DESKTOP VS MOBILE GAMES ???

guys, i have a question: creating a game for a desktop (html 5) requires a lot of vested interest and time on level-design, interface-layout & design, etc....

....but porting that same game over to mobile devices (ios, android) is a nightmare because: HOW DO YOU FIT all that interface, game playing area on the super tiny screen and still be an enjoyable gaming experience.

a great desktop game could easily become a horrible game when ported over to mobile devices, but if you don't port your game over someone else might take the idea and do it.

so my question is this: has anyone else agonized about how to create a game from the "ground up" so it plays great on a desktop and still ports over successfully to a tiny-screen? FYI i'm not making a action game with tons of bombs & bullets everywhere (dont know if that helps you in your recommendations to me). sometimes it feels like it's not even worth the trouble to target both platforms, but they're both huge markets.

ANY HELP would be GREATLY appreciated.

short answer: mobile first.

that's it :) just create a game in 800x480 and think mainly about mobile, but have in mind desktop all the times. remember that on mobile you don't have to "mouse is over object" and all that stuff.

also there's no general great answer to that kind of question, it all depends on what kind of game you're making.

have fun!

What genre of game is it? For most games you can simply strip away unnecessary parts of the interface to reduce clutter or scale down the interface a little more than the rest of the game.

If you haven't gotten too far into development and have both mobile and desktop as ideal targets then definitely do as Sugart said and design with mobile in mind first. You can always "go bigger" on the desktop version where as taking away to make a mobile version can be tough.

edit: Spelling mistakes :/

i thank you & appreciate both of your feedback,they're valuable. my dilemma is how to bring a playing-filed that fits a regular monitor down to the tiny size of a smart-phone, without oversimplifying the game with only 2 sprites on the screen at any one time, or driving the player crazy with scrolling up/down a 1000-times during a game play. it's so hard to develop a title on both media and i cannot get to the balance.

You can put a lot of things inside a 800x400 screen I believe ;]

I think it�s more a question of having a strong visual identity than the number of elements on the space.

As others have said, you definitely need to plan with mobile in mind from the beginning.

Sheepy - You need to consider more than just screen resolution, though. You have to be thinking about pixel density on your target platforms

For example, my 4 inch smartphone has 1280x720 resolution, but my 10" iPad only has 1024x768 resolution. A touch target that is a reasonable size on a tablet may be impossibly small on a phone.

I'm waiting for slightly better mobile support before I make any real attempt at a mobile app, but I'm definitely worried about the headaches involved...

KidsOnTheBeat, you hit the nail on the head...that is exactly the point i was raising. developing on dual platforms requires special considerations developers never had to consider before, exactly as you mentioned. some games may never be able to be ported over to mobile, while most can...but doing so requires more than adjusting for resolution, or having touch-friendly coding; the entire story-boarding of the game has to carefully planned from the beginning...at each step, each level, each new character asking yourself how it'll appear/play out on both platforms...the headaches are so much.

Very nice,Thanks for sharing us.