ON THE GO: The Merits and Detriments of Mobile Gaming

   Ever since the Microvision was released in 1979,  video game developers have been trying to find a way to let customers take their games anywhere they want. Sadly, most handheld consoles were bulky, inefficient and difficult to handle. 

   However, when the iPhone was released in 2007, a reinvigoration of what is known as “mobile gaming” came to be. Inspired developers soon realize the true power of intuitive gaming in the palm of a hand. Let’s take a quick look at how games have changed and evolved on the mobile platform, as well as the Pros and Cons of mobile development 

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   Games for the iPhone and other smart devices have been around almost as long as the devices themselves. The first handful of games that were originally released, such as Angry Birds, were graphically and mechanically simple games that made use of the touch-sensetive screen and other tools found in a smartphone. Adding the camera into the mix only maximized the chances for gameplay innovation, and developers took this to heart when creating these fascinating interactive apps. For instance, the multiplayer experience Ingress used GPS tracking to bring the game to the real world, elevating multiplayer gaming by allowing players to collaborate in real life and focus on real-world landmarks.

In Ingress, players choose a faction and fight to obtain digital control over real-world landmarks. This requires the player take their device with them, necessitating a mobile format (Image courtesy of activewirehead.com)

 Local multiplayer is easier on mobile as well, what with Bluetooth and WiFi connections being expedient and easily used. Call of Duty: Zombies was an app that offered the Zombie Mode from previous titles to be accessible to all with a smartphone, while also allowing for others to join in through local connections. Even simple console/PC games like Rayman and Minecraft were able to be converted into apps, allowing fans to take their favorite titles wherever they went. 

   However, while most of these games were functional and somewhat cathartic, they were more casual in their execution and failed to offer anything by way of real story or narrative. Controls had to be displayed on-screen, obstructing the content with interfaces and other info. The screen itself is smaller than that of a TV or computer, so detail and visibility is reduced dramatically. Heavy screen and processor use devoured battery life, making gaming sessions short and less than fulfilling. All in all, early mobile gaming seemed somewhat shallow: Short, snack experiences with little to no impact in story or mechanics.

   Yet, what with recent devices now clocking in with 1-2 gigabytes of RAM, games have a little more room to grow and evolve with better graphics and mechanics. Moore’s Law has blessed smartphones with smaller and more powerful processors, and battery life is longer than ever before. This allows for bigger and more complex game files to be processed, including better graphics and environments. Many apps even support gaming peripheral for those that wish for a dedicated controller. 

A chart representing the increase of processor power of Apple's iPhone devices. (Image courtesy of Apple) 

   There’s no doubt that mobile gaming will only improve as the years go by. Already we have luminaries like The Room and Infinity Blade, games that boast console-grade graphics despite growing up on mobile platforms. Even conversions from console/PC to mobile is more sophisticated, allowing complex games like Transistor and Five Nights at Freddy’s to enter the app store. 

With stunning graphics and fluid animation, Infinity Blade boasts a console appearance while remaining in the pal of the player's hand (Image courtesy of videogamer.net)

   Mobile gaming also allows for some interesting artistic choices to be made in development. Device 6, a heavily text-based puzzle game, makes use of the touch and sound mechanics to manipulate puzzles and provide more ways to experience the rich story. Thomas Was Alone offered an engrossing story while remaining simple enough for new players to enjoy, essentially being a sliding-tile puzzle with an excellent narrative. 

Device 6 contained literary pages of text to offer the story, while requiring the player to scan the "environment" for clues to progress the story. One such puzzle is pictured above. (Image courtesy of simgo.com)

   With technology constantly marching towards improvement, mobile gaming will only get more intuitive and enjoyable. Perhaps in the future we should stop looking for innovations in labs and focus instead on what’s in our own pockets. 

   Have your own opinions on mobile gaming? Why not continue the discussion in the comments below, or at our Twitter @GamerGweek! 

   Written by Spence