Top 5 Mobile Game Development Tools

 

The number of people playing mobile games is on the rise. This is due to the increase in smartphone usage and mobile internet penetration. Furthermore, with mobile games expected to control more than 50% of the global gaming industry market share, it comes as no surprise that many professional game developers have shifted their focus to creating mobile games. Add on technology like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) into the mix and the mobile games industry is likely to dominate for years to come.

However, without the proper engines, game developers would not be able to meet the ever-growing demand and requirements for games. They would be like builders without their toolkit. Artists without their brushes and paint. So, here are the top 5 game development tools you can use to create your very own mobile game:

Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine 4 (UE4) is a brand new engine released by Epic Games. It comes with a host of options for mobile, console and PC game development. Advanced dynamic lighting and a new particle system are some of the new graphical capabilities that UE4 has in its arsenal. Furthermore, Unreal Engine 4 uses C++ as its scripting language. This replaces the popular UnrealScript. In addition, a more user-friendly Blueprint system has replaced the Kismet. The Unreal Engine 4 community support is extremely helpful, especially for beginners. Simple porting also allows developers to create multi-platform games easily. Unreal Engine 4 is free.

Unity

Unity is one of the leading tools in the world of game development. Created by Unity Technologies, Unity offers a variety of features for 2D and 3D game development. It is also one of the best cross-platform mobile game development engines in the market. Developers can port games on iOS, Android, Windows, and Blackberry platforms with ease and speed. Furthermore, Unity allows you to import assets from popular 3D applications like Maya, Blender, 3ds Max etc. The Unity engine comes with a variety of pricing options. The Pro version of Unity, which is $1,500 or $75/monthly per seat and per platform.

 Corona

Corona SDK is a game development kit used for mobile games as well as Apple and Android TV. It is only used to create 2D games. Lua is its scripting language. It is a popular language among game developers. This is because it can be picked up quickly. Furthermore, Corona SDK is available for both Windows and Mac operating systems which is great for developers. Corona also features real-time testing. This allows you to code and validate all in one go. The basic version of Corona is free, however,  it also comes with an enterprise solution costing $79/month, and another version priced a little higher at $199/month.

Marmalade 

Games like Need for Speed Shift and Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) 2011 were developed with Marmalade SDK. It utilizes C++ as its scripting language. It is a great option for working professionals but not a suitable option for beginners. Marmalade also allows for building cross-platform games. Furthermore, it also features 2D and 3D development support. There are also tools to help simplify coding as well as an option for testing applications on different platforms. Plants vs Zombies 2 was also made using this engine. It costs $599.

Cocos2D-x

Cocos2D-x is an open source 2D game development kit. It can be used to create mobile games on the iOS, Android, Linux and OS X platforms. It comes with detailed documentation and excellent community support. Cocos2D-x is highly efficient as it allows you to create games of small sizes. It uses OpenGL to render optimized 2D graphics. Some of the well-known games created using Cocos2D-x include Clash of Kings and Hardest Game Ever 2. It is free to download and use.