My Top Tips For Mobile App and Game Developers in 2017

It's been some time but I wanted to showcase some of the tips and methods I'm using in my apps and games here in 2017!

Download my new game to see these methods in action!

Apple iTunes => Action Racing 3D Ultimate Race​​​ for iOS

Google Play (Android) => Action Racing 3D Ultimate Race​​​​ for Android

I hope that these tips help you in your own Mobile App Businesses as well!

1. Quality product

Focus on creating high quality and impact for end users.  Remember that users are swiping through the various marketplaces and the only thing that can catch them is flashy, clean and high quality graphics! A clean neat icon, high quality screenshots and even incredible video of your app can all get the user to click the coveted download button!  Being free is no longer enough in today's App world! You need to stand out and good ASO is important!

Here are what my icon and first screenshot look like for Action Racing 3D:

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2. Habit Loops

​Lets face it, most end users want things for free with the highest quality and developers want to make a return on their hard work! It's a tough balancing act and it only works well when you give users enough of a taste to allow them to experience things but not so much that you're giving everything away for free.  In his book, "The Power Of Habit", Charles Duhigg goes over the habit loop that basically shows that we as humans look for a cue/trigger, then we follow a routine, obtain a reward (pleasure) and then while waiting and craving that pleasure again, we are looking for another cue/trigger. If you can make use of these methods within your app/game you will keep users coming back for more!  I recommend you pick up a copy of the book and see how you can integrate this powerful knowledge into your app/game to keep users coming back for more!  Try downloading some other games and apps that are similar to the one you are making and see how this same method is being used in those games and apps.

3. Pull Ads vs Push Ads

Over the years developers have been pushing ads on users at every corner.  What do most users do? BIG "X" button! Not only is this not helpful in revenue generation, but it makes for a horrible user experience!  Yes there are places where pushing ads on users at every corner may make sense (I personally in 2017 no longer believe there should ever be a reason to do this anymore), however the future of ads in my opinion is all in pull ads.  Pull ads occur when a user specifically requests an ad in exchange for a feature or unlock of a consumable item in your app/game.  Be it a new shield or a single use of an advanced feature of your app, users are willing to sit through an ad to obtain usage from a quality app/game.  Not only is this better for your eCPM and revenue, it also makes for a better experience for your users overall who are no longer bombarded at every corner with ads being pushed at them.  That being said there is a fine balance between push ads and pull ads.  I still use push ads in things like pause menus but I also use analytics to help me...which brings me to my final tip!

4. USE ANALYTICS!!!!!

Far too many app developers today do not use this powerful tool to their advantage! This one method can help you understand your app/game better and your users.  Make sure you have integrated an analytics tool be it Google Analytics or Unity Analytics.  The information is invaluable as it will help guide you on building a better app/game for your end users.  Being able to change parts of your app/game based on actual user data can help you increase your retention and thus make more users happy and more inclined to spread the word about your app/game.  Over the years analytics has become even more important, especially with the exponential increase in devices, operating systems and most importantly, end users!  As the app marketplace continues to grow, knowing what your users are having trouble with can help you to fix issues in your app/game before they become the reason for users to uninstall your app!

Okay so there you have it, my tips and advice for all of you in 2017.

Thanks for reading! :)

Abhinav Gupta
Lead Developer and CEO
Game Scorpion Inc.
http://www.GameScorpion.com