Target platforms

The target platform specifies the device, or range of devices, on which your game runs natively, such as Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. This is the full range of hardware on which a potential gamer can play your game. The target platforms for DK include Windows, Mac, Android, iOS and the web:

Reaching decisions about which platforms to support is an important logistical and technical as well as political matter. Ideally, a developer wants to support as many platforms as possible, making their game available to the largest customer base. However, whatever the ideals may be, supporting every platform is almost never feasible, and so, practical choices have to be made. Each supported platform involves considerable time, effort, and money from the developer, even though Unity makes multi-platform support easier by doing a lot of low-level work for you. Developing for multiple-platforms normally means creating meshes, textures, and audio files of varying sizes and detail levels as well as adapting user interfaces to different screen layouts and aspect ratios, and also being sensitive to the hardware specifics of each platform.

Platform support also influences core game mechanics; for example, touchscreen games behave radically differently to keyboard-based games, and motion controls behave differently to mouse-based controls. Thus, a platform always constrains and limits the field of possibilities as to what can be achieved, not just technically, but also for content. App Store submission guidelines place strict requirements upon permissible content, language, and representations in games and allowed in-app purchases, and the access to external, user-created content.

The upshot is that target platforms should, for the most part, always be chosen in advance. That decision will heavily influence core game mechanics and how the design is implemented in a playable way. Sometimes, the decision to defer support for a particular platform can, and should, be made for technical or economic reasons. However, when such a decision is made, be aware that it can heavily increase development time further along the cycle, as reasonable adjustment and redevelopment may be needed to properly support the nuances of the platform.