Blog @ Polity.ca

Is it only companies like Nintendo who are willing to innovate in this day and age? Not only in areas of entertainment and gaming, but ease of use and productivity. When Nintendo introduced the Nintendo DS and later the DS Lite consoles, it gained much acclaim for its innovative solutions to gameplay, namely the touchpad screen. Suddenly, vast opportunities for never seen before games opened up for developers, and we have seen some come to fruition, Trauma Center, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and the WarioWare series to name a few. Gamers were able to interact with their games at a much greater level, through tapping on screen for delicate surgeries, and blowing into the microphone to move objects.

Then the Wii came out, and innovation was at the forefront again. The Wiimote's motion sensing capabilities gave way to even more quirky games. Is it really so hard for other companies, Microsoft Studios, EA, or Sony, I'm looking at you, to think outside of the box? Judging by the vast amount of sales Nintendo has accumulated, it is a clear signs that gamers are looking for, and amenable to something different. Something that doesn't rely on the latest eye candy, and powerful processors, Sony and Microsoft, I'm looking at your next generation consoles. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't class myself as a Nintendo fanboy, I own a Sony PSP, Nintendo DS Lite, and a laptop for my main gaming purposes, but it is easy to see that innovation wins.

We come to the matter of games for Personal Digital Assistants such as touchscreen-enabled Pocket PCs, and even smartphones. For PDAs, development companies should take advantage of the fact that there is a touch screen available, and lean to more DS-like games. Instead, most games make use of it in the most rudimentary ways, with menu navigation, and in the case of Bejeweled, an easier way to select your jewels. Most games ask you to map device buttons, and for the rest of the game, you use the hardware buttons to control the game!

One shining example of a game for touchscreen personal devices is iPhysics, a drawing game that applies conventional physics to figures drawn on screen, guaranteed hours of fun. iPhysics is a homebrew game no less, meaning it was coded by enthusiasts themselves instead of a game development company! The iPhone platform that made it capable was produced by Apple, a company known for innovation.

Also, most smartphones nowadays come with both touchscreens and microphones. Why not innovate by creating a game that takes advantage of them both? Imagine using the microphone for all sorts of mini-games on your phone, WareWare-like. However, there may be technical limitations, as some smartphone manufacturers have blocked off access to microphones to third party applications other then the Phone. One reason for this is that they are keen to maintain the carrier's monopoly over services such as Voicemail. Enabling microphone access would make it easier for individuals to code their own voicemail application into the phone, resulting in less revenue for the carriers. There are some exception as seen by Skype for Windows Mobile which utilizes a wi-fi connection and the speakerphone to allow users to make VoIP calls as if they were at a PC.

A more recent example is the release of the iPhone SDK by Apple. They have imposed several restrictions, namely, not allowing background processes, and VoIP operation over a carrier Data connection such as 3G or EDGE, once again safekeeping corporate interests.

So, companies, if you are reading this, remember to keep your eyes open and think beyond the box. Utilize devices to their full potential in order to provide a memorable gaming experience for your customers.

Technology