So, there are two types of gameplay I imagine in this game. And this may increase the game far beyond initial scope.
Immersive Play
This is closest to console-type play. Someone churns their way through 20 levels of combat and research, at varying difficulties to get to the end game. This is enhanced with later multiplayer and, I would hope, special co-op levels as well as death match style play. But the gameplay is all immersive. It’s real-time tactics which will suck in the attention.
Asynchronous but Connected Play
This is the gameplay done when you only have two minutes or thirty seconds. It’s not enough to immerse you entirely and it may open the gameplay to other platforms (maybe even including emails, push notifications). Have to think a bit more about this one.
- more about messaging and supply lines
- shared missions ( “I can’t move forward on sigma sector until you blow that bridge” )
- passing of information ( “Anyone seen the Derps in Downtown” )
The closest things I can compare this to is using other channels outside WoW to plan raids. What if the online component required people to do things for each other. Think of that segment in the Matrix sequel where they had to hit things within a certain time frame to get through a door. Very silly, the whole sequence. But the idea being that in a war, even a guerilla war, there are sacrifices, feints and advances. In order for Cell B to advance, maybe Cell A has to lead an extremely difficult mission against some major component of alien infrastructure. If they don’t achieve a certain score, then Cell B has a much harder time of it.
One Lump or Two, Vicar?
I’m left to wonder then; is this one game or two?
I’m intrigued by something Willem Kokke said to me earlier this week about starting out with a simpler game to get started. I think that an Asynchonrous Connected game could work as a standalone. As an iPhone game that would be a companion for an iPad strategy game. I already watch TV while using my phone and iPad so why not play a game? Maybe there’s an entire untapped market there. Some console games use phones to help track inventory, to provide in-game information. Why not affect gameplay?
So that’s a simpler idea, that feeds into the development of the story, that can provide story elements in and of itself. It looks like I’ll need to open a new area of the wiki.
The Drawing game is a triumph of a good idea over implementation.
Simple works on handheld devices, never doubt it.
Agreed with John – You have to use KISS methodology when developing for mobile. The most successful mobile games are driven by the input method, then the story/concept is shoehorned in later; not vice versa.
The Immersive Play would probably have to be slowed down to the point of frustration to accommodate for the imprecise input method. The Asynchronous play *might* work, but I’d start off developing a well-known, traditional turn-based game like chess to test the concept and gather usage stats first before investing in an unfamiliar IP.
Personally, I wouldn’t develop a mobile-based strategy game with any immediacy. Although perhaps a 4X game, like Civ or Anno, which leverages the native hardware. e.g. If the terrain was driven by local topography data from google maps you could take an AR-esque walk-through of your creation based on GPS location.
You might not develop a mobile strategy game but I would. I hate turn-based strategy games.
I could have worded my last post better. Regarding the immediacy remark I meant that I think it will be difficult to balance a control method forgiving enough for a touch screen, while still maintaining a sense of immediacy to the game – You may have to slow the gameplay down as not to intimidate the more cack-handed among us, but in doing so you may bore those with defter fingers. It’s going to be a difficult balance to strike – Perhaps a gesture based system? As seen in the Black & White games…e.g. quick up and down swipes to fire, side-to-side to take cover, circular motion to throw a grenade.
Truth be told I’m just not entirely getting the concept….I thought Play-by-email was fundamentally turn-based.
The “latency” in touch interfaces is why I don’t rate them for twitch gaming (FPS games etc) but I do reckon that’s more an interface issue. Look at a console – because of the issues with using joysticks and D-pads they add auto-aim software. It’s not insurmountable.
My intention is to provide more ‘intelligence’ to the protagonists. This is something utterly lacking in many games on mobile.
I don’t think I suggested PBeM – there are lots of different ways to support asynchronous play.