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[Discussion]Mobile versions of games

Initiate Mage
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What do you think when major games turn into mobile versions of themselves? Does this make the games more approachable, but make them lose their value? Some examples could be Fallout Shelter on mobile, or the future possible mobile Runescape version. What are your thoughts about this?
 
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Depends how what you mean by 'turning into mobile versions'. Do you mean they're a direct port, or modified to better suit the device?

One example is Rollercoaster Tycoon, it's very playable on mobile because it has been modified to better suit mobile devices, while keeping the gameplay the same as the PC version has been for over a decade now, and is very fun.

A direct port would not be good, because the interfaces would be cumbersome for a smaller active area (despite having similar resolution scale), not to mention any interfaces that relied on hovering to present tooltips would not work since touch devices do not have a hover state.

Games based ON their PC counterpart, but still a separate game, are obviously fine too as they're just of a similar flavour. You mention Fallout Shelter, which is an example of this. As it's an entirely different game based on an existing IP, I don't think it somehow 'cheapens' the PC games at all, they're different games.
 
Initiate Mage
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well do you think mobile Runescape will get as much attention as it had with a PC version? What key features are important for the developers to nail down that the game would be enjoyable on mobile?
 
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Depends (I've said that a lot LOL). Runescape has weight as a name because of how long it's been around, that coupled with the fact mobile games are a massive market, it stands a fair chance.

They have to keep the usual things in mind when making a port, namely how to translate the interface over and keep it functional yet easy to use, how to handle movement controls without affecting other aspects (if your thumb is on the screen using a joystick to move a character, an enemy could be shooting arrows at you, standing right beneath your thumb, not to mention interface clutter). Also the fact skills are live-cast in Runescape and some touch device implementations don't support multiple touches, so if you're trying to run while casting it might not easily pick up the skill touch events, etc etc.

Are you a dev? :)
 
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i'm not a dev, but I''m interested in game making, so I'm just wondering what are the steps developers have to make to make sure that players would be happy.
 
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Well there are a lot of factors. This is coming from my mindset as an independent developer, not a massive company where they get a budget assigned.

A lot of new developers fall into the trap of thinking what they like is what others will like, which isn't necessarily the case. First you need to research if your idea has a lot of competition, and analyse that competition. Play their games, examine their style of graphics, read their reviews to find what players are looking for or enjoying, etc. You also then need to determine the market, if it's flooded with similar games your idea will have a much harder time of standing out.

Once you've worked out if it's feasible as a genre, you need to determine what will make your game different, you cannot just make a 100% clone, you need something people will enjoy more or want to try that's a bit different. Once you nail an idea, you need to determine if you can handle developing it all yourself or what other team members you'll need, what sorts of expenditure you're looking at - audio/visual assets, writers, level design, social media manager/s or moderators, advertising allowance, engine license (see below), etc.

If you've plotted that all out and you think your expenditures minus the engine license costs are within your budget and that the game will have a decent chance of standing out amongst the competition, then you determine what engine you'll write it in (or if you're like myself and some others, if you're planning a series of games, you might make your own engine to handle each iteration). Each has strengths and weaknesses to determine, as well as different licensing which plays into your budget determination. Then you'll have an overall idea of your budget, marketability, and idea and whether they'll all work.

That's all part of a feasibility study. Once you've determined all that, if it's feasible to run as a project, then design starts.

You need to conceptualise all aspects before you code, else you're going to repeat a LOT of work and lose a lot of time. GUI storyboarding and prototyping, visual asset concept art, story planning, game logic flow, all of that occurs in this stage of the project. You should aim to start this stage from earlier parts of your game, with the menu design, UI flow and some initial visual assets and writing as a focus. Level and audio design work well hand-in-hand and should be done together while others are working on the aforementioned aspects.

Then comes level prototyping. It's time to throw your assets into a playable level prototype, sort of a 'demonstration ground' of your assets and mechanics. Keep in mind that this is the first part of your development stage, so it should just focus on one single level with demonstrations of mechanics, as menus and options can be handled progressively throughout the project fairly easily. This is NOT a game prototype, just a level prototype so you can test mechanics and assets. Getting a feel for how your levels will flow and how they will play will help to give the rest of your project direction. Start with basic assets, even some primitives, and focus on object movement, interaction, collision and other basic mechanics of your game (as an example, gravity is kind of important). Much like the prior step, this will help you iron out mechanical wrinkles in the play style before the bulk of development ever starts. The last thing you want is to get 50% into your game and realise some mechanics feel clunky and have to rewind and lose time.

Once your level and mechanics prototype starts to gel in a way that feels quite fun, get some unbiased (non-involved) people to test how it flows. Preferably people who have played games before, as they'll be more indicative of the people you'll attract. Don't get your 87-year old grandmother to play your FPS concept.

Then the rest becomes more iterative. With your basic mechanics sorted, and a working prototype level, you'll have an idea of how to approach other aspects of your game. Now you can hit design and development heavily, following the logic and flow you've decided will work, testing levels and functionality along the way, with new assets each iteration. There will always be times when creative direction changes a little, or you decide to scrap certain mechanics after having had them tested repeatedly but receiving average or uncertain feedback. But for the most part, this stage should be about following an iterative loop similar to:


  • use design concepts to create a level storyboard
  • use design concepts to create asset prototypes
  • create a new prototype level using existing mechanics
  • test prototype level flow
  • add new design assets to prototype
  • retest prototype level flow

If you plan on flashy skills and effects, those are what I call 'bonus' mechanics, as to me they're not really a core mechanic of the game, they're what helps set your game apart. As an example, if you can have an epic 8-hit combo skill with effects generated but still cannot move a character, your priorities have been backwards since there's no real gameplay. When you've created enough levels to get a good chunk of gameplay developed, then you should consider splitting a quarter or so of your time on conceptualising some skills and creating the assets for them (animations, particle systems, etc). That way you know your core gameplay loop is solid, the game itself is playable and feels fun, it's just about more aesthetic polish now or adding some fun bonus mechanics.

Happy reading! If you're really interested, why not give Unity a go? It's pretty approachable to newcomers and is quite powerful, it'll let you get your feet wet while learning along the way.
 
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Happy to help! Now start making things and join the fray, :p. Remember to use the Like function on posts too, thank you posts tend to get deleted because the Like function is there for that purpose. Just a heads up :).
 
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Fallout shelter doesn't slightly even compare with the Fallout games.

But talking about your topic generally, I do believe some games loses its value from its mobile counterpart and some also are better off as a PC game.

Examples would be

Mu Online = the promised sequel is disappointing and they completely scrape the entire concept of MU and twisted it, but the mobile version of the game, pretty much stick with the whole concept of MU.

Lineage = Though the is old it still being actively played and still fun, compared to its mobile version, Lineage Revolution, they pretty much didn't even try to stick with the whole Lineage concept.

The other one, which is still in progress.

Riders of Icarus

Though I haven't confirmed if the mobile version will pursue, but they did show a trailer of the gameplay, but sadly, the PC version will always be better and because of the game's massive concept and importance of controls.
 
Initiate Mage
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I think it's very convinient for some people. You always have your favorite game with you. Though there was a time when I would take my mini laptop with everywere I went lol. It was quite heavy​
 
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Initiate Mage
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I don't think any mobile games can compare themselves to video/computer games. I never play any games on my mobile, only on my computer. It's like playing games from the 90's again - charming, but not fun in the long run.
 
Initiate Mage
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I think people will play more Runescape, because the smartphones are in their pocket. So there are bigger possibility to log in and play in free time. Only second question is that, how good will be control system on smartphone, but i hope it will be ok. Personaly, i am whaiting for it, because havn't played for a wile, and i will start to play it again, in free time. So... we will see...
Thanks for reading, and have a nice day!
 
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I tend too find every single mobile game too be horrendous due to the fact of how they work or even style since they are simple and boring, It's also because of how much they lack in compared too other consoles and not to mention money grabs continuously, So forget mobile games.
 
Initiate Mage
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About this RuneScape. It will be a separate game or computer version-related? About which version you are talking? OSRS (RuneScape 2007) or RuneScape 3?
 
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Initiate Mage
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As an example of a mobile port failure... i'd point out Elsword, abandoning the only combat system of an online game (that i'm aware of) that actually resembles Devil May Cry (you can make your regular combo branch by pressing a different attack key or even a directional button) for "keep the attack button pressed for auto-attack loop" the dungeons are no better that boss stages on which you have to clear mobs first and the almost 2 hours long tutorial... which for some reason also eats your stamina despite being enforced.

Some successful ones are mostly form japanese browser games, although i also was in the "Mobile/Browser games will forever suck" i've found some that works fairly good but they are no ports, "Phantom of the Kill" seems to be a bootleg of Fire Emblem (more precisely looks like a 3DS FE game), Toram Online works more or less like a Mabinogi of the sorts, stating that mobile games are stuck at the quality of the 90's consoles is an understatement, from what i can tell currently stand their grounds against several games released on 05's onwards, getting fairly close to 10's.

The thing that hurts the mobile/browser games the most is the stamina/korean system which limits the amount of time that a player can play but can easily be solved by spending cash to refil their stamina henceforth giving an incentive for companies to make bootleg cashgrab versions of their magnum opus or at least one of their most successful games.
 
Initiate Mage
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Some games can work on mobiles some can't, I think people make some games for mobiles that don't work well and would be more suited on a computer/console.
 
Initiate Mage
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A lot of games go on mobile, losing the greatest values. For example, the best browser coop platformer, Fireboy and Watergirl ( ), practically is a single player game on mobiles.
 
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I played Blade and Soul and Black Desert mobile and both are very promising.

Although the PvP is completely more difficult in mobile, because camera view has to be done through finger swipes. But overall both of their mobile counterparts are perfectly great and could be casual nor competitive depending on the publishers.
 
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