How mobile phones have changed the game industry
Mobile games in their modern form appeared relatively recently. The sharp growth of this market segment occurred with the advent of touch devices (primarily the iPhone, iPad) and the new infrastructure (Apple AppStore, Google Play).
At the moment, the segment has already formed, leaders have emerged, the mobile market has ceased to be the wild west of the gaming industry. Games for tablets and phones have become commonplace and have become part of the lives of all users of mobile devices, starting with 5-month-old babies, ending ... not ending in general.
In connection with the onset of "maturity" of this segment of the gaming industry, I decided to look deep into and find out what new mobile games brought to gamers. What is the main feature of mobile games? In fact, of course, there are a lot of innovations, so I made a list of nominees, one of whom will be the owner of an enchanting hand-made trophy:
The list of applicants was determined personally, plus friends who are involved in the development of mobile games helped professionally. So, applicants:
')
The infrastructure that Apple has created is worthy of praise, respect, and laurel wreaths. Suddenly, a lot of problems were removed from the developers: where to host, how to collect money, how to become popular, how to run in all countries, etc. The breakthrough in streamlining your own market is simply colossal. Everything is available in one place! Both for developers and players.
AppStore does not receive a reward, because In-app'y were invented earlier in social networks, and the charts and recommendations of apstor not always do well with the task of offering good games. For me, as a player, seeing Candy Crush Top1 in top grossing for a year means that in 2013 there were no normal games capable of making money. It is more convenient to get information about new games on sites about mobile games, and not in the actual store.
Previously, games were available only to those who wanted to play them. Long ago, I had to grow a beard, buy expensive hardware, show the wonders of installing hard and soft, configure the code with my hands inside files, etc. Then it became enough to buy a console, connect to the TV and insert the cartridge / disc. With the advent of modern mobile phones, access to games was received by people who, before games, in principle, had no business. The device is already there, click on the beautiful icon in the AppStore and now you can play.
The breadth of the audience does not receive the Grand Prix, because even earlier, the audience of games was radically expanded by Facebook, when 100.5 billion housewives began to fiercely build farms and cultivate cities.
The format of using a mobile device forms a number of features and requirements for games. On the one hand, this is a very low entry threshold. Roughly speaking, the game has 5-10 minutes to show itself in all its glory and interest the user. In the real world, the player has quite a bit of time to watch the downloaded game, and during this short period, the game should do what large console or PC projects can afford to do for hours: imagine management; basic gaming system; heroes; plot; at best, emotionally immerse the player in the project. The main goal is to make the player want to continue playing at the end of the first session. It is really very difficult.
On the other hand, after the first couple of sessions, the game must also be arranged so that the player can spend 10-20 minutes, not more. This restriction immediately cuts off a number of successful PC-genres, for example, MMORPG, where in 10-20 minutes you can catch up, perhaps, to get out of a safe location-city
Mobility, session length and other restrictions do not receive a grand prix, simply because they are restrictions. This restriction does not allow making really deep story games or very intense session games, for example, DoTAs. The player simply does not have time to dive, so you need to do a little more superficial projects.
The Grand Prix found through Google and hastily changed in paint.net image gets: SWIPE!
Swipe is when you swipe your finger across the screen. Swap is a super new interface solution brought by mobile games. Thanks to svaypu, real mobile games got their exceptional magic, because playing games made under svayp is fun only on mobile devices. Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Candy Crush Saga, The Room, etc - each of these games is sharpened by a swipe. Before and after, on the PC and on the consoles, such games appeared, but the mouse and keyboard (or gamepad) do not give those emotions and sensations that phones and tablets gave us.
In addition to the swipe, of course, there are other mobile “gestures” involving from three to 10 (sic!) Fingers, but the swipe is a collective and most revealing “gesture” about mobile phones. Viva Swipe!
Although the mobile games market has already been formed, a window of opportunity is still open for small developers. Still, relatively cheap, you can make a game that will become successful. My list of nominations and the Grand Prix winner is a small checklist for young developers. It is a pity to see high-quality projects that failed due to conceptual errors at the very early stages of game development, simply because the guys do not take into account the important features of the mobile market.
On the other hand, I want to congratulate all the players on the advent of mobile games in our lives. This is really something new, exciting and interesting. Let's watch together how mobile games will evolve.
At the moment, the segment has already formed, leaders have emerged, the mobile market has ceased to be the wild west of the gaming industry. Games for tablets and phones have become commonplace and have become part of the lives of all users of mobile devices, starting with 5-month-old babies, ending ... not ending in general.
In connection with the onset of "maturity" of this segment of the gaming industry, I decided to look deep into and find out what new mobile games brought to gamers. What is the main feature of mobile games? In fact, of course, there are a lot of innovations, so I made a list of nominees, one of whom will be the owner of an enchanting hand-made trophy:
Challengers
The list of applicants was determined personally, plus friends who are involved in the development of mobile games helped professionally. So, applicants:
')
1. Appstore and in-app
The infrastructure that Apple has created is worthy of praise, respect, and laurel wreaths. Suddenly, a lot of problems were removed from the developers: where to host, how to collect money, how to become popular, how to run in all countries, etc. The breakthrough in streamlining your own market is simply colossal. Everything is available in one place! Both for developers and players.
AppStore does not receive a reward, because In-app'y were invented earlier in social networks, and the charts and recommendations of apstor not always do well with the task of offering good games. For me, as a player, seeing Candy Crush Top1 in top grossing for a year means that in 2013 there were no normal games capable of making money. It is more convenient to get information about new games on sites about mobile games, and not in the actual store.
2. The breadth of the audience and accessibility.
Previously, games were available only to those who wanted to play them. Long ago, I had to grow a beard, buy expensive hardware, show the wonders of installing hard and soft, configure the code with my hands inside files, etc. Then it became enough to buy a console, connect to the TV and insert the cartridge / disc. With the advent of modern mobile phones, access to games was received by people who, before games, in principle, had no business. The device is already there, click on the beautiful icon in the AppStore and now you can play.
The breadth of the audience does not receive the Grand Prix, because even earlier, the audience of games was radically expanded by Facebook, when 100.5 billion housewives began to fiercely build farms and cultivate cities.
3. Mobility, session length
The format of using a mobile device forms a number of features and requirements for games. On the one hand, this is a very low entry threshold. Roughly speaking, the game has 5-10 minutes to show itself in all its glory and interest the user. In the real world, the player has quite a bit of time to watch the downloaded game, and during this short period, the game should do what large console or PC projects can afford to do for hours: imagine management; basic gaming system; heroes; plot; at best, emotionally immerse the player in the project. The main goal is to make the player want to continue playing at the end of the first session. It is really very difficult.
On the other hand, after the first couple of sessions, the game must also be arranged so that the player can spend 10-20 minutes, not more. This restriction immediately cuts off a number of successful PC-genres, for example, MMORPG, where in 10-20 minutes you can catch up, perhaps, to get out of a safe location-city
Mobility, session length and other restrictions do not receive a grand prix, simply because they are restrictions. This restriction does not allow making really deep story games or very intense session games, for example, DoTAs. The player simply does not have time to dive, so you need to do a little more superficial projects.
The Grand Prix
The Grand Prix found through Google and hastily changed in paint.net image gets: SWIPE!
Swipe is when you swipe your finger across the screen. Swap is a super new interface solution brought by mobile games. Thanks to svaypu, real mobile games got their exceptional magic, because playing games made under svayp is fun only on mobile devices. Angry Birds, Cut the Rope, Candy Crush Saga, The Room, etc - each of these games is sharpened by a swipe. Before and after, on the PC and on the consoles, such games appeared, but the mouse and keyboard (or gamepad) do not give those emotions and sensations that phones and tablets gave us.
In addition to the swipe, of course, there are other mobile “gestures” involving from three to 10 (sic!) Fingers, but the swipe is a collective and most revealing “gesture” about mobile phones. Viva Swipe!
Summary
Although the mobile games market has already been formed, a window of opportunity is still open for small developers. Still, relatively cheap, you can make a game that will become successful. My list of nominations and the Grand Prix winner is a small checklist for young developers. It is a pity to see high-quality projects that failed due to conceptual errors at the very early stages of game development, simply because the guys do not take into account the important features of the mobile market.
On the other hand, I want to congratulate all the players on the advent of mobile games in our lives. This is really something new, exciting and interesting. Let's watch together how mobile games will evolve.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/211192/
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