Is it a bad idea to make a game that is HD res? 1280px720p?

I plan to make a new game on Construct 2 that can work both mobile and PC but I focus more on mobile android because I will make the alpha, beta or debug there. And got me thinking that my previous 1280px*720px game can only ran on Android versions (4.3 and above) but only on a playable rate(not fast) and on Jellybean(4.1.2) had a lot of seams or separated sprites and in my estimation the fps was about 3 -> 10 fps (not playable). So which is better, to move on making SD resolution sizes (854, 480) or stay HD resolution (1280, 720)? Ohh yeah. But I am also worried that if I make an SD resolution game, it might not look good on tablet and PC's??

Sorry if my question is kind of supposed to be my problem and my decision. But I am doing this so that I can hear people's advices and experiences on which is better and which is worse. Thanks XD

First of all, poor game performance is not always the issue of HD graphics, often unoptimized code (events) are the cause of performance leaks on low-end devices.

Now to your question, the game dimensions are quite important when it comes to Construct 2 games in terms of good game design and quality.

Don't get me wrong on this point but Construct 2's scaling methods work fine but the lack of vector art support let's every SD resolution game look like garbage on modern HD devices.

So my recommendation is something between Full HD and SD graphics for mobile games. (720p or 480p if the performance is too poor.)

I'd also recommend you, if you have a game with a lot going on (e.g. platformer, 2d shooter...), to use the "Set Minimum Framerate" system-action which usually improves the visual appearance on low-end devices and greatly compensates collusion checks.

This is just one man's opinion thou, you should wait for more people to respond and help you out.

If you optimize your code and avoid using too much effects then you should be fine with the 1280x720 resolution. However do test your game on different devices from the beginning. Then you'll see if a newly added feature/object/effect slowes the game down.

First. Thank you for sharing your information .

First of all, poor game performance is not always the issue of HD graphics, often unoptimized code (events) are the cause of performance leaks on low-end devices.

Possibly and Commonly true but not in my case when I tested a simple 1280*720 in a jellybean (4.1.2 Android device) Seams were seen like 3 pixels border for each sprite and tile and 3~10 fps. My only event on that spritesheet was to move the scroll x with lerp to make a scenematic view. The phone I used only supports (640px*360px) for playback, I don't know if it is the playback resolution limit is the fault or the optimization. There are only 3 phones I used to test 1280px*720px resolution games. 1 is Kitkat(4.4) (HD screen resolution) and another 1 is Lolipop(5.1) (HD screen resolution) and the other 1 is the Jellybean (4.1.2) (640x360 res).

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I made a performance report I got from testing, I have only 3 devices which I tested on.

Feel free to correct or add details for my accuracy is based on estimate.

*4.4 Kitkat (Supports HD)

Only Graphics and Simple Events: A little fast

With Graphics and Game Events(Finished Game) : Playable and a little fast or acceptable for me.

*5.1 Lollipop (Supports HD)

Only Graphics and Simple Events: Fast (but small "seams" appear - must be graphic card limitation, I don't know the problem and I am still looking for answers)

With Graphics and Game Events(Finished Game) : Faster than Kitkat or Smooth Play (with small seams) - I also set Pixel rounding "On" to remove it but on "lerp + Layout scale" it shows the seams again.

*4.3 (Feedback of my game)

Only Graphics and Simple Events: I don't know yet.

With Graphics and Game Events(Finished Game) : Playable but a bit laggy.

4.1.2 (640x360 screen resolution)

Only Graphics and Simple Events(platform behavior and solids): Bad quality and very lag (playable but very lag). I don't recall but I think there were seams. Not sure.

With Graphics and Game Events(Finished Game) : Certainly not playable even on splashscreen. Very Lag and looks like there is a 3px sized seams.

If the devices you are testing (and aiming) don't have that much of computing power, and you don't want your game on tablets, then you can decrease the resolution of the images. Still, I'm interested in what devices did you use for testing?

glerikud - the device I used are the ff when I played my app:

Android 4.1.2 (Jellybean) - (640px*360px screen resolution of device) : Samsung Galaxy Grand Quattro. (Poor Performance and not playable. 3px seams size(white border between sprites.)

Android 4.4 (Kitkat) - (1280px*720px screen resolution of device) : Samsung E7 (Playable and a bit fast)

Android 5.1 (Lollipop) - (1280px*720px screen resolution of device) :Samsung J7 (Faster than Kitkat but graphics shows some seams when "layout scale and lerp are used".

Are you using WebGL effects?

glerikud - no I don't use that for mobiles, too hard on GPU. Unless I use a lower resolution like (854, 480) or (640, 360).