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Cross-Platform Mobile Gaming Gaining Traction
andylim writes "Several mobile gaming companies are developing cross-platform multiplayer games allowing Android and iPhone users, for example, to play games against each other. Last month touchArcade reported on a cross-platform baseball game developed by Com2Us called Homerun Battle 3D. Unlike turn-based multiplayer mobile games, Homerun Battle 3D allows players to compete against each other instantly, but you don't see the other player — instead you only get to see your competitor's score being updated. Pushing cross-platform multiplayer games even further, a company called Bulky Pix has created a table-football-style game that displays the action as it happens — both players see the ball moving around. This hopefully suggests that cross-platform, multiplayer mobile shooters aren't far behind."
You can in fact see the other player, if you enable the PiP option. The game itself is pretty fun, by the way.
Similes are like metaphors
This hopefully suggests that cross-platform, multiplayer mobile shooters aren't far behind.
I wouldn't hope that on anybody. Last thing you need is getting BOOM HEADSHOT 'd so hard that you rage and throw your 300 dollar phone to the pavement.
I've got this game on my Nexus One. I saw rave reviews about it and shelled out $5 for it. At first, I wasn't so happy with it, then I became addicted to playing it. Especially trying to play it on the subway / train since the movement of the train makes the bat's sweet spot move around. Much more difficult then playing while sitting on a couch!
Only problem (for me at least) is the only time I can see playing these types of games would be on the subway, where I don't get any signal.
This is good news of course but what does not make sense to me, this refers to Google and iPhones as being cross platform games.
How come there are not any great games on normal Java phones? J2ME has so many libraries and they're capable of the same.
I have never understood why there are not many multiplayer bluetooth or games that connect the internet? It would be awesome to play net games on the phone on the train with people in the same train or anywhere in the world.
(Ignoring phone signal cutting out on trains)
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I'm not much of a gamer, but I can appreciate how gaming tends to push new technology to the forefront that can be useful in other applications.
Is there a chance that the various game developers will settle on a standard for the exchange of real-time xplat data?
If so, I can see all kinds of other uses for something like that - in hospitals in particular... imagine if all the staff at a hospital had real-time access to what each other were doing and who they were treating?
Pagers and such do pretty well, but a nurse and I delivered my most recent child because nobody knew for sure what the doctor was up to....and he was not responding to pages. Would have simplified things a great deal if the nurses were able to tell "oh, he's in room 114 busy suturing another patient. We'll have to find someone else."
Course, such a system has obvious big-brother potential for abuse.
Interesting idea, though.
That Magnetic Sports Soccer game looked like fun. I'll have to test it out on my iPhone sometime. These types of applications by the game developers is a good thing for everyone. Just look at the success that Blizzard has enjoyed with WoW on Windows and OS X. It would be foolish for a developer creating a networked game to ignore either platform.
"Klaatu, verada, necktie!" -Ash
...I am not just referring to scores.
Shared scores are just an easy way to make a singleplayer have multiplayer features - it is not interactive in the slightest. I could not care less about games where only the score is the competing factor. I want to see the other player and interact with them directly.
I think games like Galactic Colonization would be awesome on phones.
http://www.arcadebomb.com/play/galactic_colonization.html
(I cannot find another variant of this flash game where the graphics are simpler - does anyone know?)
Slashdot needs Geekcode | Can anyone recommend any good SCIFI? My tastes: Foundation, Startide Rising, CITY, Ringworld,
Pitting one cellphone against another cellphone does not seem like cross platform. Looking at the specs the hardware is almost totally identical on many.
Similarly pitting one gaming console against others of the same ilk seems only slightly more impressive.
Ditto for general purpose computer gaming.
It will truly be cross platform when PC/Mac/Linux gamers can be in the mix with Play stations and iPhones with skill (and ping) being the only deciding factors.
Checkers and Chess, no problem. First Person shooters or team combat type games are a whole different story.
This is levels of magnitude harder than porting a game to yet another ARM processor with a slightly different video chipset.
I don't see anything but turn based games having much prospect of competing fairly across all platforms.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Would love a Civ Mobile game on the mobile platforms that updates even while you are not logged in. I'm surprised this hasn't been done yet (although I know Civilization Network will be similar to what I'm looking for here, too bad Facebook Apps don't work well on a mobile browser)
Uniwar is cross-mobile. It has been developped with a technology that took the Java source and translated it to Objective-C automatically. It rocks. It's weewar, but better. And I'm high ranked on the ladder :)
A real-time mobile-based cross-platform MMO utilizing GPS. If they can do it, then shooters can do it too. www.parallelkingdom.com
Self Aware Games has three different real-time multiplayer card games that work on webOS and iPhone devices as well as Facebook. They've got a really nice interface and have worked to maintain the social aspects of card games. They're fun and well done, too. Word Ace is a combo of Scrabble and Texas Hold 'Em. Card Ace is Texas Hold 'Em. I'll let you guess what Card Ace: Blackjack is about.
Interestingly, the games are all free, though I recommend picking up one of their poker chip packs to help support them.
Author of Enyo: Up and Running from O'Reilly Media
Ok, it's turn based and works over WiFi but it's pretty fun.
Don't forget wifight.com! Multiplatform (palmos and win32 right now, more on the way) and free to play.
Gameloft has been busy porting their catalog of iphone stuff over to WebOS since palm gave them the new PDK. Looking forward to the beta PDK release to see more native goodness on the best mobile platform around.
Don't forget Parallel Kingdom - a free MMORPG with both Android and iPhone clients that's been around for a year or so. http://www.parallelkingdom.com/