The games you loved as a kid are now in a digital avatar on your phone and tablet. And apart from the nostalgic value, they also have some cool new variations that make them even more fun than they always were. So whether it’s word games or strategy, your mobile device will let you…
FIRST LET’S GO THROUGH A BRIEF HISTORY OF GAMES…..
In the early 2000s, mobile games gained popularity in Japan’s mobile phone culture, years before the United States or Europe. By 2003, a wide variety of mobile games were available on Japanese phones, ranging from puzzle games and virtual pet titles that utilized camera phone and fingerprint scanner technologies to 3D games with exceptionally high quality graphics. Older arcade-style games became particularly popular on mobile phones, which were an ideal platform for arcade-style games designed for shorter play sessions.
Today, cell phone games have come a very long way. Their graphics are about the same as you would expect on a 4th or 5th generation game console (which may not seem like a very big improvement yet is considered one because the game is being played on a cell phone). Cell phone games now tend to take up a large amount of memory on cell phones.
After the integration of 3D APIs into mobile platforms, the mobile gaming world started to launch its own brand games.
After the huge success of Tournament Arena Soccer 3D by Mobilenter with getting over 35 millions of downloads in only 1 week before World Cup 2010, the 3D game development became the primary area of mobile game development and mobile gaming became one of the most important gaming platforms
…..AND SOMETHING ON TECHNOLOGIES FOR GAME DEVELOPMENT…..
Once the game’s design has been agreed upon, the development language must be decided upon. The choice depends upon many factors, such as language familiarity of the programming staff, target platforms (such as PlayStation or Microsoft Windows), the execution speed requirements and the language of any game engines, APIs or libraries being used.
Today, because it is object oriented and compiles to binary, the most popular game development language is C++. However, Java and C are also popular, but inappropriate for some projects. Assembly language is necessary for some video game console programming and in some routines that need to be as fast as possible, or require very little overhead. C# is popular for developing game development tools.
High-level scripting languages are increasingly being used as embedded extensions to the underlying game written in a low or mid-level programming language such as C++. Many developers have created custom languages for their games, such as id Software’s QuakeC and Epic Games’ UnrealScript. Others have chosen existing ones like Lua and Python in order to avoid the difficulties of creating a language from scratch.
PLATFORMS FOR GAME DEVELOPMENT….
- iOS
iOS (previously iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system developed and distributed by Apple Inc. The user interface of iOS is based on the concept of direct manipulation, using multi-touch gestures. Interface control elements consist of sliders, switches, and buttons. Interaction with the OS includes gestures such as swipe, tap, pinch, and reverse pinch, all of which have specific definitions within the context of the iOS operating system and its multi-touch interface.
iOS currently runs on iPhone, Apple TV, iPod Touch, and iPad.
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- ANDROID
Android is a Linux-based operating system designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers. Android is open source and Google releases the code under the Apache License. This open source code and permissive licensing allows the software to be freely modified and distributed by device manufacturers, wireless carriers and enthusiast developers. Additionally, Android has a large community of developers writing applications (“apps”) that extend the functionality of devices, written primarily in a customized version of the Java programming language.
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These factors have allowed Android to become the world’s most widely used smartphone platformand the software of choice for technology companies who require a low-cost, customizable, lightweight operating system for high tech devices without developing one from scratch.As a result, despite being primarily designed for phones and tablets, it has seen additional applications on televisions, games consoles and other electronics. - Windows
Windows Mobile is a family of mobile operating system developed by Microsoft for smartphones and Pocket PCs. . Windows Mobile is the predecessor of Windows Phone. The final version of Windows Mobile, released after the announcement of Windows Phone, was 6.5.5.
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AND FINALLY HERE ARE THE GAMES IN NEW AVATAR…
WORDS WITH FRIENDS
Which wordsmith doesn’t love scramble? It’s all about anagram-solving and strategizing to come up with the best placement for your words. The special tiles remain the same – double letter, triple letter, double word and triple word – but their placement is far different from the original board. Still, it remains just as fun as it’s always been.
iOS| Android| Windows Phone
DRAW SOMETHING
If you love Pictionary, you’ll get a kick out of Draw something. Choose one of the three words given and start drawing. There’s no time limit, but your opponent gets to start guessing in real-time; that’s right, he or she can see your drawing! Correct guesses reward both the players, and quite wonderfully, there are no penalties for wrong guesses. It’s just an endless series of sketching and guessing, keeping it harmless and entertaining throughout.
iOS| Android| Windows Phone
SCRAMBLE WITH FRIENDS
Boggle gets digitized and gets a dose of scramble too. It’s still a grid of letter where you have to make words from adjacent tiles, but this time, the letters carry points of their own. And there are double-letter and triple-word tiles too. Battles comprise three 2-minute rounds to see who comes up with the most points at the end. Add a few power-ups like ‘Scramble’. ‘Freeze time’ and ‘Inspire’, and you’re guaranteed a great time.
Android|iOS
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HANGING WITH FRIENDS
Hangman was a favorite in school, since all you needed was a pen and paper. In its digital avatar, the game gives you a few letters to make a word of up to eight characters that your opponent has to guess. The longer the word, the fewer the incorrect chances he gets. And then it’s a race to see who’s the first player to get five wrong answers top decide the winner.
Android(free)|iOS(free)
MONOPOLY
The granddaddy of board games, Monopoly remains as addictive in its pixel form as in real life. Choose your piece and roll the dice to go around the board. Loading up on cash and buying property along the way. The graphics are well done and the variations offered in the ‘Options’ and ‘House rules’ – such as initial cash, number of houses per hotel, properties to start with, etc – mean that the game play never gets boring. Unfortunately, there’s no one-line multiplayer to let you play with your friends.
iOS|Android| BB playbook| Windows phone
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_game
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_programmer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_%28operating_system%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile