React Native to Develop Trending Games: What You Should Know?

Digital games have become a go-to entertainment source for people, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. We all have been there when stepping outside was strictly prohibited. So, most of us started playing digitally with friends and family. We have seen several games trending on the digital platforms, from flappy birds to color match, Donkey Kong Arcade, and so on. 

But do you know which one is the best framework for building gaming apps for Android and iOS? 

Given the current scenario, the answer is React Native. It is an open-source platform with capabilities to create robust applications and games for multiple operating systems. It allows React Native developers to build highly dynamic mobile apps using minimum effort.

Not many would agree with this option because they believe React Native is the worst for developing games. It is not their fault. They might be thinking about games like Battle Chess, Fortnight, or Minecraft. But many React Native-built 3D games, including Candy Crush, have taken the gaming world by storm. 

• Why React Native?

If you want to develop a multiplayer gaming app within a limited budget, React Native is your best bet. It can write code for iOS and Android simultaneously. Thus, you can save both money and time. However, to ensure a successful project, you need to have a clear idea of what you want. Fortunately, in this post, we will walk you through the game development process using React Native. 

While your prospective React Native mobile app development company can help you develop a dynamic, feature-rich game, React Native has some limitations as well. For example, if you want to add a physics engine to your gaming app, you will need a third-party module – Matter.Js. It is because React Native does not have such features. Are you wondering what Matter.Js can do?

• What is Matter.Js?

Matter.Js is a fully functional 2D JavaScript module. It allows developers to add physics to React Native. Thus, you can develop a game with your logic and ideas. In addition to this, you can configure Matter.Js with React Native game engine to ensure an easy setup.

• How to add Matter.Js to React Native?

When it comes to working with Matter.Js, it is pretty simple. Below, we have explained steps to include Matter.Js to React Native game-engine. 

• Firstly, you have to build a new app using this line of code: npx react-native initGameApp.
• After this, add Matter.Js to the React Native game-engine with this code: npm install matter-js react-native-game-engine –save

We have used an example of the Classic Donkey Kong Arcade game to ensure an easier understanding. We will list down a step-by-step illustration of creating a game with React Native. 

• Developing a trending game using React Native 

Let us dive into the process of creating a game like the Classic Donkey Kong Arcade with React Native. Well, his game was famous in previous decades. In this game, the hero named Mario tries to protect the princess Peach by facing barrels and confronting monster KONG. We need the following essentials to build this game:

1. Basic Npm packages: Several open-source developers share code packages on NPM. So, to get a good headstart, we have to import the basic compiled NPM packages into our project as follows.

npm install --save lodash # Always good to have

npm install  --save d3-interpolate # Will help us create a nice jump curve

2. Efficient editing tool Aseprite: A great pixel art tool like Aseprite is needed to slice, cut, edit and scale the sprites of the game. As in the matter of classic donkey kong, we need not edit any artwork. We can use the images using sprites from the GitHub repo of Donkey Kong React Native Game. 

The final result will look like this:

import React, { PureComponent } from "react";

import { StyleSheet, StatusBar } from "react-native";

import { GameEngine } from "react-native-game-engine";

import { LevelOne } from "./entities";

export default class App extends PureComponent {
constructor(props) {
super(props);
}
render() {
return (

);
}
}

3. The art of bagging the ‘bugs’ – ‘Bugs’ or forced errors in programming that happen due to unmaintained libraries. All the programming languages usually encounter these ‘bugs’. Jquery and React Native have so many untested libraries, which eventually end up in sequential errors or logical errors. Therefore, while developing a game with React Native, a trusted React Native app development company in India will read source codes elaborately to understand its proper functioning. 

React native provides a consistent API (Application Programming Interface) than other engines. Hence, it delivers more reliable results. A thorough reading of the source code would help the programmer tackle the bugs efficiently. When you hire a React Native developer, make sure they are well-versed with the common recurring errors. 

• Common recurring errors – React native has few common recurring errors which are easy to track and tackle. So, if you hire dedicated React Native developers, they might face the following errors during the process. 
  • Bugs in Android Native animation driver.
  • React-native-sound library crashes unexpectedly.
  • Due to the trash memory clearing algorithm of Android GC many times data is lost from the addresses (%&).
  • Due to the instability of the Android operating system many logical and sequential errors occur while programming and compiling.

Do you have a brilliant game idea? If yes, then it is time to breathe it into life. Start your search for the best React Native mobile app development company in India and make a solid plan. 

If you are searching for remote React Native developers to kick-start the game development, get in touch with SoftProdigy. We house a team of game developers with years of experience and expertise in creating gaming apps using React Native.