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Cell Phones, GBAs and PDAs – Mobile Gaming Continues to put the Arcade in our pocket

by Louis Bedigian

 

What began as experimentation has turned into a whole other venue for gamers.  Discord Studios developer Gary Simpson talks to GameZone about gaming on the go.

 

Thursday.  Some people know it as the night when Friends and ER air on NBC.  Others know it as an up-and-coming rock band.  Millions of us know it as the day when darkness fell.

 

It was pretty frightening for most of the GameZone staff, though it had nothing to do with the eternal darkness.  We have played through enough survival/horror games to know that all you need to survive a blackout is a flashlight and an old, rusty pipe.  You don't even need clean water, and as any gamer will tell you, any excuse not to shower is an excuse worth having.

 

Our fear came from the lack of PlayStation 2's light.  Even when not running, PS2's tiny red light is constantly shining bright.  But shine it did not.  We had Game Boy Advance SPs to keep us occupied, but the built-in battery didn't stay charged forever.

 

By 3am it felt like we were trapped in an old clock tower.  Slowly the night grew stronger, covering our eyes with a thick, black coat.  We couldn't see anything, not even each other!  It was like we were encased in a giant cloaking device, but this one didn't have an on/off switch.

 

At 4:30, roughly an hour before the sun came up, a beautiful light appeared before us.  The light was very colorful, with yellow dots and a red hue.  It was Pac-Man and he had come to save us!

 

Actually, it was a game-playing cell phone featuring Pac-Man.  Grateful to be free, GameZone thought it was time to give the growing mobile game sector some attention.  Mobile gaming not only includes the Game Boy Advance and its close competitors, but it also includes PDAs (personal digital assistant, or if you have a girlfriend, public display of affection), cell phones, and any other portable device that's capable of playing games.

 

Today we sat down in a nice, air-conditioned, electricity-filled room and spoke with Discord Studio’s Gary Simpson.  Gary is a co-developer at Discord and has helped create two new games, Decoder and Jack the Uni-Psychle, for the PDA platform.  In this interview Gary goes over the progress of mobile gaming, its technology, and where things are headed.

 

 

What is it about cell phone games that make them so popular among women?


Definitely the approach of the games. Most cell games are not targeted to a specific gender, which seems to be typical of console and PC platforms. Instead, they are a lot more dependant upon quick gameplay that you can pickup within a couple of minutes with minimal fuss. I think that kind of approach appeals to anyone that just wants to play a quick game or two during their own personal downtime.


What are some of the technological limitations of developing for a mobile device?
 

Obviously, mobile devices do not have the kind of robust architecture of typical gaming platforms. Developers have to contend with a device that was not designed solely for gaming so there are always limits with the memory allocation, processing power, file size and of course such a small viewing area. Considering this, developers just have to jump the limitation hurdles by knowing them in advance and have them work for them instead of against.

 

If you like puzzle games, be sure to check out Decoder.

 


Have there been any significant technological advances lately?

 

Oh yeah. The same rise that gamers saw in computer systems as well as consoles in the past decade are creeping into the advancement for mobiles. Gamers clamor for more power, more options, nicer visuals and they are getting it. There has been a flood of companies perking up to this demand, which coincidentally happens to be the major PC makers. I would not be surprised if handhelds were on par with laptops within the next five years thanks to mobile gamers.

How successful has mobile gaming been?

 

Within the past two years, it has definitely gotten its foot in the door. While the games are “crude” in terms of technology, mobile games have made leaps and bounds in establishing a viable market. I see it exploding in terms of market share within the next year or two as it targets technophiles and on-the-go gamers. After that, it is going to have to compete in some small part with pc/console games as the technology advances. Mobile gamers are already asking why more low-end 3d games aren’t made for mobiles.


Which kinds of mobile games have been the most well received?

 

Puzzle games by far. They are the best for 5-15 minute gaming romps while you wait for a bus or bored at work. After that, ports and 2d platformers because of the retro feel of them. Both of which are easy on system demands…a huge bonus to low-end mobiles. 3d and new concept games can steal the limelight but a lot must live up to the hype that they put out. Screenshots can impress people to demo your game but purchases are always made due to gameplay.

 

Decoder in action.  Very Tetris-y, wouldn’t you say?

 


Is it difficult to make a game fun to play and easy to control on a device that does not have game-specific buttons?

 

Control is always going to be a factor in gameplay. Nevertheless, gamers are adaptable and quick to learn if the right incentive is there for them. Typically, mobile users are use to the input commands of their devices due to other applications they run on them. Tap into something that is familiar and it becomes less of an issue.


The smaller the game, the smaller the development time.  At least, that is the hope.  How long would you say is the average amount of time it takes to create a game for a mobile device?

 

Two to six months depending on the development team and which platform(s) they are gearing towards. Tim and I as co-developers made Jack the Uni-Psychle and Decoder in about a month each and released them for Pocket PC. It will take us about another month to port it over to PC due mainly to the new interface design (Pocket PC has a screen size of 240x320 wherein a PC has a 640x480). We have a quick turnaround time since Tim and I seem to share a hivemind, but our next opus Kurita will probably take 2-4 months to complete.

 

Jack the Uni-Psychle: Second Edition is one of the most unique PDA titles to date.



Some cell phone games do not allow you to press any more than one button at a time.  Why is that?  What is the reason behind this, and is it possible to overcome it?

 

Well, cell phones are intended to be phones more than game platforms so the input is configured that way. Even if games were second nature to cell phones, telecommunications is always going to be first. A developer can adjust button mapping to an extent or simply design gameplay around single button interaction.


Power-wise, are there any PDAs currently on the market that can compete with the Game Boy Advance?

 

HP’s iPAQ Pocket PC H2215 easily blows GBA out of the water. Armed with a 400 MHz processor and 64mb of memory the iPAQ can play anything tossed its way. It has an easy D-Pad configuration, a backlit touch screen that is 2x the size of GBA, wireless networking built in, as well as hosting dual expansion slots for cards and is more compact. Moreover, it is a multi-functional device like a PC so you download demos of games at places like handango.com and try before you buy. A huge boom to gamers.

 

As far as development, there are already a number of companies devoting time to 3d game engines geared for Mobiles. Half-Life-quality games are already being produced and made for PDAs. Once the controls and FPS are streamlined, the 2D engines will probably have to step aside.


Are independent game developers having a tough time surviving when the big boys like Activision have a game out for every portable machine imaginable?

 

If anything, larger companies are helping the indies due to exposure of the market. While a lot of indies don’t have the advertising money of those more established, they get to ride in on the wake of interest that they never would have seen in a console/PC market.

This is what the games look like when running on a PDA.

 


Do you consider yourself an independent developer?

 

Yes. From both a creative standpoint as well as resource. Tim and I started Discord Studios with absolutely no investment monies and just started making games that we wanted to make. We just went with what we wanted to see in games and made them. 


Besides having more creative freedom, what are some of the advantages of being an independent game developer?

 

Basically, everything that comes attached to that creative freedom. You get a sense of pride when people are out there playing your games and enjoying your ideas. It is surreal because gamers take concepts like storylines and game design so seriously that they want to know what happens next to characters that you created.


Cell phone game popularity continues to grow.  Where do you imagine it will go in the future, technologically, innovatively, and its popularity?

 

Microsoft is already making a strong push for games to be developed for its US Smartphone so it is only going to go up. As the market sees more consolidation in terms of functions and features, gamers are going to be the strong leveraging power for mobiles just like they are for PCs. Mobiles are already predicted to outsell PCs by 2008 and have a huge following in both Asian & European markets and will likely cause a huge influx in games due to the demand.

Where does the N-Gage stand?  Does it have a chance?

 

It is a step in where entertainment mobiles are going. It does a little bit of everything but there are other devices out there that can claim the same features. As more entertainment mobiles come out, Nokia is going to have to deal with a rather niche market.

What would it take to get the casual mobile device gamers to purchase a PS2?  What marketing strategy or game content could have the power to win 'em over?

 

They are two different markets sharing a common target audience so typically mobile device gamers already have a console system like PS2 or at least a PC to play on at home. If someone really wanted to crossover more they could capitalize on the wireless networking that is available, perhaps a real-time MMORPG that allows players to use their PS2 characters to interact with Mobile characters. I could easily see the Mobile aspect being more character/storyline driven to act in tandem with the PS2 adventure-orientation. You could let gamers get world overview updates, advance plots through character-to-character chats and messaging services on the go until they get home, and plug away at beating up monsters and going to the next stage. The options are wide open for that kind cross-platform play and the more options available to gamers the more appeal for development towards it.

 

Thank you for your time.

 

 

For more game trailers and more information, visit: www.discordstudios.com