One of the most critical decisions for mobile game development projects is determining the best game engine for your project. At Starloop Studios, we carefully consider each game engine’s advantages and how they can help us develop the best mobile games possible.
Every game engine has something to offer to mobile game development; there is no singular correct choice, and it depends on the game being made. The mobile game development process should start on the right foot, and the choice of game engine is vital for this.
Overview of Notable Game Engines
Possibly the most well-known game engine is Unreal Engine. Created by Epic Games, Unreal Engine has been historically widely adopted in the gaming industry throughout all its versions for not just mobile game development projects, but for all platforms. Unreal Engine tends to be viewed as a more complex engine than competitors, but it’s lauded for its ability to produce high-fidelity images, making it a wise choice to produce AAA games with a high level of visual polish. In addition, Unreal Engine boasts a range of robust features including the Lumen global lighting system and the Metahuman character creator.
Unity game engine is another notable tool that’s widely used within the gaming industry. Unity is considered a versatile game engine, equally capable of producing 3D and 2D games, making it a stellar choice for mobile game development projects. It has extensive documentation to support studios in their development endeavors, in addition to strong community support.
Another common choice of game engine for mobile game development projects is Godot. Though it doesn’t have the same name value as Unity and Unreal Engine, Godot is a popular choice of game engine, particularly among indie game developers. It’s regarded as easy to use and flexible, and lauded for being an open-source game engine.
Choosing the Best Game Engine for Mobile Game Development
Choosing the most suitable game engine depends on several factors. First and foremost, it depends on the game that’s in production. Overall, Unity is a versatile game engine that translates well to mobile game development projects regardless of genre and style. Unity has an expansive asset store that can help speed development along and could be of particular interest to independent developers who lack the resources to create only bespoke in-game assets. Whether you’re developing a casual game or complex mobile RPGs, Unity provides enough flexibility to handle mobile games of any description.
For mobile game development projects that require as high-quality visuals as possible, Unreal Engine should be considered. It possesses robust particle and rendering systems allowing for incredible visuals, which should be part of the game engine consideration process, especially for teams developing games that would benefit from such high-quality visuals with the resources to implement them.
It’s also important to consider the development team’s skill set when choosing a game engine. For instance, Unreal Engine 5 primarily uses C++ for game development. If your development team doesn’t have adequate experience with that language or the game engine itself, it’s advisable to look at other game engines for your mobile game development project. Unity and Godot support different languages and your team could have more than enough experience with them, making them wiser choices in some cases.
Mobile Game Development Considerations
Mobile devices are one of the most interesting platforms to develop games for in the gaming industry. Unlike powerful consoles and the versatile PC platform, mobile games have a different appeal in that their games can be played anywhere and mobile devices come in a wide range of forms from different manufacturers.
With this in mind, it’s important to choose a game engine that will allow in-game assets to be handled efficiently so that your game can be played on the widest possible range of devices. Performance is paramount to mobile games and an engine that allows developers to optimize them as best as possible is a critical consideration.
Contact Starloop Studios today to learn more about our expert high-quality game development services for all platforms.
As part of Magic Media, we offer a wide range of services for the gaming, entertainment, and tech industries, including but not limited to full-cycle game development, game trailer production, and real-time VFX. Get in contact today, and let’s create magic!
