Mobile or PC

As we see it: it's easier to make games for mobile platforms, but it's really difficult to make a name for yourself by making mobile games. Ask yourself: how many people do you know that make mobile games (for Android) and how many for pc?

In your opinion which do you think would be easier to start with and make a name for myself kind of?

If that's your primary motivation (to make a name for yourself), I would say that you're starting off on the wrong foot.

There are a lot of people who get into game development because they love the potential "fame and/or fortune" aspect, but they never attain either, because they don't really love the game development part.

To make a name for yourself, you have to make quality games that people want to play. This requires months, if not years of strenuous development, and that requires someone who really loves the process as much as the end result.

For such people (who really love the process), the platform is completely irrelevant. They have a project that they're working on, and they're trying their best to craft a game worth playing.

Eventually, they make something truly amazing, and then they become popular.

As we see it: it's easier to make games for mobile platforms

The ease with which one can make a game is largely dependent on the game type, not the platform.

There are a lot of people who get into game development because they love the potential "fame and/or fortune" aspect, but they never attain either, because they don't really love the game development part.

To make a name for yourself, you have to make quality games that people want to play. This requires months, if not years of strenuous development, and that requires someone who really loves the process as much as the end result.

^^ This.

I've known a few people in my career who went through college, pushed their way into the industry .... and then discovered they hate game industry because it isn't what they expected.

One decided to go into landscaping and floral design, another into music education, another into industrial design.

They realized the need to follow their passions or face misery for their entire adult life.



Assuming you are interested in writing software --- which is a prerequisite for programming games --- learn how to write software well.

Since you are still learning, it is easier to learn on the PC. You don't need to deal with emulators, transferring files to devices, different device firmwares, incompatible devices, etc. For your initial learning, it is easiest on the PC.

Once you know what you are doing and have the skills necessary to write software well, then make the transition over to mobile. You will still have plenty to learn when making that migration over from PC to mobile that you don't want to also be fighting against

Well i really love making games, i at least think about them a lot. Different ideas, different things to do for them, and i also really enjoy programming. Programming is really enjoyable to me. I liked programming them, the fun of just accomplishing something was amazing. Maybe i kind of stated it wrong, but i know i most likely won't get fortune. That's not really my aim, it would be nice though. I meant which would be easier to reach people with. It seems like i could access more people easier with mobile, but pc has a more vast library for games.

For such people (who really love the process), the platform is completely irrelevant. They have a project that they're working on, and they're trying their best to craft a game worth playing.

For that i would probably have to disagree, because if you are making a game you would plan on making it for the designated platform and build it around that platform. Since platforms do make a difference, it will effect the building process. At least i believe it would.

One decided to go into landscaping and floral design, another into music education, another into industrial design.

So, 2/3rds of them are broke, eh? ;)

Coincidentally, I dated a girl that did flower arrangements for weddings and let me just say... I was a senior developer at the time and her earnings absolutely shamed mine! You don't even want to guess at the costs of flowers at weddings!

[quote name='Goran Milovanovic']
For such people (who really love the process), the platform is completely irrelevant. They have a project that they're working on, and they're trying their best to craft a game worth playing.

For that i would probably have to disagree, because if you are making a game you would plan on making it for the designated platform and build it around that platform. Since platforms do make a difference, it will effect the building process. At least i believe it would.
[/quote]
Having made games on 18 different major platforms ranging from 12MHz devices to current-gen consoles and several generations of PC specs, I can assure you the overall process is the same across the board.

The process is the same everywhere: You have various forms of pre-production where the design is established, possibly prototypes are tested out, engines and tools are identified, and so on. You have production where the game gets made, and you have post-production tasks where the business side happens and money gets made.

Programmers are really only involved in late pre-production and all production steps. Almost all of the core game functionality is independent of the platform. It doesn't matter if the game is on a tablet or console or PC, you will find game loops, menus and UIs. There are almost always audio and SFX and VFX and art and animations and the code that binds them, there are input devices that may be direct (like a stylus or a Wiimote or a Move or a Kinect) or relative (like a directional pad or a joystick), there are generally buttons and functions that they map to. Etc. There are very few significant differences between devices.

Some of the minor implementation details are different, but they are just that: minor implementation details. A game design will probably have a more natural fit for some devices, for example touch-and-pick interfaces work better for touch screens and mouse, but you can always find a way to implement around it if your picker (mouse cursor, or 3D beam of light, or whatever) must be driven by an analog stick. That's just an implementation detail.

In all cases you follow the same development process. The same general stuff that goes into an older Nokia dumb-phone is basically the same stuff that goes into a modern smart phone, which is basically the same as the stuff that goes into a modern console game or a PC game.

Would not the developing and releasing of mobile and pc games be different? If you want to look at it from a distance for the designing, yea they will be the same. Though for the input of touch and the input of a keyboard wouldn't that effect the game? How it's played, how it would work, how the input is processed?

Of course, details of the actual code that is developed are different, but the process of developing a game involves much more than the code that deals with input devices or drawing graphics.

"i can assure you the overall process is the same across the board."

Would not the developing and releasing of mobile and pc games be different? If you want to look at it from a distance for the designing, yea they will be the same. Though for the input of touch and the input of a keyboard wouldn't that effect the game? How it's played, how it would work, how the input is processed?

How, exactly, will it make a difference?

Both devices have touch-and-pick interfaces. One is a mouse, one is a finger. It is slightly easier to design for gestures, but you should not depend on them, so they are roughly equal.

Both devices have keyboards; one is attached to a PC, the other is possibly attached (many phones and tablets have attached keyabords or bluetooth keyboards) or it may be a software keyboard overlay. Either way, if you need a keyboard they are present.

That is a minor design difference, not a major one.

Idk maybe it's just me, but it just seems like platform would matter.

Edit: Well i think PC overall would be a better choice.

It is probably easier to learn on PC than it is on the resource constrained platform known as a smartphone.

I'd say, the platform that you like most!

Think it this way, if you made a game, you'd want to play it on your mobile device on in your PC? Maybe you'd want both! So pick the one you like most and start there.

"Fame & Fortune Inc." its 95% luck and 5% talent (and 98% of internet statistics are made up ) Not all talented people get to be famous, and not all famous people are talented.

For example, there are a lot of people in the world who could have been Markus "Notch" Persson, some would have been a better Notch, some would have been a worse Notch, but the fact that Notch is Notch and Minecraft got to be what it is, its pure coincidence.

Just do what you like most and what you think its cool to do, the rest will unravel itself.

A lot of indy or low end stuff I see being made would seem so much better as Android or IOS software instead of being PC software. I just saw someone post a very nice looking project in one of the sub forums here and was thinking "I'd pay a few dollars for this on my tablet, but I won't even try the PC demo". Same goes for the game Cardinal Quest. I paid for it on my tablet, instead of playing it for free on my PC.

That's what i'm saying. Some stuff would totally be better for certain platforms hence why you shouldn't just design it for a platform chosen at random.

A lot of indy or low end stuff I see being made would seem so much better as Android or IOS software instead of being PC software. I just saw someone post a very nice looking project in one of the sub forums here and was thinking "I'd pay a few dollars for this on my tablet, but I won't even try the PC demo". Same goes for the game Cardinal Quest. I paid for it on my tablet, instead of playing it for free on my PC.

Right, but it started out as a free to play PC game, so it seems pretty clear that profit was a secondary motivation.

The developer didn't start out with some silly aspiration to be a game dev "rockstar", and make the highest profits by developing for some specific platform.

If profit is your primary motivation, the platform is still largely irrelevant, because you'll probably never finish the game in the first place.

I never said profit was my primary motivation. I don't know where you got that idea .

Also i hope you aren't implicating my name in anyway, as my name has nothing to do with me wanting to be a programmer. And last why would you knock someone who wants to be a game dev?

Also i hope you aren't implicating my name in anyway, as my name has nothing to do with me wanting to be a programmer.

[quote name='rockstar8577' timestamp='1349802909' post='4988412']
Also i hope you aren't implicating my name in anyway, as my name has nothing to do with me wanting to be a programmer.

[/quote]

NaN Like Posted 03 October 2012 - 09:48 PM
In your opinion which do you think would be easier to start with and make a name for myself kind of? Mobile or PC?

Hi,

1) Easier depends on whether you want to make a "name" for yourself as a hobbyist or a professional.
2) PC games bring in by far the most gross sales per AAA popular game and a guaranteed win for professional fame. On the other hand, you could get 15 minutes of fame as a hobby game developer in Mobile if your game goes "viral". Good luck making a lot of money in mobile, though it is possible.

Clinton