Unity Mobile Strategy Development

Client: Internal IP (Ocean View Games)

Services: Full-Cycle Development, Unity Engineering, Mobile Optimization

Platform: iOS, Android

Executive Summary

Empires Rise was an ambitious internal initiative: bringing a deep, 4X-style turn-based strategy experience to mobile devices without sacrificing depth or performance. While the mobile market is flooded with hyper-casual titles, our goal was to engineer a complex system of economy, warfare, and exploration that ran smoothly on mid-range hardware.

This project served as a proving ground for our core competency: optimizing high-complexity Unity logic for mobile constraints.

The Challenge: “Deep Strategy, Shallow Resources”

Developing a turn-based strategy game presents unique technical hurdles that are compounded when targeting mobile devices:

• Procedural Generation: How do we create infinite map variations without long loading screens?
• Complex AI: How do we calculate moves for multiple enemy empires without freezing the main thread or draining the battery?
• UI Density: How do we fit complex management menus onto a 5-inch screen?

Technical Deep Dive

1. Procedural Map Generation in Unity

One of the key selling points of Empires Rise is replayability. We needed a robust map generation system that could create balanced, interesting worlds on the fly.

The Solution: We implemented a modified Perlin Noise algorithm layered with cellular automata rules.

The Optimization: Instead of instantiating thousands of individual GameObjects (which creates massive overhead), we utilized Unity’s Tilemap system combined with chunk-based loading. This drastically reduced the memory footprint, allowing for larger maps on devices with limited RAM.

The Result: Near-instant map generation that provides unique tactical challenges in every session, maintaining a steady framerate even when the entire map is revealed.

2. Engineering Performant Mobile AI

In a strategy game, the AI doesn’t just need to “act”; it needs to “plan.” On a PC, you have CPU cycles to spare. On mobile, inefficient AI logic causes the device to overheat and the battery to die.

The Solution: We developed a Utility-Based AI system. Instead of complex, rigid behavior trees that check every possible condition every frame, our AI agents evaluate actions based on a “score” of current needs (e.g., Is my economy weak? Prioritize resource gathering.).

The Optimization: To prevent UI lag during the enemy turn, we utilized Coroutines to distribute AI calculations across multiple frames. This “time-slicing” approach ensures the UI remains responsive to the player, even while the engine is calculating complex pathfinding and military strategy in the background.

3. Scalable Architecture for Future Porting

Because Empires Rise was built on a modular code architecture, the core logic is decoupled from the input system.

Why this matters to clients: This architecture means the game isn’t “hard-coded” for touchscreens. The systems we built allow for rapid porting to PC or Console (Controller support) with minimal refactoring — a standard we apply to all client porting projects.

The Outcome

Empires Rise successfully launched with a 4.5+ star rating average, validating our approach to mobile optimization. It stands as a testament to our ability to deliver “heavy” gaming experiences on “light” hardware.

Contact us to discuss your Unity mobile development needs.