The key to getting most established game genres to work on mobile is to simplify.
Keep whittling down the experience, stripping away those unnecessary layers until you have something workable and fun.
The important thing to remember is to stop before you hit the game itself, at which point you'll just be carving away chunks of fun. That's when you get something like One Tap RPG.
Parlour t...
Pocket Gamer and co. held its latest Big Indie Pitch event in Cologne this week, to coincide with GDC Europe and Gamescom.
The BIP, if you somehow haven't heard us talking about it before, is a speed dating-style show-n-tell where indie game makers pitch their projects to journalists and other experts in blazing fast three minute sessions.
We see loads of games, but there can only be one win...
Seriously has announced that its free to play, bug-collecting puzzler Best Fiends will be available worldwide in October.
We seem to know more about Seriously than the game at this point. Seriously is headed by former Rovio executives Andrew Stalbow and Petri Järvilehto, you see.
We haven't seen any screenshots of the game yet. Nor do we know how the blend of storytelling and puzzle solv...
Ubisoft has announced that World War I adventure puzzler Valiant Hearts: The Great War will be coming to iOS on September 4th.
Valiant Hearts initially hit consoles and PC earlier this year. As such, the iOS version has been adapted for touchscreen controls.
The game has you controlling four different characters as they fight on different sides of the war - Axis and Allies.
It's a 2D...
Arecibo Man looks exactly the right concoction of retro spirit and chaotic 2D shooter that I'm after right now.
It's not too surprising, then, that it's the the next game from Madgarden.
Yep, that's the studio behind PG favourites such as Chillaxian, Punch Quest, FlapThulu, and the fantastic-looking Death Road to Canada.
Inspired by the arcade shooter classics like Robotron and Bezerk, Ar...
Why Does it Spin? is the direct opposite of a twitch game. Twitching will get you killed as sure as tossing your iPad in a bin.
But it's just as cruel as certain examples of that genre, and just as prone to chewing you up and spitting you out the second you make a mistake.
This is a game that wholeheartedly demands all of your concentration, and if you lapse for even a second you'll see your...
Flick Knights is as simple as its name suggests: you just flick your knights across an arena.
It's probably one of the most intuitive MOBAs out there due to its one-touch controls. That's not to imply the competition isn't as tough as you'd expect, mind.
You have a team of five warriors against an equal-sized team in each match. Your goal is to hit your opponent's base with one of your playe...
Goat Simulator is coming to iOS and Android. Contain your excitement by eating a sock, or something.
Coffee Stain Studios's Armin Ibrisagic announced at GDC Europe in Germany today that its silly simulator has sold nearly one million copies since its April 1st release on PC.
The studio put all of its staff onto working on the game after the trailer for it went viral earlier this year. After ...
The Manhattan Project is a digital adaptation of the hugely successful boardgame that sees you taking control of a country's atomic power program.
You assign workers to a variety of different tasks, from creating the infrastructure necessary to create atomic power safely, to sending spies to steal information from rival states.
The game features a single player mode, pass-and-play single...
Real Racing 3 has been updated on iOS and Android with a couple of new cars and a new event that asks you to drive dangerously for a TV commercial. I'm guessing it's not a real TV commercial, but I might be wrong.
The two new cars are the Audi R8 V10 Spyder and the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. Both have long names, so I imagine they're very fast and shiny and far more expensive than ...
It's strange coming to Dragon Quest 4 so late. We've come so far since the game's 8bit heyday that the App Store is already chock full of retro RPGs that borrow liberally from the DQ play book.
That means the game doesn't feel as fresh as it once might have done. This is a port of the DS version, that itself is a version of a PSOne re-polishing of the 24 year old NES original.
And it's age s...
Madden Mobile is an upcoming American football game for iOS and Android, slated for release on August 26th. Whether the game will be a premium app or free to play has yet to be announced.
The game is designed to play easily on mobile devices, with an "action" button and touch-based analog controls.
In Madden Mobile, players will be able to participate in quick challenges called Live Even...
A teaser trailer for Ben Esposito's Donut County has been released, revealing the game's dreamy landscapes and strange, physics-based mechanics that made its prototype, originally titled Kachina, stand out so strongly during its earliest reveals.
Donut County will be headed to "home computers" and "touch devices," but Esposito has not yet specified which ones.
In Donut County, players co...
"Rules are made to be broken," goes the saying. It's a load of rubbish, of course.
Not only do most rules maintain a vital sense of order and safety in our day-to-day lives, but they also form the basis of every game you've ever played. No rules, no fun.
Rules! gets all meta on us by being a game all about rules - and I for one am more than happy to be held to them.
Running the rule
Ru...
Let's face it. Power fantasies are an integral part of the appeal of video games. Whether it's gunning for terrorists or commanding the allies against the Reich, it's all about power.
So it's only a short step to making a game in which you're are an actual god. Enter Godus, which fulfills the contract on paper. But the developers forgot to make any of the enormous powers they grant you of any p...
Nimian Legends: BrightRidge is all about exploring a wilderness and admiring its views.
Imagine a large RPG world in which you don't have to do any quests or level up - that's what is ahead of you.
Sure, there's optional violence in the form of hunting, but that's an aside as you wander around BrightRidge.
What you'll probably spend your time doing is running through forests, meeting wolv...
The Outcast is a survival adventure game for those of you who are too busy to play games.
If that's you, and you're still after the joy games can bring, this is a potential solution. The Outcast has 'passive play', which means you can play it in the background while doing other activities.
In that regard, it works in the same way as Mountain. Yep, you could even argue that there are "no con...
Dinofarm Games has released a tutorial video that shows how to play its upcoming, long-in-development tactical people-pushing game Auro.
And there's more good news too. Apparently the game will hit the App Store and the Google Play Store this month. The game was meant to land at the start of last month but, y'know, didn't.
The game is by Keith Burgun, the designer behind 100 Rogues and E...
In space, no-one can hear you scream, which is probably just as well if Space Colors is anything to go by.
The game dumps you in the infinite inky black with only a seemingly endless horde of psychotic aliens for company. Most of your time is initially spent desperately trying to not get blown to pieces.
A cel-shaded homage to old-school vector titles, Space Colors plays a lot like a neon-in...
Dante's Fall is a twitchy game about falling down a hole. At first glance it appears to get everything right. It's super tough, super easy to pick up, and barks out scores at you every time you die.
But there's something missing. There's no compulsion loop. You'll plunge down the hole a couple of times, smash into a jutting piece of rock, and then get bored.
There's no reason to push on, sav...
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The key to getting most established game genres to work on mobile is to simplify.
Keep whittling down the experience, stripping away those unnecessary layers until you have something workable and fun.
The important thing to remember is to stop before you hit the game itself, at which point you'll just be carving away chunks of fun. That's when you get something like One Tap RPG.
Parlour t...
Pocket Gamer and co. held its latest Big Indie Pitch event in Cologne this week, to coincide with GDC Europe and Gamescom.
The BIP, if you somehow haven't heard us talking about it before, is a speed dating-style show-n-tell where indie game makers pitch their projects to journalists and other experts in blazing fast three minute sessions.
We see loads of games, but there can only be one win...
Seriously has announced that its free to play, bug-collecting puzzler Best Fiends will be available worldwide in October.
We seem to know more about Seriously than the game at this point. Seriously is headed by former Rovio executives Andrew Stalbow and Petri Järvilehto, you see.
We haven't seen any screenshots of the game yet. Nor do we know how the blend of storytelling and puzzle solv...
Ubisoft has announced that World War I adventure puzzler Valiant Hearts: The Great War will be coming to iOS on September 4th.
Valiant Hearts initially hit consoles and PC earlier this year. As such, the iOS version has been adapted for touchscreen controls.
The game has you controlling four different characters as they fight on different sides of the war - Axis and Allies.
It's a 2D...
Arecibo Man looks exactly the right concoction of retro spirit and chaotic 2D shooter that I'm after right now.
It's not too surprising, then, that it's the the next game from Madgarden.
Yep, that's the studio behind PG favourites such as Chillaxian, Punch Quest, FlapThulu, and the fantastic-looking Death Road to Canada.
Inspired by the arcade shooter classics like Robotron and Bezerk, Ar...
Why Does it Spin? is the direct opposite of a twitch game. Twitching will get you killed as sure as tossing your iPad in a bin.
But it's just as cruel as certain examples of that genre, and just as prone to chewing you up and spitting you out the second you make a mistake.
This is a game that wholeheartedly demands all of your concentration, and if you lapse for even a second you'll see your...
Flick Knights is as simple as its name suggests: you just flick your knights across an arena.
It's probably one of the most intuitive MOBAs out there due to its one-touch controls. That's not to imply the competition isn't as tough as you'd expect, mind.
You have a team of five warriors against an equal-sized team in each match. Your goal is to hit your opponent's base with one of your playe...
Goat Simulator is coming to iOS and Android. Contain your excitement by eating a sock, or something.
Coffee Stain Studios's Armin Ibrisagic announced at GDC Europe in Germany today that its silly simulator has sold nearly one million copies since its April 1st release on PC.
The studio put all of its staff onto working on the game after the trailer for it went viral earlier this year. After ...
The Manhattan Project is a digital adaptation of the hugely successful boardgame that sees you taking control of a country's atomic power program.
You assign workers to a variety of different tasks, from creating the infrastructure necessary to create atomic power safely, to sending spies to steal information from rival states.
The game features a single player mode, pass-and-play single...
Real Racing 3 has been updated on iOS and Android with a couple of new cars and a new event that asks you to drive dangerously for a TV commercial. I'm guessing it's not a real TV commercial, but I might be wrong.
The two new cars are the Audi R8 V10 Spyder and the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. Both have long names, so I imagine they're very fast and shiny and far more expensive than ...
It's strange coming to Dragon Quest 4 so late. We've come so far since the game's 8bit heyday that the App Store is already chock full of retro RPGs that borrow liberally from the DQ play book.
That means the game doesn't feel as fresh as it once might have done. This is a port of the DS version, that itself is a version of a PSOne re-polishing of the 24 year old NES original.
And it's age s...
Madden Mobile is an upcoming American football game for iOS and Android, slated for release on August 26th. Whether the game will be a premium app or free to play has yet to be announced.
The game is designed to play easily on mobile devices, with an "action" button and touch-based analog controls.
In Madden Mobile, players will be able to participate in quick challenges called Live Even...
A teaser trailer for Ben Esposito's Donut County has been released, revealing the game's dreamy landscapes and strange, physics-based mechanics that made its prototype, originally titled Kachina, stand out so strongly during its earliest reveals.
Donut County will be headed to "home computers" and "touch devices," but Esposito has not yet specified which ones.
In Donut County, players co...
"Rules are made to be broken," goes the saying. It's a load of rubbish, of course.
Not only do most rules maintain a vital sense of order and safety in our day-to-day lives, but they also form the basis of every game you've ever played. No rules, no fun.
Rules! gets all meta on us by being a game all about rules - and I for one am more than happy to be held to them.
Running the rule
Ru...
Let's face it. Power fantasies are an integral part of the appeal of video games. Whether it's gunning for terrorists or commanding the allies against the Reich, it's all about power.
So it's only a short step to making a game in which you're are an actual god. Enter Godus, which fulfills the contract on paper. But the developers forgot to make any of the enormous powers they grant you of any p...
Nimian Legends: BrightRidge is all about exploring a wilderness and admiring its views.
Imagine a large RPG world in which you don't have to do any quests or level up - that's what is ahead of you.
Sure, there's optional violence in the form of hunting, but that's an aside as you wander around BrightRidge.
What you'll probably spend your time doing is running through forests, meeting wolv...
The Outcast is a survival adventure game for those of you who are too busy to play games.
If that's you, and you're still after the joy games can bring, this is a potential solution. The Outcast has 'passive play', which means you can play it in the background while doing other activities.
In that regard, it works in the same way as Mountain. Yep, you could even argue that there are "no con...
Dinofarm Games has released a tutorial video that shows how to play its upcoming, long-in-development tactical people-pushing game Auro.
And there's more good news too. Apparently the game will hit the App Store and the Google Play Store this month. The game was meant to land at the start of last month but, y'know, didn't.
The game is by Keith Burgun, the designer behind 100 Rogues and E...
In space, no-one can hear you scream, which is probably just as well if Space Colors is anything to go by.
The game dumps you in the infinite inky black with only a seemingly endless horde of psychotic aliens for company. Most of your time is initially spent desperately trying to not get blown to pieces.
A cel-shaded homage to old-school vector titles, Space Colors plays a lot like a neon-in...
Dante's Fall is a twitchy game about falling down a hole. At first glance it appears to get everything right. It's super tough, super easy to pick up, and barks out scores at you every time you die.
But there's something missing. There's no compulsion loop. You'll plunge down the hole a couple of times, smash into a jutting piece of rock, and then get bored.
There's no reason to push on, sav...
