Mobile Gaming Is Different
Gaming was a huge market segment long before the likes of iPhone and Android appeared on the scene. However, with these new forms of hybrid devices, the landscape has started to change. Gaming is no longer something just for nerdy kids. Serious business people have been seen playing the latest trendy game on their mobile phones in public, newspapers pick up stories of successful small game developers making a fortune on mobile phone application markets, and established game publishers have a hard time keeping up with the developments in the mobile space. Game developers must recognize this change and adjust accordingly. Let's see what this new ecosystem has to offer.
A Gaming Machine in Every Pocket
Mobile devices are everywhere. That's probably the key statement to take away from this section. From this, you can easily derive all the other facts about mobile gaming.
As hardware prices are constantly dropping and new devices have ever-increasing computational power, they also become ideal for gaming. Mobile phones are a must-have nowadays, so market penetration is huge. Many people are exchanging their old, classic mobile phones for newer-generation smartphones and discovering the new options available to them in the form of an incredibly wide range of applications.
Previously, if you wanted to play video games, you had to make the conscious decision to buy a video game system or a gaming PC. Now you get that functionality for free on mobile phones, tablets, and other devices. There's no additional cost involved (at least if you don't count the data plan you'll likely need), and your new gaming device is available to you at any time. Just grab it from your pocket or purse and you are ready to go—no need to carry a separate, dedicated system with you, because everything's integrated in one package.
Apart from the benefit of only having to carry a single device for your telephone, internet, and gaming needs, another factor makes gaming on mobile phones easily accessible to a much larger audience: you can fire up a dedicated market application on your device, pick a game that looks interesting, and immediately start to play. There's no need to go to a store or download something via your PC, only to find out, for example, that you don't have the USB cable you need to transfer that game to your phone.
The increased processing power of current-generation devices also has an impact on what's possible for you as a game developer. Even the middle class of devices is capable of generating gaming experiences similar to titles found on the older Xbox and PlayStation 2 systems. Given these capable hardware platforms, you can also start to explore elaborate games with physics simulations, an area offering great potential for innovation.
With new devices come new input methods, which have already been touched upon. A couple of games already take advantage of the GPS and/or compass available in most Android devices. The use of the accelerometer is already a mandatory feature of many games, and multi-touch screens offer new ways for the user to interact with the game world. Compared to classic gaming consoles (and ignoring the Wii, for the moment), this is quite a change for game developers. A lot of ground has been covered already, but there are still new ways to use all of this functionality in an innovative way.
Always Connected
Android devices are usually sold with data plans. This is driving an increasing amount of traffic on the Web. A smartphone user is very likely to be connected to the Web at any given time (disregarding poor reception caused by hardware design failures).
Permanent connectivity opens up a completely new world for mobile gaming. A user can challenge an opponent on the other side of the planet to a quick game of chess, explore virtual worlds populated with real people, or try fragging a best friend from another city in a gentlemen's death match. Moreover, all of this occurs on the go—on the bus, train, or in a most beloved corner of the local park.
Apart from multiplayer functionality, social networks have also started to influence mobile gaming. Games provide functionality to automatically tweet your latest high score directly to your Twitter account, or to inform a friend of the latest achievement you earned in that racing game you both love. Although growing social networks exist in the classical gaming world (for example, Xbox Live or PlayStation Network), the market penetration of services such as Facebook and Twitter is a lot higher, so the user is relieved of the burden of managing multiple networks at once.
Casual and Hardcore
The overwhelming user adoption of mobile devices also means that people who have never even touched a NES controller have suddenly discovered the world of gaming. Their idea of a good game often deviates quite a bit from that of the hardcore gamer.
According to the use cases for mobile phones, typical users tend to lean toward the more casual sort of game that they can fire up for a couple of minutes while on the bus or waiting in line at a fast food restaurant. These games are the equivalent those addictive little flash games on the PC that force many people in the workplace to Alt+Tab frantically every time they sense the presence of someone behind them. Ask yourself this: How much time each day would you be willing to spend playing games on your mobile phone? Can you imagine playing a “quick” game of Civilization on such a device?
Sure, there are probably serious gamers who would offer up their firstborn child if they could play their beloved Advanced Dungeons & Dragons variant on a mobile phone. But this group is a small minority, as evidenced by the top-selling games in the iPhone App Store and Android Market. The top-selling games are usually extremely casual in nature, but they have a neat trick up their sleeves: the average time it takes to play a round is in the range of minutes, but the games keep you coming back by employing various evil schemes. One game might provide an elaborate online achievement system that lets you virtually brag about your skills. Another could actually be a hardcore game in disguise. Offer users an easy way to save their progress and you are selling an epic RPG as a cute puzzle game!
Big Market, Small Developers
The low entry barrier is a main attractor for many hobbyists and independent developers. In the case of Android, this barrier is especially low: just get yourself the SDK and program away. You don't even need a device; just use the emulator (although having at least one development device is recommended). The open nature of Android also leads to a lot of activity on the Web. Information on all aspects of programming for the system can be found online for free. There's no need to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement or wait for some authority to grant you access to their holy ecosystem.
At the time of this writing, the most successful games on the market were developed by one-person companies and small teams. Major publishers have not yet set foot in this market, at least not successfully. Gameloft serves as a prime example. Although big on the iPhone, Gameloft couldn't get a foothold in the Android market and decided instead to sell their games on their own website. Gameloft might not have been happy with the absence of a Digital Rights Management scheme (which is available on Android now), a move that considerably lowers the number of people who know about their games.
The Android environment also allows for a lot of experimentation and innovation, as bored people surfing the market are searching for little gems, including new ideas and game play mechanics. Experimentation on classic gaming platforms, such as the PC or consoles, often meets with failure. However, the Android Market enables you to reach a large audience that is willing to try experimental new ideas, and to reach them with a lot less effort.
This doesn't mean, of course, that you don't have to market your game. One way to do so is to inform various blogs and dedicated sites on the Web about your latest game. Many Android users are enthusiasts and regularly frequent such sites, checking in on the next big hit.
Another way to reach a large audience is to get featured in the Android Market. Once featured, your application will appear to users in a list that shows up when they start the market application. Many developers have reported a tremendous increase in downloads, which is directly correlated to getting featured in the market. How to get featured is a bit of a mystery, though. Having an awesome idea and executing it in the most polished way possible is your best bet, whether you are a big publisher or a small, one-person shop.