Archer: mobile archery game development

A casual mobile bow and arrow puzzle game with diverse mechanics

Customer

Industry

Information Technology

Region

Client since

2007

In 2021, Innowise’s game development enthusiasts came up with the idea of a mobile bow and arrow puzzle game to try their skills in the game development area.

Challenge

According to the latest research, not only has the mobile gaming market just become larger than the PCs and consoles combined but it is also the fastest-growing segment of the gaming industry.

Therefore, Innowise has decided to create a casual bow and arrow puzzle game for Android devices. During the process, our team has implemented various bow and arrow puzzle game mechanics and has worked with playable characters.

Solution

Our team has developed the mobile puzzle game from scratch. The main idea of the game is that a player strives to hit the maximum number of targets on the map and faces various challenges.

MAIN MENU

In the main menu, a player can choose any desired level from those unlocked as well as reset the statistics. However, resetting the game means that all the progress is being wiped out, so a player has to start from the very beginning.

When the player taps the “Play” button, one can see the unlocked levels as well as the previous results rated from one to three stars. The number of stars received for passing the level depends on whether the player managed to hit the arrow as well as the time limits set individually for each level.

GAMEPLAY

After entering a certain game level, users can see the archer, who is the main character of the gaming set, the level map, as well as the targets the player needs to hit in order to pass the level.

Once the level is passed, the player sees the screen with the statistics including the number of stars gained, arrows, and time spent. From this menu, the player can go to the home screen, proceed to the next level, restart the completed level, or go to the level selection.

During the game, players can stop the game and restart it at any time. When on pause, it doesn’t matter how much time a player spends away from the game.

GAMEPLAY MECHANICS

Innowise’s game developers have implemented diverse puzzle mechanics to make the game more engaging. For instance, some targets need to be hit simultaneously in order to count them as done. Also, some targets are blocked by various objects that need to be hit in many creative ways, for example, by freezing or unfreezing.

For these puzzles, Innowise’s Unity game developers have added a bunch of special arrows, such as fire and freezing arrows, double and triple arrows, and a portal arrow.

When players receive a new type of arrow, they get notified about it via a separate screen at the beginning of a level. There also goes the description of the arrow’s features.

Technologies & tools

Game engine

Unity

Programming language

Design

Figma, Blender

Platforms

Android

Process

Building such an application from scratch has been an interesting challenge. We had a clear vision that the game would concentrate around an archer, bows, and arrows, yet we hesitated about which game mechanics to choose for the puzzle part.

Discovery phase

First, our team analyzed the needs of the potential target audience. We decided on how the application should look like and what elements it should contain to be as engaging as possible. Then we designed a mock-up of the application, created a detailed plan for the development of each module, and agreed on the workflow and methodology.

Technology Choice

We have decided to create the game in Unity 3D since it’s the most popular game engine for developing mobile games. Apart from being a powerful tool, Unity also allows importing custom assets into the project. Moreover, it is particularly resource-effective, especially compared to Unreal Engine.

The user feedback has eventually shown that our choice of technology stack has been justified. Based on the user feedback, we have succeeded with the design and the core game mechanics.

Team

Unity Developers & 3D Designers

Business Analyst

Project Manager

QA Engineer

Results

As a result, our team has built a casual mobile bow and arrow puzzle game in just two months. We have designed everything from scratch: visual assets, game mechanics, navigation through the menu, and other features.

Project duration

2 months for MVP
The project is ongoing

Related cases

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