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SDK's for Wireless Games - Will They Succeed?
Memetic asks: "There is a software
development kit for wireless games, downloadable from
TTPCom, a wireless devices IP
vendor. It's described as: 'an open API delivering access to all the
mobile phone's features in order to develop a new generation of
on-line and multi-user games...it is possible to take advantage of
the GSM, GPRS or 3GPP networks by downloading these games over the
air, sending SMS messages between players, and creating multi-user
content and games. Technologies such as Bluetooth or GPS are also
made available' My question, does anyone see independent developers
emerging for donloadable gaming or will this market be driven by the
network operators / handset manufacturers?" While using this
technology to build games on cell phones doesn't intrigue me,
adapting this for our current and future crop of handheld computing
devices does. What kind of future do you think there is for games
development on such platforms like the Visor, the PalmPilot, and the
next-generation-Gameboy that may come down the pipe in the
next couple of years?
Who needs wireless games, when the actual wireless technologies, like cellulars stil suffer from extreemly limited bandwith, bad and small displays etc.
Unless the breakthrough on the hardware part comes (theres some pretty cool stuff in japan already), games on such devices make only limited sense...
I think those OSes will need to undergo a large leap in evolution to allow for a truly interesting gaming experience. Currently, they are underpowered in both hardware and OS.
Also, a color screen would be helpful, but not necessary.
The main problem, Cliff, is that people who want to do this kind of thing with their handheld devices typically buy the PocketPC. Palm-freaks (a term of endearment, not a slight) are usually more interested in the smooth operation of their device and the ease of use stemming from its minimalist design.
Spyware for phones, anyone?
Great, I can't wait the video game-like atmosphere our highways are going to have when people are no longer just talking on their cell phones, but playing GTA 3 on them also.
I think I'll stop here.
Aand helds are computers that are designed to be as small and cheap as possible while still useful for simple tasks like word processing, spreadsheets, etc ... nothing too numbercrunching or exciting.
;) Only then do you have enough computing power left around accidentally by the engineering team that designed the hand held to accomdate enough gaming power for the platform to become a viable enough selling point to the average consumer.
Gaming platforms are super-efficient customized hardware solutions with well thought out ergonomics and a psysical interface that is designed, from the ground up, for gaming.
I think the engineering requirements of either platforms are so at odds with each other that gaming on handhelds will never really catch on. Or at least until such a time that handhelds are far closer in terms of performance/price as desktop systems; or, to put it another way, low-end desktop systems become the size of handhelds.
"Old man yells at systemd"
What kind of future do you think there is for games development on such platforms like the Visor, the PalmPilot, and the next-generation-Gameboy that may come down the pipe in the next couple of years?
Head on over to PalmGearHQ and see how many games are available. Some good, some bad, many identical. Many are good enough that they have resided on my Palm, almost since day 1.
Palm has done a good job of avoiding creating a handheld PC and instead creating an advanced organizer. They've left it to other developers to do that work instead. Tools like this make that job just that much easier.
If not simply from the standpoint of the wireless industry being in "explode mode". Everything under the sun will most likely have some sort of wireless network capability in the next decade. I'm still waiting for kids with Gameboy type devices walking around playing head to head with kids from Tokyo in real time.
The question is not one of "if", but a question of "when".
I think what we've seen again and again is that, unless you're a huge juggernaut (like Microsoft), your proprietary "open" standards never win. Even Microsoft can only pull it off, sometimes.
What gets independent game developers going is truly open standards, like TCP/IP. When is my handspring going to be able to play a game with your Gameboy, wirelessly? When both of them have wireless IP adresses. Until then, these things will remain insular, only allowing my brand to play with my brand.
Wireless spam, that's the wave of the future.
sulli
RTFJ.
You know, I hate to give him credit for anything, but Xenos over at Dreammachineonline.com made a rather interesting point about Anarchy Online. The graphics were amazing, but he said "Because you couldn't see player names or know who was standing around you, there was no community."
Even if you COULD see little pixel figures of people, the games would ultimately fail because the community would be nil - and this is what matters in the online gaming world. As people what they play MMORPGs for, most people say Friends or Other Players.
It's harsh to admit, but really, there isn't much chance in anyone playing a game where a) the graphics are terrible, b) the connection is slow, and c) the community doesn't exist, simply because you can't talk/type fast enough on those things, and you can't see the words/phrases/playernames anyway.
Although there are some types of games that are worthwhile developing for a phone or P the underlying technology isn't there in the near term.
J2ME, which is likely the best hope, is not robust enough to handle gameboy-style games. It lacks necessary API's such image bliting, transparency (although SOME providers include it), and ABYSMAL sound support (4 sounds with blocking while the sound plays).
Things will get better with the next version I hope, but for now multi-media is not do-able.
-ShieldWolf
just = (My)Opinion.toCents();
--Chag
--Chag
For me, as a software-producing entity, the big question is how delivery of the product would be handled. For a PC it's no big deal, there are dozens of was to distribute - Shrink-Wrap, Shareware, Downloadable Payware, Bundles, Freeware, etc. I'm confident enough in my ability to reach the consumer when I'm producing desktop software that I'm willing to invest development time toward producing an profitable product.
In this market, though, I wouldn't be willing to get out of bed and take a step towards my dev machine without some serious answers about how this stuff gets distributed. Can you download it directly from a WAP site into the phone? Am I going to have to write a website and fifty different installation apps to go with the myriad ways a phone might hook up to a PC? Can I get the phone manufacturer to bundle my game with the phone?
These are the questions I'd be rushing to answer if I was someone putting out phones or development tools for them. They're going to make a huge impact in whether developers give the hardware manufacturers the support they need
This tagline is umop apisdn.
the november issue had several articles on just these issues (http://www.gdmag.com/backissue2001.htm#nov01). a very good resource, btw.
There are some viruses for european phones already.
:-)
If you have an API for controling more of the phone's features, you can bet that viruses will pop up. And it is much more dificult to reformat a phone than a PC's hard drive
When his defense asked, "Which computer has Jon Johansen trespassed upon?" the answer was: "His own."
Okay, here's one way to look at things. Multiplay has become what gaming is about noew days. Most computer games can't get away anymore without having some form of multiplay as part of it.
Now imagine a world where we have these handhelds that could allow us to play mutliplayer games. And I don't mean games like Quake, I mean games more along the line of Majestic. But think of a great spy game that you could be playing with millions around the world, over a Palm Pilot or something. The person standing next to you on the bus could be playing too, and even could be the one working against you. If nothing else, it'd create an excuse of all the paranoid people out there to really be paranoid. Now if you could get games like that over wireless PDA's, you'd see them take off quickly.
Okay, so who's gonna build that awesome wireless PDA and Phone spygame for me?
Personally I'd be pretty worried about running software on my phone unless it came from someone who I trust. I wonder how long it'll be before we see the first wireless worms with systems like this, I notice on their game engine page they mention WGE System allowing access to system resources. I wanted to find out exactly what this was but I couldn't find a link to their "open API" docs (mabye I'm blind) and I'm not really prepared to download their SDK for the priviledge.
;-)
I don't see much of a market for these kind of applications right now and I'm pretty content only playing games on my PC, but I suppose once the technology gets better I might give it a try. Having said that I had a flatmate who would spend hours sitting in a corner playing "snake" with his phone (yes haha very original, now get your mind out of the gutter) so perhaps theres more of a market than I think. The closest I came to playing wireless games would have to be wap elite which is a wap version of the classic game Elite. Oh and if you don't know Elite you are not a true nerd
He who defends everything, defends nothing. -- Fredrick The Great
For those of you interested in messing around with SMS from Linux (and Windows), check out this project.
:-) playing simple word games. But again, for all these thingys to be working, your provider must support messaging from the net (which most do).
Damn cool, but generally getting it running is a pain (although the site does not state any dependencies, there are a few).
In fact, me and my friends were trying to get SMS working so that a centralised Linux box could be used to play simple games. This way, we got about 5 people on SMS at the same time
Although we did not go any further, it was fun doing it. If someone is interested, I'd be happy to help them start some SMS based centralised gaming (yes, OSS). Nothing great, but even simple ones could be great fun!
By PDA I hope you're talking about a Palm unit, 'cause I must have a link to that right now.
Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1992-1951
HUGE.
There are (reportedly) over 20 million of these devices in Japan alone. The handheld/cellphone/PDA game market will be great for small and independent developers, and the economics are favorable as well (market size vs. cost of entry).
Now, what kinds of games to play on small devices is the next question...
I would rather see a suite of applications that tie in not only to other cell phones but central computers so you can have an Exchange-style system setup delivering that information. I think that for a lot of people who are out of the office a lot and on the go this would really come in handy.
Instead of logging into a terminal somewhere, you can just update your status via cell phones through the system.. I ended up writing something similar that operated via email, but you basically were stuck with whatever email client the phone had and had to deal with that.
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
I think they will.. but I think that because I'm wireless app developer myself.
One of the most intreguing things about games on WML is that it forces creativity over flashyness, in the same vein that Zork relied on content rather then FMV. It's a chance to really use skill that isn't used much in todays world of huge pipes and fast CPUs.
Most people think the issue here is screen size, but I disagree -- I still think the primary issuse is speed and overhead. Zork would be playable on a handset if it didn't take 30 seconds to move from place to place as it does on some Mobile providers networks (Qwest being the worst offender here).
Hilary Rosen's speech was about her love of money and her desire to roll around naked in a pile of money.
For anyone worried that no handheld device could possibly play games, don't worry. The current generation (and I mean ones selling for over 12 months now) of Pocket PC's have had 200mhz processors, 16-32 meg of ram, sound and 320x240 color screens.
I have seen gameboy emulators, full speed Apple II emulators and Commodor 64 emulators.. right there you have tons of playable games.
Sim City 2000 is a best seller on the Pocket PC. My company is porting one of our best sellers to it as well. Not as powerfull as a desktop by far.. but better than the computer on your desk 5 years ago!
The problem with wireless games that makes them suck is content. It's HARD to come up with a game that people want to play while at the corner store buying a newspaper. Regardless of how good handhelds get, the public just doesn't *see* handhelds as the next gaming platform.
Wait for some bright person to write "The Killer Wireless Game" and in a month the market will explode.
Whether or not independent development of games for wireless devices/platforms will succeed is a very good question...one that I have actually pondered in the past. However, I believe that SDK's and development tools of this sort are putting the 'cart before the horse' in many respects...
Anyone who has ever attempted to engage in an interactive game via their GSM-enabled cell phone, for example, can attest to the many deficiencies beyond simply a lack of game titles. Poor ergonomics, slow response/performance, and intolerable graphics are but a few of the physical/hardware issues that will require much further attention prior to us concerning ourselves with the lack of a Quake port!!!
Even in the burgeoning marketplace of the slightly larger integrated devices that marry gadgets such as PDA's, cell phones, and GPS's into single units, these same issues remain valid. You can only do so much with so little before the device's size becomes to large and cumbersome for it to be practical to carry around on your belt!!!
IMHO, this may be a hot topic in a couple of years, but for the time being is before its time and will fail as a result!!!
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy. -- Benjamin Franklin
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A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Games on portables with 3.5"x5" screens just don't seem that appealing to me. I mean sure, tetris rocks, but I don't need a 600$ platform to play tetris.
..
The idea of wireless games for the PDA seems interesting, but you could already do that. MUD's are still out there, and playable by text interface (of course), but quite frankly, they don't catch my attention any more (no offense intended to loyal devotees).
Also, in most of the situations where a PDA is carried, gaming is not really the focus. In any case, the PDA doesn't allow for an immersive enough expierince for my gaming desires. I suppose online chess or something would be cool, but I want to be able to KILL
so I guess I'll wait untill a (relatively)cheap wearable comes out for truly portable connected gaming.
Last I checked, Amiga was working on a multimedia API for small devices, with a focus on games. The Amiga environment is present on the new Sharp Zaurus. The SDK looks interesting, in spite of it being java-based. :)
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Let's face it. A cell phone is not a gaming console. At the moment most cell phones have a very limited screen - low resolution, small size, limited amount of colors (usually monochromatic). And no sounds, or very primitive ones *bleep*. And the controls suck. Why? Because it's a phone device, not a gaming device.
Entertainment techies should reconsider their model of wireless gaming. Perhaps a cell phone should be a phone, not a Nintendo Gameboy. Make games that use the phone just as it is, a phone. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
I know a Finnish company that develops a geographical GSM phone location service by triangulating the phones in networks. Using this kind of technology it could be possible to switch the game from the phone's screen into a real life experience, placing the player physically in the game, where his movements could be tracked on a predefined "game area". I'm sure countless of gaming applications are inbound after this technology spreads around..
__
Zarathustra.fi
Modern man has no goal, no aim, no ideals.
proprietary "open" standards never win
I dunno.... PDF and PalmOS seem to do ok.
There are lots of things to remember before you rail against the machine about open standards. Remember, that TCP/IP fills its nitche, but it doesn't adapt fully to everything, especially the types of connections we are discussing here. Who needs to route around trouble when you are transmitting directly to a device?
It is unrealistic to think that the major players in a multi-million dollar communciations industry are going to all want to use an open standard that they have no control over. First, they want the most efficent scheme for *their* platform, and second they want to fight it out in the market place, and see who can gain the upper hand. This isn't anything new - of course, the same thing has been happening for generation of electronic gizmos.
We are fortunate that these kind of standards are being opened up at all, so at least we have a fighting chance of getting a reasonable standard that everybody can decide on. Unfortunately, instead of a fight on a whiteboard, the winner of these standards battles will be decided in the market place.
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i don't think so...
Someone already mentioned Amiga's take on the mobile gaming platform. But I predict it won't succeed. This, however, I think will: Fathammer Ltd.'s X-Forge gaming engine. Take a look at those iPaq screen shots on their page.
:)
I heard, that when Fathammer's boys went over to Intel and demonstrated what their engine can do with a "simple" 206 MHz processor, the Intel guys' jaws dropped on the table! They just couldn't believe that this was possible! After the initial shock, I believe dollar signs were seen rolling by these guys' eyes..
Always told you, ex-democoders are good when it comes to optimizing and cheating in graphical routines..
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Zarathustra.fi
Modern man has no goal, no aim, no ideals.
I wonder how long it will be before the Internet can/will be broadcast wirelessly on a large scale. Sort of in the same fashion that cell phone towers are popping up now.
Ummm... if you're in cell tower range, you're already in internet range. It's not fast (yet), and it's not fun (yet), and WAP definitely won't be the final word. But that's what we said about the HTML desktop web experience six or seven years ago. Start surfing now so you'll have wireless retro-grouch stories to tell your kids!
I saw a show on Nokia not too long ago, and one of the developers was talking about how gread 3g is and all that jazz. He mentioned games that he'd been working on and then proceeded to start a game of seek 'n' destroy. You can play with many people in a real area and it looked pretty fun. Your phone screen shows a radar screen with your target's general direction then proceeds to tell you how close you're getting to them as you move. When you get close enough you can hit a key on the phone to 'shoot' them. You can keep a running score, etc. Fun stuff to get fat Americans back in the sunlight again :)
My thought is it's easier to put a cell phone on a game boy rather than game boy on a cell phone.
The problem before the masses adopt such a gaming system, as I see it, will stay as long as the architectures and protocols used remain proprietary.
On top of that the (gaming) network should be open between all providers. Imagine if you couldn't play a multiplayer game with your friend because you have a Verizon DSL and he has Cox cable.
Try going to a major city and living the commuter life. Taking 1 (or more) hr train rides to work every day. eg. Tokyo. Thats why the wireless market in Tokyo is so huge. Everyone's got "down" time while they're riding on or waiting for their train.
Now that I've returned back into the fold of Americanism and the NOW NOW NOW mentality, flying down the freeway, I don't get to use my cell phone or PDA as much... but I can still imagine where this would be quite useful.
I ate my sig.
When most slashdotter's think of games, they think first person shoot'em up, etc. Those will be a huge utter failure on handheld devices, like cellphones. Remember back when online multi-player games had A) limited bandwidth, and B) limited display (text based)? This is what we have to back to.
Remember the old BBS games? I am sure many people here were addicted to games like L.O.R.D. in the old BBS days. Remember MUDS? That is the niche I see these games flurishing in. People have said there is no community. No community? You just have to think differently about what a community is.
Remember the old card board and plastic pieces type games? Chess, Risk, etc. Someone could play 5 chess games on an ongoing bases with people they know in REAL LIFE! Now that's community! Make your moves back and forth every now and then during the day. People probably won't be playing non-stop for 3 hours, but 5 minutes here, two minutes there. Just have to consider games which work in such a time schedule.
Multi-player games worked well in the BBS days, and in many ways, today's cellphones has better display ability than 80x24 ANSI.
-Pete
Soccer Goal Plans
My question, does anyone see independent developers emerging for donloadable gaming or will this market be driven by the network operators / handset manufacturers?
My friend's company, :)Smilie, are an already existing independant developer for whom this kind of this is just their cup of tea. They are the kind of people who probably would download such an SDK. Their browser-based games site (warning: this site has Flash on nearly every page, and the games are Java - it's not meant to work in Lynx! ;o) is full of the kind of simple games that people still like playing - and it's games of this kind that can easily be ported to devices with a small keypad and a tiny (monochrome) display.
There are many companies like Smilie, with a track record for games development on a variety of different platforms - wireless gaming is simply another development platform, with a different set of specs.
Gaming isn't about fancy hardware and good graphics (although they can help! ;). Those who say 'people who want games will buy a PocketPC' (or similar) do make a valid point - but on the other hand, who here has played 'Snake' on a Nokia? Who's played Tetris on a Gameboy? -- neither of these games require powerful hardware, and both can be considered fun and (somewhat) addictive.
Regarding communities: A gaming community can still develop without immersive multiplayer games (in the sense of Q3A for example), it'd simply be a community of people who play the same game(s), and 'hang-out' together - whether in virtual space (eg: in a chat-room, via SMS, on mailing-list, in a forum) or in 'meat space'. SmilieGames for example has a large community - and not a first-person-shoot'er in sight!
Multiplayer gaming (of a few kinds) is still possible on low-bandwidth devices - don't think RocketArena Tournament: think Snake Tournament (or Tetris Tournament) - eg: two players are picked off of a queue, they start their game at the same time (synced by the server), and the final scores are then sent back to the server to decide who wins, (and to enter the global highscore table, etc) - I'm sure you get the idea....
All that said, it might not matter how good or bad the product is if it's marketed well, and backed by the right brand name (or a brand's character - such as that Pikachu thing), a lot of people will probably buy it anyway.
All IMHO anyway - I did develop games myself for a good few years.. :o0 (don't anymore though)
Did anyone wlse think "Wireless Intellectual Property? What does that mean?
I remember playing "community" strategy games on BBSs about 15 years ago (remember Trade Wars?), where a) the graphics were terrible (ascii), b) connection was slow (1200 bps modem), c) there wasn't much in terms of messaging or community either (although you could send messages). Lot's of fun.
Why? Because the concept was different, new and exiting, that's why. You'd play against other humans, not a dumb computer opponent.
So while I agree that the community part is important, there are definitely interesting ways to achieve that (e.g. Pirates). Technically you'd just use Bluetooth, GPS, or telco triangulation techniques for it.
So if at least some of these people are innovative we should see some pretty neat apps. And I mean neat apps, I couldn't care less if downloadable primitive shoot-em-ups fail to be successful on mobiles.
Idempotent operation: Like MS software, wether you run it once or often, that doesn't make it any better.