The Future of Mobile Gaming: Interview with David Kainer
The future of mobile gaming is being shaped by exciting new technologies that enable multiplayer gaming. This article is an interview showing a discussion between a mobile industry blog and the CEO of Viva La Mobile. It highlights both the current state of the mobile gaming market and the future trend of multiplayer mobile gaming.
To interview: Hi David, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We’ve had a lot of fun with Super Puzzle Bobble Multiplayer and can’t wait for Viva to release another hit! But before we continue, can you tell the readers a little about Viva La Mobile and what they do there?
David: Happy to chat and very happy to hear that you enjoyed Puzzle Bobble Multiplayer.
So a bit of history first. Viva La Mobile is a Sydney-based mobile game developer and publisher that I co-founded in 2003. We have a lot of experience designing and creating mobile games of all kinds, but our specialty is multiplayer. We pioneered real-time multiplayer on mobile devices using features available on 3G phones and networks. Early in our history, we decided not to target the “low-hanging fruit” end of the market and try to provide something different to mobile gamers. I have always wanted to maintain Viva La Mobile’s position as an innovator rather than a follower. This can be risky in the mobile gaming industry, but it’s certainly more fun for product development.
To interview: I have a love/hate relationship with the iPhone. I love it because it’s insanely cool, obviously I hate it because it’s not available in Australia and the lack of 3G makes me wonder what Apple was smoking. What is it about the iPhone that makes gaming so much fun? Is there a big difference between regular mobile games and iPhone games? How do you think the iPhone will impact the Australian mobile gaming market when it finally arrives?
David: To be honest, I haven’t put much effort into finding games on the iPhone, probably because I don’t have one! My opinion, however, is that the iPhone is little more than a beautiful high-end phone with games to match. This is similar to Nokia’s new N-Gage-enabled phones. Gaming can be great, but at the end of the day it’s a small slice of the general market. So when the iPhone arrives, it will definitely capture a share of the market and probably improve the image of mobile phone gaming in the eyes of consumers, which is a good thing. In the end, we plan to target it as just another phone among the hundreds we’ve already tried to reach. As for the lack of 3G, I keep shaking my head in amazement, even though I heard it’s coming very soon.
To interview: There is no doubt that Viva La Mobile is the authority on multiplayer mobile gaming. Will multiplayer mobile games be the future? Will all mobile games have multiplayer functionality?
David: Multiplayer on mobile devices has tremendous potential for growth and I believe that as the 3G market matures you will find that advanced multiplayer games are being played more and more due to faster connectivity and the tendency of 3G users to “use ” the functions of their phones. However, I don’t think all mobile games have multiplayer functionality, not all games need it. I think it’s important that a multiplayer game is designed specifically for multiplayer in the first place, rather than just adding a multiplayer mode to a game that is obviously designed for single player.
There will always be great single player games that just aren’t conducive to playing against opponents. But when you have a great game that allows you to directly defeat your friends or other players from around the world, it takes the competitive and social aspects of the game to a higher level. Mobile phones are a great medium for multiplayer gaming because they are designed for global connectivity and interaction. At Viva La Mobile we have always maintained that it is more fun to play with another person than to play with yourself.
To interview: I’m a fan of big brand mobile games like Iron Man; however, I am often disappointed by the poor gameplay and rushed level design. It seems like a lot of these games, especially movie related ones, are rushed into production with the idea that customers will pay for anything that has a brand attached to it. Viva La Mobile has been on both sides of this argument, with branded games like Super Puzzle Bobble and unbranded games like Badlands. How important is a brand when it comes to making a game that sells? Are branded games the future? Will there be room for the little one?
David: You are correct about the movie tie-ins. We continually see big-brand titles with second-rate games rushing onto carriers’ decks on the assumption that customers will pay for anything with a brand attached to it. And the sad thing is that they often do. This has caused some real problems as consumers are not idiots and the poor value for money offered by some of these big brands keeps growth in the industry stagnant. I think the major sales channels (operator decks) are pretty much to blame here as well, as they will push anything heavily branded to the top of the deck at the expense of unbranded titles that can have amazing gameplay innovation. Innovation is not being rewarded and the little one is having a hard time. The net effect is that the most innovative companies are moving away from the decks of aircraft carriers and this is probably where the long-term future of the industry lies.
When Viva La Mobile licensed Puzzle Bobble for multiplayer, we did so for two main reasons: it’s a well-known gaming brand with a proven track record of success, and it’s built on strong, addictive gameplay. It’s been a popular game wherever we’ve released it, but our non-branded multiplayer titles have stuck around as well. A title like Badlands has been successful in the long run thanks to its real-time multiplayer innovation – there’s simply nothing like it. So innovative unbranded mobile games can succeed without a brand, but they take much longer and require a viral buzz.
To interview: Aside from Viva’s great selection of games, do you play mobile games yourself? If so, what is your favorite title right now and why? What elements do you think make up a great mobile game?
David: Part of our business involves distributing mobile games from other developers to channels in the Asia-Pacific market, so I get to play a lot of games as they come out and sometimes I get a little addicted to them and find myself playing . on the bus every morning. I’m a fan of RPGs and strategy games so of late I’ve gotten into Townsmen 4. It’s a great little city building/management game (Sim City style, except with monks) that’s just well designed for mobile devices and it is really addictive. Townsmen is good for short bursts of gameplay, which is perfect for mobile. It also doesn’t try to be a PC game and cram more onto the screen than is possible.
The best mobile games recognize that the platform is small on screen and graphics power, but wonderfully connected to potentially billions of people wirelessly. This is of course why we think multiplayer games have such a strong future.
To interview: Finally, what is Viva La Mobile going to offer to the Australian mobile market this year? Players are hungry and can’t wait!
David: There will be a lot of activity at Viva La Mobile next quarter. In the first half of 2008 we launched our Multiplayer Prize Tournament initiative with various carriers around the world with great success. For the second half of 2008, we will introduce a new range of multiplayer products that aims to shake up the mobile gaming market a lot. Let’s just say that our goal will be to please millions of mobile gamers who demand better than poorly built movie brand games and we want to reward people for playing and competing with our games.