Anthony Mulhall dgh1
Historical and critical review of mobile gaming and the impact on society,
As we glance over the last ten years or so we can see an unmistakable shift from the hardcore gamers to casual gamers erosions of once distinct categories such as ‘hardcore’ vs ‘casual’ gamer. Instead, we have observed an inversion whereby mobile games, once categorized as ‘casual’, became ‘serious’ and now casual again,
Mobile gaming is a relatively new industry only really taking off in 1994 the first game on a mobile phone was tetris on the Hagenuk MT-2000 device,
Compared to regular video games the mobile gaming culture was very much brought about by the company Nokia when it released its game Snake in 1997, Snake and its spinoffs, that were preinstalled in all mobile devices mass produced by Nokia, has since become one of the most-played video games in the world and is found on more than 350 million devices worldwide.These games were also usually animated with shaded squares due to their limited graphical quality.
Historical and critical review of mobile gaming and the impact on society,
As we glance over the last ten years or so we can see an unmistakable shift from the hardcore gamers to casual gamers erosions of once distinct categories such as ‘hardcore’ vs ‘casual’ gamer. Instead, we have observed an inversion whereby mobile games, once categorized as ‘casual’, became ‘serious’ and now casual again,
Mobile gaming is a relatively new industry only really taking off in 1994 the first game on a mobile phone was tetris on the Hagenuk MT-2000 device,
Compared to regular video games the mobile gaming culture was very much brought about by the company Nokia when it released its game Snake in 1997, Snake and its spinoffs, that were preinstalled in all mobile devices mass produced by Nokia, has since become one of the most-played video games in the world and is found on more than 350 million devices worldwide.These games were also usually animated with shaded squares due to their limited graphical quality.
Screenshot of snake on the nokia 3310 the user interface is very simplistic due to the low power of the cpu in the nokia phone,the object of the game was to eat food while moving and becoming increasingly large in a small confined space the interface displayed score and lives, Collidable obstacles were added in later levels to increase difficulty,
While this may have been the ultimate catalyst for mobile gaming it is argued that Nintendos launch of its Game and watch series in 1980 followed by the release of the game boy in 1989 and the release of tamagotchis - virtual pets all had their roles to play, With the popularity of Nokias phones, by the end of the 1990s popularised mobile phones as the new imperative platform, first for SMS-games, later for Java-games. An important event, even if not very widely successful gaming experiment was the 1999 Botfighters-game which used urban space and mobile cell positioning as part of its gaming experience, thus breaking the barrier between the digital game and the outside environment, the mobile phone was thus becoming the key cultural artifact in our modern world and mobile gaming was capitalising on this cultural movement,
In the early millenium, mobile games saw a rise in popularity in Japan's mobile phone culture, years before the United States or Europe. By 2003, a wide collection of mobile games were available on Japanese phones, ranging from puzzle games and virtual pet titles that took advantage of camera phones and fingerprint scanner technologies to 3D games with exceptionally high quality graphics. Older arcade-style games became particularly popular on mobile phones, which were an ideal platform for arcade-style games designed for shorter play sessions. Namco began to introduce mobile gaming culture to Europe in 2003 they released a fighting game that used the cell phone's camera to create a character based on the player's profile and determined the character's speed and power based on the image taken, the character could then be sent to another friend's mobile phone to battle. That same year Panasonic released a virtual pet game in which the pet is fed by photos of foods taken with the camera phone
The Nokia N-Gage mobile was released in 2003,Although it was not successful it was still an excellent expression of this enthusiasm and belief in the newness and characteristics of mobile gaming: N-Gage was supposed to be a totally new way to game. Built for hard-core and active gamers, The device allowed for mobile, online, multiplayer game play, It was the first the phone company to work alongside major games development companies such as Sega and THQ,
The launch of the Apple App Store in 2008 intrinsically changed the market.It set in motion a transition and laid the standard into the industry, First of all, it widened consumers' opportunities to choose where to download apps, the application store on the device,The operator’s store or third party stores via the open internet, such as GetJar and Handango. The Apple users, however, can only use the Apple App Store, since Apple forbids the distribution of apps via any other distribution channel. Secondly, mobile developers can upload applications directly to the App Store without the typically lengthy negotiations with publishers and operators, which increased their revenue share and made mobile game development more profitable. Thirdly, the tight integration of the App Store with the device itself led many consumers to try out apps, and the games market received a considerable boost, The first commercial highly successful mobile games emerged soon after the launch of the App Store.
The initial version of Angry Birds developed by Rovio Entertainment became a cultural phenomenon, Angry birds has in my opinion, one of the best user interfaces implemented, its simple interaction model is easy to learn because it allows the user to quickly develop a mental model of the game’s interaction, core strategy and scoring processes. It is engaging and addictive,The game play is based on firing a bird across the screen to kill the evil pigs by knocking over their houses, the UI is bright and colourful and again a simplistic tone showing score diegetic elements such as the birds count as lives when all birds have been fired the level ends either successful or failure,
I think it is safe to say that tetris is one of the worlds most iconic games And from a UI perspective tetris has a simple design, The screenshot is taken from a reimagined version of the tetris game for mobile devices the new user interface has a touch screen to move the blocks and rotate them to fit, the idea of touch screen interfaces through smart glass will undoubtedly change the games industry as games become more complex and over cross platform, |
Temple Run still today has a huge mobile following with celebrities tweeting about their high scores again the user interface is touch screen where players swipe to turn touch to jump and slide this is a never ending game which will always generate random levels which players must navigate, the ui displays score and power ups the idea is to collect as many coins to get the highest score possible, |
Plants versus zombies is a cross platform game hitting nearly every console and gaming device, The interface interaction model is a tile based game whereby the player must place plants(shooters) on squares to attack the onslaught of zombie hordes that are creeping up to kill you, The UI displays how far the zombies are on the map the economy based in sun rays collected and various power ups, |
In Jetpack Joyride, you occasionally pick up a "spin token" during the game. These tokens allow you to use a slot machine after you lose. The slot machine gives you gifts except for the somewhat rare times when it gives you nothing. The slot machine's gifts might be immediate, or they might carry over to your next play. Every once in a blue moon, the slot machine might let you continue the game where you left off. Jetpack Joyride is a high-score chase, and the score is "distance". You lose when you hit an obstacle. If you've collected a spin token, you might be able to win a revive. Or you might win a bomb, which blasts your dude into the air and earns you some extra distance. During your blast through the air, you might collect more coins or tokens, This user interface touches on the ethics of designers and the addictive style of play in this game the developers have definitively used gambling to make the user experience more fun,
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Common themes in the mobile games top grossing games we can see that bright and casual is in favor: HayDay, Candy Crush Saga, the Simpsons, Subway Surfers, the Tribez, Puzzle and Dragons. They all are bright, rich and amiable objectively, there are not any super effects, no mega art, everything is solid, but not of star-quality. why do people play these games, Simply because gameplay is what really matters and makes the game. Design is also very important, but not in the sense of graphical appearance, but in the sense of how this all works. The top-grossing games are usually marked by well-thought, handy interfaces and details.
weakness in the mobile phone
The mobile phone has its restrictions as a game device in many ways when compared to
other devices specifically designed for that purpose. There are several weaknesses that relate to the physical features of the device and the characteristics of the mobile phone network. On the device side, its memory space, application size, processor power, battery life and display size as well as means of input are limite. Even though portability is an advantage, it can also be a failing. Dynamic use-context, i.e. using the device on the move and in various locations: in a bus, when walking or even while driving a car, can pose a challenge for game design. Also, the mobile network characteristics, such as connection, latency and bandwidth can restrict design.
The new game on the go and the future of mobile gaming, one of the many games that made their debut at E3, is one by Ubisoft called Tom Clancy's The Division. Players work their way through a New York ravaged by plague, trying to stay alive and bring back some semblance of order to the chaos. In a lot of ways, it's a standard duck-and-cover action game with lots of gadgets, skills, progression, and persistent open world player-versus-player, but what's really interesting to us is the mobile element. Players on unnamed tablets will be able to join in the fun as a drone, offering tactical support by way of surveillance, healing, and providing other bonuses. You can still get shot at, even though you're in the air. This is a great way to drop in and out of a game no matter where you are and you've got some time to spare.
The mobile phone has its restrictions as a game device in many ways when compared to
other devices specifically designed for that purpose. There are several weaknesses that relate to the physical features of the device and the characteristics of the mobile phone network. On the device side, its memory space, application size, processor power, battery life and display size as well as means of input are limite. Even though portability is an advantage, it can also be a failing. Dynamic use-context, i.e. using the device on the move and in various locations: in a bus, when walking or even while driving a car, can pose a challenge for game design. Also, the mobile network characteristics, such as connection, latency and bandwidth can restrict design.
The new game on the go and the future of mobile gaming, one of the many games that made their debut at E3, is one by Ubisoft called Tom Clancy's The Division. Players work their way through a New York ravaged by plague, trying to stay alive and bring back some semblance of order to the chaos. In a lot of ways, it's a standard duck-and-cover action game with lots of gadgets, skills, progression, and persistent open world player-versus-player, but what's really interesting to us is the mobile element. Players on unnamed tablets will be able to join in the fun as a drone, offering tactical support by way of surveillance, healing, and providing other bonuses. You can still get shot at, even though you're in the air. This is a great way to drop in and out of a game no matter where you are and you've got some time to spare.
Diegetic
Diegetic user interface elements exist within the game world (fiction and geometry) so the player and avatar can interact with them through visual, audible or haptic means. Well executed diegetic UI elements enhance the narrative experience for the player, providing a more immersive and integrated experience.
Diegetic user interface elements exist within the game world (fiction and geometry) so the player and avatar can interact with them through visual, audible or haptic means. Well executed diegetic UI elements enhance the narrative experience for the player, providing a more immersive and integrated experience.
Meta
Sometimes UI elements don’t fit within the geometry of the game world. They can still maintain the game’s narrative but sit on the 2D hub plane — these are called Meta elements.
A common example of a Meta UI element is blood the splatters on the screen as a form of health bar, as in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Sometimes UI elements don’t fit within the geometry of the game world. They can still maintain the game’s narrative but sit on the 2D hub plane — these are called Meta elements.
A common example of a Meta UI element is blood the splatters on the screen as a form of health bar, as in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Spatial
Spatial UI elements are used when there’s a need to break the narrative in order to provide more information to the player than the character should be aware of. They still sit within the geometry of the game’s environment to help immerse the player and prevent them from having to break the experience by jumping to menu screens. The closer these follow the rules of the game’s fiction the more they can help immerse the player.Mobile games dont really tend to have much of a spatial ui as most games so far do not take on the roles of fiction or stories, still it should be metioned as technology increases the likely hood of spatial ui entering the mobile games market seems to be only a matter of time.
Non-diegetic
Then there are traditional non-diegetic elements, these elements have the freedom to be completely removed from the game’s fiction and geometry and can adopt their own visual treatment, though often influenced by the game’s art direction. I think these elements are best used when the diegetic, meta and spatial forms provide restrictions that break the seamlessness, consistency or legibly of the UI element.
Spatial UI elements are used when there’s a need to break the narrative in order to provide more information to the player than the character should be aware of. They still sit within the geometry of the game’s environment to help immerse the player and prevent them from having to break the experience by jumping to menu screens. The closer these follow the rules of the game’s fiction the more they can help immerse the player.Mobile games dont really tend to have much of a spatial ui as most games so far do not take on the roles of fiction or stories, still it should be metioned as technology increases the likely hood of spatial ui entering the mobile games market seems to be only a matter of time.
Non-diegetic
Then there are traditional non-diegetic elements, these elements have the freedom to be completely removed from the game’s fiction and geometry and can adopt their own visual treatment, though often influenced by the game’s art direction. I think these elements are best used when the diegetic, meta and spatial forms provide restrictions that break the seamlessness, consistency or legibly of the UI element.
Spell duel on the android uses a mostly Non-diegetic UI, one exception being the Spatial player names. It allows the user to completely customise it, hopefully ensuring a familiar experience.
How is it that mobile games, which sell for less than a cup of coffee, and in some instances are even free, can reach so far? Primarily, it's because they're cheap, and therefore, are able to more easily hook players. A console game that costs 60 times as much will have a higher barrier of entry, and therefore, won't be as likely to achieve mainstream success.
In conclusion the mobile industry has a bright future for mobile gaming according to the UN International Telecommunications Union, there are currently 6.8 billion mobile phone subscriptions in the world almost as many subscriptions as there are people compared to one billion subscriptions in 2002. A recent study by PopCap games shows 44 percent of people play mobile games and are considered casual gamers the impact on todays society is so vast when you see those sort of figures we can conclude that in the last 10 years nearly half of the population on earth have become casual gamers without even noticing,
How is it that mobile games, which sell for less than a cup of coffee, and in some instances are even free, can reach so far? Primarily, it's because they're cheap, and therefore, are able to more easily hook players. A console game that costs 60 times as much will have a higher barrier of entry, and therefore, won't be as likely to achieve mainstream success.
In conclusion the mobile industry has a bright future for mobile gaming according to the UN International Telecommunications Union, there are currently 6.8 billion mobile phone subscriptions in the world almost as many subscriptions as there are people compared to one billion subscriptions in 2002. A recent study by PopCap games shows 44 percent of people play mobile games and are considered casual gamers the impact on todays society is so vast when you see those sort of figures we can conclude that in the last 10 years nearly half of the population on earth have become casual gamers without even noticing,