Make your own game and app for your kids!

Mobile devices and tablets are nowadays part of our daily life for us but also for our kids. There are numerous apps and games on app stores for kids, and to be honest most of them suck. I am a game developer and the dad of two children. I quickly thought to myself I could make better games. After doing the experience multiple times, I would suggest you make your own games for your kids. And even if you are not a game developer!

Why? 🧐

There are too many dumb apps on the app stores!
It is not that difficult.
It can be a nice surprise for a birthday
Or it could be a collaborative activity with your kid(s)
You can learn a new skill or improve your skill
It will be a nice souvenir
No ads or paywall in your own games!

How? 🧰

I recommend making custom games on the Android platform. It has fewer to no obstacles for you to make, install, and keep custom made apps compared to iOS. With Android, you can build your game once and distribute it easily to all your devices. You won't be able to do that with iOS.

Unity https://store.unity.com/download?ref=personal (I recommend)
Corona SDK https://coronalabs.com/
A lot more..., just Google game engine for mobile
You could also use React Native or Flutter

What type of game or apps? 🎮

Obviously, you want to do something not too complex that won't take you ages to implement. So here are my recommendations.

Picture book with custom pictures or photos. You can take pictures and record yourself. Then your kid can click on the pictures and hear your voice explaining what this and that are.
Interactive book. Your kids can turn the pages and hear your voice narration.
Memory game with customized cards based on favorite toys or characters of your kids.
Quiz these are probably the simplest to do with React Native or Flutter. If you want to do with Unity make sure to use TextMeshPro.
If you are ready to spend some money, then almost anything. And how? Just go to https://assetstore.unity.com/templates?category=templates, the Unity Asset Store, and get any of the template game you would like. It could even be cheaper than the in-app purchases of some games in the stores.

So now go!

If you don't have kids yet, you probably have a little cousin or a little brother or sister that will enjoy your games! Share your experience, and don't hesitate to ask if you need any help in the comment section down below!

Make your own game and app for your kids!

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