Mobile Gaming

So recently I acquired an iPad and obviously with me being an avid gamer I've already downloaded a ton of apps. I've had an iPhone for quite a long time now and so mobile gaming is something I'm already familiar with. But upon getting an iPad I realised that the differences between the two devices are more pronounced than you might imagine. 

Some of my favourite iPhone games include candy crush and tiny wings. These are very simple games that have very basic controls. Tiny wings for example is literally a single touch control but also very addictive. The small screen makes fine controls a little difficult but the portability of the device means repetitive games with high replay ability are definitely a good choice. 

However the iPad has a much larger display and therefore scope for a more precise control scheme. The game I've played the most so far is Magic 2013 (the first mobile addition of the long lived ccg). The  ability to simply slide cards around like you would physical cards is very natural. I've played Magic The Gathering online on my computer for a long time but the iPad version is much more intuitive to use (even if the rule set is a little dumbed down). 

I then extended my iPad app selection to look at other board and card games and have since downloaded Fluxx, Small World and Settlers of Catan (amongst others). As a big board game fan, this "virtual" board game is a very interesting concept which offers a huge amount of possibilities to future board game development. I can see a point in the future where games are developed with classic social gaming in mind using iPads or other tablet devices to enhance the gaming experience. This is definitely something I'm in full support of. While I'm also a big advocate of having physical pieces to move I can see interesting fusions of the real world with the virtual.

'Til next time...