Improving mobile games

[bobraj]

It's been on my mind since reading about the Mobile GDC conference recently. There are a lot of problems with the development and sale of mobile games including slow and incompatible hardware, controller issues, a lack of consumer knowledge about the software available, etc..

The major problem for me is that most mobile games are either straight console conversions that do not use the hardware available in mobiles to make better games. For example, no mobile game that I can think of uses anything like GPS, the camera function or bluetooth to make them stand out from their console brethren.

So, I wanted to know if anyone has had any ideas for a mobile game (including ARGs) that would be really innovative.

Also, does anyone know of any good mobile games? My personal favourite is Sonic Jump from GLU. A really interesting take on Sonic, where the constrictions of the (normally) taller than wider screens that you get with mobiles has been used to good effect to create a fast, vertical Sonic game.

Appreciate any suggestions

EDIT:
Almost forget my idea! It would be cool if there was a game that used procedural content creation to make levels depending on your GPS position. I'm not sure what genre would be best suited to this, but an arcade shooter such as Metal Slug or Contra would be a good one.I think the idea was first planted when I heard about AudioSurf. Same thing, but if the programming was as good, you could have an almost infinitely playable game that makes the most of the fact you carry your mobile with you wherever you go.

 

[Logan Westbrook]

The only problem I can see with your idea is that using GPS as such an integral part would reduce battery life significantly, as GPS is such a power drain.

 

[unusedaccountdeleteme]

I think the most 'entertaining' mobile game was on a Samsung D600. It was a game called Freekick. A football 'freekicking' game with 50 stages. Kept me entertained for hours, in cars, on buses.. ect.

 

[Jumplion]

Well, really, mobile games are just games you play when you're stuck on a bus with your cell phone. The neccesities are usually Tetris and sometimes Pac-Man, but other than that why would you buy any other significant mobile game anyway?

 

[unusedaccountdeleteme]

Well, really, mobile games are just games you play when you're stuck on a bus with your cell phone. The neccesities are usually Tetris and sometimes Pac-Man, but other than that why would you buy any other significant mobile game anyway?

Ah, love all the retro games. Space invaders, Galaxian, Tetris, Asteroids...

 

[stompy]

Well, really, mobile games are just games you play when you're stuck on a bus with your cell phone. The neccesities are usually Tetris and sometimes Pac-Man, but other than that why would you buy any other significant mobile game anyway?

I've gotta agree with this. I don't really see the mobile phone as a major platform, due to the main use of the thing as a phone (something a lot of people have recently forgotten).

- A procrastinator

 

[bryanmca]

Have you seen what the guys at LocoMatrix [http://www.locomatrix.com] are doing? They are using ordinary phones connected to GPS via Bluetooth = good battery life/good GPS. They only have a couple of games at moment but users can create their own levels and apparently there's an open API in development

 

[Jumplion]

Well, really, mobile games are just games you play when you're stuck on a bus with your cell phone. The neccesities are usually Tetris and sometimes Pac-Man, but other than that why would you buy any other significant mobile game anyway?

Ah, love all the retro games. Space invaders, Galaxian, Tetris, Asteroids...

Hell, if i wasn't too lazy and cheap i'd buy Tetris for my iPod and phone already!

 

[unusedaccountdeleteme]

Haha Jumplion... then again, who wouldn't?

 

[bobraj]

Maybe I wasn't too clear at the beginning.

I understand the fact that most gamers do not regard mobile phones as a serious gaming platform but I belive that this is because:

1) the hardware is pretty slow and
2) the software is pretty crap, mostly because they are conversions played on inferior or incompatible hardware.

The hardware will eventually catch up, so once it does, my question was what would you like to see on the software side that would make mobile games stand apart?

As for the GPS power drain, one way of rectifying this would be to only use the function once in order to create the level. Once thie GPS data has been used, the GPS can be turned off immediately so that power is saved.