With more and more accessories hitting the
market, will the casual gaming market see an injection of hardcore games?
There have been a lot of discussions lately
about the future of mobile gaming; specifically whether or not mobile gaming;
specifically whether or not mobile devices will ever appeal to the mass
hardcore gaming community. As they currently stand, a lot of iOS titles offer
addictive gameplay and casual entertainment. However, they don’t really appeal
much to true gamer who has grown up with, or is currently enamored by, Consoles
or PCs. There just isn’t enough depth to these titles, which are often short in
length and lacking customization. But recent developments in the consumer tech
world, specifically in the mobile sector, have begun to broaden the horizons
for what mobile game developers can create.
There
have been a lot of discussions lately about the future of mobile gaming
Take for example the recent surge in
controller based peripherals for iPhones and iPads. Over the past year, we have
seen a wide variety of bluetooth, direct plug-in, and dockable controller units
that have attempted to give a more realistic gaming experience to iDevices.
Unfortunately though, none of these have really caught on with some dedicated
developers and there haven’t been many games that really make full use of their
capabilities. So currently, we’re looking at a market that is flooded with
gimmicky peripherals and accessories that don’t really do much.
Where exactly do we place the blame for
this lack of appeal to hardcore gamers? Realistically, the easiest individuals
to point the finger at would be the developers. After all, it’s their
responsibility to craft games that appeal to a specific demographic. However,
you can’t really place the blame on specific companies when it may be the
entire mobile gaming scene that is the problem.
The current generation of mobile titles are
completely over saturated by a slew of casual games. And to be perfectly fair,
mobile gaming was always meant to be casual, with companies focusing on ways to
bring entertaining games to individuals of all backgrounds.
That hasn’t stopped accessory makers and
gaming innovators from attempting to reshape the way that we see the casual
genre however. In fact, we’re starting to see some incredibly ambitious designs
from a variety of sources. It’s not just cheap little gimmicky controllers that
are coming out of development studios, but rather, some well-designed and well
thought out devices.
It’s
not just cheap little gimmicky controllers that are coming out of development
studios, but rather, some well-designed and well thought out devices.
Take for example the company Razer, who are
currently sparking interest with their ambitious dual analog design. Their
Razer Gaming Tablet is showcasing a truly revolutionary design, with
preliminary sketches featuring a large tablet flanked on either end by
interesting looking controllers. These sticks jut out from the left and right
side of the tablet and seem to be affixed by two adjustable iron brackets. At
the top of these controllers is a moveable thumbstick (for each side), which
will allow you to move on a 360-drhtrr axis. Each sick also features four
buttons, which could come in handy if there are any games that are released
that feature more complex controls. In fact, this set up could very well help
to bring more in-depth games to the mobile world.
One of the things that help to separate the
casual gaming world from the hardcore gaming world is the complexity of
controls. In a casual game, the controls are usually very simplistic and there
aren’t usually a lot of them. This is to keep the game from becoming too overwhelming
to the casual gamer. Those that grew up with games or play them religiously
however have the necessary know how to operate and maneuver complex control
schemes, whereas someone who is picking up a game for the first time will
probably have a tough time understanding hardcore button inputs. Because of
this, touch screens offer a perfect playground for the casual gamer. They don’t
require that the player maneuvers around anything difficult, but instead gives
them a great sense of accuracy and control by allowing them to literally touch
whatever it is they are interacting with.
This is also the reason that many hardcore
gamers are turned off by the touch screen design. It doesn’t allow for the same
complexity that is required to make a hardcore game. Imagine trying to cram ten
usable buttons onto a touchscreen. It would be awkward, hard to tap multiple
buttons at once, and worse yet, your hands would literally be covering the
screen while you were playing. You also lack the ability to move in a 360-degree
arc, like you can in a first person shooter environment. Some casual games have
tried allowing you to tilt your tablet to look around or to use special touch
thumb sticks on the screen, but it never works out like it should. It just
doesn’t feel the same, and this is coming from someone who eats, sleeps, and
breathes games.
But with new revolutionary design, we could
possibly see casual games hit the marketplace that make use of the same control
schemes that many hardcore games do. Although, in my honest opinion, I don’t
really see this hardcore gaming fantasy becoming a reality on mobile devices,
and there are a few reasons why. For one, it’s going to be more difficult, for
casual game developers to crank out games that require complex controls.
They’ll have to spend additional time mapping them out, testing their accuracy,
and ensuring that they don’t falter during gameplay. And it’s important to
understand that a hardcore game isn’t just about complex controls either.
Hardcore games also need to have a
storyline, good graphics, great gameplay, and a decent amount of customization
or difference across the game itself. That means that casual developers will
need to put in ten times the amount of work they normally do, and in turn,
they’ll need to charge even more for the game in order for it to be lucrative
to their company. From a practical standpoint, it really doesn’t make much
sense. People play games on their tablet primarily for casual reasons, and I
doubt they would be interested in spending USD $30 - $40 to purchase a more
complex title from the app store. It’s going to be hard to pull gamers away
from their current PC and console set ups too, and in all honesty the hand held
section of the gaming world isn’t easily won over either.
People
play games on their tablet primarily for casual reasons
I think we might start seeing a little more
depth and ingenuity in casual games, specifically with the release of
excellently crafted peripherals like the Razer Gaming Tablet. But I wouldn’t
expect to see your favorite console and PC games making their way to iOS
anytime soon. We could start to see some hybrid titles come out; games that
make use of both a touch-screen and a controller. Think about how neat it would
be to see a shooting game, with full 360-degree control, that allows you to
quickly and effectively view intel and objectives via the touchscreen. Or a
game that allows you to draw a path on the screen and then platform jump across
it using the controls. There is a lot of room for interesting game creation
here, and hopefully developers will take advantage of this new wave of
technology.
I’m excited to see what’s going to happen
in the near future. And although I don’t think that iOS and mobile gaming is
ever going to have the complexity that consoles and PC gaming currently hold, I
still think there is a lot of fun to be created and had here.
