TA Forums Game of the Week! (June 20)

Got to be cover orange 2 for me, plenty of levels tricky puzzles to solve and plenty of new ideas Since the first one

Hours and hours of game play

 

I don't think any of those elements are a concern, to be honest. If anything, seeing XCOM should encourage developers who are worried about the limitations of the platform (although we've already got other 2D and 3D games that serve as stellar examples of what can be done on iOS in terms of art), but somebody who isn't capable of creating adequate 3D graphics isn't suddenly going to start inappropriately shoehorning them in anyway just because XCOM did it.

File size should be whatever is required for the game; we're still seeing the occasional complaint around here about how 100MB is "huge", regardless of the game involved, which it simply isn't. You're certainly not going to be seeing any full-scale console-like action-adventure games weighing in at 24.8MB.

You don't need every game on your device at any given time, and it is odd watching people complain about 64GB devices and state, without irony, that they're hoping for a 128GB device as if that would solve all their space issues. Put simply, if you're filling up a 64GB device except for a gigabyte or two of free space you keep for emergencies, then you're going to do the same thing with a device that has 128GB of storage (if you have as many games as most people around here do, at any rate), and then be pining for a 256GB device a day later to accommodate (most of) the rest of your collection.

As for prices, well, $1 is nice for consumers, but it has proven to be objectively awful for the majority of developers. We've seen far too many "one hit wonder" developers who delivered a well-received game at a low price, but who also simply couldn't afford to stay in iOS development because they weren't making money, so I have no sympathy for people who get upset at the idea that they might have to pay more as the app store matures. The welcoming of appropriate higher prices is also only going to (slowly) encourage more console/PC developers to consider iOS as a platform worth pursuing. I'm happy that the app store has just about reached a stage where every second game isn't a match-3, endless runner or tower defense game.

I'm in favour of iOS becoming recognised as a serious gaming platform, rather than being looked upon condescendingly as the home of small, cheap, ultra-casual "mobile games".

 

I don't think X-COM will necessarily break the iOS economy with its size or price. It's nice to have options like those games.

But I also don't feel like it takes massive games with big cut scenes and the like for the iOS to be taken seriously as a hardcore gaming platform either. Is Kingturn RPG Plus not a hardcore game? I would say it is.

Even a port of an acclaimed game like Frozen Synapse is only around 400 MB.

Size and price alone do not make a platform any more or less hardcore.

But I would agree that X-COM's success may encourage bigger publishers to try iOS ports. As long as indie developer's keep a place at the table and aren't overrun by the big boys, then it will hopefully benefit everyone.

I personally like to see innovation vs ports but the more choices, the better.

 

I voted for Spiral because it was my only "big buy" this week and just a few minutes into the game have been fantastic.

However, my other nomination - Gloomy Hollow - probably won't get very high with such fantastic games on the poll. It's a nifty little game for a buck - it's currently a little glitchy but has a lot of promise, so assuming the devs pay attention and update it (though honestly, probably not before), I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a "lite"/casual ARPG (it's not high in the challenge department ).

(Also, it's really pretty - Torchlight* meets Tim Burton kind of art.)

* Only in art - it might be the same genre as Torchlight, but it's not on the same Level of Awesome. It's definitely on a Level of Pretty Neat (for me, at least).

 

I assume this was in response to Cow's post, because I wasn't saying anything about "hardcore" games, or needing to include huge cutscenes. That said, the fact remains that the mass public perception of mobile gaming is still largely "Angry Birds" (and it took long enough to get away from Snake and Tetris), and pointing somebody towards Kingturn isn't likely to change that, blessed as that title is with all the visual appeal of a blurry DOS game from 1990.

Are people going to play Kingturn anyway for its mechanics and gameplay? Undoubtedly. Is it a niche title? Absolutely. Would it have a bigger audience if it looked less like somebody's homework project? Definitely. Is it unreasonable to expect Mangobile to turn out something that looks like XCOM when they have nowhere near the amount of resources Firaxis does? Certainly. Does any of that change the objectively solid nature of the game or the fact that it looks very basic? Not really.

Regardless of the underlying mechanics or depth of the games involved, one of these recent releases assists with the public perception of iOS as a serious modern gaming platform...



...and one of these doesn't.

That's an odd statement to make, as nobody has been arguing that they do. Arguing against larger file sizes is arguing against more options for games that require those sizes for all the content they intend to bring, however; XCOM already had to lose actual content (not just cutscenes) in order to make it down to its current size, for example. Arguing against higher prices is arguing against the incentive that will keep developers – amateurs or professionals – interested in pursuing iOS as a viable platform. Overall, concern that acceptance of increased file sizes and prices will result in a net negative effect on the app store just seems like paranoia at this point.

If indie developers continue to compete by producing games people want to play, they'll still be around even if larger professional development companies start taking an interest in iOS. However, if they're trying to hang on and keep a fanbase purely by virtue of "being indie" in lieu of producing quality games, then they deserve to be ousted.

A lot of ports are games from obscure/archaic platforms, or are from consoles/handhelds that not everybody owns, so it's not as if these are all games everybody has played before. For example, for a lot of people this week has been the first time they've played XCOM at all, and this particular game has been around for over half a year on multiple platforms. If we're amassing a lot of established games from a number of different platforms (Phoenix Wright, Avadon, XCOM, Grand Theft Auto, etc.) on the one platform we all have, then while I like seeing iOS-specific development, I'm quite happy to see ports continue to arrive on the scene.

 

^^ I wasn't trying to argue anyone's point. Just saying that a least from a consumer perspective there have been plenty of games that have been aimed above the casual gamer level regardless of what they look like.

As far as being a modern gaming platform, I think that page turned with Infinity Blade. It showed the world that near console graphics are possible on the iOS.

If anything, even if I prefer new games, I was largely defending X-COM as something that gives gamers even more options and, as I also mentioned may help encourage bigger companies take the risk with high quality titles.

I'm far from being against ports. I own quite a few of them.
I just also like that the platform does at least give indie devs a chance (albeit a slim chance not only due to price but also just the sheer volume of games on iOS).

And my statement about size and price wasn't meant to infer that there should only be cheap games. I want to see premium games like X-COM succeed so maybe the trend towards freemium can be reversed and devs will see that they can make money selling at a premium price.

All I was saying was basically this: bring on the big boys but try to keep the indie scene alive and well. I'd hate to see big studios take over the biggest slice of the iOS pie.

And as far as a good example that brings both modern graphics with a game that I wouldn't call casual -- see Spiral, developed by just 7 people and oozes quality and polish along with innovation.

 

Yep, that's pretty much one of the iOS-specific titles I was referring to. During one of the polls a long while ago Ravensword 2 went head to head against The Walking Dead, and I pushed people to vote for R2 for the very reason that while both games were of very high quality, one was an iOS-specific title instead of a port, and native development should be rewarded.

When iOS was younger, mobile gaming was also almost exclusively viewed as "casual gaming", which has fortunately evolved and developed over time with better hardware and a more expanded view of the platform. Infinity Blade was a massive and justifiably-praised step towards showing what the graphics potential of the platform could be, but the gameplay was still absolutely bare-bones and repetitive, and not much more involved than any of the existing one-touch casual games.

Other platforms, PC and console alike, still have thriving "indie" scenes, though; many popular games over the past couple of years have been smaller indie games, not multi-million dollar titles, so I wouldn't expect to see that be any different on this side of the fence. There is a middle ground, though: not everything has to be at polar extremes, e.g. Infinity Blade versus Fart Bird, XCOM versus Kingturn.

Ravenmark, for example, fits in quite well as an example of an involved strategy title that didn't cost millions of dollars, while also not looking like it originally came out as a DOS shareware title over two decades ago (which does actually have an impact on the bottom line):



As I said earlier, though, I don't think endless runners, match-3s, or any other casual/indie/homebrewed titles are going to disappear any time soon as long as people still want them – and buy them. If people decide they've moved past these kinds of games and start to expect more for their money, then it's perfectly fair that the platform moves with them to accommodate this.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with iOS having Kingturn or Angry Birds, but I'd prefer we reach the point where people first think of games like XCOM or Deus Ex if the subject of modern "mobile gaming" comes up in conversation, rather than immediately ask you what your high score is on Angry Birds when you tell them you have an iPhone/iPad.

 

I can see what you're saying, but I guess I'd love to see it go a step further and have gamers (not the mass public) saying "Wow, I wish I had an iPhone/iPad so I could play THAT", where "that" is something new and innovative they people couldn't play on another platform. Ports certainly can show what the system is capable of. Aside from ports, I'd like to see even more original IPs developed for the iOS. While not an original IP, the new Deus Ex game is a step in the right direction because it sounds like the game may actually be better than the last console game.

I think the iOS is getting more attention as a serious gaming platform as a whole. With the 3DS and Vita not doing very well, I wouldn't be surprised if those are the last iterations of portable gaming systems. I think mobile gaming will or already has replaced those in the long run.

Just keep supporting the indies too

And now back to the voting (probably no surprise that I voted for Spiral).

 

Some devs voted their games.

 

Gloomy hollow - shill vote - Dan@Chillingo

 

I think the "ready-made" ports will serve as solid examples that are likely to encourage more iOS-native developers to push towards creating full-featured titles, rather than settle for the dreaded "good enough for a mobile device" games that dominated in past years. Not every developer will have the skill or resources to make AAA iOS titles, of course, and we're still a while away from having all the bells and whistles (as XCOM shows) but at this point the "mobile devices can't convey a console-like experience" excuse is becoming less and less valid.

I also voted for XCOM (because if you vote for Spiral, the terrorists win).

You might want to read that line again; no part of my statement compared Angry Birds to Kingturn.

 

I voted for Whirl the Squirrel. It's such a breath of fresh air. I rarely play on my iPhone anymore, but this really fits. The graphics and polish are wonderful. The controls are great too. I'm finding the game rather difficult and am still unsure about how far I'll come, but I'm still playing so I must like it anyway. In threads about platformers people are often asking for iOS platformers that are not simple bite-sized speedrunners. They should definitely give Whirl a try (if they're not afraid of a bit of a challenge).

 

Technically that's not breaking any rules. The rule is no developer can vote for their own game. Chillingo is a publisher, not a developer. I would agree it tends to break the spirit of the rule, but broadening the rule opens up all sorts of discussion. How far do you go? Can someone who made a song that plays during a certain menu vote for the game? What about beta testers?

 

While I can see your point, the publisher is making money from the game so don't think it would be unreasonable to throw them in the same boat as the dev.

Doesn't look like it's going to make a difference either way this week.

 

Le what now?

Also, I voted accidentally... I got so excited when I saw the poll that I clicked before I saw the rule that dev's can't vote underneath. Apologies!

 

X-com got my vote, price is steep but gameplay and overall presentation factor are excellent, more than happy with purchase.I can already say I'll definetly replay this one 2 or more times on higher difficulties now that I got some experience