The Art and Science of Game Design and Development

Thanks to the growing number of software developers and the hardware manufacturers who are pushing their systems to the limit, the video game industry is growing more than ever.

An amalgamation of game production and game design, game development is the process of building a video game from an idea. It is a multi-phase process that creative vision and programming skills to create a reality where game elements interact and emulate to keep the gamer engaged.

Since the first video game – Pong – was introduced in the late 1950s, the developers have learned to create realistic, smoother graphics and make the games more engaging. Users now have access to an impeccable gaming experience with first-person shooting games, role-playing, real-time strategy, a multiplayer battle arena, tower defense, slot, board, puzzle, simulation, sports, combat sports, racing, platformer, education, and survival games. Cutting edge technologies like3D, VR are being used to develop responsive games in a cost-effective manner, with visually attractive UI to keep the users captivated.

The mobile game market is seeing growth since the introduction of smartphones (especially iOS, Android). While the whole video gaming market share got a further boost during the COVID 19 pandemic.

World game development market

Video game revenues keep on increasing every year, and the country that contributed the most video game development is the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, and Japan.

In the United States the industry is expected to grow further with an estimated worth of USD 90 billion. Around 80% of all revenues made in the US video game development industry come from software sales.

The number of people who play video games reached 2.5 billion in 2019 with a revenue of $148.8 billion. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, experts expect a jump by 30%in 2020 market share since millions of people are continuing to replace malls and cafes with 3D, 2D, VR entertainment at home.

Speaking of the platforms used, 47% use personal computers or laptops, while 34% prefer mobile devices. By the year 2021, mobile gaming is expected to represent more than half of the revenues generated in video games.

The rising number of mobile phone gamers also affects the number of game developers working on these platforms. As for the last year, 53% of all developers (compared to previous 65-70%) were focusing on games for Windows PCs, iOS Mac and 38% - for portable devices, like smartphones and tablets mostly using Android and iOs.

With all the statistics presented above, experts agree that mobile gaming will take the industry over in the upcoming years.

What is the future of game development?

It is under constant change. New game development and design trends emerge every year. And technology advances, bringing opportunities for game development studios to innovate. We suggest you consider the following:

VR

Virtual reality is one of the latest app trends. It can give your audience exactly what they are looking for – an immersive experience. Specialists agree that VR has the largest potential of becoming a massive hit in the nearest future, as more companies are now implementing hardware units that can support VR gaming. VR uses the sight and hearing senses of an individual to render a realistic environment, which gives an immersive experience to the audience.

The VR headsets in the market now may be expensive but they are predicted to become affordable for most of the gamers out there soon.

5G

The emergence of 5G is expected to bring technological breakthroughs and influence innovation in game development.5G is becoming critical to support streaming platforms and reduce latency, while also make it possible to stream console-quality games on mobile.

Players will always be able to play and stay engaged, as 5G drives mobility. These opportunities might change the world of geolocation games.

Face and voice recognition

Face recognition and 3D scanning makes it possible to play video games with look-alike characters as well as scan the emotions of a player and transmit them. Furthermore, with advanced microcontrollers and computers now, players do not have to face the hassles of scrolling big lists of options. It is enough to use their voice to select, which offers a great way to improve UIs in gaming and boost interaction on social media.

Cloud gaming

Cloud gaming technology makes it easier to play various types of games from any gadget with a stable Internet connection. It is basically the same as streaming a video and music file online. One of the main advantages of this emerging gaming technology is quick updates, which means to get the updated games online without any hassle. This makes video games more accessible and affordable to those who do not have access to a gaming console as players would be able to play games on their PC itself.

Renewed focus on 3D:

The gaming industry has recently started to witness the revival of 3D. In the quality of the graphics and overall game designs, the effects of the 3D games are directly visible. As for game development, the professionals are moving towards creating games that are a form of intensive entertainment through 3D technologies.

Real-time 3D and 3D graphics skills are critical if companies aim at creating immersive experiences and benefit from their games. Demand for skilled employees will see a sharp increase in the coming years, including the need for those skilled in Unity.

Unity

Businesses operating in the industries such as film, health care, transportation, manufacturing, construction, and education have discovered the benefits of using Unity’s infrastructure and software, thanks in part to its compatibility with more than 25 platforms across mobile, console, TV, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and the web. The capability to build once and deploy on multiple platforms makes Unity a preferred tool for the fast creation of immersive and interactive user experiences. Unity is used for creating approximately 60% of all VR content and is the engine behind roughly 90% of emerging extended reality (XR) technologies.

Conclusions

Within a few past decades the video game trend has undergone a dramatic technological and cultural shift. This change is set to accelerate further since the industry is heading towards taking the place of the presiding form of entertainment. Now video games are widely used not only for entertainment but also for educational and e-commerce purposes.

The gaming industry has quickly transformed with the application of VR and MR to the game development process, which enhances the user gaming experience even further. A critical part of the development process is the architectural, character and level designing, audio style, game interactivity, and game mechanics which significantly contribute to the game experience of the end-users.

At Utah Tech Labs, we are a team of experts focused on envisioning, designing, and developing dynamic game interfaces, based on the interests of our audience. We create high-quality games for iOS, android, windows, desktop, etc. offering 3D, 2D, VR game design & development.

From mobile games to games for advanced devices we craft interactive and engaging games, capturing the uniqueness of an idea, and enhancing it with the most relevant features. We believe game development can inject fun elements into any application or system, improve existing practices, and identify new opportunities.