Stories from the Frontier of Mobile Gaming

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Stories from the Frontier of Mobile Gaming

• Tom Söderlund - 2005-09-20 - Helsinki

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Stories from the Frontier of Mobile Gaming

• Stories from the past
• BotFighters - launching a pervasive game
• mophun - creating the ultimate mobile games
  platform
• Where to go now?
• Challenges in creating new types of mobile games
• Areas to explore mobile MMOGs, pervasive
  gaming, proximity gaming, and social toys

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My background

• 2000 Its Alive!
• 2004 Daydream
• 2005 Kayak/Synergenix
• Also
• Swedish Institute for Computer Games

www.synergenix.se
www.sdsi.se
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About Kayak/Synergenix

• Kayak/Synergenix
• Mobile Games Publisher
• Offices in San Mateo and Stockholm
• Focus
• Connected Gaming
• Pushing the Handsets Capabilities
• Mass-market Brands

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Games
LocknLoad Rise of War
Carmageddon
Rally Pro Contest
Colin McRae 04
Conflict Desert Storm
PMGA Miniature Golf
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BotFighters

• - Creating, launching, and managing a
  location-based pervasive game

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BotFighters the concept
Cell 4329 Lat/Long 59.1618.27 Mannerheiminaukio
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BotFighters the concept
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BotFighters the game
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Launching BotFighters

• Launched in April 2001
• Distributed in five countries
• 40000 registered players worldwide
• Peak 4M SMS/month

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Player profile

• Age 14-55, average 26
• 80 male
• Probably related to theme, not game type
• Urban and rural areas
• High-tech phones
• Corporate phone subscriptions

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Casual vs. Hardcore players

• The casual BotFighters player
• Plays when on the move
• The hardcore BotFighters player
• Moves around to play

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Strong community player stories

• Taxi31
• The menace of Västkusten
• TheMob
• The mobile BotFighters clan
• Silver
• The highway avenger

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BotFighters Players Annual Meeting 2002
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BotFighters problems

• Difficult to roll out worldwide
• Location systems not in place
• Payment solutions not in place
• High density of players required for a good game
  experience

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The mophun game engine

• - Creating the ultimate mobile games platform

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The mophun game engine

• 1999 Started as Ericssons game console project,
  Red Jade
• 2002 Relaunched as mophun, signed embedded deal
  with Sony-Ericsson
• mophun embedded into T300, T610, etc
• Online distribution system with DRM
• 2003 Embedded deal with TTPCom

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mophun, second chapter

• 2003 J2ME phones looks like it will be the
  dominating mobile games platform
• 2003 Sony-Ericsson decides to drop mophun
• 2003 Worlds first mobile 3D multiplayer game is
  launched (mophun-powered)
• 2005 mophun shifts to become mobile game
  middleware for Symbian/Brew/Windows phones

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Where to go now?

• - Challenges and opportunities in new forms of
  mobile games

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New forms of mobile games

• The sad part
• Challenges when launching new types of mobile
  games
• The fun part
• New game forms on the horizon

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Challenges when launching new types of mobile
games

• Market challenges
• Strenuous to create a new market
• Unbalanced value chain
• Lack of suitable business models
• Little information about end consumers
• Technological challenges
• Technology not reliable
• Technology not widespread

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Mobile phone as game device
Definite
Possible device characteristics open for
exploitation in mobile games
Mobile different usage scenarios
Form factor
Can belocated
Voice functionality
Messaging
Camera
Online connectivity
Media player
Contacts calendar
Short-rangecommunication
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Mobile phone as game device
Mobile different usage scenarios
Form factor
Can belocated
Voice functionality
Messaging
Camera
Online connectivity
Media player
Contacts calendar
Short-rangecommunication
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Mobile game possibilities
Multiple users Multiple phones Long distance -
Multiplayer/massively multiplayer gaming
Multiple users Multiple phones Short distance -
Proximity gaming
Multiple users One phone Short distance - Social
toys
Integrated with environment - Pervasive gaming
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Pervasive gaming

• Always connected, always in the game, the game
  surrounds you
• Game blends with your real life
• Real world as game arena
• Virtual game world draped on top of the real
  world
• Interact with your environment and other players
• Multi-modal
• Multiple user interfaces

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Examples of pervasive games
Majestic (2001)
BotFighters (2001)
Undercover (2003)
Mogi Mogi (2003)
R.I.P.
www.botfighters.com
www.undercover2.com
www.mogimogi.com
IPerG www.pervasive-gaming.org
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Mobile MMOGs

• Mobile Massively Multiplayer Online Games, 3MOG
• New MMOG titles
• Tuned for mobile usability
• (Add-ons to PC MMOGs)
• Subsets of gameplay
• Mobile accessories

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3MOG examples

• Tibia (CipSoft)
• Era of Eidolon (watAgame)
• Pocket Kingdom (Nokia)
• Fantasy Worlds Rhynn (AwareDreams)
• Spirits (Nokia/Jadestone)
• Age of Piracy (Nokia/Jadestone)

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Proximity gaming

• Proximity gaming
• Ad-hoc network games with nearby people

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Proximity gaming scenario
Sue and Bobby are playing together.
Cliff walks by, and can join the game without
interruption.
Playfield grows with the addition of Cliffs
spaceship.
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Proximity gaming concepts

• Ad hoc game sessions
• Connection and disconnection as game event
• Anonymity
• Distributed game world
• Persistency between sessions - pseudo-persistent
  game worlds
• Viral behavior
• Involving non-player persons

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Proximity gaming sequence
Sue
Jones
Synchronized highscore lists with Sue. New
player Lisa, evidently on level 14!
Met Jones and checked out his new spaceship
cool. Lost my Zapper gun to his pet robot.
Cliff
Bobby
Found Lisa the next day, played some cooperative
missions with her.
Played against Bobby, stole a Zapper gun from his
ship.
Lisa
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Social toys

• Mobile phone as social entertainment device
• At home, at the party, in a pub, on the picnic
• Key features
• Always with you
• Social adaptability
• Physical device
• Input keys, joystick, (pen/touch)
• Output graphics, sound, music, vibrations
• Connectivity

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Social game scenario 1

• At the party
• Truth or Dare-style
• Passing the phone around
• Vibrates when time is out
• Spin the phone!

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Social game scenario 2

• At home
• Mom and dad playing a board game
• Seeing different parts of playfield
• Daughters dont want to play, but can interact as
  spectators

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The End

• Contact
• tom.soderlund_at_synergenix.se
• 46-70-751 7255