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Mobile Game Production Checklist

– To make sure your game is great –

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Producing games Game production process is commonly separated into 4

phases: Pre-production, production, testing and post-production

However testing in an ongoing process during the production phase

These slides cover only production/testing phase actions, legal and marketing actions excluded

Actions are described and prioritized and suggested time frame is given

Beware of Feature Creeps!

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• Updates• Feature CreepPlan

• Milestones• DeadlinesTracking

• Exit Criteria• Agreement

Completion

Production phases

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Planning: Supported devices Before final build is ready, it should be decided

what is the cut off for supported devices and iOS/Android version. For Google Play, you need to blacklist devices that are not supported. It is good to add a sentence in app description text: "Optimized for version xx”.

High priority due to possible backlash if not done on time or clearly enough

Desicion making time: early in production

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Planning: Feature Creep Make a polished, finalized game plan to avoid

feature creeps altogether Have a policy/risk management plan to handle

arising changes and control feature creeps High priority due to possible losses in resources

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Tracking: Progress and game plan Impelement a method for tracking progress

against the game plan Keep tabs on schedule, staffing and budget Also update the game plan if required High priority – The team, management and

publisher need to know at what stage the project is at any given time and that agreed milestones and deadlines are reached

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Completion: Localization Translating game text into relevant languages.

Minimum set is EFIGS+BRPT and Russian High priority because affects chances of featuring

and retention and monetization in countries where English is not the first language. Often needlessly overlooked action.

In finalizing stages, between Beta and RC

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Completion: QA Approval QA should complete and QA manager will give

clearance to submit the build High priority; built is bug free and ready for

deployment Week before submissions

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Completion: Localization QA Check if text is correct in different languages,

does it fit in the screens, etc. Medium priority – bugs are easy to fix, if not done

it might have a big effect

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Completion: COPPA If game is intended for under 13 year-old players,

it must meet COPPA requirement in USA and the respective requirement in other market areas.

High priority for marketing, promoting and monetization reasons

Before submissions

From: Pollen Insights11

Often overlooked things A/B testing Press Coverage Insufficient Soft Launch data Insufficient Marketing budget Building a relationship with Apple and Google

early