Balancing performance and impressive game VFX in mobile titles is a tall task, but possible to achieve. Mobile games have come a long way in terms of their hardware capabilities and ability to run high-end games, but they still require extensive fine-tuning to balance performance with game VFX, more so than other gaming platforms.
During the mobile game development process, developers can help balance game performance and VFX quality by implementing several techniques to ensure stability and visual quality. Ultimately, this balance comes down to making smart choices for your games during the mobile game development process to bring players the best experience possible.
Game VFX Particle Effect Systems
Particle effect systems are one of the more intensive game VFX systems used in mobile game development. These systems are used to create complex real-time visual effects such as smoke, fire, and magic spells and tend to be performance-intensive. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to reduce the impact of particles to enhance performance without noticeably sacrificing visual fidelity.
Level of detail (LOD) systems are indispensable to help balance performance and game VFX quality. These systems reduce the level of detail for particle effects further away from the player, generally either the number of overall particles emitted or with lower resolution textures. This helps maintain performance while only affecting largely unnoticeable game VFX. For platforms like mobile, which face more hardware constraints than console and PC platforms, techniques such as LOD systems are almost always a good idea to avoid processing power, memory, and battery life.
A straightforward method of reducing the impact of game VFX particles on performance is by simplifying them. Rather than emitting large amounts of particles, developers can explore changing their color, shape, and movement to compensate for the lower number of particles during the mobile game development process. Though this method might not apply to some games with a hyperrealistic visual style that demands real-looking particle effects, this can be a valuable technique for visually stylized games.
Dynamic Resolution, Quality, and Game VFX
Many modern games across all platforms offer resolution scaling options to keep performance operating optimally. Some games provide dynamic resolution features where the game will automatically adjust the frame rate if your device finds that the GPU is being overloaded, but this is less common on mobile devices and more frequently found on PC and console titles.
Instead, resolution and quality are commonly offered as toggleable settings, allowing players to choose between improved frame rates at the cost of visual fidelity, or better visual quality at the expense of performance. These options can be helpful for limited platforms like mobile and provide players with choices. Some players naturally seek the smoothest playing experience possible whereas others relish playing the best-looking games possible. Toggleable options present the best of both worlds and allow for a wide breadth of players to enjoy your mobile game.
Shaders and Performance
Shaders are flexible programs that run on a system’s GPU that dictate how game VFX, models, and other in-game effects are presented on screen. The challenge with shaders is that they can be intensive to run for any system, not just the relatively limited mobile platform. Fortunately, for studios in the mobile game development arena, there are ways to combat the impact of shaders on game performance.
Creating custom lightweight shaders during mobile game development can help achieve the required visual effects without generating computational overloads. They’re designed to perform necessary and specific visual tasks and nothing more, such as rendering glow or a surface like water or glass. Processing power and memory are limited in mobile devices, so using purpose-built lightweight shaders helps mobile game developers create games that simultaneously perform well and look visually appealing.
At Starloop Studios, we offer second-to-none gaming industry services for all platforms, including mobile. From full-cycle game development to game porting, co-development, and more, we’re your one-stop solution for all your gaming project needs. As part of Magic Media, we offer an extensive range of services for gaming, entertainment, and tech industry projects. Contact Starloop Studios to learn how we can collaborate!
