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[blade85]

I'm not anti mobile phone gaming at all, but for the most part for me, I guess its the shallowness of most of the games.

Its all fun..for a few minutes, but then I dont care if I beat a level or not.

On the PC/Consoles...they kind of trap me into a "I absolutely must beat this level" way of thinking. Stories are usually much much better as well. Very few mobile games have that apeal to me (some are relatively good, but then the lack of multiple buttons makes them annoying..).

However, I prefer other forms of games on mobile. The best type for me has to be tower defence games. Easy to get stuck into, and touch screen is the perfect control for it! Some forms of hack and slash also go relatively well. I do quite enjoy mobile gaming (and have bought the Humble android bundles), but they only keep me entertained in 5 minute bursts. Console/PC...multiple hour bursts.

 

[flak57]

Nice post! I'll be sure to check a few of these out when I get the time.

Whoaaaaaaaaa. Thanks for this!

A warning, a surprising number of those ones are quite a bit above the $0.99 price. Sometimes reaching close to $10

 

[StevePharma]

Just a feeling but mobile gaming suffers way harder from "Flavor of the week" I feel than dedicated handhelds or consoles do.

I mean look at something like Draw Something. Who still plays that?

The games that are topping the charts are too simplistic most of the time and have you hooked on that dopamine rush of steadily unlocking shit by repeating monotonous one button actions over time (like a true RPG, I know the irony lol). I'm not feeling it yet.

To be fair PvZ and 10.000.000 and The Room were fun for a while. I sometimes boot up Super Hexagon but that's about it. Mobile in it's current form will never replace dedicated handhelds for me if it stays like this. My phone will probably stay my anti-boredom-in-public-transport-machine.

I will call myself out as a hypocrite because if something like Year Walk would come out on Vita or 3DS I would definitely play it (buttons and nice big screen)

 

[RM8]

People. At least say you can't hack it with the touch controls and leave it at that.

It might surprise you, but some of us have played a lot of those games. This is a common issue with phone games - they can get the looks right, but they simply don't play well or are absolutely unremarkable. Man, you posted Cardinal Quest - that's possibly the worst (non ancient) roguelike I've ever played, no joke. You post Kemco RPGs which are amateurish RPG-maker-like games. I repeat, there's always a 3DS with me, do you think I need to settle for those games when I can get much better experiences on my 3DS? And then...

And a million ports of "hardcore" games as well, many work just fine with a touch screen.

"Just fine" is subjective, a lot of us despise virtual buttons. So we're not getting "converted" by playing gimped versions of games we can play on other platforms.

See, these are mobile games I've enjoyed:
- Puzzle & Dragons
- Game Dev Story
- Oh! Edo Towns
- Mini Motor Racing (which I just bought on Steam completely devoid of IAPs and with actual controls)
- Tetris Blitz (this is a smart way to make Tetris work on touch devices, actually)
- Bridge Constructor
- Sonic Jump
- Mini Golf MatchUp (which I ended up deleting because screw always-online stuff on any system)
- Jetpack Joyride

Basically, stuff that doesn't fail at aping traditional games. Unlike a lot of games on your list.

 

[OddworldBOY]

Not having to put my thumbs on the screens. I don't get why phone companies cant make a slide into attachment that includes a couple buttons and a thumb-stick at the minimum.

PRESS QUOTE TO SEE THE IMAGE.

|]
|]
|] <---------------------------- PHONE SLIDE IN HERE SIDEWAYS AND CAN BE USED FOR
|] _ GAMING. NOT THAT DIFFICULT APPLE/ANDROID!
| _| |_ |]
| |_ _| (A) (B) |]
| |_| |]
|___________________|]
/----------------------------/

 

[RM8]

Not having to put my thumbs on the screens. I don't get why phone companies cant make a slide into attachment that includes a couple buttons and a thumb-stick at the minimum.

A lot of people wonder about this on gaming boards, it's quite easy - the deman for such accessories is tiny. Controllers for touch devices don't really become hits and they get piss poor support, the people who are playing 5 minutes of Amazing Alex don't really care about them. Sony's Xperia Play didn't exactly set the world on fire either. The games that actually make money on iOS/Android hardly require traditional controls.

 

[phosphor112]

No buttons, memory limitations, battery life being sapped away.

Don't get me wrong, I play on my phone EVERY day, shit like "paper toss 2" but even games like Dead Trigger just don't cut it for me. It's no where near enough content and quality.

I have a Moga by the way. Got it at PAX East this year, still isn't good for gaming on it.

 

[Akira_83]

because touch screens suck and i hate obscuring 25% of my screen with my thumbs

Vita ftw (luckily i have no games that make HEAVY use of touchscreen)

 

[K1ng P3n]

Lack of any real buttons is my biggest problem.

 

[sgrrsh26]

Seems like most people here are iOS users. (Sorry) many less restrictive android games allow the use of Bluetooth enabled controllers (ps3). Pair that up with emulators and mobile gaming has your full old school library with you on the go.

 

[flak57]

It might surprise you, but some of us have played a lot of those games. This is a common issue with phone games - they can get the looks right, but they simply don't play well or are absolutely unremarkable. Man, you posted Cardinal Quest - that's possibly the worst (non ancient) roguelike I've ever played, no joke. You post Kemco RPGs which are amateurish RPG-maker-like games. I repeat, there's always a 3DS with me, do you think I need to settle for those games when I can get much better experiences on my 3DS? And then...

A lot of those games is a small portion of the mobile library, and I'd wager most did not even know most of them existed, even if you may have. The point was that the notion of there not being many games that offer something other than "quick diversions" or "shallow experiences" is ridiculous. Kemco has been making games since 1985, and a lot of those RPGs seem to be well received, from what I have read. Cardinal Quest has iffy opinions from what I can see, but again that was not the point of that post.

And yeah, 3DS is better for a lot of things, why does that matter? I played my NGPC alongside my GBA, even if it was only better at fighters. Mobile is better at some genres as well, however DS was God at text adventure games which happens to be one of the things Mobile is good at, so yeah DS is great. (shrug)

"Just fine" is subjective, a lot of us despise virtual buttons. So we're not getting "converted" by playing gimped versions of games we can play on other platforms.

I've mentioned multiple times that I think not liking touch controls is a valid reason to write off the system for whoever holds that view. I listed a lot of games that required no precision with virtual buttons on purpose, but I don't think that's all too relevant to my point.

See, these are mobile games I've enjoyed:
- Puzzle & Dragons
- Game Dev Story
- Oh! Edo Towns
- Mini Motor Racing (which I just bought on Steam completely devoid of IAPs and with actual controls)
- Tetris Blitz (this is a smart way to make Tetris work on touch devices, actually)
- Bridge Constructor
- Sonic Jump
- Mini Golf MatchUp (which I ended up deleting because screw always-online stuff on any system)
- Jetpack Joyride

Basically, stuff that doesn't fail at aping traditional games. Unlike a lot of games on your list.

And we're talking about touch controls again, essentially. My point was that there are plenty of deep experiences for those that are fine with touch controls.

 

[Lonely1]

The genres it excels at are not my cup of tea. Also, something about the whole scene rubs me in the wrong way, whenever i log into the App Store the titles and the art of the games that are on display just don't excite me. I don't like the whole artistry indy scene it seems.

Wilful ignorance.

Honestly, I have no idea. Mobile games should occupy a place in every healthy gaming diet. Sure, there's an awful lot of shit out there, but sift through it carefully and you'll find nuggets of gold.

Transition to F2P is killing the little foothold that mobile gaming had on me.

 

[Valnen]

Seems like most people here are iOS users. (Sorry) many less restrictive android games allow the use of Bluetooth enabled controllers (ps3). Pair that up with emulators and mobile gaming has your full old school library with you on the go.

Gameklip makes an android phone potentially the best handheld ever. Too bad most mobile phone games either don't support controllers or weren't designed with them in mind.

 

[WillPwn4Food]

For me, the biggest barrier is the battery life issues. I'd want to be able to play a game for a few hours and still be able to use my phone for the rest of the day. This is why I like my iPad. I'm able to play a game for 3-4 hours and only be down 30-40% at most, depending on the game. This gives me plenty of opportunities to continue using the iPad however I like.

 

[Hedja]

Most games don't provide that deep immersive experience I'm usually looking for. They're usually small games that are made to be played in small portions. The quality also suffers, I personally don't like the style on most of the games, they seem lazy. Take FFIV on Android for example. The font and interface just looks lazy.

Games that try to be similar to handheld/console games also suffer due to the poor controls. Buttons are pretty much required unless if the game is specifically made to be used on a phone. In which case the limited controls affect the quality of the game. Touch controls are limited to tapping and swiping. Things like multi-touch more often than not get in the way of seeing the actual game.

Seems like most people here are iOS users. (Sorry) many less restrictive android games allow the use of Bluetooth enabled controllers (ps3). Pair that up with emulators and mobile gaming has your full old school library with you on the go.

This is about phone games, not emulation. Most people don't own controllers for their phones (and rightly so) so games aren't made with them in mind.

 

[Gustav]

I've ever only played one very good game on a mobile device: Drop7.

 

[megalowho]

Plenty of genres work fine on mobile, and I've certainly bought my fair share over the years. When it comes down to it, I get enough hours of gaming in already that I don't feel the urge to fill in gaps during my day with a fun but fleeting time waster. My time on the subway is better spent listening to music, reading, or just decompressing. I don't usually play dedicated handhelds in those instances either. Planes, sometimes.

For more substantial touch based mobile games, I prefer to play them on an iPad at home.

 

[Senor Kami]

I accept it and think it's a valid form of gaming, but it just doesn't interest me. Everything seems like a time killer/waster game but I tend to game because I want to, not because I need to make time pass quickly.

Even for mobile gaming, when I have done it (mostly as a kid/teen) I only play when I have like 30+ minutes of time to invest and the games I played took hours upon hours to complete. A platform devoted to games that you'd love for 10 minutes, get tired of after an hour (often because they simply weren't designed with the intention that anyone would play them for more than 5 minutes at a time), then forget about forever doesn't have any appeal to me.

 

[flak57]

Games that try to be similar to handheld/console games also suffer due to the poor controls. Buttons are pretty much required unless if the game is specifically made to be used on a phone. In which case the limited controls affect the quality of the game. Touch controls are limited to tapping and swiping. Things like multi-touch more often than not get in the way of seeing the actual game.

I think it's worth noting that a portion of it with regards to the controls is a preference thing though, and that this isn't a Kinect situation where a lot of genres just don't work at all.

Millions of people play 2D platformers with virtual buttons, and millions more play mobile FPSs in particular. And I think touch screen aiming actually allows more precision than console joysticks for someone with experience, although it suffers from a whole host of other obvious problems like fingers on the screen, tapping to shoot etc (usually you tap once and then hold until done shooting)

Here's an example of someone that seems to have adjusted pretty well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48qmcieQJME&t=0m32s

 

[RM8]

A lot of those games is a small portion of the mobile library, and I'd wager most did not even know most of them existed, even if you may have. The point was that the notion of there not being many games that offer something other than "quick diversions" or "shallow experiences" is ridiculous. Kemco has been making games since 1985, and a lot of those RPGs seem to be well received, from what I have read. Cardinal Quest has iffy opinions from what I can see, but again that was not the point of that post.

I recently bought Kemco's Symphony of the Origin for like ~$1 USD. I regretted it. I don't want to sound repetitive but, well, I'm playing Soul Hackers on 3DS at the moment, I really don't have to settle for amateur-ish RPG Maker-like games from Kemco. Let's be honest, these games are well received because they're cheap and because they're on phones. This is very often the case... I had a Lumia for some months (fantastic phone) and this game Crimson Dragon was being treated as GOTY material among WP users. I bought it, it was boring and unremarkable. I bought League of Evil for my iPod because it's so widely praised - it's bland and not worth my platforming time. It's been the same with Android. See, I'm pretty great at avoiding games I won't enjoy across all my gaming systems, but it's kind of impossible to avoid stinkers on phones and "they're cheap!" doesn't make me feel any better.

And yeah, 3DS is better for a lot of things, why does that matter? I played my NGPC alongside my GBA, even if it was only better at fighters. Mobile is better at some genres as well, however DS was God at text adventure games which happens to be one of the things Mobile is good at, so yeah DS is great. (shrug)

I agree with this! If I'm in the mood for some Oh! Edo Towns I'll play on my phone and not on my 3DS. It's just that, at least in my case, 3DS (or DS, PSP, GBA, GB, WS) are overwhelmingly, unproportionately better at the games I love the most.

Millions of people play 2D platformers with virtual buttons, and millions more play mobile FPSs in particular.

I think this happens because, well, phones don't have real controls. Hardly optimal, but people will settle for it because it's cheap and convenient. No one ever is going to attend a FPS tournament using a touch device (assuming you could play Halo with a touch device, lol). And really, 2D platformers on iOS/Android are hardly Ninja Gaiden or Shinobi. I bet I can play Pizza Boy using a DDR pad.

 

[hodgy100]

shallow games that are made around monetisation rather than fun gameplay, i buy them when there is an exception.

 

[flak57]

I recently bought Kemco's Symphony of the Origin for like ~$1 USD. I regretted it. I don't want to sound repetitive but, well, I'm playing Soul Hackers on 3DS at the moment, I really don't have to settle for amateur-ish RPG Maker-like games from Kemco. Let's be honest, these games are well received because they're cheap and because they're on phones. This is very often the case... I had a Lumia for some months (fantastic phone) and this game Crimson Dragon was being treated as GOTY material among WP users. I bought it, it was boring and unremarkable. I bought League of Evil for my iPod because it's so widely praised - it's bland and not worth my platforming time. It's been the same with Android. See, I'm pretty great at avoiding games I won't enjoy across all my gaming systems, but it's kind of impossible to avoid stinkers on phones and "they're cheap!" doesn't make me feel any better.

Nothing wrong with that. There's only so much time in life and it might as well be spent playing what one feels are the best games, although of course convenience is a factor as well. (hence playing a handheld at all) But I think there is a big difference between the games I mentioned above and the mini-games that people broadly insinuate make up the mobile library. Heck, there was a thread about WarioWare inventing "modern mobile gaming".

I agree with this! If I'm in the mood for some Oh! Edo Towns I'll play on my phone and not on my 3DS. It's just that, at least in my case, 3DS (or DS, PSP, GBA, GB, WS) are overwhelmingly, unproportionately better at the games I love the most.


I think this happens because, well, phones don't have real controls. Hardly optimal, but people will settle for it because it's cheap and convenient. No one ever is going to attend a FPS tournament using a touch device (assuming you could play Halo with a touch device, lol). And really, 2D platformers on iOS/Android are hardly Ninja Gaiden or Shinobi. I bet I can play Pizza Boy using a DDR pad.

For sure, I only researched mobile games for this topic pretty much, was pretty fun actually because I haven't really kept up with them in years, maybe back in 08 or 09. And there were plenty of games with depth back then as well, I had to have logged at least 30 hours in The Quest Gold (was previously a Palm game I believe), and I don't think I ever even got to any of the included expansion areas, of which there were 5 or so And you don't get much more "hardcore" than that game.

But yeah, it's simply too hard to keep up with mobile gaming for me as so many games release every single day, and even good games get swept up in the sea of all the releases.

 

[flak57]

I think this happens because, well, phones don't have real controls. Hardly optimal, but people will settle for it because it's cheap and convenient. No one ever is going to attend a FPS tournament using a touch device (assuming you could play Halo with a touch device, lol). And really, 2D platformers on iOS/Android are hardly Ninja Gaiden or Shinobi. I bet I can play Pizza Boy using a DDR pad.

I'm pretty sure online FPS multiplayer is absolutely huge on mobile devices. And I had a great time with this game a long time ago on mobile, the controls worked great I thought -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1In0hlw3NTs

You can't have a run button though

Edit: I'm reading online that back in late 2012 Modern Combat 3 on mobile was at 1.5 million unique users per month, and was the first mobile game accepted into Major League Gaming US, which is some sort of gaming tournament. It's not like one of the big console games, but for a handheld device that's impressive.

 

[djtiesto]

Controls, by far. I'm trying to play through FF Dimensions and although I do like it (in spite of its cheap-looking RPG Maker-esque visuals) I just don't like playing the game without a tactile d-pad and buttons. And this is a slow-paced, turn-based RPG that doesn't really rely on precision.

 

[RedSwirl]

there are quite a few games you listed there that look plausibly good. thanks for listing them. I will check out a few of the ones I didn't know about. with that said, there's a big gulf between looking plausibly good and actually being good relative to other games in the same genre. like I don't expect a $1 dungeon crawler to be as good as etrian odyssey 4 or legend of grimrock but I'd wonder if it was better than a random one I could get on psp or ds which illustrates the problem isn't just discoverability it's also the lack of equivalent critical media

Out of those, I definitely suggest checking out Undercroft and The Quest. The former is actually free because it's being subsidized by Runescape. In my opinion it's a very good party-based RPG that carries over enough of the classic grid-based experience. After playing a demo of The Quest (the full version of which is $8) it basically feels like a micro-sized Elder Scrolls game. Turn-based RPGs are definitely one of the genres better-suited to mobile.

 

[breakfuss]

no buttons

.

 

[JordanLMiller]

Games are too shallow, controls are terrible.

Mainly this for me. A phone isn't a gaming device - it's just a device you can happen to play games on. And I've yet to play one that was any good.

 

[KojiKnight]

Budgets. Until mobile games start hitting those 8 figure development costs, we're not going to see anything complex or deep. They'll continue to be through away titles and treated as such.


I'd say the episodic formula may work really well on mobiles in that reguard, but developers are so wary of it anymore it's not likely to happen.

 

[speculawyer]

Why would I want to play on an underpowered machine when I can play on a system with higher resolution, more processing power, and great 3D graphics?

 

[mbmonk]

Wilful ignorance.

Honestly, I have no idea. Mobile games should occupy a place in every healthy gaming diet. Sure, there's an awful lot of shit out there, but sift through it carefully and you'll find nuggets of gold.

What does that phrase even mean?

I am open to mobile gaming, but I don't care to sift through the crap to find the one or two nuggets.

 

[grosvenor_92]

I've embraced mobile gaming but controls are still a big issue with a lot of mobile games so I'm going to go with that

 

[flak57]

Budgets. Until mobile games start hitting those 8 figure development costs, we're not going to see anything complex or deep. They'll continue to be through away titles and treated as such.

Yes, Luigi's Mansion and Mario 3D Land are much more complex than any of the strategy games I listed on the last page I'm sure. What do you mean by complexity?

 

[tiggerkiddo]

Gamers being resistant to change or new things?

Just give me good controls and I'm game.

 

[Krogan]

What does that phrase even mean?

I am open to mobile gaming, but I don't care to sift through the crap to find the one or two nuggets.

It means eating shit every now and then will give you more appreciation for filet mignon.

 

[Bgamer90]

A whole lot of ignorance in this thread.

Most of the best iPhone games are games that don't even use virtual on screen buttons.

Lack of depth? There are a decent amount of iPhone games that fit "easy to play but hard to master". I would put that into the depth category; that along with just some games having just as much content/replayability as console games.

 

[NIN90]

FWIW Espgaluda2 (a Cave shmup) controls beautifully on iPhone.

 

[FaceDa]

FWIW Espgaluda2 (a Cave shmup) controls beautifully on iPhone.

All the cave SHMUPS are awesome on iPhone. Dodonpachi is a good place to start.

 

[redcrayon]

Another reason I prefer the 3DS and Vita is that they are one of the last bastions of gaming that isn't infested with exploitative FTP microtransactions rubbish. I'd really like a search feature where I can rule out any mobile game based around that business model.

 

[StayDead]

No buttons and shallow games are the big issues for me.

 

[NIN90]

All the cave SHMUPS are awesome on iPhone. Dodonpachi is a good place to start.

Yeah I downloaded all trials when I got my iPhone but Espgaluda2 seemed to be the raddest.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Piss poor, shallow games.

 

[redcrayon]

A whole lot of ignorance in this thread.

Most of the best iPhone games are games that don't even use virtual on screen buttons.

Lack of depth? There are a decent amount of iPhone games that fit "easy to play but hard to master". I would put that into the depth category; that along with just some games having just as much content/replayability as console games.

Steady on when throwing accusations of ignorance around.

Smartphone games need to work without buttons- it restricts genres. Why not have a system that can run games that need buttons AND games that don't?

On the 3DS I'm as happy playing Layton with a stylus as I am playing Mario with a stick and fire emblem with a d-pad, but the developers have the choice what works best.

What about the point about people not wanting to burn through their phone's battery life? It works at cross-purposes to 'depth'- if my 3ds runs out of power after four hours of etrian odyssey on a flight, I don't care, if my phone runs out of power I do, as I always want to leave enough power to last through the day.

Sure, not all mobile games are shallow microtransaction-based rubbish, but the stores don't help in making it easy to find good ones, and are full of thousands upon thousands of pieces of shovelware with little way to tell what any of them actually are. Admittedly I'm just using the apple store, but the constant shitty clones and other rubbish that appear when searching for anything make it a bit tiresome.

All in all, I like the odd bit of phone gaming when I don't have a portable on me, but it isn't in any way comparable based on my personal situation and gaming tastes. That's not ignorance. That's just me understanding what's right for me after 30 years of buying computer games.

I can see myself downloading strategy games on a tablet, the idea of space hulk and xcom on the move appeals to me, but actual mobile phones are right out. I don't want my thumbs in the way while I'm draining the battery of something I need for work. Again, that's just me.

 

[Bgamer90]

Steady on when throwing accusations of ignorance around.

When people classify games as a whole for being a certain way (when they obviously haven't played them all) then yeah, it is ignorance-- they are ignorant of games that don't fit the "shallow, full of in app micro transactions, poor controlling" mold.

But that's the point. Smartphone games need to work without buttons- it restricts genres. Why not have a system that can run games that need buttons AND games that don't?

On the 3DS I'm as happy playing Layton with a stylus as I am playing Mario with a stick and fire emblem with a d-pad, but the developers have the choice what works best.

No one is forcing developers to make phone games. However, what I was saying is that the whole "virtual buttons" complaint becomes moot when a huge portion of the best iOS games don't even use buttons.

Devs could make games with virtual buttons too if they want and unlike what some may say, all games that use virtual buttons aren't bad. Super Hexagon requires the player to press down on the left and right sides of the screen and yet the game was one of my
favorite games of 2012.

What about the point about people not wanting to burn through their phone's battery life? It works at cross-purposes to 'depth'- if my 3ds runs out of power after four hours of etrian odyssey on a flight, I don't care, if my phone runs out of power I do, as I always want to leave enough power to last through the day.

Battery life is a good point since people use their phones for multiple functions but I haven't played a game to the point in which I don't have enough battery life to use my phone for the rest of the day.

I remember playing Puzzlejuice for a little bit more than 2 hours straight and still having more than 70% of battery life left.

Sure, not all mobile games are shallow microtransaction-based rubbish, but the stores don't help in making it easy to find good ones, and are full of thousands upon thousands of pieces of shovelware with little way to tell what any of them actually are.

Then go online and read sites/blogs that cover mobile games. Heck, even the iOS threads here are good for finding new games to play.

 

[dreamcastmaster]

Shallow games = arcade games we grew up with.

seems to me like the old PC gamers vs Console gamers discussion used to be.

 

[Bgamer90]

Shallow games = arcade games we grew up with.

seems to me like the old PC gamers vs Console gamers discussion used to be.

I also find the "shallow games" complaint to be funny considering how many people here reminisce about games in the past-- games that fit a similar pick up and play nature of many good iOS games.

 

[Fireblend]

I accepted it a long time ago. Mobile gaming is awesome, even if I also own a 3DS and a kickass PC.

 

[jmdajr]

Games are too shallow, controls are terrible.

Yup. It's a crap experience 90% of the time.

 

[Bgamer90]

Haha, love these percentages.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

This might come as a shock to some people but not all of us want to play games on our phone.
My phone is for sending messages and making phone calls, I don't want to play games and drain my battery every single time.
I don't understand the obsession with device convergence, what is wrong with having separate machines to serve difference functions? I want to play games, so I buy a device made specifically for playing games.
You don't see people tossing their SLR cameras away because the iPhone has teh megapixels. I'd rather have several devices that do their specific function extremely well.

 

[jmdajr]

This might come as a shock to some people but not all of us want to play games on our phone.
My phone is for sending messages and making phone calls, I don't want to play games and drain my battery every single time.
I don't understand the obsession with device convergence, what is wrong with having separate machines to serve difference functions? I want to play games, so I buy a device made specifically for playing games.
You don't see people tossing their SLR cameras away because the iPhone has teh megapixels. I'd rather have several devices that do their specific function extremely well.

Heck I still use my Zune to play music. Phone for me is call/text/web. Let me get in touch with the people I want and get the information I need for whatever task at hand.