Common Mistakes New Game Developers Make and How to Avoid

Learning technical and creative skills are not enough to become a new game developer; one should also understand and avoid common game development mistakes to ensure the developed game has a good chance of succeeding and getting more downloads.

Most games fail not because of a bad idea but because of making the worst mistakes made by the developers throughout the development process. in this article, we will highlight common mistakes new game developers make and how to avoid them to develop a great game that is financially profitable.

Not Targeting a Specific Audience

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for game development, as a game developed is loved by only some of the world. All games have specific audiences. For example, hardcore gamers mostly love RPGs, and people who want to kill boredom usually like to play hyper-casual games.

First-time game developers usually need to remember this during their new projects. They try to develop something universally loved. Not targeting a particular group of games is one of the worst mistakes new game developers make. Choose a specific audience and then create a great idea to entertain that particular group of people.

Copying Ideas From Others

In the game development industry, an individual comes up with a superb idea to develop an innovative and marketable game. The market is flooded with replicas when the game becomes a smash hit. They copy ideas from others and spend their resources on creating the same game. The idea of making money from other people’s ideas is common among new developers. Instead, they should develop unique and creative game ideas to develop something awesome and marketable.

Code Mismanagement

Managing codes from the beginning of any game project is important for developers. Writing clean and specific codes is the best way to do it right. When developers want to create a huge codebase with class after class, nothing can save them from having to perform fixes that can cause damaging all of their codes. That’s why it is advised that experts write individual code scripts that work on different phases of game development projects. This ensures the other game areas are not affected when you make necessary changes.

Not Educating the Players on How to Play

Every game must have a guide to teach new users how to play it. When users find something interesting from another genre, they need to follow the tutorial or risk playing that game the wrong way. While professional game developers spend enough time creating demos and tutorials to educate new users on how to play, beginner developers ignore this phase completely. Instead, they spend time, effort, and resources designing new levels, challenges, and features.

New game developers must create basic tutorials or demos to guide new players properly to enjoy a great gaming experience without wasting time. For instance, if a new player wants to play lost ark and is unsure how to play it right, there must be a basic tutorial along with how they can earn or purchase Lost Ark gold to level up their skills and items for a better experience. When users are provided with basic guides and tutorials, they find it easy to play the game without getting assistance from others.

Having Unrealistic Expectations

Setting unrealistic expectations with a game can set the career of a game developer up for failure. First-time developers usually do this, and then they are disappointed with their projects. Industry experts and leaders say those beginner developers should not put their expectations so high and don’t force things to work in their favor. Instead, set realistic goals and start small, and scale accordingly.

Dreaming too big with your new game will need you to add as many rewards and achievements to your game as possible. Because offering a variety of rewards is the best way to increase engagement and keep users playing your game for longer. Instead of dreaming big and setting higher expectations, add specific rewards and features to make players feel that they have achieved something great in your game and are rewarded for their performance.

Releasing the Game Before It Is Ready for End-Users

Another mistake new game developers make by releasing the game too early, even during its development phase. When they see the final output of the game, they are excited to release it as soon as possible. After such early game releases, players start complaining about issues and bugs they face while playing the game. And they start leaving your game.

Experts say that game development projects require lots of patience and hard work. Before you release your game to the public, you must undergo the game testing phase. This is the best way to detect and find issues before end-users find them. This also helps you fix issues and problems to deliver something flawless and amazing to your audience. You can hire professional game testing services or pay some expert players to play your game and find the issues and bugs.

Not Paying Attention to ASO (App Store Optimization)

Finally, you have something great to release for end users. Now it is time to add your game to popular app stores and online gaming platforms. But more than just adding your game to a platform like Apple Store or Play store is required. You need to spend time, money, and resources on effective app store optimization strategies to rank your game higher in app stores. App store optimization is the practice of optimizing your game for app stores to increase its visibility and search performance. But beginner game developers usually need to remember that their games are buried. When you release your game and share it across app stores and gaming websites, you should spend enough time on ASO to get more downloads for it. You should also add some visible and attractive screenshots of your app to grab the attention of more users.