Mobile Games: A Decade of Wasted Potential

An overview of the current landscape of mobile gaming monetization practices and game design, followed by a spotlight on one mobile game that I think others could learn from.
Man, I just love Device 6.
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patreon: / 1c2
twitter: @1C2yt
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chapters:
0:00 The State of Mobile Games
7:12 Device 6
13:58 Conclusion
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This article / review with a Simogo dev from the Verge informed a fair bit of my analysis on Device 6: www.theverge.com/2013/10/17/4...

[@purpinkn]

They need to add a "not shit" and "not gambling" category to the app stores.

[@Kromiball]

It's called the "paid" category

[@Ghostlynotme445]

@@Kromiballwow.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

​@@Kromiball There is some trash there too. What they really need is a "pc port" section.

[@leiuwu3965]

most gambling mobile games don't have ads, games like gensh*t impact and clash royale are bad not for their gambling, it's bad for various other reasons

[@Ghostlynotme445]

@@leiuwu3965 yes it do you want free stuff in the game you gotta watch ad to get it

[@monishk351]

Worst thing is how the players have changed. Every game used to be about fun and exciting ways to play it. Now its very competitive, they even decided to call it as it is "competitive gaming". That if you dont win then there is no use of playing the game, they dont care if they had fun playing it. Now the only non- competitive games are like candy crush, endless ass/legs getting larger running games

[@1C2yt]

this is very true, and extends beyond mobile games I think. For a time it seemed like every shooter that came out desperately felt like it needed to be an esport to be taken seriously, leaving hardly any room for more casual experiences. Honestly, I think the longevity of older titles like TF2 is a reaction to this trend in modern games

[@Karthik-pn2yj]

there are still good mobile games, but uh yeah

[@DecidiousGreens]

the battle cats

[@alex.g7317]

@@Karthik-pn2yjyeah, I’ve got a list of like 10 I wanna make a video about

[@Wierie_]

@@Karthik-pn2yjGacha games? Dopamine galore. Imagine if a kid stumbles on one of those, ruined for life

[@dannygray4618]

Hi mate, one of the makers of Monument Valley here and you just struck a nerve and made me nostalgic for the early days of the AppStore 😢

[@devinward461]

Dude I love that game

[@MeowtronStar]

Thanks for making a real, positive contribution to mobile gaming. Monument Valley is the only mobile game I finished in the last 10 years.

[@pinksywedarnoc8017]

Thank you for creating Monument Valley.

[@tankhai-ming5257]

Brooo monument valley is a gooooooooood game!

[@breeze5440]

Hands down my favorite game on mobile. From game design, to art style, to soundtrack, it’s an absolute masterpiece. It’s impacted my life in so many ways. Were you also involved in Assemble with Care? Another fantastic game 👌 I was surprised he didn’t mention it in the video.

[@AlexiosTheSixth]

It's sad that Game boy advance games from fucking 2003 on inferior processing/graphics hardware offer a more complete full mobile gaming experience then modern cutting edge touchscreen games

[@oneone164]

That's why I use to emulate gba on my mobile.

[@piens51]

​@@oneone164same. Besides Super Auto Pets and Old School Runescape my phone is stuffed with old game roms im emulating.

[@jasonfanclub4267]

Nintendo DS still killing

[@skycloud4802]

Reminds me of many, many years ago when I was playing GBA and my brother bragged about phones being better graphics or something. I remember just simply bursting out laughing and returning to play my jrpg on the GBA.

[@paradoxzee6834]

Even the original Gameboy that came out in 1989 with hardware that was outdated even at the time give you a better gaming experience

[@tetsupannn]

Honestly makes me so sad what we could've had. There are so many portable gaming consoles full of wonderful games like the 3DS and PSP that it makes me yearn for an alternate reality where mobile gaming became just as meaningful as console and PC.

[@1C2yt]

You’re so right, I’m mad I never brought up the DS now. That would have been a pretty good model for what I wish the mobile game market was more like, at least from what I can remember of the DS-era. That being said, something funny I learned recently is that I think there’s a Harry Potter game made for DS that was ported for mobile where they made hardly any changes? Both of the screens were just next to each other on the iPhone screen lol

[@tetsupannn]

@1C2yt damn, that's pretty interesting!! I think if mobile gaming went more in the direction of portable consoles we wouldn't have had this market filled with money making sludge. But who knows, they really would've come up with different ways to squeeze more money out of people hah

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

​@@1C2yt That is how people play DS games on emulators. And phone's are the best "console" to emulate DS games with due to the touch controls.

[@Pietruszek]

@@1C2ytThere are more ports like this! One other (and possibly more recognizable example) are ports of the first three Professor Layton games from the DS, which are a really interesting genre blend of visual novel, point&click and paper puzzle books 😉

[@cesarm3218]

​@@haruhirogrimgar6047I'll have to respectfully disagree with that. Touch screen controls provide little to no haptic feedback, and they're not ergonomic. Not to mention using shoulder buttons just cannot be done while using the d pad and action buttons. I've certainly tried to, but for games like Mario kart that is a far fetched way to play.

[@maddieo6177]

I think that there are certain genres of games that work particularly well as mobile games. There’s so many amazing mobile rhythm and music games on the market that are designed fully around you being able to touch the screen. I genuinely feel like rhythm games have gotten better because of it.

[@Mrwutevah]

Cytus (1 and 2) are great examples of that.

[@Uberskull]

Board game adaptions are a very good fit for mobile devices. Through the Ages on my phone is in many ways a better experience than the actual board game version of it in my opinion.

[@jmurray1110]

Card games both traditionsl decks and collection decks (like solitaire and yugioh) would amazingly for the format due to the precise control Others could use sone work though (like slay the spire makes it so you don’t really get to check relics without picking them up unlike the condone versions

[@junkokonno]

Project Sekai, for example.

[@debleb166]

Yeah, tablets/mobile phones are genuinely one of the very best non arcade platforms for rhythm games.

[@ziltzerzapper8449]

I remember how when Vampire Survivors was being ported into mobile, the devs ran into a problem with somebody involved in publishing the game onto the app store refusing to let them charge the same flat 3$ price tag they had on desktop at the time. There were people in the system actively gate-keeping good games and ethical monetization practices. Eventually the devs for vampire survivors decided just to post the game to the app store for free as a way to circumvent these greedy people. It makes me wonder how many otherwise great games these people have ruined. Especially when the only way past them is to give the game out for free.

[@TheVoiceOfChaos]

Circumvent? Wouldnt they want you to be a free to play ad ridden retention draining game?

[@RC2225]

2008 - 2011 there were so many great mobile games. Asphalt 4, N.O.V.A, Galaxy On Fire (2), NfS Shift and so many Arcade style games which used the Gyroscope or Touch Screen in a innovative way. Even simple puzzle games hooked me like one which was iirc called cubes!, which was more or less a 3D match-threes game. Or even simpler stuff like papi river or doodle jump

[@iCubely]

dude asphalt was such a fire franchise sad that vivendi bought gameloft and fuck the game up

[@Evan345gdf]

Wow I forgot about asphalt 4 and galaxy on fire. Great games

[@iCubely]

@@Evan345gdf fr

[@GrimTheDestroyer]

I loved NOVA, shame they made it a freemium game

[@iCubely]

@@GrimTheDestroyer yea nowadays mobile games are just cash grabs

[@dacueba-games]

Subway Surfers drastically changed my outlook on life. 🛐

[@TennySosaTv]

How dude?

[@Agent-Blaze]

​@@TennySosaTv He probably can't watch family guy without subway surfers playing on a split screen.

[@kingkozumed1717]

Yall it’s a joke referencing a line from the video 😐

[@narrativeless404]

Yep, we're all doomed if it continues like that...

[@rubyy.7374]

Something that I miss about mobile apps is that the paid ones always had a free, “lite” equivalent. That way you could try before you buy, but I guess the apps that have a one-time fee want to keep the money even from the people who don’t like their app.

[@drakerp2]

I think this went away mainly because of both Android and Apple having blanket

[@maythesciencebewithyou]

I guess most people forgot about those times and don't know what to do with a free "lite" demo version. 2 years ago I tried to promote my school app with a lite version. Wrote in the description that this is just a demo they can use to test it. Half the people who wrote a reply rated it 1 star, because they were unable to access everything and thought it was useless because of that. After that I released a free version that lets them use all lessons, but with tons of advertising and it is doing good. I'm afraid that's what people have gotten used to and like to use. You can usually request a refund within 48 hours, so people prefer to have all functions available and don't like demos.

[@Corroyeur]

Device 6 and Infinity Blade, two of my most fond gaming memories. I was so hopeful for mobile gaming at the time.

[@JamesTDG]

Angry birds and PVZ got me into mobile games initially, but man the climate make me jump right out of it when freemium became the primary model

[@adamlach6572]

Galaxy on Fire 2 was awesome, Kingdom of Amarul Reckoning was decent for it's times, first Dungeon Hunter was pretty dope, original Shadowgun, or Dead Space were cool.

[@steakbaguette]

Infinity blade really was what was meant to be the future, but it never happened :(

[@Newbyte]

I'm in the minority who found Infinity Blade really disappointing. I only had Android phones so I couldn't play it, and when school gave us iPads it was one of the first things I wanted to try. I had probably overhyped it in my mind, because when I realised that the gameplay essentially was an on-rails shooter with blades I was really let down and never bothered getting into it. The graphics were nice though.

[@Little1Cave]

Device 6 was awesome. You don’t hear too many people talk about it nowadays, and it’s one of the best mobile-exclusive games I ever played. ❤

[@minislayer3241]

Angry Birds saga is goated. The idea is simple, but the execution is amazing. The physics, the visuals, the challenge... It basically made my childhood. And it was really good to revisit some of these games years after. It's a big shame that Rovio was like "screw everything, let's make a dozen "candy-crash" type of games and remove all good ones from the store"... They literally destroyed their legacy. Hopefully, the Rovio's merge with Sega will improve the situation somehow....

[@SuperPatchwerk]

Angry Birds was great but for me Angry Birds Star Wars was phenomenal. I'm not even much Star Wars fan and I liked it. Another lost game in time. (removed from Google/Apple store)

[@DecidiousGreens]

​@@SuperPatchwerk it's not lost media lmao

[@okieness9849]

​@@SuperPatchwerkyou know that you can still download the games from unofficial sources, right...?

[@635574]

Maybe someone needs to clarify if these games run wihtout official servers and of their ad providers work if you donwload through APK sites.

[@kaden-sd6vb]

​​@@SuperPatchwerkspace was probably my favorite AB game. I still remember seeing the trailer way back when. I should try and find a download for it somewhere.

[@zdanee]

Back in the old Symbian Nokia days there was a game called Lament Island, you had to use your camera in some puzzles to get some color, or use your microphone or power a crank by using the number keys on the phone. It was a fully 3D Tomb Raider style platformer too.

[@riyazuo]

I think i know the game you're talking about. I used to always launch that game but never understood how it works 😭

[@OriginalItsFly]

I used to work QA at a mobile game studio so maybe I can give some insight for the behind the scenes stuff. A lot of projects I worked on had a development time of 6 - 14 months (which is very short for a full game!) So a lot of corners are actively cut in order to meet those deadlines with a decent bit of crunch mixed in. It's kinda crazy that internally the main design principles behind mobile games I worked on was retention rate, daily active users and whale hunting. You would honestly be shocked at how much people are willing to spend on 'convenience upgrades.'

[@harythanossudibyo6993]

Was your game a misleading ads game?

[@chucklesdeclown8819]

Bro, I've played some gotcha games as ftp in the past and I've heard how much whales spend, it's insane. Some of these games aren't even that bad without paying which just makes me sad they spend so much on just getting the best characters. Sometimes I wonder if people have any self control. I mean I'll admit I have my vices but man, for a mobile game? I'm not spending a dime as long as there is a decent ftp path.

[@Hadeto_AngelRust]

that kind of game design should be a crime

[@Galomortalbr]

i transferred some of my old PSX and PSP archives to my nephews tablet, and then set up emulators, i tried to teach him how to play them, i hope he plays them instead of all the predatory mobile stuff out there

[@burn1none]

set him up with Final Fantasy Tactics WotL on PSP I'm playing through that one again it's one of my favs

[@sudarshanroy9175]

@@burn1none And I'm playing ff8 through duck station.

[@Hadeto_AngelRust]

you dont mind if i recommend him some games then? i've been on a longtime PS1/PSP binge so trust me psp: patapon 3 wipeout half minute hero ps1: looney tunes racing dragon seeds racing lagoon english patch gex 3 LSD Dream Emulator Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX Maximum Remix

[@somerandomdudeable]

Give him an actual controller with physical buttons that's compatible with the tablet, tactile physical buttons are superior to touch screen controls

[@Galomortalbr]

@@somerandomdudeable i did that

[@keiichimorisato98]

Monument Valley was absolutely fantastic and used the touch screen in a crestive way.

[@memenation5105]

Facts , truly a masterpiece, with a great story and visuals to boot... But other than that I mostly stick to emulation.

[@beyondobscure]

facts

[@MaggieCandy999]

A beautiful game with a beautiful story. I still tear up when I see the Totem get submerged in the ocean.

[@mcziggydelamcmuffin5016]

Those games like Reign where you swipe left or right on decisions to appease one government faction or another and see how long you last till you get assasinated are pretty clever. They take advantage of a the easy swiping motions from dating apps and such. Over the years some of them have gotten quite complex and very replayable

[@NothingOfNoteToSeeHere]

Playing Reign Her Majesty right now. It is so neat! Worth the 4€ I paid.

[@i.rod.007]

Forgot to add Reign two crowns, also a fantastic I play hours on my phone

[@Gordon.Pinkerton]

The Game of Thrones variant goes hard too

[@brickman409]

I too remember being so hopeful for mobile gaming around the time that Infinity Blade came out. At the time I had a Droid 3. It had a micro HDMI port built in so you could easily hook it up to a TV with a dock or an adapter. I was imagining a world where we would be playing console quality games on our phones on the go and then we could hook up to our TVs to enjoy on the big screen when we got home. That of course never really happened. Closest thing to that we got was the Switch.

[@JmKrokY]

You can still do that if you have a controller and an adapter

[@brickman409]

@@JmKrokY The tech is certainly there, but the games just aren't imo.

[@DaRush-The_Soviet_Gamer]

Well. If your phone is fast enough and has USB C to HDMI adapter capability + a game controller you can have that.... If you use PS 1/PS 2 Emulators. I heard you can even run GAMECUBE games. That allowed me to turn my phone into a SWITCH. All I needed was a USB C-HDMI hub with PD input (So I am not restricted by battery and can game as long as I want) and an XBOX ONE S Bluetooth controller + Phone holder clip for portable gaming. ALL EMULATED GAMES SUPPORT CONTROLLERS. Isn't that wonderful? If you already have a PS1/PS 2 disk library, just make your own ROM files and play.

[@CreepersNeedHugs]

4:50 also, for Minecraft, the mobile port DOES also use predatory monetization practices! This is in the form of the Minecraft Marketplace. (Granted, the Marketplace isn't just mobile, it's all of Bedrock Edition, though most Bedrock players are mobile players, statistically.)

[@JmKrokY]

It's just additional content made by 3rd party creators that you don't need, nothing predatory with that.

[@dominicstocker5144]

And it doesn’t have gyro aiming for some reason

[@JmKrokY]

@@dominicstocker5144 None of the versions have it :(

[@dominicstocker5144]

@@JmKrokY yeah :/ , but at least you can get it to work somehow on PC, for example via steam (although bedrock on PC needs a few extra steps afaik), on my phone I’m stuck with touch emulation with my Vader 3 Pro controller

[@ZverseZ]

​@JmKrokY Is it though? The reason minecraft got so big was because of the mods, minigames, and modded minigames. It's kind of like if you ported gmod to your phone and every mod and minigame map cost $4.99

[@Dachi40]

You should check out a game called “Black Box” it’s a mobile puzzle game that requires you to use the different mechanics on your phone. Like opening the app at specific times, taking a picture, opening notifications, being at certain locations in the real world. It’s a very cool experience

[@FelicityUwU]

Can I get a link to it? It not coming up from a search for me

[@Dachi40]

@@KangJangkrik what do you mean self promotion?

[@benpoke]

It doesn't exist I looked everywhere

[@Dachi40]

@@benpoke i have it on my phone right now :< are you on an android phone?

[@Stint45678]

leaving a comment here

[@iverss533]

I ignored genshin’s gacha for a few weeks during launch and during that time Genshin didn’t really feel like a gacha game since aside from missing out on characters every content is available to everyone and there were no ads telling me to buy this limited time offer. Its basically high quality anime game for free and that was amazing for me. Watching the video now, I probably grew out of the phase of childhood games mentioned in the video and moved on more to pc/console games.

[@virgondust5562]

If you want a fun f2p friendly gacha game try Arknights. It is probably the best tower defence game I've ever played with amazing world building, music, game mechanics and so much more. All stages can technically be beat using 4 stars (which are easy to get even for a f2p) +1 6-star borrowed from a friend and even with a full team of 6 stars you can't beat some stages without using your brain properly. I hate most gacha games but at least this one doesn't force you to roll for strong characters to win. Not to mention they are very generous in terms of rewards during anniversary and 1/2 anniversary events where you get free pulls and resources

[@Jinni-iras17514]

the way he put genshin footage when talking about nothing new or interesting going on is crazy maybe coincidence?

[@SuperDuperSeb]

Lmao genshin drones always find a way to defend their shitty game

[@Jinni-iras17514]

@@SuperDuperSeb 👍roblox player the pinnacle of what this video was about

[@kaushikpaddy7467]

Nice video! I think that the appstore and playstore both SUCK when it comes to discoverability especially. There are too many games on mobile and the store fronts only show the f2p profitable ones cause thats what ppl download. I do believe there are a lot of niche fun mobile games that get lost completley in the depths of the store. Curious what you think of apple arcade though as I think its got the highest quality of games coming out for it. I know there are a lot of games that are ports but its also got some originals. Plus the games on apple arcade can focus on being a fun game and not worrying about monitizing. I don't have an I phone, I Have the google play pass and its a huge hit or miss cause its not curated as well. You can end up downloading f2p games that just made all their transactions 0$$ and you realize most of these games just keep your attention through waiting or grinding.

[@realm_]

Try out swordigo , its a classicc , I swear u wont be disappointed

[@AisarShamsul]

Ok this might be controversial. But I love playing Roblox in Mobile. I know it's a bit laggy and has microtransactions. Roblox has a variety of games including fighting and fps games that are actually good in mobile. So I hope this can help.

[@jeromedado7416]

Yup I've played swordigo too

[@Viddy22]

Is this a... Giant ad? Jeez.

[@WonderfulBoness]

I feel that the game was relevant to the topic of the video. It's what the app store should have been and it reveals the potential of mobile gaming.

[@PixelSheep]

As an Android user I can just say one word "PPSSPP" - its sooo good! But I have to agree its infuriating that these old school psp games are the best we've ever had till this day!

[@Steve21_harris]

Fr I play DBZ and Naruto and other games on it

[@kitsune7919]

Tbh while we are living through the worst mobile gaming has to offer, there is stuff to be excited about. Our phones have been using ARM chips for the longest and now the Architecture is maturing enough to even be used in PC's. Hopefully Apple will continue to port console games to their devices and inspire more people to make Arm compatible games. Once PC's, consoles and everything turns into ARM powered systems we could have some very exciting times ahead of us for mobile gaming.

[@breethurston9946]

ARM?

[@kitsune7919]

@@breethurston9946 Normal desktop computers use x86 processors which in itself is a pretty outdated architecture by now and ARM is newer, very efficient Architecture that when properly programmed for can yield double or even triple the power at half the power of a regular computer processor, or sometimes even less. Our phones had these chips a lot earlier due to the very limited space for cooling.

[@signe_stilett]

​@@breethurston9946 Advanced RISC Microprocessor (CPU architecture) Basicly, phone brains work differently from computer brains. That is one of the reasons there are so few ports, even in genres that would play well enough on phones (such as visual novels or puzzle games)

[@DavidGlendaleArdenaso]

most mobile games nowadays are just - idle ad factory - summoners war clone - last day on earth clone - mafia wars clone - idle + summoners war mix with barely anything new

[@Dave102693]

@@DavidGlendaleArdenasoor a Hoyoverse or ArKnights clone

[@ClubsDeuce5150]

Device 6 looks neat! I've only seen something like that done once before, in the novel House of Leaves, and I loved that. Gonna add it to my list to check out.

[@baileyayyy5085]

holy shit infinity blade gave me way more nostalgia than I was prepared for... that game got me through multiple family reunions and I never spent a dime past buying base game

[@Nathan_pereira]

That was one of it's best aspects. I think it had some tiny microtransactions, but it didn't really encourage nor gave any super significant importance to them. You only used them out of desperation or laziness lol

[@MysticMike]

Pokemon go Is one of those games that actually did push the boundaries as you need to use GPS and walk around To catch pokemon. This lead to plenty of new locations found in my town and people to meet let alone great great moments. The idea of having a real life scavenger hunt is brilliant and still is a fun game to play nowadays as well it gets me walking around more often

[@qwertysysysyysysysyzz]

sure was a trash time when that game was still popular

[@srimightbeshady]

Idk why but it would drain my battery like crazy

[@totaalinenchaos]

I think the only game to even come close to Device 6 was a game released last year by Ice pick lodge (guys who made Pathologic and Void). The game uses everything from sound to notifications to toy with you and its a very interesting experience. only problem with it was that it had a couple of major bugs when it released but I think those have been ironed out. Game name: Franz (sorry for forgetting to literally give the name of the game)

[@flamingcow5916]

Game is called "Franz: Interactive Story Game" for those wondering

[@rf5526]

The Sandbox by Pixowl was one of my favorites for a long time. Haven’t touched it in awhile, but it was always good fun.

[@discokossan]

Yeah it was pretty good, too bad it’s been broken for years now

[@rf5526]

@@discokossan Yeah I tried to load it up immediately after making that post only to discover the game is no longer supported and officially dead.

[@Wroar2020s]

​@@rf5526 and unfortunately.. They have a new one but it's nfts

[@crystalwings4520]

​@@rf5526And I am pretty sure they're going full cryptobros route, right?

[@radio5637]

One of my favourite mobile games is called "beyond the chiron gate" and its a pretty simple text based game where you have to manage risk vs reward and stuff, and ot works pretty well on mobile thanks to it not being real time and only requiring you to select options, not exactly ground breaking but its simple and it works

[@jamesdean2207]

Guys I Think that [The Room] (1,2,3,4)offered insanely much in these points. The abstract storyline was insanely captivating. And for that time Graphics were stunning. It integrated a lot of touch features and insanely creative gameplay. Oh and runner up of my favourite mobile game is World of Goo! Even so it was not something exclusive to mobile devices it made a good mobile game!

[@alex.g7317]

Here’s a list of fantastic mobile games: • Ordia (my fave) • Idle Acorns • Spaceplan • Total Party Kill • Tingus Goose • Kami • Kami 2 • INKS • Lumino City • Sticky Terms • Super Type • Gubbins • Par for the Dungeon • M Duck • Casualty Edit: there’s probably ore I forgot, but here’s them :)

[@CharlesUnique2561]

Thanks mate. I am looking for the list of some recommended games and you made it. I'll try them.

[@alex.g7317]

@@CharlesUnique2561 your welcome. I’m hoping on making a video on these games to show people that the AppStore ain’t that bad, you just need a lil digging.

[@barako_problems4984]

I'm gonna try this

[@alex.g7317]

@@barako_problems4984 I’ve got more I haven’t listed yet.

[@Jose.Eduardo.C]

nice selection!!!

[@SpacedogD]

Agree a lot. A few titles i think were really rarely good on the phone. The room series come to mind. They were a series of high quality puzzle box games build with touch screen in mind. Not very big games, but they are probably the shining gem of mobile games that I remember fondly.

[@dominicstocker5144]

Software engineering student here. I really do feel this. I do plan on developing mobile games at least as a hobby as I feel like the medium is really not getting done justice. Its accessibility and the fact that many people pretty much always have opens so many doors. I’ve already developed a pretty novel camera system which should make interacting with a broad category of games on your phone a lot more precise and efficient without the need to use more than 2 thumbs. However, I still need to test for long term comfort. If no glaring issue will arise this could bring mobile games a lot closer to the input fidelity of PC games (imo even surpassing console games by a large margins in important aspects) even without a controller. With an attached gamepad it should become pretty much state of the art. Also, this input format that I’ve made actually only works properly on mobile devices. If anyone wants to hear it I would be glad to elaborate on how it works concretely, I just wanted to let you know that there are others passionate about this topic as well

[@hanovac2424]

This is such a well written video and the production is fire! I just wish 8-10 minuet videos on youtube were normalized so I didn't have to listen about Device 6 for so long.

[@null6209]

A mobile game I love if "The Room" series, which while not as narratively complex as Device 6, does take advantage of your Phone's Features which enhances the experience

[@sonofsisyphus5742]

It's worth pointing out that Genshin actually is the giant open world game and action RPG its advertisements depict, you showed a minigame for the advertising contrast.

[@Dave102693]

The big 3 games from MiHoyo are like that lol

[@JmKrokY]

​@@Dave102693True

[@Mehieddin7]

A giant empty open world and "action" doesn't exist in it 😂 It's horrible, mihoyo's Games in general are horrible

[@drzerogi]

@@Mehieddin7 I never played Genshin Impact, but I quite like Honkai: Star Rail. No ads, monetisation - at least for me - is easily ignored as it seems to just be for more characters and items, I think (and you already get plenty of both without paying), looks and sounds nice, too. Unless the rug is pulled under at some point, I'm getting way more than what I paid for ($0) in money and time.

[@stylerxo3654]

I take it you never played the game. ​@@Mehieddin7

[@whatercup5918]

He : putting an actual argument and making a very good video Me : I like Geometry Dash and phigros

[@k1rkpad]

Simogo literally said they will never work on an iPhone game again. They spent over an entire year basically working on just keeping their catalog updated for the newest versions/devices on iOS. Apple somehow managed to scare away their best developer through sheer compatibility requirements. I'm glad they are making console games now, even though it is disappointing they don't get to explore new mobile concepts like Device 6

[@ShadowDAB0SS]

I'm currently working on an experimental mobile game. I'll keep you posted. I currently only have a prototype, but it currently runs on android. Trying to optimize it for lower-end devices eventually, so more phones can play it. But, I'm making a casual one-tap game with a full story, challenging levels, crafty enemies and a bunch of upgrades. Straying away from the F2P model. I want to have all cosmetics earned through gameplay. Hoping to release this year. But, we'll see.

[@qoganjacks146]

May I know the name,pls?

[@Czulki]

0 mention of Genshin or HSR...? Fully realized games with massive AAA budgets

[@fyz4919]

Those two games are more counted as PC games ported to mobile and console. Neither of those feels "mobile" to begin with, the top games back in 2010 is what suppose to be mobile game but now those 2010 like games filled with predatory micro transaction and ads, back then people can play Subway Surfer smoothly without any problem, now Subway Surfer clone would force you to watch ads every minutes and if you lose, they'll slap cash shop onto your face

[@rickybobby5153]

@@fyz4919They were mobile and ported to PC and console. They are what all mobile games should strive to be.

[@TheDudey]

​@@fyz4919mihoyo games released genshin (and HSR i think) on mobile and pc at the same time. They focus on mobile just as much as pc, shown by their erlier game honkai impact 3d

[@Jinni-iras17514]

@@fyz4919 but he put genshin footage while he was talking about mobile games doing nothing interesting 6:05

[@vini9208]

shit ass gacha games lol. The whole point of this video is about video game as an art not some shit ass gacha buy gems grab money do missions repetitive to get some virtual money to get anime girls.

[@fiffy6572]

Honestly i found joy in rediscovering old games for older console where you can actually see the care for the fun and stress-free experience by the devs and retro gaming at this point is almost endless with all the emulators

[@AmethystLeslie]

6:01 I choose to believe this was intentional, showing Genshin footage of the character Gaming (that's Gah-ming, to those who don't know) to say the word "gaming".

[@PhoticsTV]

Why did the most brutal commentary have to occur while Crossy Road was on the screen? 😄 Not too long before watching this video, I was thinking of what should be the focus of my next game. I realized that a lot of my ideas were nostalgic, from the early days of the Nintendo or the arcades. So, I thought about doing something with augmented reality. This is actually something I was previously thinking about doing with Godot, but could it be accomplished with just web tech? I started reading about what it would take to get the game to work. I saw some interesting software… tried it in Safari on iPhone… and the browser wasn't supported. 😄 So, technical challenges are part of the reason innovation is tough on mobile. It does feel like a lost decade of innovation in mobile gaming. (The mobile game I play the most lately is Crossy Road, which is 9 years old.) Although, I don't install apps like I used to. I don't trust them. It was interesting to see Apple Arcade mentioned. I respect that Apple is trying to create a gaming environment that is without ads and in-app purchases. Yet, so much money was thrown at that service and it's seems like a failure. Even if you like the games, and my favorite Apple Arcade games are from the earlier years of the service, the monthly subscription fee was recently increased by 40%. That's not good! The point is that if Apple can't do the job, does an indy developer really have a chance? That doesn't stop me from thinking of new ideas and new possibilities.

[@JACKSTAY]

Apple Arcade doesn’t seem like a failure at all, really. There’s a good selection of high quality games and I enjoy lots of them. Indie dev for iPhone is tough because you have to learn a new language for it. That’s totally on apple for their lame walled garden approach. I don’t think a game doesn’t have to be a technical marvel to be good. Celeste is at its core a basic 2d platformer, but is still regarded as a masterwork by a lot of the gaming community. I think the issue is more that companies chase the technical / graphical components first and leave good mechanics by the wayside, which is a big old bummer.

[@PhoticsTV]

@@JACKSTAY I liked a lot of the games on Apple Arcade. But looking at the leaderboards, the number of players seemed really low for Apple. Hopefully Apple can turn it around, because the general idea is good - no in-app purchases or advertisements in games - with an emphasis on privacy

[@Sheepy765.]

I absolutely loved Mobius Final Fantasy, it was a console quality final fantasy game on mobile for FREE, it was designed with mobile controls in mind and Square Enix gave it a lot of love and attention, I was so sad when it shut down. My thoughts on Kingdom Hearts Union x were similar, a really well-made kingdom hearts game on mobile with a rich story, enjoyable gameplay, and a great soundtrack (even if it was just reused tracks from other games).

[@xymaryai8283]

there was (and technically still is) an amazing game with great bones of strategy in attack and defense, with creative loadout management and item hunting. Its called Vega Conflict, and now it is garbage. timers take extremely long in the mid-early game, let alone mid or late game. i've never progressed past early game because it just isn't possible to progress unless you have the perfect builds right the first time and you just pipeline the production and upgrades of everything, coming back to start the next process, because there is no automation. but there was a time, when you could make ships that can be repaired instantly, allowing you to focus on fighting tougher fleets, collecting the blueprints you need, strategizing different targets based on the likelihood of success and reward, scavenging from higher level players with quick cargo fleets, logistics, upgrading loadouts, upgrading ships, researching new equipment, ugh it was beautiful. and when you were done, you could line up a big upgrade that might take a few hours, but that wouldn't affect your ability to continue when you wanted. it was balanced to show you the glorious feeling of triumph from problem solving and strategising, testing new things, and then ripping it away from you the moment you reached the point where you wanted more. there are good games hiding IN the slop, not just in the back corners. its only because they can make money from ruining it that they do it.

[@shuccle6161]

Instantly subbed after watching this video. Such a cool video and channel dude. This is very clean work.

[@salixlol]

correction: infinity blade is !!not!! lost media!! you can still get an old iphone device, jailbreak it, and install a .ipa file of infinity blade. i played the game this way, without ever owning the game before it got delisted, hope this helps!! by the way, i loved the video

[@4KillerGame]

i once found a Hidden Gem called "Alter Ego" it was a Story driven Idle Game that kinda left me in shambels when i finished all 3 Endings

[@switchclaw]

I remember playing Evoland (1&2) and Swordigo on Android back in the day. No in-game purchases and no ads, just plain gameplay. And the stories and sense of adventure these games had were unlike any other games available on the Play Store back then. Sadly these games went quite underrated and were buried under the other free to play games' predatory practices that they hardly make such games anymore on mobile devices.

[@nautilus1642]

Hear me out. . . Brawl Stars is solid. The game has no ads, a pretty enjoyable ftp experience, and constant updates and fun gameplay. Progression used to be gacha based, but the devs thought it was immoral so they replaced it with a set path with a little gacha for fun. Goat mobile game.

[@promaster424]

There's one studio that makes great puzzle mystery games. It's called Rusty Lake, they've made a lot of games. They even have a game that you need a friend or a second phone so you can complete. I've played some of them on my android phone but I'm sure there are on the iphone and steam too.

[@hazeust]

It is a good day when 1C2 uploads.

[@mystery-z]

fr

[@bqh3795]

when you mentioned the gyroscope i got reminded of a really cool rhythm game called rotaeno it's a rhythm game where you can rotate your phone so that it aligns with the notes (im explaining it very vaguely here) playing the game kinda feels like im handling a spaceship and i love it

[@hermionegreen333]

How informative thank you! And thank you for making me discover Device 6!

[@vibes8763]

You forget the most popular catagory instead of 3 there is 4 and the last one is the most absurd one. The short attention span games that all look the same and ads every 3 sec

[@ok4405]

i think genshin is a great mobile game, i still cant imagine how they managed to put such a large openworld game in a mobile, they definitely pushed the boundaries of what can be done with the power of modern mobile hardware. a 110gb pc game on mobile is a really hard thing to do.

[@poison_byte]

it being 110gb is just cuz its badly optimised genshin is a really really lightweight game

[@SMGA14]

Lmao 110gb while every other game is at 50 at most

[@harrytowers1076]

It’s like 25GB on mobile what are y’all on about

[@samhawk4025]

It is only 65 gb​@@poison_byte Wtf are you taking about? Poorly optimised? Genshin is one of the most optimised games I never had a crash from genshin never lag And I am using pretty mid set up? And genshin is pretty big. Check you game see other languages download or not It takes lots of space and you can delete them if you have problems

[@flytelp]

I think it’s the LoD optimization that’s so impressive. You can see the mountains of other nations across the ocean. There aren’t many games that effectively let you see an infinite distance forward.

[@knynx]

Really great and informative video. A game that really stuck with me was monument valley as well as it's sequel. Did something really cool with perception similar to Fez.

[@TopFix]

The only game I ever truly became encapsulated by on mobile was Pokemon Go. It got you outdoors, sometimes alone, sometimes with your friends or with your girlfriend, and your imagination was allowed to enter a new world because it made use of all the features the phone was supposed to allow. That era was truly a magical time.

[@MogMovies]

I consider myself a “mobile gamer” and I really enjoyed watching this video, thinking I should throw my thoughts into it. First a general thought: What I feel is sad is that mobile gaming in general has gotten this negative stigma. A lot of gamers disregarding it outright, just because it’s on mobile, and thus missing out on. The exclusives and actual good things it has. (The same thing that happened with the Xbox Kinect, while at it.) Some of these good ones I would strongly recommend that started on mobile would be Monument Valley 1&2, Crossy Roads, the Room series, BTD6, and yes, also Device 6. I remember playing it a long time ago, but never finished it. Watching this, now I’m considering giving it a new visit. More personally, my iPad Pro is my preferred gaming device. I’m a big fan into board games and using my iPad to play digital adaptations of board games is the best for me. Games such as Root, Through the Ages, Terraforming Mars and Wingspan, and more. Heck, with how strong the Pro is, I even play Civ 6 on it (though I prefer the computer for that one in particular). Being able to set a new game on on my tablet wherever I am is a strength to me as well. Great video; gets a like. :)

[@dominicstocker5144]

I would heavily recommend giving world of goo a try (preferably with a stylus)! Also Kingdom 2 Crowns is great (but can get you frustrated sometimes haha)

[@user-ic1jd7qs3p]

There was a huge game that offered an experience you couldn't get on any other device. It was pokemon go and it ended up squandering its potential.

[@Nomad_Audio]

Pokemon Go unlocked world peace for a couple of weeks. What a time to be alive.

[@Jinni-iras17514]

they really should have developed it for longer

[@schmecklin377]

i was thinking about this the other day. the gyro and portrait touch screen of a phone could allow for such unique games and the last games that we got that actually utilized those features were the original ones like fruit ninja or doodle jump i havent played a mobile game in actual years.

[@ekay10]

I remember finding gris on playstore and it was such an amazing experience. But my favorite part was the way the built some of the controls into swipe gestures. It felt like I was actually interacting with the world there.

[@kylespevak6781]

4:39 Same was said about controller. Mobile can actually replicate mouse very well with gyro, and touch buttons aren't really that bad. The issue is lack of shoulder buttons, so the screen space gets cluttered quick. But basic games plays well

[@dominicstocker5144]

I‘m currently semi-actively working on an input system which might optimize input bandwidth on phones without a controller attached to it quite a bit. Albeit it having some caveats, I am optimistic about it being something which could improve mobile games by a noticeable amount

[@Weebdotexe]

2 things I see that stunt mobile development, the monetisation, and the fact that the apps are designed to be forwards and backwards compatible, there are no system sellers like consoles which utilise the specific hardware, they are designed to last as long as possible to make as much money as possible.

[@Speedster___]

Really like the editing

[@sadatnafis2032]

One of the games that I played as a child was a similarly eye opening/moving experience was a game called 'The Silent age'. I was amazed at how original the concept of that game was and completely changed my perspective on what mobile games can be. Still haven't found another game I enjoy as much.

[@3ofSpades]

Someone could make a really good horror or platforming game if they used the phone like device 6. Imagine having to solve a puzzle by flipping the screen around or having to use your camera to chase ghosts and monsters in a mirror.

[@MaoRatto]

No. The mobile platform is dead, it's deader than dead. Why try for this platform if the userbase is not gamers, but people who are on a subway or a busy job with time to kill?

[@3ofSpades]

@@MaoRatto Why try to fill a gap in the market? If there's no market there, sounds like the perfect opportunity for someone to grow and get successful by filling it. It's an untapped market. Which means there's no competition in that space and there's really only room for growth. If the mobile market is so dead, I would assume you would have some sufficient data to back up a claim like that when mobile makes significantly more yearly revenue than pc and console games combined as outlined in this video? I don't have a hugely successful phone game myself, but it's safe to logically conclude there are more people in the world who use a phone and happen to play games on it than people who have a computer or gaming console since those are much more specific devices than mobile in nature.

[@MaoRatto]

@@3ofSpades Here is the thing. Most people who use these devices are 1. Don't have PC or Console 2. Time killing 3. Non-gamers. The controls are too limiting for the platform! I would say Mobile gaming is a lost cause as everyone is used to the expectation of free games on it. Which I honestly see it as a port dumping ground if apart of #1 Camp. The userbases aren't the same. It's just purely observational who is one what platform. To me, I would love to play a port of Device 6 for switch or vita ( if it were relevant as it has touch controls and a back touchpad ). Also it's a much younger platform as in the userbase for those titles were in their teens when they played like myself. Though I hated having a phone as of how intrusive it felt and no controls built-in. A touch screen isn't reliable.

[@3ofSpades]

@@MaoRatto Right, and you're completely neglecting the part where the controls in this video display how these limits can be broken, and the hardware can be used to give mobile gaming some actual identity against traditional gaming. Then you go on to miss the point by thinking Device 6 would be better played on a vita or switch, which misses the idea of anyone being able to play it as aforementioned. For someone who has very little interest in something like this, you really can write a whole Wikipedia article to the contrary. You also have yet to back up your last claim about how mobile is apparently dead.

[@lightninjohn5651]

The best mobile games I’ve played recently are Mini Metro and Two Spies The first is an endless puzzle game where you connect stations with railroad tracks to carry people to their destination. You lose when too many people pile into a station. Two Spies is a multiplayer game where you’re trying to figure out where the other player is on a simplified map of Europe. Both are pretty fun. Though they don’t utilize the entire iPhone like you were hoping I’d still recommend them

[@tymondabrowski12]

Mini metro is also on PC, isn't it? They made Mini Motorways later and it's also nice to play if not nicer.

[@lightninjohn5651]

@@tymondabrowski12 Mini Metro is on pc as well, but the controls are just click and drag which lends itself well to a phone Never played Motorway so I can’t really say anything about it

[@romanograsnick]

Thank you, that is true, I tried my best to do make the mobile games a bit more unique with my Wolfpit Games, but there was no chance to compete with F2P big budget products by selling solo-developed products which you had to pay for once and could play forever without watching ads or having wifi activated. Sadly, my Wolfpit Games fell victim to the strict update mechanism which are neccessary for mobile games to keep track of. I hope, one day, at least one of my Wolfpit Games will be fun for some people. Cheers and stay curious. I tried my best to stay away from Ads and such for a long time...

[@goldmastersimulations]

Gunship IV is the one game every mobile gamer wanting a truly good game needs to look out for. Very few people know about it, but it's an extremely ambitious project. There are so many features coming that were once only gaming PCs and PC flight sims like DCS. And even things those PC sims haven't done. There are plans for multicrew for planes with more than 1 seat, dynamic campaign like modded DCS and BMS, playable non-combat military aircraft (you can't play a KC-135, B-52, or E-3 in DCS), logistical aspects, and more. It's really clear Phanotek is going for quality rather than trying to maximize profits.

[@qwertysysysyysysysyzz]

boring as shit

[@ian01gd10]

Geometry Dash the best mobile game ever! It started to became a hybrid game (mobile and PC) and the community has since achieved amazing things

[@wifelessyt]

good video

[@Tarquin23]

I had many excellent gaming experiences on my iPod 2nd Gen back between 2010-2015, including: -Sonic CD (online leaderboards) -Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter -Call of Duty: Zombies (online multiplayer) -Real Racing 2 (online multiplayer) -Temple Run -Words with Friends (online 2p) -Angry Birds -Monopoly (online multiplayer) -Command & Conquer Red Alert -Sonic 4 Episode 1 -Hill Climb Racing -Driver (remastered) -Classic Doom My use of mobile devices started promisingly. There were a good mix of remastered console games from a range of systems with added online or leaderboards which really opened up the social aspect of gaming to me. The games that were unique were often smaller, more indie-style games, but really took advantage of the screen size and touch capabilities in a way that, say, the DS, couldn’t or didn’t. Using the Accelerometer in games like Call of Duty, Doom and Real Racing 2 really added to the immersion and precision in these games, and it felt like mobile was going to be the best of both worlds - traditional short experience mobile games and home console gaming. I first played and beat classic Doom on the iTouch back in 2013! Sadly, I don’t feel it’s great for either anymore, with no real innovation for years. It seems largely driven by the type of games nowadays being in-app purchase, loot crate style rubbish, where developers across all platforms have found the quickest and easiest way to make money. There’s no need to try to release classic games with improved features, go back to formulas, or make classic online experiences now that games like Fortnite or these ridiculous time-sync games created with minimal effort can be pushed out every few months.

[@Justin-ee1mv]

Let’s go I was just reading the Wikipedia page for Sayonara wild hearts devs and saw device 6 and how it was an innovative mobile game and won some awards I think, Glad to see it being talked about, Can’t wait for their next game coming out this year

[@Laekith]

Why do KZbinrs never know anything about VNs and gachas

[@Jinni-iras17514]

I was hoping he would mention them

[@baliebox4916]

i just wish the mobile gaming market was more like what the original ds was like we need more quirky, story driven games on mobile from developers like studio pixel, bemani, nanaonsha, square enix, toby fox, timmie chang etc maybe even some classics like the pfmagic petz or babyz games games like quake, the old lego games like lego island, lego racers, lego creator, visual novels like higurashi and professor layton or REAL arcade games like daytona usa, alpine racer and street fighter 3rd strike the only good mobile based game i could think of that appeals to me is magic cat academy (which isn't even a mobile game) the rest i cant play because i live with my parents and cant live on my own otherwise i would have typed this comment on a phone instead of a PC

[@AlexiosTheSixth]

THIS like it's sad that we went from having fully fleshed out games on the DS and gameboy advance to shitty literal shovelware on modern smartphones

[@Jinni-iras17514]

ever heard of the small indie company named hoyoverse? They are pretty good with story based mobile games. The downside of course is the gacha. At least you can tell they put so much effort right back into the games

[@RoamerMonkey]

Another big issue with mobile games specifically is energy systems (remember that Harry Potter game everyone shat on for its energy system?). I like some story-based mobile games (specifically Murder in the Alps and Murder by Choice) because there is some actual effort and passion put into them, but I can't recommend them to almost anyone because their energy systems almost always let you to play a few minutes of gameplay for the day (and it takes hours to complete them) before forcing you to wait for the next day for all the energy to reload or to pay a lot for more energy or watch an ad to barely get some more energy. It's really immersion-breaking when a serious moment is happening, and the stories also suffer when something pointless happens just to pad time and drain your energy. It's also especially frustrating when the easiest thing to fix these games is to just remove the Energy systems, but that's never happening. I like your video and editing! I personally do think it might have spent too long on Device 6 (which does look pretty cool), but it breaks down modern mobile games pretty well.

[@fusionspace175]

I'll tell you when I gave up on mobile gaming. I started playing them when Fruit Ninja was the big thing, and it was a good use of the device. I stopped when I got really into a Star Wars game and it got removed and replaced. The one I liked was kinda like an RTS with no buildings, just units and battles in real time. You could control and level up heroes and use their powers in the field, it was strategic, interactive, and only multiplayer. I got good at it and unlocked a bunch of stuff, but just through time and play, I never spent a dime. Then they decided to roll out a stupid card and turn based thing instead and my beloved game was gone. I grew up with Atari and the NES, I'm not used to games going away without my control unless the hardware dies out, like old Zapper games with no CRTs around. Never again, I said. I was done after that. All I use it for now is occasional VR helmet use, and then mostly watching 3D movies.

[@Hree]

A lot of mobile games has potential to be good if they aren't built around microtransactions. This might be cringe but as a sample: hoyoverse games are actually really good and the only really major downside is that they are built around you gambling for characters.

[@AisarShamsul]

I love pepperoni pizza

[@Mehieddin7]

Copium Hoyoverse games are horrible garbage, most gacha games are better than their garbage.

[@Jinni-iras17514]

@@Mehieddin7 starting to think you're a tencent bot

[@Mehieddin7]

@@Jinni-iras17514 i don't even know a tencent game outside of pubg which i haven't played since like 2018 ☠️

[@kylespevak6781]

4:22 Should have said A - AAA port B - Binge game C - Competitive game

[@narcozero8410]

Of the top of my head i can think of two games that take advantage of the mobile format in an interesting way : 1) Spaceteam, that has each player on their own device franticly communicating instructions to maintain a spaceship afloat together. Also has some « everybody shake » or « everybody has to flip their phones upside down » moments 2) the « Lifeline » series that has you talking with the main character by messaging, and their response time can vary depending on what they are doing. Making you feel like you’re having a real conversation with someone somewhere, and hooked with suspense when you get a notification from them.

[@Lexyvil]

I'm just glad I never strayed from being a Console or PC Gamer. The mobile gaming scene has been chaotic with hardly any quality control. It's like the Atari situation with E.T all over again, but without having to buy the games until you realize the game begs for your money.

[@cookiedreams5569]

The best games I've played on the phone were all gacha games where you gamble to get the character you want. Most gacha games don't even last a year and yet are the only types of games that are still changing the gameplay up. all the classic games I've payed for in the past like where's my water, angry birds, knights of pen and paper 2 were never updated so I can't access them or they've come back remade with too many ads!

[@chan6565]

Instead of talking smack, go make one yourself

[@Daniel__Nobre]

It’s sad that no one seems to talk about Superbrothers: Sword & Sorcery as well. It was released in 2011 for iPad and iPhone only for a long time. It was a work of passion of about three people I think and it took them a lot of years. And the interactions were thought and designed specifically for touch screens. It was also one of the first games back then to focus on (absolutely beautiful) pixelart when most developers were still considering that old stuff. The soundtrack is also phenomenal. All of what became hallmarks of “indie” games today were basically there already. It’s quite the experience. Calm (except for the few combat or escaping from something moments), beautiful and authentic, with a lot of heart. And it was already made with short sessions in mind :)

[@SevastianYT]

I wouldn't say there's necessary much inventive smartphone games like a very interesting example of Device 6 that you showed, but I'd say that there is definitely a good amount of games on mobile (maybe specifically more Android) that you can play, some even exclusive. Starting with "games from other platforms" I'd say emulation is definitely amazing, but more specifically Nintendo Switch emulation on Android (Yuzu, Skyline/Strato) - absolutely brings a whole load of amazing and great games to mobile. And also there is a project named Cassia which is made by ex-Skyline devs which aims to make PC game emulation well-possible on Android hopefully to come out this year. Now about exclusives, well, I do recall some, but currently the main rather cool one that comes to mind is Monument Valley, and recently I've also gotten into "AAAAXY" which is a fun open-source game that is kinda hard for me to put into words hah. But I have been out of the scene of playing mobile games for a while, so I do not remember all too much, but with emulation, I'd say the amount of good experiences on mobile is absolutely growing, and well regarding exclusives, there is some gold to be found in the dirt for sure. Although the line between 'port' and 'exclusively-made-for-mobile' is personally somewhat blurred for me, because aside from your Device 6 example, it does seem like an often gimmicky way of playing, although I could imagine more puzzle games to be made with such mechanics. Regarding use of the camera specifically - I can only have AR games come to mind like Pokémon Go and FNaF AR: Special Delivery, but they fall into the pit of in-app purchase oblivion. Apologies if the wording is poor here, just went on a rambling thought trip here haha.

[@kyberstudios7358]

glad you gave a shoutout to Infinity Blade! sometimes it feels like barely anyone remembers it which makes me really sad because I had an absolute blast playing Infinity Blade 3 as a kid. The fact it was permanently deleted off the app store is a crime, I still have it downloaded on my phone but its still completely unplayable :(

[@bairdlon0019]

To me call of duty mobile is a solid mobile game just because it lets you make your own button layout instead of using some trash one and it even gives you the option to use your phone gyroscope to aim and I love how it takes advantage of that

[@generalguilmon6719]

You're so right about the missed potential. Some of the early mobile games may not have been super innovative, but they did at least try to use the phone hardware. Fruit Ninja is a great use of the touch screen, Temple run used tilt and touch controls together, and some games even asked you to shake your phone. Sadly the monetization strategy changed, and most developers stopped experimenting entirely. Good to see you mentioned Pokemon GO: it has touch/swipe controls, uses the camera, in-game events are based on your real location, and there are ways to interact with other players. Most of that would be impossible without the hardware of the phone. If publishers were less greedy, we could have seen many more games like Pokemon GO, and even far more innovative experiences.

[@Pretentigon]

Good mobiles games not nearly enough people talk about: Chiki’s Chase Samba De Amigo: party-to-go!

[@3emad.065]

Have you heard of sneaky Sasquatch? It’s an open world type of game where you play as a big foot like creature trying to blend in the human world for food, doing quests and more. It’s not that much a new and innovative by any means, but it was a game filled with the content I needed from the App Store for years now. And I was sad not much people knows about it.

[@skies1586]

The room series particularly 1-3 and vector 1 are still my favorite android game i have ever played.- but sad thing about vector is the in-app purchases when it doesn't used to have any.

[@VyraNightingale]

One title is unlikely to affect much, but it would be nice to see if the game "Ex Astris" by developers HyperGryph could make an impact on the market by generating more interest in games that is closer to what you may find on PC/Console. It's a complete experience exclusive to mobile, set to release Feb 27, 2024 at 9.99USD. Seeing how it's not released as of writing, I can't know for certain it will be a banger, but as a fan of the devs' other work, i.e Arknights (gacha game, but actually really good all other things considered), I have faith.

[@heretichazel]

There's a series of short puzzle games by this dude called bart bonte i like. They're creative, well themed, and the only monetisation is having to watch an ad if you want a hint, which you typically don't need. Antiyoy is a turn based strategy game with a surprising amount of content, including a map editor and the ability to share maps and download other people's maps. There's absolutely zero monetisation Seedship is a cute little text based decision making game where you are the AI on a ship with 100 humans in cryostasis and have to find a suitable planet for them, while avoiding damage to the ship's components or databases from random events such as deciding to go through a debris field which could potentially cause damage, or avoid it which would result in whatever planet you find next not being influenced by your scanners which try to specifically find suitable planets. It also has zero minimisation, looks like it was funded via patreon

[@ShiriusuNH]

I miss the mobile game “Isolani”. It was probably the best story shooter on the AppStore back in the day and had incredible graphics at the time. I would argue they still hold up today if the game was still around. The story itself was limited to chapters that would release for free as time went on. I remember adamantly waiting for each next chapter to come out to see the conclusion. Unfortunately, I had to return my device to the school I went to before I could finish the game. Then, before I could return, the game mysteriously disappeared one day and documentation on it has been very lacklustre. I am forever hoping that the game comes back with the full story available so I can get closure

[@eleanor1255]

some years back i played a game i really liked designed for the apple watch. it was pretty simple, just a short visual novel, where a crash survivor in space could somehow communicate with you. what i thought was really cool was that there was a realistic waiting period between each conversation, which worked because it was on a smartwatch. replying to a message only took a few seconds so i could do it even if i was busy. it took me about a day or two to finish and i really enjoyed it. i liked how the game wouldn't have worked the same on any other device, during my playtime i played several times when i couldn't have used my phone. it was a franchise but unfortunately the sequels didn't do it for me because the dialogue options were paraphrased and i can't stand that. i looked it up now and it's called Lifeline. i tried to find other games for my watch that felt like they belonged on a smartwatch, because lifeline really opened my eyes to the possibilities of making games for non-traditional consoles, but unfortunately i never found anything i wouldn't rather play on my phone, or usually just not play at all

[@crowgirl9833]

Im not sure if it was exclusive to the app store but The Room and it’s two sequels are interesting puzzle games that rely on you scrolling around the environment to find hidden clues. It’s older but it’s good

[@theeunforgiven1318]

Chaos rings series form square Enix were mobile rpgs that were all special, I miss them so much