Atari co-founder: mobile games make me want to throw my phone

How do you discover quality games? I've found the ability to discover apps outside the top 100 to be virtually non-existent with the current app store configuration.

You seem to have a low bar for what constitutes a great game. (EX: Tiny Wings) Which is not a bad thing. I would suggest you look into free flash games, there are some real gems out there.

However, IMO many people are simply have different expectations. Mobile has plenty of processing power, but poor controls which is a real limitation preventing a wide swath of what people think of as video games.

For sure. Most of these have been in the Mobile Humble Bundle. I don't really buy mobile games outside of it.

You Must Build a Boat and it's predecessor 10000000 are games I still play forever and a day later even though I've maxed out 10000000 forever and a day ago.

If anybody's looking for a side project, I think there's a curation opportunity here. I'd subscribe to a newsletter focused on great, non-IAP-driven iOS games.

It could be weekly or monthly, with a mix of new games and classic gems that maybe aren't so well known. I'd tolerate a fair amount of advertising or sponsored content in the newsletter as long as it was clearly labeled.

The key thing for me is quality. I think that's true for many (extremely) casual phone gamers. I'd much rather get 1 outstanding recommendation per week/month than 10 of varying quality. And I know game enjoyment can be somewhat subjective, but there are still some games that are generally well-done and broadly appealing to fans of a genre. If the top recommendation is a racing game, I might skip it. That's okay. I don't need a new game every week or even every month. I just don't want to waste my time sifting through bad games or games that start fun but quickly ramp up the IAP pressure.

HumbleBundle kind of fits this niche, but I found their volume to be too high. And frankly, I don't want to buy a bunch of games at once. I think I'm less of a gamer than their target audience.

"These games were all priced probably too low for what they offered in time played."

The marketplace has pushed prices down so low (sub $5), in-game purchases or advertisements are the only way they can make a living.

If Google/Apple cared about their developers, they would force a minimum price. This way, it wasn't a race to the bottom. The end result is either large companies using the games as a loss leader, hobbyists that are releasing games and not getting compensated, or what we see now: games slapped with tons of advertising and in-game purchases. Personally, I would rather just see a higher priced game so I don't have to deal with the spammy tactics used now.

>This is almost a fluff piece to promote a developer

Clearly you do not know who is Nolan Bushnell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nolan_Bushnell

Nolan Kay Bushnell (born February 5, 1943) is an American engineer and entrepreneur who founded both Atari, Inc. and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters chain. Bushnell has been inducted into the Video Game Hall of Fame and the Consumer Electronics Association Hall of Fame, received the BAFTA Fellowship and the Nations Restaurant News “Innovator of the Year” award, and was named one of Newsweek's "50 Men Who Changed America." Bushnell has started more than twenty companies and is one of the founding fathers of the video game industry.

I really like Ridiculous Fishing.

The guy who made Braid has similar talks, comparing mobile games, arcade games and 90s syndicated sitcoms. They only keep you entertained long enough to insert another coin or make it through a commercial break.

The good mobile games, like you've mentioned, focus on creating a good engaging game without micro-transactions. They earn less. Games with micro-transactions have like a 70% ~ 80% drop rate when you get to the point where you need to pay to make the progress non-painful. That remaining little group is their revenue. Occasionally you get a "whale" that will drop $500 ~ $1000 or more on a game!

I knew game developers who talked about this. It kinda makes me feel sick. Either they have a lot of money, or they're just compulsive. In the later, you're taking advantage of people in the same way casinos take advantage of gamblers. "Whale" is a term used by both industries.

Fuck in-game purchases.

> I could go on and on

Please do!

The problem I've had with mobile games has been discoverability. The app store's recommendations have been useless and the featured/top grossing/most popular games are just the ones that make the most money via in app purchases.

And for some crazy reason, fewer and fewer games have actual screenshots in the screenshot section of their store page. Instead they opt to use that space for simple adverts ("best game ever!", "build 30 kinds of city!") and pictures of cartoon scantily clad women in armour. I'm sure there are many great games that I've just refused to play because of that crap

The frustrating thing is that I'm more than willing to pay $30+ for a game (up front, not in IAP to keep playing), but games that are worth that are rare and other players willing to pay it are rarer.

Some great games I've found (I mostly like RTS): Auralux, Mechcom, God of Light, Castle Raid, Anthill (so good!), Galcon, Plants vs Zombies (1, not 2), Swords and Soldiers, geoDefense.

I'd like to take the opportunity to recommend this almost unknown gem for Android: I Am Level. A platformer with a retro spectrum feeling. Got me instantly hooked. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.SmilingBag...

Is there a way to filter pay-to-win games? I can pay, but I want to have fun and progress with skill/practice instead of by paying.

Last week I spent 20 minutes on the google app store and at the end almost everything was "free" games with p2w

Don't forget Alto's Adventure. Although it's been somewhat polluted with IAP recently, it's still a gorgeous, well-designed game.

But how does one goes aboit looking at those? When you look at the top charts of Steam, the only true competitor to App store and Play store, you will mostly find games that are not trying to leech the user.

Of course the founder of Arcade games should remember that most arcade games were designed to take the maximum number of quarters from the users. There is nothing wron with designing around market conditions.

FTL on the iPad works really well, too.

Great post. I'd add Atomas to your short list of undervalued games.

I've lost over 100 hours to Crashlands. The mobile app is only $5 with no iAP (and syncs with the PC/Steam save, though that's another $15) and is a very fun, complete game full of humor that's hard to describe. Adventure, action, crafting (with infinite auto-organizing inventory), secrets, and did I mention the humor? Between this, Punch Club, and You Must Build A Boat I've come close to swearing off non-premium gaming on iOS.

As a side note, I actually did throw my phone because of a F2P game. Expensive bad decision.

I'd emphatically recommend Zen Bound and Zen Bound 2.

More than most other mobile games with good touch controls, the Zen Bound games really took advantage of the tactile nature of current mobile devices and their touch interfaces.

Aside from the mechanics, they were also pretty relaxing, while some of the levels managed to be simultaneously challenging while remaining completely passive. A very gentle and non-frustrating form of challenging that not many games manage to achieve.

I don't think Zen Bound gets enough praise as a game that is unique both from a gameplay perspective and how well it relies on the interface of the underlying device.

I think I bought nearly all of the games you mentioned via humble bundle deals, so that may be one way to access curated mobile games.

I think there's certain games/tasks for which touch screens are miles ahead of the old mouse and keyboard. Card games, for example, lend themselves very well to touch screens.

That's only one example, but I think the issue is that so many games try to adapt touchscreen to old control methods, rather than create new control methods for touchscreens.

Yes, I'm intrigued how one is going to bring "old-school arcade sensibilities" to a system where the inputs really need to be interpreted as "a user pressed sort of hereish, sort of nowish" and when the user does that, they also have to cover some percentage of the screen to do it. Precision is not available. Not all games require precision, so it's not a fatal problem, merely just another design issue to deal with, but it does sound fatal to a lot of "old school arcade" ideas.

The Apple TV also suffers from the requirement that you have to be able to use the remote to play the game.

why not just use a single finger on the touchscreen, or tilt the device? I think the flaw is expecting the phone to behave like an elaborate 8-button hardware controller.

>Honestly, the lack of dedicated controls will never allow for mobile gaming to be anything more than a time diversion for most people.

Isn't gaming precisely a time diversion?

For you and I maybe. Touchscreens are very natural for people who have grown up using them. My 3 year old cousin (once removed) can destroy most people I know at touchscreen games because she has grown up using touchscreens.

My cousin's mother gave her a glossy magazine to read a while back, and she tried swiping the pages to turn them.

I also feel like that, but the game download numbers tell otherwise :(

(My favorite kind of mobile games are the ones where the game stops until you complete your input: Stickman Golf, Score Hero)

This is something I've been thinking about recently. Nintendo really should move into that gap since they can't seem to directly compete with XBox or Playstation. They should engineer a control system of some sort that works for iOS and Android, then write content that is compatible. It wouldn't be something you could just use while waiting in line or waiting for your food at a restaurant, but if the content was excellent, that wouldn't matter. People would find time to play, just as they find time to play gaming systems now.

I understand your point if you're talking about racing games / first person shooters, but for RPGs I think touch screens work really well. I just finished playing Final Fantasy VI on the iPhone, and it was much easier than playing on the SNES, specifically because of the touch screen.

Agreed. I wish Nintendo would release a quality game pad to go with their upcoming games. I can imagine if it's done right, would be awesome.

Time diversion versus what?

The lack of dedicated controls is only a negative for games that require precise inputs (like classic arcade games). There are so many fantastic games that don't require that at all. Strategy, turn-based RPGs, puzzles, adventure games, etc. For certain games, a touchscreen can blow dedicated controls out of the water if the interface is designed well.

I totally agreed with your point. Lack of precise control and having no physical feedback and limitations on touchscreen controls led game developers to compromise the quality of games to make them ready for touch controls. In addition, fingers are hiding a big chunk of the screen for them to use on-screen controls which again compromises both quality of control and game design. Although there are controllers in the market you can attach the phone to top of the controller but all are bulky and not good for a mobile user. We made http://www.flitch.io , a mobile and smart-toy controller in the form of a phone case. It has two intuitive Josyticks and two trigger buttons and all works with no battery! Buttons are pressure sensitive which means if you press harder you punch harder! check it out and share your thoughts. Thanks

You just need to find ways to utilize it for its strengths. I've been playing Rovio's Retry which has very skillful twitch gameplay, and since it involves touching with one finger it's easy to play on a bus or in a coffee line up, which is vital. Another great game is Brain It On where you draw on the screen to solve puzzles in a simulated physical world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jo7EXUS1Vk

Thank you, that was fantastic! :) Classic South Park. Direct but with lots of truth in there.

"Freemium"...that's the real problem with mobile gaming. These games are purposely made annoying so people will pay to win the game.

> I love disruptive games which bring in new tech

Agreed! This is why I love the GearVR, pushing mobile gaming to new bounds.

They're trying to get the more profitable ones in front of consumers. So a flat search is not in their interest.

Same thing on the desktop.

Software development outside of the desktop and enterprise space is only sustainable via services/books/consulting, because no one is paying for software if they can get it for free.

Bushnell has created a lucrative post-Atari career out of coasting on his Atari successes, duping a string of companies into bringing him on as some kind of golden prophet to give the startup some credibility.

He's had his own streak of noncompelling products over the last 4 decades. Sente. Catalyst. Aristo. uWink. I wouldn't expect anything different.

But that's just my opinion.

That's probably because you're thinking too much about traditional controls.

Ugh. I had a friend who played an incremental clicker game. He urged me to download it on my tablet. It didn't offer anything interesting over any other incremental clicker game, but every so often, a giant ad would display in the middle of the screen.

You'd be surprised at how many touch events you can register before your device has the ability to switch to your browser. After I closed all 10 or so tabs, I uninstalled it immediately.

I'm 99% sure most mobile games are designed to psychologically drive players to spend as much money on microtransactions as possible. That, and now they are specifically targeting whales, so there's less "a little goes a long way" on IAP and now you really have to shell out to get anywhere. I know that I've personally spent more on in-app purchases that I care to admit just to get an edge on other players in some of those games. T_T

There are companies whose sole purpose is to encourage addictive design and IAP - see http://vungle.com/

My friends and I play Clash Royal, Clash of Clans and Boom Beach. Out of the three it's Clash Royal that has made us come this close to smashing our tablets in rage.

But it's not the IAP that's the cause. It's the skewed matchmaking and the mysterious loosing streaks that occur very frequently. You'd be playing and winning some and loosing some and then all of a sudden you hit a losing streak of 6-12 losses or more.

One thing for sure is my friends and I are not spending a penny on this game because of that regular frustration. We've spent a little on the other two games to get past a point of tedium but that gave us something concrete.

In Clash Royal spending money just gives you a chance to get the cards you need. No thank you. If the game mechanic wasn't so addictive we'd have stopped playing it long ago.

Clash Royale would be so much more engaging if you could:

  Queue up chests to unlock

  Earn "keys" when you win and your chest slots are full: Silver chests take 10 keys, etc. Still enables whales to spend their money, but makes it feel like you can earn *something* by playing.

I think even with this it would still be decently monetized, while increasing the feeling of player agency and engagement.

Some game apps are truly frustrating, specially those with plenty of ads. It seems that market has devoted to 'candy-crush' or 'dress your pony' games. But then you can stumble upon games like 'Monument Valley' or simply '2048'.

I create html5 puzzles and I am truly interested in what kind of games people are interested (in puzzle genre). When it comes to monetization, I'm trying with rewarded-donation with patreon, but it seems there is no good solution, even with free to play games!

Tell that to E.T.

I dunno... I'm a huge Atari 2600 fan - I have my prized heavy sixer, and have even made my own "game" (https://github.com/mrspeaker/plops) in 6502 assembler... but if I'm honest, 95% of Atari 2600 games are terrible. Unplayable. Because no one really knew what a "video game" was or could be, they tried EVERYTHING to see what would stick. Some things stuck, and formed the basis of good game design fundamentals today. Most things did not stick.

The games that remain truly fun to this day (for me) are two-players-at-once games, where the challenge is beating your friend.

plus a good controller

No. Having a lack of buttons means controls for games designed with buttons in mind would be terrible.

Look to those games for inspiration, but the games made need to first and foremost embrace the touchscreen, rather than attempt to emulate traditional controls.

Pixel Dungeon is life.

>> rather than just kill time

Yeah, that's something I find really odd about most mobile games. They seem designed as a way to basically put the brain into a low energy state or something, rather than actually being interesting.

My personal experience of games like Candy Crush is that people play them on the subway or whatever when there's nothing else to do. If they had a book with them they'd read that, if someone handed them a Nintendo DS with zero effort they'd probably do that (if they could get over the ego thing).

I can't really imagine anyone setting themselves up for a marathon casual gaming session. They seem marketed to be one level above 'watching paint dry' and used in circumstances where that's the only alternative.

> If they can get games to be fun again

They are still fun! But the bar for creating games has been lowered. On net, that's a good thing -- we get more games to choose from overall. But one bad consequence has been that people have created lots of games that aren't fun, and especially lots of pay-for-play games that exploit people's weaknesses.

There are some game developers striving to do that on the mobile platform, but they are mostly indie and not very well known.

On a related note: Here's a shameless plug for the Trese brothers. They make mobile games with no ads, and minimal in-app purchases. For what it's worth, I have no affiliation with them other than backing their Star Traders 2 kickstarter.