Social policy issues of mobile games
As I'mentioned in last post Mobile Phone Games Issues in Sound Design .There are many issuess of phone games.
This post is talking about social policy issues of cell phone games.Future games will take advantage of mobile technology, directly integrating with the player’s lifestyle and sensing intimate data such as proximity to other players,location , and mood.We've discussed the importance of displacement in traditional PC game design. We intend the word to refer to the "ability of a person to project the mental model of his or her own identity into another physical form, which represents the player in an alternative environment" . When playing a third person videogame this phenomenon is especially obvious . Playing with a remote control car – your sense of self is centered in the car, rather than in your body, at least when you have good control of the vehicle.Another example would be players feels like they are skiing, driving, or playing basketball, rather than sitting on a couch. However, it is important to note that many of the trends in mobile gaming are taking this sense of displacement out of the equation. Rather than projecting yourself into a representation of a character, these games leave your ego right where it started, centered in your body. In Los Angeles this year ,the clearest example of the new interaction style of mobile gaming was seen at a SIGGRAPH conference which promises a new form of play, with new metaphors and experiences.Is that pirates?I strongly believe that researchers from the Nokia Research Center worked with the Play Research Studio of the Interactive Institute in Sweden to create a new mobile game called Pirates!
As players wandered the play area in the conference, they encountered islands (the base stations) with treasure, as well as other ships. When two ships (players) meet, a battle typically ensues, with the victor receiving a reward.The interaction style is significantly different from traditional video games. Rather than focusing on moving a little pirate ship around on a screen, the player physically walks around playing.
Future games may take a slightly more passive tone – the game may just sit in your pocket until you happen to walk near an island or randomly bump into another player on the street.MajesticWhile it’s not strictly a mobile game, Majestic provides an excellent example of this coming form of "undisplaced" computer gaming. Players who sign up for Majestic will find clues to uncovering the conspiracy-theory narrative coming to them in their everyday life. They will receive unexpected phone calls and faxes from game characters, warning them of danger or asking them for help. Players might find clues in web sites, their local newspaper, or (if the game becomes popular and makes enough money) in television broadcasts.
The future mobile games represents a coming shift in the way computer games might be played. If you can imagine movie-style credits in a video game, Tomb Raider might say "You… as Lara Croft," whereas in Majestic the credits would read "You… playing yourself."ThreatsLocal confrontation A mobile game's imagin is similar to Pirates! being played out in an American city. What happens when two players, belonging to rival high schools or, dare I say, gangs, seek out the same game resource in the same place at the same time? "You sank my battleship" could end up with someone in the hospital… or the morgue. Please note that today, some virtual game items in online roleplaying games can sell at auction for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Within the game there can be fierce competition to get those items. If valuable virtual items are distributed at physical locations, even otherwise reasonable people may come to fisticuffs. When the disappointment and loss is happening to you and not to a character on a screen, emotions may run higher than everHow can we deal with this? I don’t suggest that there should be any limits on such gaming – such problems are the price of freedom. But I think we can expect this to happen, and happen soon. How should we, as a society, deal with games that are no longer affecting abstract characters on a screen, but rather affecting the player directly?Flash crowdsIn a 1974 science fiction story, "The Last Days of the Permanent Floating Riot Club," Larry Niven describes the idea of a flash crowd. In the story, people commonly use teleportation to travel instantly to any point in the world. With this technology, a sale at a department store might draw bargain hunters from all over the planet, followed by reporters, pickpockets, political activists looking for a crowd, and just generally people who think it might be fun to show up to a riot.Without teleportation, it’s not much of a problem. But could a crowd of people be manipulated for some other gain? Imagine what sort of impact it could have on our political system if a game designer, hacker, or government arranged for 10,000 players of a mobile game to show up to a rally for an otherwise unpopular political candidate. If those players were selected, based on their demographic criteria, to be mainly for or against the candidate, this might prove to destabilize the balance of power. Imagine 500 teenage boys showing up to try to be the first to get one of only 50 powerful game elements.In this context, a riot might be as easy to create as an air strike.
A future terrorist may not need to bring a bomb to a crowd – he can bring a crowd to the bomb.What power do you have when you can make a few hundreds or thousands of people show up where you want? What would be an appropriate social policy response to this threat?SolutionsRatings boardThe existing ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) system for rating videogames is performing a valuable service for the consumer and the parent. These ratings allow for a full range of expression without censorship.
Indeed, if an adult desires a violent game, the ratings can make it easier to find – how many of us avoid a movie that carries a "PG" rating? Future mobile games should be similarly rated.Some localized games might be played over a wide area which could encourage children to visit locations beyond where their parents permit them to wander, or at times later than their curfew. These games should be rated such that parents can be informed of these risks and attempt to moderate their children’s appetite for such experiences. The phrase "location entertainment" might join "animated violence" and "brief nudity" in the list of possibly objectionable features.Legal remediesGame companies that use location based play may find themselves at risk of legal liability in the case of accidents or riots. It would behoove them to post notices and obtain appropriate permits, such as are required for a street fair or other public event, in advance of encouraging a crowd to gather.
Players, presumably, will be held accountable for their own behavior, though no doubt a smart lawyer might someday try to blame a drive-by shooting on a game company.Of course, if a malicious agent causes such interaction or riots, police will need to identify the appropriate parties and take traditional action against them. Game companies working in this genre will be well advised to ensure that their systems include appropriate log methods – you may need to generate a paper trail someday, showing who made what change and when.Warning messagesOn October 30, 1938, the radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" convinced an estimated 1.2 million listeners that the world was coming to an end. "We have so much faith in broadcasting. In a crisis it has to reach all people. That’s what radio is here for."
Today, our wired and wireless information networks carry the same importance, but thanks in part to this broadcast, we don’t take any one individual medium so seriously. However, cross-media experiences such as Majestic have the potential to create a similar panic, if not in crowds, then in individuals. It is likely that moible online games will require warnings at the beginning of each phone call, or in the margins of each fax. These warning messages could be mandated or expected, just as we occasionally see "sponsored advertising supplement" in the margins of magazine pages. Admittedly, this would be a disappointment – an impediment to the willing suspension of disbelief to protect a few people, but I think we can expect it.
As a conclusion,If mobile gaming can promises to be as interactive entertainment precisely because of its manipulation of a primarily social medium, e.g. personal communications. We must not legislate or try to prevent these new forms of self-expression – But as a culture, we mobile gaming have to open mind and do our creators of our new social responsibilities.
Jun 18, 2008
Mobile Phone Games Issues in Sound Design
Mobile Phone Games Issues in Sound Design
Comparing to a traditional stationary gaming setting is the first and foremost issue the difference in listening situation. The usual speaker settings will often have some spatial sound available at least to a distincting left/right.But mobile games can not guaranteed.People will only like to have the phone in their pocket, although headphones are available. If sounds are played on the speakers of the phone, they do not necessarily serve to immerse players in the game world, but may instead highlight the presence of the game device at the expense of immersion. In a mobile gaming situation, the sound has to deal with the various sound contexts of everyday life. Background noise, conversations and other activities may affect the intelligibility of game audio or mask the sounds so that they cannot be heard.Also, with enhanced-reality mobile gaming, spatial sound cues require a knowledge of which way the player is headed, which sets the demand for special technology such as, for example, a compass integrated into headphones with feedback to the
game device. Furthermore, bringing gaming out of the living room will mean that the sound design has to take into account all sorts of noises, which may affect the intelligibility of sounds relevant for the player.
Also something worth consideration is the social playability of mobile games. Whereas sound design for console and PC games could concentrate just on making a brilliant soundscape, social playability is an important issue in mobile phone game sound design. This is an issue that is rather unique for mobile games.The ideal volume of the sounds may
vary depending on the situation a player is in, not only providing maximum intelligibility, but social acceptability as well. Social playability also means considering the gaming context in a broader sense.So sound design for mobile devices has
to consider also how other people, not at all engaged with playing, will relate to the soundscape. This involves designing the game interaction as a whole in such a way that it fits in with the players activities. This is not to imply that games should not try to change players’ attitudes.We have argued that the use of sound can be used as a means to minimize the need for visual interaction with the device. In addition to being essential
to play functionality (allowing the players to use movement as a game mechanics), this also means that it is possible for a player to most of the time play unnoticed by others.
However, what we are arguing is that when designing games to be played in a social context, sound design (as well as the design of any other information channel) should not
be seen as independent design tasks.This may be a crucial factor for some player groups, if they do not want to be recognized as players when out in the city. The notion of social playability can also be thought of as connected with a larger shift in playing habits. What mobile is bringing to gaming is the ability for people to engage in play wherever they are – at a bus stop, in the workplace cafeteria, on the train.
Together with the communication possibilities of mobile devices, there is an underlying potential for a shift in how we look at the whole (computer) gaming experience: from a solitary and foremost private activity towards social interaction within a gaming context. With time, it is probable also that attitudes towards gaming in a social context changes and games and gaming (and, also, game sounds) are seen as a normal part of the everyday
activities of people.
The last issue worth considering is the mobile device limited the sound design and implementation.Technically, such issues as limited storage and the low-level controllability of sound somewhat tie the hands of designers if they are accustomed to the solutions available in pc or console gaming. Moreover, the mobile devices is often optimized for speech, the sound quality of handset is not fit for gaming work may not scale very well for all purposes.
There are long way to go for moible gaming to fix all the problems
Comparing to a traditional stationary gaming setting is the first and foremost issue the difference in listening situation. The usual speaker settings will often have some spatial sound available at least to a distincting left/right.But mobile games can not guaranteed.People will only like to have the phone in their pocket, although headphones are available. If sounds are played on the speakers of the phone, they do not necessarily serve to immerse players in the game world, but may instead highlight the presence of the game device at the expense of immersion. In a mobile gaming situation, the sound has to deal with the various sound contexts of everyday life. Background noise, conversations and other activities may affect the intelligibility of game audio or mask the sounds so that they cannot be heard.Also, with enhanced-reality mobile gaming, spatial sound cues require a knowledge of which way the player is headed, which sets the demand for special technology such as, for example, a compass integrated into headphones with feedback to the
game device. Furthermore, bringing gaming out of the living room will mean that the sound design has to take into account all sorts of noises, which may affect the intelligibility of sounds relevant for the player.
Also something worth consideration is the social playability of mobile games. Whereas sound design for console and PC games could concentrate just on making a brilliant soundscape, social playability is an important issue in mobile phone game sound design. This is an issue that is rather unique for mobile games.The ideal volume of the sounds may
vary depending on the situation a player is in, not only providing maximum intelligibility, but social acceptability as well. Social playability also means considering the gaming context in a broader sense.So sound design for mobile devices has
to consider also how other people, not at all engaged with playing, will relate to the soundscape. This involves designing the game interaction as a whole in such a way that it fits in with the players activities. This is not to imply that games should not try to change players’ attitudes.We have argued that the use of sound can be used as a means to minimize the need for visual interaction with the device. In addition to being essential
to play functionality (allowing the players to use movement as a game mechanics), this also means that it is possible for a player to most of the time play unnoticed by others.
However, what we are arguing is that when designing games to be played in a social context, sound design (as well as the design of any other information channel) should not
be seen as independent design tasks.This may be a crucial factor for some player groups, if they do not want to be recognized as players when out in the city. The notion of social playability can also be thought of as connected with a larger shift in playing habits. What mobile is bringing to gaming is the ability for people to engage in play wherever they are – at a bus stop, in the workplace cafeteria, on the train.
Together with the communication possibilities of mobile devices, there is an underlying potential for a shift in how we look at the whole (computer) gaming experience: from a solitary and foremost private activity towards social interaction within a gaming context. With time, it is probable also that attitudes towards gaming in a social context changes and games and gaming (and, also, game sounds) are seen as a normal part of the everyday
activities of people.
The last issue worth considering is the mobile device limited the sound design and implementation.Technically, such issues as limited storage and the low-level controllability of sound somewhat tie the hands of designers if they are accustomed to the solutions available in pc or console gaming. Moreover, the mobile devices is often optimized for speech, the sound quality of handset is not fit for gaming work may not scale very well for all purposes.
There are long way to go for moible gaming to fix all the problems
Jun 17, 2008
Mobile Games For Learning,Who Like?
Mobile Games For Learning, Who like?
I bet you must have read many reach articles which say mobile gaming will be a giant all in the same key.But unfortunately, I as a hardcore player do not like play cell phone games coz most of them are dumb.
Anyway,there are some place like classroom, you can not access computer games ,wifi games,instead of them students put their cell phone on silent and tap away. Students are addicted to their phones, so maybe that why mobile games can share the market.
Not fighting with moral issue,mobile games company can develop phone games which would use the strengths of a mobile platform for learning purpose.Just call it mobile learning games.As I said the future of mobile gaming is based on online mobile games or multiplayer phone games,which are involvininteraction ,participatory with other players.Why we can not set them for learning? They could be produced at a much lower cost than any traditional console or PC games.For students, teachers, researchers, and game designers, this may be a win-win situation.
Let's figure out how mobile learning games could work in the classroom for education.
So how do you think about mobile learning games?
I bet you must have read many reach articles which say mobile gaming will be a giant all in the same key.But unfortunately, I as a hardcore player do not like play cell phone games coz most of them are dumb.
Anyway,there are some place like classroom, you can not access computer games ,wifi games,instead of them students put their cell phone on silent and tap away. Students are addicted to their phones, so maybe that why mobile games can share the market.
Not fighting with moral issue,mobile games company can develop phone games which would use the strengths of a mobile platform for learning purpose.Just call it mobile learning games.As I said the future of mobile gaming is based on online mobile games or multiplayer phone games,which are involvininteraction ,participatory with other players.Why we can not set them for learning? They could be produced at a much lower cost than any traditional console or PC games.For students, teachers, researchers, and game designers, this may be a win-win situation.
Let's figure out how mobile learning games could work in the classroom for education.
So how do you think about mobile learning games?
Jun 16, 2008
online mobile gaming perspective
Last year,in fact,online mobile gaming attracted many total worldwide online population,especially in China.
It is no surprise that the online mobile gaming market is exploding.
For a long time gamers were thought of as young guys with glasses and zits playing for 14 hours a day but all that has changed. The market has been embraced much more by women and the age range has expanded from 7 to 107.
Opportunities for mobile gaming developer as well as experiential branded games like normal game publishers are close at hand for us as marketers. Now that online mobile games are becoming more and more prevalent, we’re beginning to see specialized ad networks focused on in-game advertising as an untapped channel. Microsoft and Google have already made acquisitions in this place.
To get a better understanding of the online mobile gaming space, I am not a stranger to online moible gaming, having successfully founded Gamemobile Inc., a leading online phone games distributor, and ushered in the try-before-you-buy downloadable business model. This time around, our business is focused on entirely new mobile phone gaming streams – advertising and micro-transactions, or virtual items you buy and use in and around the games. Online mobile games blog has a unique perspective on where the online phone java gaming trend is heading.
It is no surprise that the online mobile gaming market is exploding.
For a long time gamers were thought of as young guys with glasses and zits playing for 14 hours a day but all that has changed. The market has been embraced much more by women and the age range has expanded from 7 to 107.
Opportunities for mobile gaming developer as well as experiential branded games like normal game publishers are close at hand for us as marketers. Now that online mobile games are becoming more and more prevalent, we’re beginning to see specialized ad networks focused on in-game advertising as an untapped channel. Microsoft and Google have already made acquisitions in this place.
To get a better understanding of the online mobile gaming space, I am not a stranger to online moible gaming, having successfully founded Gamemobile Inc., a leading online phone games distributor, and ushered in the try-before-you-buy downloadable business model. This time around, our business is focused on entirely new mobile phone gaming streams – advertising and micro-transactions, or virtual items you buy and use in and around the games. Online mobile games blog has a unique perspective on where the online phone java gaming trend is heading.
CitySlikkers - Mobile online RPG Games
CitySlikkers - Mobile online RPG Games
MORPG Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games fusing the real world with the virtual, digital world via your mobile and GPS.And Mobile Multiplayer Trans-Reality Games is an evolution of that. CitySlikkers is one of mobile games that have been devised which integrate the real world via the mobile device.
Let look at what CitySlikkers is …
“…the playing community will always be a minority they hereby form some kind of elitist, secret society which is based on knowledge, but not financial or political power.”
The mobile game CitySlikkers combines elements of strategy, sports, social and tactical,role-playing games, but contrasted with popular MMORPGs , the outcome of the actions as well as the new connections made between people, will affect normal life as the everyday city is no longer the same due to the players' experience.
The game looks great, but the lure of mobile and the additional dimension it opens up, is fascinating.
With Nokia’s N95 and upwards offering 3G and GPS and Apple’s iPhone 2 offering the same, being constantly connected and able to be pinpointed on a virtual map via GPS is becoming the norm and with it comes enormous opportunities in changing the mobile game of Gaming.
Omobilegames is a blog which focus on online moible games and the best mobile games I’ve dreamt up and news surrounding them - It’s worth a read…
MORPG Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games fusing the real world with the virtual, digital world via your mobile and GPS.And Mobile Multiplayer Trans-Reality Games is an evolution of that. CitySlikkers is one of mobile games that have been devised which integrate the real world via the mobile device.
Let look at what CitySlikkers is …
“…the playing community will always be a minority they hereby form some kind of elitist, secret society which is based on knowledge, but not financial or political power.”
The mobile game CitySlikkers combines elements of strategy, sports, social and tactical,role-playing games, but contrasted with popular MMORPGs , the outcome of the actions as well as the new connections made between people, will affect normal life as the everyday city is no longer the same due to the players' experience.
The game looks great, but the lure of mobile and the additional dimension it opens up, is fascinating.
With Nokia’s N95 and upwards offering 3G and GPS and Apple’s iPhone 2 offering the same, being constantly connected and able to be pinpointed on a virtual map via GPS is becoming the norm and with it comes enormous opportunities in changing the mobile game of Gaming.
Omobilegames is a blog which focus on online moible games and the best mobile games I’ve dreamt up and news surrounding them - It’s worth a read…
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