Progress Update #13: Multi-platform development

After an intense phase of internal testing, we’re thrilled to announce completion of the first public Android build.

This new build has been submitted to Google Play where it will be reviewed and made available soon. We’re really excited to bring the early version of the game to Android devices as it will help us gather feedback and data to further improve user experience.

Paradise Tycoon will now be available on Windows, Mac, and Android!

In this article, we’ll outline some high level aspects of how we approach multi-platform development so that we can rapidly develop versions for different platforms and devices.

Key takeaways

- Player experience & type of session differs greatly depending on platform

- Technical aspects must be taken into account on all stages of development

- Unity speeds up development for multiple platforms

Different player experiences on different platforms

Playing situations can be roughly divided into two types: concentrated and on-the-go.

When a player sits in front of a computer, the playing mode is usually more focused and distraction free. The session might take from a few minutes to hours of continuous play.

When playing on-the-go, the time available can range from a few seconds to a few minutes. A player might only have time to do some quick and simple tasks while waiting for a bus, such as claiming a reward or assigning work to a crew member.

Due to the vast differences in the playing modes between platforms, there must be something to suit both scenarios. When designing game features, we keep this important distinction in mind. It is also critical that the game load quickly so that time can be spent playing rather than waiting for the loading screen to disappear.

Technicalities of multi-platform development

Providing a smooth gaming experience on a variety of devices with varying capabilities (CPUs/GPUs, screen sizes, controllers,…) is often a major concern for any game studio.

Our experience developing mobile games is a huge advantage since mobile devices are typically low-performing. In most cases, if a game runs smoothly on a low-end mobile device, it will work well on a PC, Mac, or another beefier device.

Another example, different controllers require both technical and user experience consideration. When you have a PC keyboard and mouse to play with, there are a lot of options to bind actions to different keys and mouse buttons. As you switch to a mobile device, you will have to manage with a couple of thumbs and touch gestures. Game’s code must be written so that all supported controllers are taken into account and actions are mapped to right buttons, gestures and other inputs.

To wrap things up, an ambitious game project like Paradise Tycoon requires a set of ground rules, compartmentalization of code, and modularity of features to ensure proper multiplatform support and updates for the years to come.

We’ve got all this covered.

Our vast experience with Unity makes multi-platform development a breeze

It has been nearly two decades since Unity IDE (Integrated Development Platform) has been used to develop new games. It provides an efficient game development experience due to its comprehensive set of features.

With tens of years of Unity experience between our team members, we know what we’re doing. We’re developing the game on PCs and Macs, so testing will naturally take place on those platforms. We have a process in place called Continuous Integration (CI) that builds a new version of the game for mobile and PC every time a team member commits code, art, or something else to the project in order to test it on different devices. This allows us to easily test an actual build of the game on the actual device.

Closing words

Developing a game for multiple platforms is not an easy task and can only be done successfully by an experienced team. Nailing smooth performance and user experience on a wide range of devices gives a huge edge over the competition as there are a lot of distribution and partnership options available for different platforms.

Hope you enjoyed this post describing our approach to multi-platform development. More progress updates again next week!

Harri Karppinen
Co-Founder
twitter.com/HarriKarppinen

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