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Playing games is not just a hobby anymore but a continuously growing industry with an expectation to reach 321 billion US dollars in 2026. The latest technologies of Artificial Intelligence, virtual reality, etc., have completely transformed the traditional video game industry.
If you are planning to invest in the booming game industry, you are making a sound decision given the numerous profitable opportunities in the game app market.
There will be more than 3.5 billion video games in 2024 developed by talented game developers, which also means fierce competition in the market to hire the right professionals and build innovative video games.
You will require expert, experienced, and motivated developers to build your game app. These developers possess technical game development skills and are also creative enough to assist game designers with game rules, game-play elements, graphics, etc. The technology skills required by game developers are quite broad.
You cannot risk your game app development project by opting for risky options like freelancer developers. Your best bet is to partner with an experienced software development company like DevTeamSpace and hire game developers from them. We will talk more about this in a while.
First, you need to know what to look for in software developers that will develop your game app. We will discuss them next.
Primary Skills for a Game App Developer:
Your game app developers should have the following primary skills:
- Proficiency in programming languages like C++, C#, and Java. C++ is the standard programming language for computer game applications. It is comparatively difficult to learn and work with compared to other general-purpose programming languages but provides developers with better control over game elements and helps them build performant game apps;
- Knowledge of development tools for Android games. Developers should know programming languages like Java and Kotlin, KorGe game development engine, Android SDKs, Android Studio IDE, etc.;
- Proficiency in iOS app development skillset to develop game mobile apps for Apple. These include Swift programming language, Xcode IDE, game development frameworks like SpriteKit, Apple APIs, etc.;
- Knowledge of publishing apps on Google Play Store and Apple App Store;
- Familiarity with Google play services, in-app purchases, etc.;
- Knowledge of web development technologies, including JS, HTML, CSS, and frameworks like Angular, Express.js, etc.;
- Knowledge of cross-app development platforms like Flutter, Xamarin, Vue.js, etc.;
- Expertise in game engines like Unity, Open 3D, Unreal Engine, etc., to build 2D and 3D games.
Game app developers need to have the following skills too:
- Knowledge of structured or SQL databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.;
- Knowledge of unstructured or NoSQL databases like MongoDB, Apache Cassandra, etc.;
- Knowledge of various software application architectures, like microservices, model-view-controller, etc.
- Expertise in software development life cycle, processes, methods, and tools;
- Sound knowledge of DevOps practices, including tools to build an effective pipeline;
- Familiarity with agile SDLC methodologies and frameworks, like Scrum.
Other Software Development Skills
Game app developers should have the following additional software development skills too:
1. Application Security Skills
Game developers should be able to build secure mobile game apps. Hackers can exploit bugs in low-quality code. Coders should be familiar with common code vulnerabilities like SQL injections and apply techniques such as encryption to write high-quality and secure code.
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2. Cloud Computing Skills
You will need game developers who are thoroughly familiar with cloud computing technologies, as this help immensely in building innovative software apps efficiently. You require developers familiar with various cloud platforms, including IaaS, PaaS, MBaaS, SaaS, hybrid cloud, private clouds, etc.
Your developers should be able to work with multiple cloud services for app computation and storage resources such as backend database technology, networking, API integrations, etc.
3. API Development Skills
You will require developers with skills to build and host application APIs. The developers should be able to perform third-party API integrations and also develop your app features as APIs. Developers should be familiar with tools like Postman, Swagger, etc., to build, test, and publish APIs.
4. The Latest Technologies
The latest technologies like Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality are essential to offer an engaging experience to gamers. Technologies like AI and AR help develop an immersive experience, improve game mechanics, build realistic game characters, etc.
You will require developers who are familiar with the underlying technologies and have experience in tools to integrate these cutting-edge technologies into your game applications.
5. Code Test and Review
You will require developers who can perform code reviews and detect bugs. Developers perform unit and integration tests to ensure application features perform as expected independently and collectively as a system.
Your developers will use tools to automate test routines. Developers should be familiar with testing environments such as Espresso for Android apps, XCTest for iOS apps, Selenium for web apps, etc.
6. Soft Skills
You need to have game developers with good communication and team-building skills. Some interpersonal skills to have in your game app developers are;
- Communication skills:
Your game app developers will work with complex technologies and abstract concepts. Good communication skills will help your game developers communicate problems and ideas accurately to the stakeholders and other team members.
- Team player:
Your game developer will work closely with other game app developers, designers, testers, etc. Teamwork and close collaboration between team members will make your game app project a success.
- Commitment:
You will need game developers willing to deliver a feature-rich game app to the target audience. Gaming apps often face challenging market conditions and user requirements. Your game developers should be committed to overcoming all the challenges and meeting expectations.
- Passion for excellence:
You will require developers who are passionate about working in a competitive gaming landscape. They are eager to learn cutting-edge technologies and deliver excellent game applications.
How to Find the Best Game App Developers
You now have a clear idea about the skill requirements of game app developers. Now you need to hire developers, which involves the following steps:
1. Decide the right platform
You might think hiring game app developers from a freelance platform is a quick and easy solution. This option works for small projects, whereas game app development projects tend to be complex. You will require developers who are committed to your development project and possess exceptional technical skills.
Here freelance developers fall short. Freelancers often work part-time and on multiple projects to maintain multiple income streams. It is highly likely that freelance game developers are giving their full time and effort to your project.
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Moreover, freelance platforms provide no guarantee of the skills of freelancers. They connect you and the developers with your required skills. It is your responsibility to interview these freelancers and assess their credibility.
Project management also gets difficult with freelancers. As they work remotely, you have to maintain close communication within your remote project team. Freelance platforms offer no assistance here.
However, you may rightly want to hire and work with remote developers as you get access to a global pool of top-quality talent. Expenses and hiring efforts are also way less than the in-house development team. We would highly recommend you hire remote game app developers from software development companies like DevTeamSpace.
With DevTeamSpace, you can outsource your complete game app development project to dev teams or hire game developers according to your project requirements. All the developers at DevTeamSpace undergo a rigorous screening and training process before they became part of the developer community. You can rest assured that top-quality developers work on your game app.
These developers at DevTeamSpace are also managed by senior and experienced software engineers and follow an AI-powered agile development process that helps you immensely with project management. You easily communicate with developers working on your project and receive daily/weekly updates on the progress of your project.
We at DevTeamSpace also sign an NDA with our clients and uphold the privacy and security of your business data and software product. Hire competent and experienced game app developers from us for your next game project.
2. Interview the shortlisted candidates
Now that you have decided on your hiring platform, the next step is to interview your shortlisted candidates. You will shortlist candidates based on the skills we have discussed above. If you do not have enough game app development experience, we advise you to take help from colleagues or friends with expertise in the gaming domain.
You will ask questions to assess the technical experience of your candidates. Ask questions beyond theoretical concepts. You will talk about the tools and techniques they have employed in their past game app development projects. Discuss how they made previous game apps a success in the competitive gaming industry.
Also, discuss your gaming project with them and inquire how they would work and what methods they would use to meet the project specifications. Expect direct answers, not just superficial knowledge.
3. Provide a detailed description of your game development project
The next step after finalizing and hiring game app developers is onboarding them. You should keep the onboarding process as smooth as possible. Set up communication channels and introduce the new hires to the team lead and other team members.
Provide access to your project files, necessary documentation, and development tools to the new developers. You will also explain your project requirements in detail to them. Set up a project development plan with milestones and assign roles and responsibilities. You will talk about your expectations from them and establish accountability in your team.
Tips to Hire Gaming App Developers
Some tips for hiring competent developers for creating games include the following:
1. Look for a competent team leader when you hire remote game app developers.
Remote game app developers offer many benefits, and remote developers have delivered quality mobile development services to many businesses. Team management can get tedious with remote developers.
We advise you to hire a competent team lead who will coach and mentor your developers and help you with effective team management.
2. Hire developers with a range of skills and experience
You might think junior or mid-level developers are enough to develop your game app. Developers with entry-level experience work well in an in-house team setup where they interact face-to-face with experienced developers and learn from them. You will need skilled developers with experience in game app development. You should hire remote developers with a range of experience to work on complex game development projects.
Senior developers use cutting-edge technologies to build innovative features and engaging user interfaces. These experienced developers cost more than entry-level developers but do not consider them as overhead costs. Their experience and skills will add value to your team, and you will be able to build a robust, secure, and performant game application.
3. Focus on the skills to meet NFRS
Hire expert game app developers for your next project
Functional requirements are essential to meet in a software application. However, these alone are not enough. Your game app should meet non-functional requirements also to perform seamlessly under all business scenarios and user loads.
You will require game developers who have experience in meeting non-functional app requirements, like security, scalability, performance, etc. Look for developers who can meet both functional and non-functional requirements.
4. Partner with a software development company with a flexible hiring service model
We would advise you to partner with a software development company that offers a flexible hiring model. Fixed-cost plans may work with simple software development projects, but multiple external factors, such as variable market trends and underlying gaming technologies, influence game app projects.
You would want to hire developers on a time-and-materials (T&M) model for a game app development project. This model will give you flexibility in hiring developers per the requirements of your project, and you will be able to incorporate and remove development specifications per end-user requirements, etc.
A good way to assess the credibility of a software development company is to talk to its past clients and listen to their feedback and experience working with them. Do not just go by the words of a sales team.
Example Questions and Answers to Interview Game App Developers
Ask questions to assess the hands-on game app development skills of candidates. A few examples are below:
1. What problems do developers usually face when developing mobile games with Java?
Game development with Java can pose problems like non-deterministic memory management, lack of support by popular game consoles, lack of supportive libraries, etc.
2. Which HTML5 framework have you used in your past game projects?
Candidate should be familiar with the popular HTML5 frameworks like Construct2, Phaser, etc.
3. What is a vertex buffer object?
A vertex buffer object is an openGL feature. It uploads vertex data to the gaming device for non-immediate mode rending.
Submit Project with a Zero Risk
The gaming industry is quite competitive, with many competitive game applications. You have to build a gaming application that stands out. Such a game will have an engaging user experience, and innovative features, and is made using the latest technologies. Consequently, you will require highly skilled developers to build such a game app. You cannot risk your game app’s success in the market by partnering with a subpar software development team.
We would recommend you partner with the field-expert community of developers at DevTeamSpace. All our developers are highly skilled in the latest technologies, have experience building next-level software solutions for multiple industries, and are managed by experienced software engineers. You also get access to an AI-based project management process that all our developers follow for efficient team collaboration and task tracking.
If you would like to learn more about dev teams at DevTeamSpace and how you can work with them, please send us your initial game app project specifications via this quick form, and one of our account managers will reach out to you to discuss more details on how we can help you build a great game app.
