5 Mobile Game Development Languages You Should Learn Today
Every great mobile game starts with an idea, but where do you go from there? Many games on the Apple and Google Play stores made their transition from an idea to a popular game with the help of one of five programming languages.
Mobile game development is a tough task, but when you have the correct tools at your disposal it’s much easier. Start by identifying the programming language that best suits your needs and experience.
1. The C# Programing Language
C# (pronounced “see sharp”) is an object-oriented programing language, released by Microsoft in 2002. It runs on .NET (a Microsoft virtual execution system) and has a position among the top programming languages in the world. C# owes its popularity to its proven track record of creating robust and durable applications.
Unity is a testimony to this, as it is one of the most popular game engines in the world, built completely with C#. 71% of all mobile games in distribution today use theUnity game engine, according to Unity Technologies. Unity allows you to create customized 3D games using C# scripts, so you can stand out from the crowd.
Some popular mobile games created with unity include Pokémon GO, Cuphead, Call of Duty, and Monument Valley.
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2. The C++ Programming Language
In 1985 Bjarne Stroustrup released the first official version of C++. In 1998 the C++ standards committee released the first international standard of the language. Today C++ has come a far way and is one of the top programming languages in the world, not only for game development but as a multipurpose language.
Unreal Engineis one of the top mobile game engines in the world. Built with C++, Unreal Engine identifies itself as a “real-time 3D creation tool”. This engine allows you to develop 3D games and is one of the main competitors of Unity. Unreal Engine created popular games such as Fortnite, Batman: Arkham City, and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
3. The Kotlin Programming Language
Kotlin is a modern programming language developed by JetBrains, a company that creates developer tools. In 2016, JetBrains released the first version ofKotlin, a programming languagefor mobile application development. From the start, Google pledged its support to Kotlin for Android development. This move created a general association between Kotlin and Android app development.
However, like any good mobile app development language, Kotlin is a cross-platform language. Kotlin has a software development toolkit (SDK) for Android and iOS app development called Kotlin Multiplatform Mobile. This SDK provides cross-platform and native benefits. It lets you share consistent logic (such as networking and storage) between Android and IOS while implementing device-specific features separately.
The most popular Kotlin game engine is KorGe. Thanks to the KorGE Gradle plugin, KorGE is both a native and cross-platform game engine. It uses a Java virtual machine (JVM) for Android, native for iOS and desktops, and JavaScript for the web. The KorGE game engine creates mostly 2D games.
4. The Swift Programming Language
Swift is another modern programming language. Its development is a joint effort by Apple Inc. and several open-source contributors. Apple released the first version of swift in 2014 for IOS, IPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS app development. Today Swift supports all Apple platforms and Linux operating systems.
5. The Lua Programming Language
Lua is one of the most popular choices for mobile game development. According to Lua, it is “currently the leading scripting language in games”. The other languages on this list use a compiler, which translates to faster speed. Lua is the only interpreted programming language here, so it fits the bill as a scripting language.
World of Warcraft and Angry Birds are two of the most popular games in the world today, and they were both developed with Lua. Solar2D (formerly known as Corona) and Defold are two popular game engines developed using Lua.
How to Choose the Best Game Development Language
Proven performance is a quality that these five languages and their respective game engines have in common. Though all these languages are great for mobile game development, they might not all be great for you.
For example, if you want to develop a mobile game for only IOS users then Swift might be your best choice. If your game will be for Android and IOS users, but it will be in 2D then Lua and Kotlin are your top contenders. However, if your game will be in 3D, C# and C++ are your best options.
If you’re new to developing video games, knowing the right game engine can be a little tricky. Here are five of the best.
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