Designing, Building and Self-Publishing a Mobile Strategy Game

Empires Rise was our own turn-based 4X strategy game, taken from idea to launch on iOS and Android in three months.

Summary

The challenge: Find out whether a turn-based 4X strategy game, usually played with a mouse on a big monitor, could work on a phone without losing depth.
What we did: We designed, built and self-published the game on iOS and Android in three months, with Perlin noise hex maps, rule-based AI opponents, ads and in-app purchases.
The result: A launched game, and an audio, ads and in-app purchase framework that still underpins our client projects.

In brief

Internal project, self-published

Overview

Timeline: 2020 (3 months)
Platform: iOS, Android
Genre: Strategy
Engagement: Self-Published

Built with

Unity
C#

Team

Empires Rise started as a passion project. David is a long-time fan of Civilization and The Battle of Polytopia, and wanted to see whether a turn-based 4X strategy game, with its exploring, expanding, building and fighting, could be made for phones without losing depth. The game was designed, built and self-published in three months in 2020. Players chose from different civilisations, each with its own leader, and could play through a campaign or on randomly generated hex maps, training units, managing resources and taking territory from AI opponents. As a self-published title, it also needed everything that comes after development: ads, in-app purchases (IAP), store submission and support after launch. The audio, ads and IAP framework David built for Empires Rise became the foundation of a toolkit Ocean View Games still uses on client projects today.

What went into Empires Rise
Area	What was built
Game design	A turn-based 4X strategy game inspired by Civilization and The Battle of Polytopia
Maps	A story campaign plus procedurally generated hex maps using Perlin noise
AI	Rule-based AI opponents
Factions	Multiple civilisations, each with its own leader
Monetisation	Ads and in-app purchases
Publishing	Self-published on iOS and Android
Legacy	An audio, ads and IAP framework still used on client projects today

Strategy on a Small Screen

4X games are usually played on a PC with a mouse and a big monitor. Empires Rise had to fit the genre into a phone.

Hex Map Strategy

Players explore a hex map, found and grow their empire, manage resources and train units, all designed around touch.

Campaign and Random Maps

A story campaign sits alongside randomly generated maps, so every skirmish plays out on fresh terrain.

Multiple Civilisations

Each playable civilisation has its own leader and setting, giving players a reason to come back and try another side.

Procedural Maps and AI

Random maps and computer opponents keep a strategy game replayable, but both have to feel fair.

Perlin Noise Terrain

Random maps are generated with Perlin noise when a game starts, producing natural-looking landmasses, coastlines and terrain every time.

Rule-Based AI Opponents

AI opponents follow clear strategic rules for expanding, building and attacking, so their behaviour is readable and their difficulty is easy to tune.

Faster Than Expected

The AI took its turns almost instantly, so fast that it had to be deliberately slowed down so players could follow what their opponents were doing.

Self-Publishing the Full Lifecycle

Building the game was only half the job. Empires Rise also had to be monetised, published and supported.

Ads and In-App Purchases

Ads and in-app purchases were integrated and tested on both iOS and Android.

Store Launch

The game was taken through App Store and Google Play submission and launched on both platforms.

A Framework That Lasted

The audio, ads and IAP framework built for Empires Rise has been expanded ever since, and still underpins Ocean View Games' client projects today.

The Results

Idea to Launch in Three Months

One developer designed, built and launched a 4X strategy game on iOS and Android.

Full Lifecycle Experience

Design, development, monetisation, store submission and support after launch, all handled in-house.

A Lasting Toolkit

Our audio, ads and IAP framework started here and is still used on client projects today.

Gallery

A low-poly Japanese garden with cherry blossom trees, a red pagoda and a snow-capped mountain — Empires Rise video

Three low-poly Viking warriors standing in front of a wooden fort, captioned Train Powerful Units

A low-poly Japanese castle town with pagodas and cherry blossom trees, captioned Build a Powerful Empire

A snow-covered Viking village beneath mountains, captioned Complete the Campaign

A Viking, a pirate and a samurai leader side by side, captioned Play as Different Leaders

Empires Rise gameplay: a hex map with forests, lakes and gold deposits, a Viking unit beside a settlement, resource counters and an End Turn button

The iron resource panel, showing production, consumption and Town Hall storage capacity

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. Empires Rise was our own game: designed, built, monetised and self-published on iOS and Android in three months. We understand the whole lifecycle, not just the development part. See our mobile game development service.

For Empires Rise, maps were generated with Perlin noise at the start of each game, producing natural-looking landmasses and terrain. A hand-built story campaign sat alongside the random maps for players who wanted a guided experience.

Empires Rise used rule-based AI, with opponents following clear strategic rules for expanding, building and attacking. Rule-based AI is predictable, quick to tune and fast. Empires Rise's AI was so quick that it had to be slowed down so players could follow its moves.

Yes. We built an audio, ads and IAP framework for Empires Rise and have expanded it ever since. It means monetisation on client projects starts from tested, production code rather than from scratch. See our game monetisation service.