Dear /v/.
What's the deal with this whole "phone games" thing?
I mean, I often run into texts around the net, how mobile games industry is the "future" and all, how it killed portable consoles, how companies care for mobile market and so on.
But every single time I look at mobile games selection on my phone, nearly all of them are either ports of old PC games (with ads), endless closes of classic logical games, endless variation of "runs" (constant running character, player is expected to press jump buton at right moment) or retarded clickers, where all you do is just press the screen (numerous "farm sims" and so on), even if game in question is labeled as "RTS". Nothing with more depth.
Please explain, how is this supposed the be anything worth of interest and how it generate so much income, when it doesnt have even 1/10 of complexity of your typical jrpg/rpg/srpg/action/sport/racing on your typical portable console.
For me, "phone games" are fucking joke. What Im missing here?
>>335716962
They are cheap to make and they make millions out of the normal population. That is the real future.
>>335716962
The mobile game market crashed already.
The reason phones beat out handhelds is simple....it has more functions, more apps, AND games. People didn't want to carry around two devices.
If Handhelds want to stay competitive, they should make a "good" version of the N-Gage. A Nintendo handheld that ran on android and was also a phone would make ludicrous money for everyone involved.
>>335716962
That most people aren't interested in a long, complex experience and just want a bite-sized meaningless experience they can use to kill some time between doing the things that actually matter to them.
The more complex a game is, the less accessible it is. The less accessible it is, the less money it can potentially make.
>>335717276
>The less accessible it is, the less money it can potentially make.
Is this why RTS are dead?
>>335717096
99% of them dont make any money at all
>>335716962
People who play them are mostly on interested in video games, so they don't demand them to be good or deep. In fact, the shallower they are the better as that way no potential player is driven away.
A fraction of those players are not only casual 'gamers', but also little children or retarded adults who get hooked on the compulsion loops and spend money on the games to faster the cycles or get bragging rights.
>>335716962
>"What Im missing here?"
Probably 5 years off your clock.
>>335717367
This would make TBS and Grand Strategy dead too.
Oh wait...
>>335717276
But it doesnt even offer any experience.
Clash of Heroes, HoMM game for NDS and later PC, had really easy to get into schematic, but combined with rng, surprisingly good ammount of complexity and while each game could be played for 10-15 minutes, it was still fun to repeat.
Most of nowdays phone games I saw are only about tapping the screen from time to time, without thinking. This is not even game, this is like banging rock together.
This is beyond me.
Its a different market, the people that play those dont like videogames, they just want a senseless time waster
I remember when snake first appeared on phones
everybody was playing it
>>335717551
>typo
People who play them are mostly *NOT* on interested in video games
>>335716962
People used to buy handhelds to buy some puzzle game to dick around with while on the bus. Now people just download a stupid freemium puzzle game that's on their phone that they already have to dick around with while on the bus.
Out of those, there's a very small amount that's usually either some spoiled teenagers with their phone linked to their parent's credit card and some adults with addiction problems spend that way too much money on stupid shit and that's why it's profitable. Most people have phones, so most people are potential customers.
They don't care about making a good game, only about making money.
mobile games are the purest forms of games. they're the kind of games that got us into games as kids. they don't have convoluted stories, bullshit lore, 1000 different inputs and tedious crafting and xp systems. they just have great simple gameplay with colorful graphics. they're inexpensive too
mobile gaming is the purists choice. for example a game like anger birds shits all over something like mass effect in terms of value for money
plus you can play a lot of mobile games one handed, leaving your other hand free to jack off with
eat SHIT console and pc babbies
>>335717819
Clash of heroes is an amazing game, but the touch controls is pure shit
may aswell play it on anything else
Is there anything similar to pokemon on phones?
>>335716962
>For me, "phone games" are fucking joke. What Im missing here?
-free to play
-low prices (0.19$ for a service)
-addictive and repetitive things
-leaderboards with "friends"
-the innability for the average consummer to see farther than the end of the week (thsu why their bank account is in the red while they buy games, eat outside, smoke and drink)
make your guess
they're mentally challenged people who can't see they dropped 200$ in a meaningless game, when you point that out "well yes, but I spent hundred of hours on it, I got my money's worth"
>>335718250
a rick and morty game
It sucks
Is soccer complex? No. But it's the most popular sport in the world. Good things don't have to be complex. The .io games are an example of this - they are better multiplayer games than all MMORPGs ever created, but are also far less complex.
>>335718228
I still play it on my NDS. Over 60 gameplay hours, Im not kidding.
>>335718154
>mobile games are the purest forms of games. they're the kind of games that got us into games as kids
Bullshit, the game that got me into as a kid was Age of Empires and Simcity. Later, together with other kids at my age, we played Starcraft, Counter-Strike, Tomb Raider, Heroes of Might and Magic or Diablo.
No phone game contains that level of complexity and pure fun. All I saw was mindless "games" no more complicated than banging rocks.
>>335718437
Soccer sucks. Gtfo eurotrash
>>335718437
exactly. the early mario games are basically one step removed from flappy bird in terms of complexity. but nobody shits on mario
>>335717819
>This is not even game, this is like banging rock together.
Like I said, accessible.
You can include strategy if you want. Either you require goodstrategy to play, in which case you lose all the people who can't get good (which is most people), or you make it optional. In the second case, the effort you've spent on that second part is essentially irrelevant to mass market success, which means wasted money as far as the people making the decisions are concerned.
>>335718437
>Is soccer complex?
Last time I checked, official rules are pretty bloated up.
>>335718904
This sound like encouraging lack fo thinking.
>>335718806
>>335718437
All of the games mentioned here are challenging.
I agree complexity isn't inherently good, though. Depth is. The problem is depth often comes through complexity. Or rather, creating depth without complexity is extremely difficult and only a few designers manage to pull it off.
Plus, some people genuinely prefer complexity over everything else. See: moba players.
>>335718806
mario is from 1980, flappy bird 2014 or something. go figure
>>335718154
I grew up on NES games and you're full of shit. Yes, games were simpler and many modern games could benefit from that. But most phone games are not particularly comparable to NES games or even arcade games. Spatial reasoning was a critical component of the vast majority of old games. You couldn't play Centipede or Pac Man without it. Same with SMB and LotZ. Most phone games don't require that because the input device isn't suited for it. There are exceptions, but it's true of most phone games. How many classic arcade games can you name that didn't require spatial reasoning? I can only think of Dragon's Lair.
>>335718806
Not remotely true. SMB1 requires you to manage your momentum, makes you navigate moving obstacles, and rewards you for searching for hidden secrets. It is leagues above flappy bird in terms of complexity.
>>335719070
I am not encouraging anything. I am merely stating how the general public interacts with mobile gaming and how that affects business decisions.
>>335720138
I dont say that you ecnourage it, it is about industry doing so.
Like if it is okay to turn people into dumb clickers.
>>335716962
Devfag here. Please, I need your thoughts on this.
You people hate most mobile games for being single-objective arcade-like casual shit, right? Also, a lot of you are also too afraid to take your 3DS or Vita out to the public because you don't want to look like a bunch of manchildren.
The thing is I'm currently working on a traditional kind of game (the kind that rewards you with small cutscenes and you can actually beat/clear) and I'm contemplating mobile releases.
It would be free to play, you won't be able to buy items with real money, but you'd be seeing banner ads on the "Game Over" screens and optional video ads.
The question is, would you consider playing this shit if it actually existed on phones?
>>335722061
Whats the gameplay like
Touchscreens controls are the biggest issue
>>335722308
This is exactly one of the biggest issues. Having the same game on both phones and PC would require them to have the same features. For example, shit like rolling or shielding might need to be cut because too many options on the touch screen could make the game feel weird. Heck, we may have to make the character shoot by itself on default.
This game would be my first ambitious project after 10 years of being a developer, and I know that the PC version would be very obscure and low in sales, because if anyone actually plays my game, it will most likely have been pirated. This is why I'm opting for a free smartphone port, so I can at least have some influx of revenue from ads.Sorry, I can't talk about the game concept itself.
>>335716962
I just got a new phone, OnePlus 2. I haven't played any phone games in a decade, singe I played Snake and Tetris on my old Sony Erickson.
What are some good games to play?
What are some good games to play?
>>335722061
What's the genre? Mobile doesn't allow for much complexity in player input for things such as movement due to touch controls. On the other hand, for games such as point and click adventures and especially rhythm games, touch controls are absolutely the purest form of control, so making something akin to that might be well received.
>>335723030
Just shill it on /v/
You might be the next notch
But really good luck anon
>>335716962
>jrpg listed as first genre
weeb faggot detected
As long as my hands have to take up half the screen in order for me to interface with the game, they won't be appealing.
>>335723584
JRPGs are a pretty diverse genre anon, you cant just assume all of them are trash.
The thing about phone games is that they have incredible potential. After all, phones (and tablets ) are becoming more and more a replacement for PCs. I mean, I have a phone that's smaller than my hand, and yet has a full HD display. Traditional handhelds like the Vita and 3DS are utterly pathetic compared to that. At the same time, phones are also growing in power faster than handhelds and even regular consoles, and (at least in Android's case) profit from a low barrier of entry similar to the PC.
However, there are also some serious problems holding phone games back. First of all, there's the controls. Touch controls work wonderfully with some games, but they can never really replace a good controller, let alone mouse and keyboard. There are some ways that games try to replace traditional controller controls on phones (as everyone who ever emulated a game on android will know), but it's without exception much worse than an actual controller.
However, a far bigger problem is how the mobile market works. By far the biggest segment of the mobile gaming market is the super casual freemium market. Angry Birds, Candy Crush, you name it. These are people who want a simple, casual game they can play while taking a shit or waiting for the bus. They want a free game they can fire up for a couple of minutes whenever they want. Obviously, traditional AAA gaming doesn't fit this mold at all, which is why pretty much every attempt at bringing high-quality gaming to phones has been a commercial disappointment.
(cont)
>>335723307
It's kind of like an action/adventure with a few RPG elements (EXP, and only 3 stats to keep it simple) game, but with stages.
I am aware of the limited input for touch screens, see >>335723030
>>335723321
Of course I'm gonna shill it on /v/, but I'll try to not be a faggot about it.
I might come out as the developer and give away download keys to anyone who rolls dubs or to those who draw random forced fan arts on MSPaint.
>>335723826
On the other side, the people who would actually play AAA games, the actual "gamers," very much distrust the mobile phone market. Most people don't believe that the phone platform can support AAA games, and if a game is released on mobile it's treated either as a cheap freemium game, a lame gimmick, or an overpriced piece of shit, even when it's none of those. For this reason, almost nobody would pay the same price for a phone game as they would for a PC, console or handheld game, even if the quality is the same. Since devs have no choice but to make their phone games cheap in order to be able to compete with freemium games, they can't afford to deliver actual AAA quality.
Finally, the phone market suffers from one of the same issues that plague the PC market: Non-uniform hand- and software. If someone makes a Vita game, they know what they're dealing with, but when they make a phone game, there's a whole range of options. Will they support iOS, Android or Windows? And which version(s) of those platforms? And what kind of phone do you want the game to run on? A game that runs well on a new phone might run like shit (or not at all) on an old one. This significantly increases the development cost, since you'll have to test and tweak the game to run on a wide variety of devices if you want to reach a large audience.
An audience, of course, that might not even exist. Because those that want phone games want them to be simple, and those that want complex games don't want to play them on their phone.
>>335716962
>fucking joke
>clash of clans made about a gazillion dollars in 2015
>>335723212
>phone game thread
>nobody would list even a top 5 list or something
Come on, lads.
>>335724007
we are talking about the quality of the games, not the sales, because we already know how disappointingly well that market is doing with the shit that gets tossed in their
>>335716962
>Japs jump on board
>Delusional sector of Western devs join on board (Will Wright, Sid Meier, etc.)
>all of them fail
It's a culling of the weak, OP. If you can't survive on PC/console you really don't deserve to be around.
>>335724007
>if it sells well, it must be good
Return to /b/ with your Justin Bieber, niggerpop, and Transformers then.
>>335724037
I don't even have 5 games installed on my phone. The only thing I play on it is Deemo, so I can at least recommend that, but everything else is emulators.
Mobile games are closer to gambling than videogames.
>>335724037
My top 5 list is full of emulators for N64, GBA, SNES, NES, and GB.
Faggot.
>>335724438
>>335724360
How do you play these old games on a fucking touchscreen?
>>335724470
Turn-based games work just fine.
Something that mobile devs will never understand, as they continue to churn out shitty low-FPS action games and real time cookie clickers
>>335716962
Younger generation exclusively live and play with mobile phones and tablets.
>>335717380
And now we see the truth behind the impending Second Great Video Game Crash.
>>335716962
>Tried to get SoM for my phone
>Paid 8€
>Never worked
>First and last mobile game ever.
Turning my phone in to a psp. What's a good controller?
>>335724438
>N64
>GB
>NES
>not PSP DS and PS1
>>335724037
There are hardly anything note worthy. Monument valley is pretty neat but it casual and easy as hell.
>>335723212
I spend a shocking amount of time playing Alto. Try that.
>>335718806
>>335724037
Well I don't know about a top 5, but some shit I've enjoyed:
>any emulators (free)
Emulated games never play as well on your phone as on their original devices, but there's still a shitload of choice and you're bound to find some good stuff.
>Fallout Shelter (free)
Simple but charming management game reminiscent of hotel manager and sim tower style games. It's essentially just aclick-and-wait game, but it has enough charm to stay fun for a while.
>Delight Games (free)
>Lone Wolf Saga (free)
Pretty good choose-your-own-adventure games, if you like that sort of thing. Delight Games has a bunch of different settings (fantasy adventure, noir detective, etc) while Lone Wolf is all fantasy but adds in some decent RPG elements.
>Fantasy War Tactics (free/p2w)
One of the most fun freemium games I've played so far. The various singleplayer and low-level multiplayer modes are entirely winnable without paying, but high-level PvP (like top 1-2%) is P2W as fuck.
>Hitman GO (paid)
>Tomb Raider GO (paid)
Great little tactical games and pretty cheap as well.
>Imperium Galactica 2 (paid)
Port of an old PC game, but it works surprisingly well on touch-screen. Pretty cool if you're into 4X games and want something more complex to play on your phone.
>>335716962
>STILL no phone version of any Civ game besides the absolute dogshit revolution
WHAT THE FUCK Fire-axis, You ported fucking Xcom but not your golden goose? Could have ported any other Civ game and I would be satisfied
>>335724037
What I play when I'm on my phone, Advance wars 1 and 2 for GBA, FF tactics, rebelstar tactics, onimusha tactics.
>>335724989
Too bad that I cant run emulators on Windows Phone.
>>335723212
Download a GBA emulator and play some Fire Emblem.
>>335725243
>Windows Phone
I hope for your sake you got saddled with it as a free work phone, because if you actually paid for it you're retarded.
>>335724470
It's 5.5 inch model, so the game can fit on the upper half of the screen and still look nice, while the controls take the bottom half and be large enough. It's far from ideal, but I can always hook up a controller both by USB and Bluetooth if I'll ever need one.
>>335725386
Yeah, I paid for it, it is my first "smartphone".
The price was low enough and had good camera, unlike Android counterparts at same price.
I like it so far.
>>335725405
Having a controller attached kind of defeats the purpose of a mobile phone. If I am in a situation where that is possible, I would be on my PC.
>>335725512
Its Lumia 640DS, to be more precise.
>>335725512
>posts on the /v/ board for video games
>only hardware part he cared about was the camera
>>335725615
That's why I said if I'll ever need it. So far I haven't been in such situation, but it's an option.
>>335725650
I would still use my old phone without touchscreen, if I hadnt to hold it in one piece with duck tape.
>>335724037
Walking War Robots is a pretty cool Mechwarrior-lite if you're into that sort of thing, and there's a mobile version of World of Tanks.
You're looking at the wrong market.
Japan knows very well what it's doing and how to implement content to make whales whale harder but also keep f2p players happy long enough that they might consider paying in too.
Gameplay ranges from puzzling to real-time action with coop available to the old JRPG styles that no longer need to be on a console to work. They're eons ahead of waiting games and ultra-casual games that are so popular in the US.
>racing game
>has power ups and/or boost building stunt mechanic
why can't I just get a simple racing game?
>>335725512
Even Fire Phone's a better deal than that. Camera is great and just runs off a modified version of Android 4.0, so it's pretty much just a mildly neutered android phone.
>>335716962
Its the future anon face it
>Nintendo’s Next Mobile Apps: Building on the positive consumer reaction to Miitomo, Nintendo announced that its next two mobile apps would be based on the familiar and beloved Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing franchises. Nintendo plans to release both of these applications this fall. As for the former app, while making it more accessible in comparison to the Fire Emblem games for Nintendo’s dedicated gaming systems, Nintendo aims to offer the great value of a role-playing strategy game. Nintendo will design the latter game so that it will be connected with the world of Animal Crossing for dedicated gaming systems. By playing both Animal Crossing games, users will find increased enjoyment. Both of these are pure game applications. Compared to Miitomo, they have more prominent game elements, and the game content will tie closely into Nintendo’s dedicated games business. Nintendo will provide more details about these applications closer to their launch period, and aims to have multiple types of apps that appeal to different audiences and different groups of players. - Nintendo
>>335727337
>Nintendo will design the latter game so that it will be connected with the world of Animal Crossing for dedicated gaming systems
Its the companion to real games
>>335722061
>Also, a lot of you are also too afraid to take your 3DS or Vita out to the public
I'm pretty sure that's just a meme. At the very least, I play my 3DS when I commute.
>>335727567
Yeah but proper Handheld games are dead now thnaks to Mobile
>>335728485
I can remember the last time i saw someone even a kid with a 3DS or Vita in the steets its almost like if they were gone. Nowadays its all mobile
>>335728704
Not really.
I picked up Yokai watch in November.
It played just like a cellphone game.
Auto attacking, dumb mini games to find fights, no actual strategy or skill required.
I was afraid to think that handheld games are going to become just like mobile games.
>>335729004
Its the truth tho. Nintendo wants to make the NX which is an hybrid between Handheld and Home Console work with the Mobile Games. The 3DS will be the last
>>335717380
doesn't change the fact that they're not as expensive to make as console games
>>335729468
Not really.
Games can still sell 500k in Japan on 3DS
There is a market that hasnt gone anywhere
The new pokemon will also sell 4M copies
>>335730874
Yeah but the 3ds can't last forever. Eventually the nips will get tired of the same games. In Japan Mobile Gaming its fucking bid and it keeos increasing, even if the 3ds doesn't right away i can't see Nitendo making another Handheld Console.
>>335731408
Then you are an idiot, there wont be a vita 2 so nintendo is going to have the entire handheld market to themselves
Most likely the 4DS will be fucking huge getting all niche jap games the vita got this gen on top of nintendo games
It would be retarded to pass such an opportunity
>>335716962
They're made for normies/people who don't like committing to lengthy play session to enjoy a game. They take advantage of mental tricks like using an energy meter to make you keep coming back and the fact that they're on a device you're almost certain to have nearby and powered on 24/7. They're nice to play on a commute if you don't drive, during breaks at work/school, and generally any downtime you have, but I wouldn't say they're objectively "fun"/good games
>>335731408
There will be more handhelds after the 3DS, Nintendo killed all the competition and the 3DS is the best Nintendo handheld to date and all the 3rd parties have to release for Nintendo handhelds or they have no other place to put their games which is why the 3DS has such an amazing library.
>>335724989
>>Fallout Shelter (free)
>Delight Games (free)
>Lone Wolf Saga (free)
Thanks man.
I will add
>King of Dragon Pass
Which is nice game where you lead snowniggers against trolls, horsefuckers and armored ducks riding on triceratops and using magic.
>>335732229
>the 3DS has such an amazing library
>Nintendo killed all the competition
Don't make me laugh, Nintendo didn't killed the competition, Mobile Gaming did, Sony said it themselves and i don't think a library full of Mario, Link and Pokemon games is extraordinary. Stop sucking Nintendo's dick anon
>>335716962
>why is this bad thing happening?
the answer is always normies
>>335733361
>normies
Fuck off /r9k/
>>335717275
Sony tried that with the Xperia Play and failed.
