Guide to i os & android mobile game development resources (1)

develop mobile games
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overview of some of the most Mobyaffiliates
useful services for mobile
game developers on IOS,
Android and other platforms
including HTML5

2
Find out more about mobile games development tools at mobyaffiliates.com

Index

1 Mobile game creation tools and engines

2 Mobile game development tutorials and guides

3 Mobile game promotion and marketing

4 Mobile development forums

3

Mobile game creation tools Mobile game builders
Construct 2 – Mobile game maker for Windows that lets you create iOS, Android
and Facebook games without any programming knowledge. Uses simple ‘event-
based’ interface.
GameMaker – Platform that uses a drag and drop visual interface to let you create
games for Android and iOS. Was used to build iOS gamese Froad and Grave
Maker.
Styncyl – Game creation platform for iOS and Flash. Features a visual drag and
drop interface. Says Android and HTML5 support coming soon.
Multimedia Fusion 2 – Lets you generate both games and apps for iOS, Android,
Java and XNA without any programming. Says you can learn the basics within an
hour.
GameSalad – Drag and drop game creation platform that lets you develop and
publish to Windows Phone, iOS, Android and HTML5. Created iOS games Angry
Anna and Zombie Drop.
Gideros Mobile – Uses Flash-like functions to let you create games and apps. Not
quite as simple as some of the above game creators, but you don’t need to know
any high-level programming languages.
LiveCode – Lets you use an “intuitive” graphical interface and ‘English
programming language” to let you create games quickly. Says it can port between
iOS and Android.
Game Editor – Open source game creation platform that’s free to use (as long as
your game is open source). Supports iOS and Windows Mobile.
4

Mobile game creation tools Cross platform (iOS/Android)
Edgelib – 2D and 3D middleware game engine that supports iOS, Android,
Windows Mobile (possibly WP, but not clear) and Symbian.
Unity Mobile – Mobile version of the popular 3D Unity engine. Supports iOS and
Android. Used to create the Madfinger game Shadowgun.
Emo – Mobile game framework. Uses Squirrel scripting language and based on
OpenGL ES and OpenAL/OpenSL. Lets you write your game once and run on both
iOS and Android.
Unreal Development Kit – Free version of the industry-leading Unreal Engine III.
UDK is used to create games, apps and advanced 3D simulations. Supports iOS
and Android.
JMonkey Engine – Free open source Java OpenGL engine that lets you program
in Java and port to any OpenGL 2 compatible device.
ShiVa3D – 3D game engine and development toolkit that claims to be “the most
cross platform” mobile game engine, supporting iOS, Android, WP and BlackBerry
OS.
Corona SDK – Popular app development platform that lets you create games (as
well as other apps) for iOS and Android. Claims to be used by more than 150,000
developers.
Lib GDX – Android, HTML5 and Java 3D/2D game development framework. Free
to use. Lets you write once and deploy to multiple platforms.

5

Mobile game creation tools Cross platform (iOS/Android)
Papaya Social Game Engine – 2D game engine from Papaya design to help
developers create social mobile games easier. Supports iOS and Android.
MoSync – Light weight tool for HTML5/JavaScript devs to build native mobile apps
for iOS, Android and Windows Phone.
NME – Free open source framework that lets you develop Android, iOS, BlackBerry
and Windows Phone apps from a single codebase. No C or C++ skills required.
SIO2 – OpenGLES-based cross-platform 2D and 3D game engine for iOS and
Android. Uses cross platform C/C++ syntax.
Marmalade – Game development tool that lets you develop cross-platform native
games and apps in C/C++ and deploy to both mobile and desktop. Supports iOS,
Android and BlackBerry.
BattryTech – Game development framework that lets you write native C++ code for
Android and iPhone platforms.
App Game Kit – Uses a BASIC script language to let developers code once and
deploy to multiple platforms including iOS, Android and BlackBerry OS.
Antiryad Gx – Cross-platform multi-core 3D and 2D game engine for iOS, Android
and WP . Supports C, C++ and Gel.

6

Mobile game creation tools iOS specific game engines
iTorque – 2D game editor for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch development. Used to
create titles such as Hospital Havoc and Sushi to Go.
Cocos2D – Framework for building 2D games for iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad.
Claims to be used by more than 2500 games on the App Store.
Sparrow – Free-to-use open source game engine for iOS. Uses pure Objective C
and was built from the ground-up for iPhone and iPad.
Oolong – Free to use game engine written in C++ that lets you create new iOS
games and port existing games to iOS devices.
Bork3D – Low cost 3D game engine for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Only
suitable for devs with programming experience.
NinevehGL – 3D engine built with Objective C, features the ability to import 3D
models directly from 3D softwares, multiple shaders within a single object and
numerous special effects.
Newton – Open source zlib-licensed real-time physics engine that’s designed to be
used with basic knowledge of physic principals. Free-to-use.
Kobold2D – Improved version of the popular Cocos2D engine for iPhone. Claims
to be easier to use than Cocos2D and more powerful.
DragonFire – 2D iPhone and iPad development tool for Windows. Used to create
games such as Little Train and CakeoRama.

7

Mobile game creation tools Android specific game engines
Candroid – Free-to-use (donation appreciated) game engine for Android.
AndEngine – Free-to-use Android 2D OpenGL game engine developed by Nicolas
Gramlich.
jPCT AE – Free 3D game engine that’s a port of jPCT for Android. Supports
OpenGL ES 1.x and 2.0. Used to create Aaagh! and Airdroid on Google Play.
Android Box2D – Award-winning 2D rigid body physics engine written in C++ for
Android developers.
Catcake – Free-to-use 3D graphics engine for Android (as well as Linux) intended
to be easy-to-use and high-performance.
Cocos2D for Android – Framework for building 2D games on Android. Based on
the Cocos2D framework for iPhone. Free-to-use (donation appreciated).

8

Mobile game game development
tutorials and guides
Raywenderlich.com – A whole load of tutorials can be found on this page, from
Objective C crash course, to Cocos2D tutorials.
Gamasutra Guide – Brief guide to getting started with iPhone development,
covering the administrative stuff. A little dated but still useful.
iDevgames Programming for beginners – Four page beginners guide to iOS
game development. Including info on libraries and engines and programming
languages.
Publishing a Commercial iPhone Game – Very useful guide from the developer
of Asterope, detailing step-by-step how he made his game.
iPhone 3D programming – In-depth ebook covering iPhone game development
with OpenGL ES. Not for beginners.
Complete iOS Game Tutorial – Handy tutorial that takes you step-by-step through
the development of Pong on iOS. Covers menus and design, as well as gameplay
elements.
Learn Cocoa – Whole series of articles on how to use iOS engine Cocoa,
spanning Objective C lessons and Cocoa Graphics.
Cocos2D programming guide – In-depth documentation for writing applications
that use cocos2D. Starts at beginners level and goes through to advanced.

9

Mobile game game development
tutorials and guides Android mobile game tutorials
Building Your First App – The introductory lesson on Android app building on the
official Android site. Essential reading for beginners.

App Fundamentals – Another basic guide from the official Android website
designed for complete beginners.

Android Game Development Tutorial – Guide specifically on making Android
games for beginners. Still a work in progress, but pretty comprehensive.

Android Application Development Videos – Over 200 video guides to Android
application development. A great resource if you’re a visual learner.

Android Game Development – Basic introduction to game architecture and sprite
animation over on the Javacodegeeks website.

10

Mobile game promotion and marketing
Game promotion guides
Android advertising: How to make money – guide to maximising your app
revenue. While this is geared toward Android devs, the advice is pretty universal.
Well worth reading if you plan to use ad-based revenue model.

How to contact the gaming press – Guide to contacting gaming websites, blogs
and magazines in order to help promote your game.

MindJuice iOS marketing tips – Nice little checklist to ensure you’re properly
marketing your game. IOS-specific, but good advice for all platforms.

Idiots guide to marketing your indie game – Gamasutra’s guide to marketing
your indie-game. Not mobile-specific, but worth reading.

Zero Budget Indie Game Marketing – Guide on marketing and promoting your
game without spending money. Not mobile-specific, but lots of relevant advice here.

TigerStyle sales figures – Popular developer Tiger Style shares some numbers
and tips regarding dropping your game’s price on the App Store.

How To: Promote your app – mobyaffiliates guide on app promotion. Not game-
specific, but this guide covers pretty much everything you need to know.

App promotion: Ask the experts – we asked three app promotion companies
what their top tips are for developers.

11

App promotion networks

Applifier – App promotion network that works by delivering a user to your app
everytime your app delivers a user to another developer – with no fees
involved. Based in Helsinki, Finland, with offices in San Francisco.

TapJoy – App promotion network that offers non-incentivized app download
network. TapJoy also provides sponsorship for developers looking to port their app
to Android. Based in San-Francisco, US.

App Optimisers – UK-based app promotion agency specialising in social media
marketing, video and blog promotion. Claims to have promoted 5 top 10-ranking
apps.

HumanDemand – App promotion platform that’s entirely self-serve and aimed at
developers on a tighter budget.

Fiksu – App marketing company offering non-incentivized download network on
iOS and Android. Works with brands such as VH1 and Barnes and Noble. Based in
Boston Massachusetts, USA.

App Promo – Full service app marketing agency offering PR, ASO, development,
mobile advertising and more. Based in Toronto, Canada.

12

App Stores

1Mobile – Android app store that focuses mainly on games and claims over 60 thousand total
apps.

Tegra Store – App store run by graphics chip company Nvidia. Highlights videogames that are
designed for use with Nvidia’s Tegra smartphone chip.

AppsLib – Claims to be the second largest Android app store after Google Play. Specialises in
lesser-known Android devices, such as tablets and eReaders, that are unable to get Google
certification. Claims to have install base of over 2 million tablets worldwide.

MatchFuel- Not quite an app store, but provides daily app videogame recommendations to
Android users via a storefront. Formally known as Andspot.

Handster – Claims to features over 30,000 apps from 4000 vendors across Android, Symbian,
Java and BlackBerry platforms. Also offers white label platform to manufacturers, distributors and
carriers. Owned by Opera.

AndroidPit – App store run by the Berlin-based Android website AndroidPit. Includes apps
selected by editorial team.

GetJar – One of the biggest 3rd party app stores currently in operations. Claims to distribute
more than 350 thousand mobile apps, with 395 registered developers. Also offers a pay per
download system to help developers get visibility.

Biskero – Mobile content store that focuses on distributing Flash games and apps to mobile
devices. Works primarily across Android and Nokia handsets.

Kongregate – Mobile and desktop Flash-powered app store that focuses on videogames. Claims
to reach over 6 million mobile and desktop gamers, with 56 thousand Flash games.

13

Mobile development forums
iOS Forums

iPhone Dev Forums – Not the most active forum out there, but still has plenty of
posts and resources that are worth a look.

Apple Developer Forums – The official Apple developer forums. You need to be
on the Apple Developer Program to access.

Hackintosh Forums – As the name suggests this forum focuses more on
hacking/jailbreaking iOS devices, rather than game development. But still has
useful info.

MacRumours Forum – iOS dev sub forum for the popular Apple news blog
MacRumours. Fairly active.

iPhone Dev Sub Reddit – iPhone dev subreddit on Reddit. Not exactly a forum,
but a great place to keep up with iOS dev news.

iDevGames Forums – Comprehensive iOS developer forum covering graphics,
game design and everything else.

Corona Forums – The official forum for discussion of iOS development framework
Corona. Great resource and very active.

TouchArcade Dev forums – iOS development forum dedicated solely to games.
Great place to discuss game design and the business aspect of indie development.

14

Android Forums

Anddev – Big forum covering all aspects of Android development. Some great
tutorials can be found here.

Google Groups Android Devs – The Google Groups for Android development.
Great place if you need quick answers. Very active, but not so much for beginners.

Android Dev Sub-Reddit – The SubReddit for Android developers. More a source
of news and information than a discussion forum. But worth checking out.

Android StackOverflow – Android developer questions on StackOverflow. Great
place to explore if you’re a beginner and brimming with questions.

Phandroid Forums – Developer forums for website Phandroid. Features a handy
folder dedicated to beginners.

15

Cross Platform Forums

Stack Overflow – Indispensable resource for programmers that lets you ask
questions and find answers to everything from Android to HTML development. Lots
of mobile game content here. You just need to search for the relevant tag.

XDA Developers – Very big community of Windows Phone and Android
developers and enthusiasts. Not specifically aimed at game devs, but still useful.

GameDev Mobile Forums – The mobile forums for popular site GameDev.net. Not
very active.

App Dev Room – Application development forum covering Android and iPhone.
Not very active.

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Your Next Step
• To find out more about mobile
games development head over
Get in touch
to mobyaffiliates.com Feedback, questions?

• You can also find information
about: +44 (0) 203 322 2945
 the best mobile ad www.mobyaffiliates.com
networks to generate
revenues from mobile hello@mobyaffiliates.com
games
 how to market and promote @mobyaffiliates
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 information about the Mobyaffiliates
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Guide to i os & android mobile game development resources (1)

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