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• Creating multi-platform casual games

  December 19, 2011No comments

  After its phenomenal success on the iOs platform, Angry Birds was made available for mobile phones using the Android OS, Symbian, Windows 7, and on Playstation Portable. Lately, it is playable on Google’s Chrome web browser. Obviously, games and apps that run on multi-platform devices reach a bigger market, so more casual games game developers are now making their apps available across different OS.

  Here are some tips on making hit casual games for multiple platforms:

  1. Love ‘em all.

  Be torn no longer between the iOS and the Android OS– you can play your favorite game on both. Most multi-platform casual games run across various operating systems: Apple iOs, Google Android, Linux, and Blackberry Playbook to name a few.

  2. Rise above challenges.

  Developing cross-platform casual games is all about unifying the diverse nature of several technologies. These are some of the roadblocks that game developers meet and how to overcome each:

  • Screen resolution and DPI– each mobile device has a different screen resolution and ratio of dots per inches. For example, take a look at how each tablet differs.

  Gaming Device	Pixel size	Dots per inches
  BlackBerry PlayBook	600 x 1024	192
  Apple iPad 2	768 x 800	240
  Samsung Galaxy 10.1 Tab	800 x 1280	142

  Content scaling should be adjusted to each device to ensure that images are not cropped or pixelated.

  • Different input methods – how do players interact with the app– do they do it through mouse, keyboard, or touchscreen? Reconciling different inputs is crucial.For instance, a mobile device may support multi-touch gestures (like the iPad), but other gadgets can’t do the same. Game developers should be able to come up with alternative input methods without sacrificing the gameplay.

  3.Speak their language

  Some platforms are restrictive to the programming language used. But thanks to new cross-platform development tools, game developers can now be multi-lingual. Here are just some of them:

  Open Source	OS covered
  RhoMobile	iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, RIM, Symbian
  Widgetpad	iOS, Android, WebOS
  PhoneGap	iOS, Android, Palm, Symbian, BlackBerry

  4. Go Social.

  The popularity of casual games is attributed to their easy-share feature. Imagine creating a cross-platform app that can be played on different devices and can be shared on social sites. It will gain a strong following of casual gamers in no time. Developing multiple platforms games is about taking fun to a whole new level by making apps more available for different players – no matter what their gadget may be!

  

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• Advertising through casual games—does it work?

  September 15, 2011Comments Off

  You bet it does! With the unprecedented popularity of online and mobile games these days, casual games have become one of the most compelling advertising platforms. It particularly helps in company or product branding and boosting inquiries and sales.

  Currently, there are two types of casual games that are used in advertising campaigns across different industries and sectors: the advergame and the ad-supported game.

  Though these two terms are often used interchangeably, there is a big difference between them when it comes to marketing techniques and in game developing strategies. The distinction, however, is not apparent to end users or gamers.

  Games with ad-supported content have advertising banners or icons placed strategically inside the game’s interface. These ad-supported web games usually earn through CPM (cost per mile), thus the advertiser pays for every 1, 000 impressions or views that the game gets.

  On the other hand, advergames have the advertiser’s message embedded inside the game play. Advergames rely on subliminal marketing although the brand or product logo is often placed purposefully on the background.

  So, what is the best form of casual game in terms of ad delivery? It depends on what kind of message you want to tell your consumers. As soon as you pin down your message, you can then decide how to deliver it.

  To help you make up your mind, we’ve put together some tips. So if you want to:

  share/ post games on your website or blog build backlinks to your own website  through game results have clickable ads to generate revenue have dynamic ads around game or through pop up banners link to another page for e-commerce through a clickable icon in the game employ Direct Response Advertising	make game area less cluttered distribute game through cd and dvd other than through web brower make a game with a bigger file size use multimedia cross-branding to promote a product (tv ad simultaneously launched with a web game) include downloadable apps (ringtone, wallpaper) in your casual game develop a game without budget constraints
  Go for an Ad-supported casual game!	Make an Advergame!

  After making up your mind, it’s time to call in the game developers and discuss your objectives. Aside from getting your advertising goals together, it is equally important to deliver them in a great game. Remember, the more the players have fun with your casual game, the more successful your advertising will be.

  Good luck!

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  Got ideas for a game? PODD can help you develop your own casual game!

  

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