Developing Bug World presented unique challenges in simulating a believable insect colony. In this post, I discuss how I approached AI behaviors, resource management systems, and progression mechanics.

One of the most interesting aspects of developing Bug World was creating a believable ecosystem where different insect species interacted naturally. I implemented a hierarchical behavior system for the insects, where each species had its own set of priorities, abilities, and resource needs.

For the colony management aspect, I developed a resource allocation system that allowed players to make meaningful decisions about how to distribute food, building materials, and defense resources. This created a satisfying strategic layer on top of the action elements.

The progression system was designed to reward players for exploration and colony development. As players upgraded their insects and expanded their territory, they unlocked new abilities and could take on more challenging areas of the game world.

Performance optimization was a constant consideration, as mobile devices have limited resources. I utilized object pooling for insects and particles, implemented LOD (Level of Detail) systems for the environment, and used efficient pathfinding algorithms to ensure smooth gameplay even with dozens of insects on screen.

Mobile game development comes with specific constraints that require careful optimization. Based on my experience developing multiple published mobile games, here are my top tips for balancing performance and visual quality:

1. Implement Object Pooling: Rather than instantiating and destroying objects frequently, create a pool of reusable objects. This significantly reduces garbage collection pauses and improves performance during gameplay.
2. Optimize Textures: Use texture atlases to reduce draw calls, and be mindful of texture sizes. For mobile games, I typically keep textures at 1024x1024 or lower, using compression formats appropriate for the target devices.
3. Use LOD (Level of Detail) Systems: For 3D games, implement LOD systems that reduce polygon counts for objects that are far from the camera. This can dramatically improve performance without noticeably affecting visual quality.
4. Profile Regularly: Use Unity's Profiler or other performance monitoring tools to identify bottlenecks throughout development. Don't wait until the end of the project to optimize.
5. Optimize UI Elements: Mobile UIs can be performance-heavy. Use sprite atlases for UI elements, minimize overdraw, and consider implementing UI element pooling for scrolling lists.

By implementing these optimization strategies early in development, you can create games that run smoothly across a wide range of mobile devices while still maintaining visual appeal.

Clean, maintainable code is crucial for game development projects that evolve over time. In this article, I share how I implemented key game programming patterns in my strategy game Conquer for Glory to create a codebase that remained manageable as the project grew in scope.

The Component Pattern

I used a component-based architecture for game entities, allowing me to compose complex units from reusable components. For example, each unit in the game consists of components for movement, combat, health, and special abilities. This approach made it easy to create new unit types by simply combining existing components in different ways.

The Command Pattern

For implementing the player's actions, I used the command pattern. Each action (move unit, attack, build structure) is encapsulated in a command object that can be executed, undone, and redone. This not only simplified the implementation of features like an undo system but also made it easier to save and replay game sessions for debugging.

The Observer Pattern

To manage game events and notifications, I implemented an observer pattern. Game entities could subscribe to events they were interested in, such as unit death, resource collection, or territory changes. This decoupled different systems in the game and made it easy to add new features without modifying existing code.

The State Pattern

For complex unit behavior, I used the state pattern. Each unit could be in different states (idle, moving, attacking, etc.), with each state handling input and updates differently. This made implementing complex unit behaviors much more manageable compared to using large conditional blocks.

These patterns helped me create a codebase that was not only performant but also easy to understand, extend, and maintain as the game evolved through development and post-launch updates.