would be too late for you when IoT becomes an integral part to survive. IoT app development is not much of a big deal now as there are lots of enthusiasts around who can handle the job for you with ease. Go for an mobile app development company who can provide high quality end products within the stipulated time frame.

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Nowadays adopting a healthy lifestyle has become a common trend, especially among youngsters. They are in fact trying really hard to spend enough time to take care of their health in between their tight job schedules. And that is one of the reasons why health and fitness apps are taking a key role in today’s society. It helps them to keep an eye on their health despite whatever busy things come in their life.

Considering the increase in demands, many enthusiasts are developing novel health and fitness app with improvisations. Here are a few among the key features to be included when you develop such a comprehensive app to maintain health and fitness.

1. Simple user interface:

The user interface should be simple enough for even a new user with limited technical knowledge to use. A user should find it really simple to explore the possibilities of the app without any hassle. The sections within the app should be neatly categorized and navigation needs to be made simple. The interface has to be good enough to engage the users and welcoming them to use it freely.

2. Personal information account:

The app needs options to set up personal information such as name, age, gender, weight, height, areas of interests and more. This would be really helpful when setting up customized health and workout plans for the user. Also there should be provision to retrieve the information in case they change their devices in future.

3. Login account:

You can set up an option for login account to welcome user to be a part of the app community. The option can be set as either login through mobile number or email id or both. An option for setting a password to enter the app helps them to keep the app data private. To make the login simple, options can be set such as to join through social media platforms such as Facebook where the user might already have an account.

4. Steps tracking:

The most basic activity of a wellness program is to go for walking. And that is why ‘steps tracking’ is one of the key features included in many health apps. The app gives you a target of number of steps to be walked everyday which depends on your other activities too. It then tracks the number of steps you cover each day and revise you the targets and keeps you motivated.

5. Customized diet plans:

After taking into account your height and ideal weight, the app calculates the calories you can eat every day. After having a check on your eating interests such as vegetarian or non vegetarian, the app suggests a customized diet plan that works the best for you. Make sure that the feature calculates the ideal calories and make necessary changes in the diet plan for each day and include varieties to avoid boredom.

6. Workout programs:

The app can include present workout programs and also customized plans according to the user’s interest. An ideal logical workout plan that is feasible need to be included to help them reach their ideal weight and be healthy. Consider including muscle building exercises if the person is a body building freak.

7. Track daily activity:

It is not just the actual exercise time that counts but every small activity matters at the end of the day. Include a feature to track the daily activity such as walking, running, bathing, washing, cooking, playing, driving and more. A sensor to track the heart rate or pulse rate can do the trick to track even the minute activities.

 8. Calories tracker:

A balance of the calories intake and the calories you burn everyday matters when you are looking to reach your ideal body weight. A calories tracker feature can help you know the calories you are taking with particular foods every day and how much you burn it with each activity. Knowing this helps you to make necessary changes in your eating and activity schedule to balance the calories.

 9. Barcode scanner:

The basic feature of the app to count calories work with the help of pre stored data such as ‘x’ calories for a loaf of bread, ‘x’ calories for a scoop of ice cream and so on. But there can be complex food items the user gets from super market that may not be in the pre-list. Then a bar code scanner can help to track the calories from the food packet. However, the food logging feature should be made very simple to help them enter any of their eatables with the support of a good data base.

10. Activity reminders:

In order to maintain an active schedule, you can set the activities to be done on different times of the day. The activity reminder feature helps you with alerts to do certain activities in case you miss any of them. Similarly, a basic feature can be included to know if the person is idle or in some activity. The app can alert to move if the person is idle for a longer time. However, make sure that it is not annoying for the users and give them the permission to set it on their interest.

11. Geo-location integration:

This feature helps user to link his activity to the location where he was in. This is good to track the position, build walking routes or even record workouts. Such real time data with map integration makes the overall stuff interesting and this motivates users to use the app regularly.

Vital Features To Include While Developing Health and Fitness Apps-ad banner

12. Targets and achievements:

If users are looking to lose some pounds of the excess body weight, such features can really work wonders. The users can be allowed to set targets for each day or week and track his goals. You can give reward points for the targets achieved which keeps them motivated. You can also add options to do a comparison of their statistics over a period to help them know how they are progressing.

13. Live streaming:

In addition to the present workouts and diet plans, an advanced live streaming feature can help users to communicate with workout experts or nutritionists to learn more from them. A live guidance from a trainer can really motivate the person and help them to improve their diet and workout programs.

14. Gamification:

Adding this feature can invite a lot of fun to the workout and diet programs. Healthy competitions can be arranged among the app members where they get points or rewards for the tasks completed. If you are planning a big budget venture, you can even arrange annual programs where you can give prizes to the winners of the contests. This is also another way to work for a cause or charity by raising funds.

 15. Flexible settings:

The settings need to be comprehensive that includes all the possibilities of such an app. It should be convenient and flexible enough for the user to easily navigate through it and explore it. You can include options to help users to customize the app to meet their requirements and make it a comfortable space for them.

16. Integrate Wearables: 

You can allow your app to easily integrate with other wearables to make the usage more convenient for the app users. To help with the storage of additional data, an option can be set to link with Apple or Google kits. Also set option to link the app to watches or similar gadgets to make the whole stuff interesting for the users.

 17. Linking Services:

You can add a feature to link the application to other services such as social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Users can share the experience with the app with their friends and followers and at the same time your app gets more popular among the public. Similarly, the feature can be set to connect with other health care applications to help users to make a collaborative effort on their health and fitness from a single place.

These are just a few among the many features that you can include in a health and fitness app. If you are planning to develop an app for a particular society, then you may go for polls or campaigns to learn about their actual areas of interest and what they are actually expecting out of a health app. Or you may develop a basic app and let the people experience it and come out with feedbacks. You can have a detailed study about the relevant feedbacks and make additions in the future updates. After all, a healthy society is an asset of the nation and it can really impact the way the next generations grow up.