It’s a long story behind the optimization of Meena Game in only 28MB. It was a big surprise that Riseup Labs reduced 93% of Meena Game Size for UNICEF Bangladesh. Meena is an idol character in cartoons and the nostalgia of Asian people. So, UNICEF wanted to develop a game for kids based on cartoons. The game was planned to develop in animation and online-offline games. So generally, the size could become 400MB. But it was surprising that Riseup Labs developed Meena Game in only 28MB by reducing 93% size.

Client Testimonial

Riseup Labs is the best IT Solutions Company. The first project that we worked on together was Meena Game. As Meena was an iconic character of UNICEF. We have planned to present her to the new generation more adapted to gaming platforms. But, we faced a challenge with the game’s large file size. Because most of the kids play with their parents’ mobile and lives in the village. So, we also wanted the game to run in low configuration and offline mode. Though it was very tough for a game that has those characteristics. However, Riseup Labs made the impossible to possible! They reduced the size of the Meena Game by 93% and developed it to only 28MB.

– UNICEF Bangladesh
Data Saved: 93%Riseup Labs reduced 93% of the size of the Meena Game by optimizing it to only 28 MB. UNICEF Bangladesh and many competitors of Riseup Labs were also surprised by how Riseup Labs did it!

What was the Problem?

What was the Problem with developing Meena Game? UNICEF developed many more games before developing the Meena Game. But the problems behind the game were:

  • Make the game within 50MB
  • Make Meena Game animated
  • The game size shouldn’t be big
  • Meena Game should have an offline feature
  • Meena Game should be playable on any low-configuration device

Solutions We Provided

The solutions Riseup Labs provided surprised UNICEF Bangladesh. UNICEF asked them to make it within 50MB, but RUL developed Meena Game in only 28MB. Even many game developer companies also asked Team Riseup Labs how they made it! The solutions Riseup Labs provided:

  • Offline feature
  • Game size 28MB
  • Reduced by 93% in size
  • Playable on any low-configuration device

Challenges RUL Faced

Riseup Labs’s challenges while developing the Meena Game were very complicated. Riseup Labs was a promising game development company at that time. So they tried very hard to meet the target. But the developer team faced some major challenges during developing these game features:

  • 14 levels
  • 35+ characters
  • 500+ animations
  • 50+ unique mini-games
  • 3 types of Environment: City, Village and Fantasy

How RUL Solved

How RUL solved such difficult challenges? You may be curious about the technics if you are also a game developer company. Because the main challenge was such a big problem for team Riseup Labs. Here are the technics behind the solutions:

  • Engine Optimization
  • Asset Optimization
  • Animation Optimization

Engine Optimization: Riseup Labs used Cocos2D-x, the open-source, cross-platform game development framework, to develop the Meena Game. The developers removed the physics engine and optimized the engine.

  • RUL used Cocos2D-x Engine
  • C++ Language for the game

Asset Optimization: A big challenge in reducing the game size was the 2D asset of the Meena Game. So, this is how the developers optimized the assets and reduced the 70% to 80% size:

  • Team Riseup Labs used 24bit color
  • Optimized all assets with Riseup Labs’ customized tool.

Animation Optimization: Another big challenge in reducing the Meena Game size was its 500+ animations. The techniques of optimization were:

  • RUL developers used the Spine Animation
  • Developers compressed the keyframe manually to reduce the animation size 

Impact of the Result

When the game was released to the Google Play Store and App Store (iOS), there was a huge impact on the users. See how it impacted game lovers and users:

  • 5 million+ download
  • Gamers could play the game on any device
  • Parents encouraged their children to play the game
  • Gamers became happy to download the game because of its size

This page was last edited on 12 July 2023, at 10:02 am