Mobile Games 2010 By Nokia

Research Center NRC-TR-2007-011 Mobile Games 2010 Elina Koivisto Nokia Research Center Finland http://research.nokia.com 1.1.2007 Abstract: The Mobile Games 2010 report looks at how mobile gaming could be like in year 2010 from three points of view: games and players, technology, and business. The study was done by interviewing about 20 mobile game publishers, developers, operators, and inviting experts to write articles on the topic. The invited articles are attached in the end. The report reflects the opinions of the interviewees and authors of the articles - not Nokia’s game strategy or future product releases. Index Terms: Mobile Game 2010 NRC-TR-2007-011 Copyright © 2007 Nokia

Mobile Games 2010 Elina Koivisto

2 Layout and cover art: Jouka Mattila Nokia Research Center, Finland Special Acknowledgements: The IPerG (Integrated Project on Pervasive Gaming) project for funding part of this work Teemu Jalava Nokia Research Center, Finland Jyri Salomaa Nokia Research Center, China For initiating and structuring the project, co-authoring the initial sets of questions and invitations, rewiewing and selecting the articles.

3 Chapter 1: Please note that this report does not reflect Nokia roadmaps or future product releases. This report is a collection of opinions of the people Introduction who contributed in this study. The study looks at mobile gaming from three points of view: Users and games, Technologies, and Busi- ness. We focus on Europe, however, our contributors come also from other regions. Differences in different markets can be rather large [19]. The study The Mobile Games 2010 study (MG2010) was initi- concentrates more on the future than today. Excel- ated by Nokia Research Center (NRC) at the end of lent sources exist about the today’s situation, and year 2005 to get insight on how the mobile games some of them are freely available, such as the IGDA and gaming will be like within a few years time. We Mobile Games White Paper [27]. One of the articles started the study by organizing an expert workshop in the article collection also gives a brief summary with 13 game experts in Nokia. With the data that of the History of the Mobile Games (starting with was gathered in the workshop, we created an inter- the first commercial Mobile Game, Nokia’s Snakes, view structure and interviewed 20 mobile game de- in year 1997) [40]. velopers, publishers, operators and other researchers (see the list of contributors in the end). The inter- The report is divided in three parts: Section 2. Users views were done either in face-to-face situations and Games, Section 3. Technologies, and Section 4. (majority) or via phone, and email. The interviews Business. Conclusions are drawn in the end of the were semi-structured (1) . document and the referred materials are listed. The contributors for the report are listed in the begin- Additionally, we invited experts to contribute to the ning of the document. Most of the contributors were study by writing short articles related to the topic. interviewed for the report, some of them reviewed These articles are compiled in an appendix that ac- the report and came up with useful comments, and companies this report. The journal includes articles some did both. on mobile game security (Steven Davis) [12], technology road mapping for future mobile games (Son- ja Kangas) [32], proximity gaming (Tom Söderlund) [51], virtual asset trade (Steven Davis) [13], cross- (1) The interviews involved a list of interview topics that were medial access (Vicky Wu) [54], architecture for con- followed in the each interview. However, the interviewees nected mobile gaming (Frank Fitzek) [18], and fu- were freely allowed to talk about the topics that they consid- ture of mobile games (John Paul Bichard) [6]. ered important themselves.

4 Chapter 2: Partly this can be due to what kinds of games exist for the platforms, but also it must be noted, that in the case of PC, you already have the device and Users and Games you just need to buy the game. The same applies to the mobile platform and this may be one of the reasons why mobile games can become popular among women(3). It is commonly said that mobile game players are mostly casual gamers who play the games for a In this section, we look at who will be the mobile few minutes when waiting for something or being game players and what kind of games are predicted bored. However, a study done by Sorrent and U30 to be popular in year 2010. [27] found that many core or hard core gamers (for a definition see e.g. [28]) play mobile games. The study was rather large-scale, more than 700 mo- Figure 1 An example of a mobile game that is bile game players participated the study. They also targeted to women. WatAGame’s GoSupermodel The users and how they play found that 80% of them had a gaming console at game home, more than 60% of them played mobile games There is quite a lot of research conducted on the at home, many of them played frequently (more than mobile game player demographics, but the results 60% played mobile games more than once per day), vary a lot depending on the group who participated and they played for long periods of time on average the studies. Typically, the studies show that a con- (15-20 minutes). In another study(4) [19], which was siderable partition of the mobile game players are commissioned by Nokia, the average play session female. One example is the free mobile game por- length was found to be 28 minutes. In our studies in tal GameJump’s study [9] among its users (50 000 Nokia Research Center, we have field tested com- players were involved in the study) where it was mercial mobile games, and found that particularly reported that in the US 59% of the players were the players of online games spend a lot of time playing one play session. The most enthusiastic mobile (2) Could be because the game site is not welknown outside male, and 41 female. The male/female ratio was the US more geared towards men among the international game players can even spend several hours playing (3) Also, according to the author’s own experiences and ob- players (79/21)(2). Juniper Research’s [39]report es- a mobile game. The typical places that are reported servations, women who already have families are often quite timates that mobile games business will grow from in our studies for places where the games are played busy and cannot necessarily afford to spend several hours in $3 billion in 2006 to $10.5 billion in 2009 and that include home and work. It seems to be common to front of computers. There are always distractions in the real play mobile games in places like bed before going to life. The mobile gameplay that is not fixed in one location and growth will be driven by the casual and female play- often supports short playsessions may fit better in that kind of ers. One comment from our interviews was that in sleep, or playing on the couch while watching TV. lifestyle. the non-mobile gaming field, more women play PC (4) 1800 users participated in the study in six countries

5 Chapter 2 Users and Games In 2010, more people will play mobile games. As given by our interviewees about the players of real- mentioned earlier, and also noted a few times in our life games using mobile phone as a tool. interviews, women will be important for driving this growth. Recently, there have been signs that some companies particularly aim to target their mobile games to young women (see e.g. Gameloft’s comment about targeting women players [29]). One example is Danish game development company WatAGame’s goSupermodel (Figure 1), where the players battle it out in the catwalk. We can expect to see more mobile games that are targeted to women in the future. The number of hard-core gamers will also get bigger in the mobile platform when the quality of the games is getting better and the mobile phone as a game development platform will offer more possibilities for creating games that both look good and lots of “deep” content. One of our developer interviewees noted that the company is addressing the needs of hardcore gamers by providing games that have hard-core theme and content but casual game mechanics that are better in the mobile game play situations. One good example of this is the Doom [15] mobile game. In the year 2010, more people than today have been using a mobile phone for their entire life. In Fin- land, a typical age to get a mobile phone is when children go to school at the age of seven. These kids who have grown up with mobile phones will have Figure 2 Future players of mobile games. The mobile phone can be used as a tool in play. a different, more pervasive(5) relationship with the mobile phone. One example of this is using the mo- (5) The word ”pervasive” is used here in the sense that the mobile phone is an important part of every day activities. bile phone as a tool in everyday playing. A Finnish (6) The children used the mobile phone in a special Finn- tabloid recently reported children playing hide-and- ish variation of the hide-and-seek game for collaboration seek with using mobile phone as a tool in this game amongst the hidden players, informing the lost players, and [30](6) . There were also some spontaneous positive revealing someone’s location by calling his or her mobile

6 Chapter 2 Users and Games few emerging game styles that may or may not be The games that will be popular more popular in year 2010 or later. Currently, the most popular mobile games are quite “Snack games” casual and many of them are versions of game titles that are developed for PC. For instance, Tetris ap- Snack games are small simple games that are typi- pears frequently in the list of top ten most sold mo- cally played just for a while when the player is bored bile games [16]. These “snack games” will definitely or waiting for something and then set aside. These not vanish from the market, but they are more likely games are typically small puzzle games or simple to have optional multi-player functionality. What arcade games(9). will change is that there will be more diversity. Most of the today’s mobile games can be described Like mentioned in the previous section, games that as snack games. Even if there will be a lot more di- offer deeper gameplay and good graphics will get versity in the future, there are no signs that snack more common. Some of the experts who we inter- gaming would vanish anywhere. This was confirmed Figure 3 Fitting a 3D object into an silhouette in viewed believed in similar games getting popular in in our interviews. Snack games will be there and Fathammer’s SiL game. the mobile platform are as popular now in the PC they may even drive the industry [39]. The mobile platform. However, the majority of the experts be- phone fits very nicely for snack gaming since it is lieved that the successful mobile games would be always available and many players do not care about something different, specifically designed for the deeper gaming experiences (and do not even con- mobile platform(7). These games could utilize the sider themselves as “gamers”). Instead, they are sat- specific features of the mobile phone: 1. connectiv- isfied with more casual gaming experiences. Also, ity, 2 “always-with-you”, and 3. the context of the innovation can happen in mobile puzzle games as player. At the same time, the games need to be de- well. One good example of this is Fathammer’s SiL signed around the limitations in the mobile environ- game [49] where the player has to rotate 3D objects ment. The biggest limitations for the game design to fit into a silhouette. include today: small screen size and keypad, network latency and traffic pricing, file size limitations, and platform fragmentation (see Section 3)(8). The (7) One of our invited articles defines the first category as “port- use situations of the mobile games are also often able games” and the second as “mobile games” [6] (8) The battery life and processing power can be also problems, different than when playing a PC or console game, however, these issues do not usually need to be considered even if – as noted earlier – mobile games are often when designing the game. (9) However, it must be noted that a snack game like Tetris can played at home as well. be played by another player like a snack game and by some other player fanatically. In this paper, we refer to a common We have listed the following game styles that will be playing style

7 Chapter 2 Users and Games Cross-platform Cross-platform games and entertainment (or poly- morphic content) was a big theme in our interviews. One of our invited papers also concentrated in this issue [54]. There are different kinds of cross-platform games. The “mildest” form of a cross-platform game is that the games in different platforms just share the same game license, but the gameplay in different platforms does not have any connection. We can already see these kinds of games utilizing popular game licenses, such as The Sims. These games can have similar stories or gameplay, or they can be complementary. One example of this could be a console game or a movie that is complemented with a mobile game where a small part of the whole story is revealed. For instance, the mobile game could explain something about the main character’s past that was never told in the movie. Figure 3 Fitting a 3D object into an silhouette in Fathammer’s SiL game. The next step in cross-platform is allowing the players to use two or more platform to access the same If the gameplay of a cross-platform game title is could be used as “a remote control”, is an MMOR- game. The ways to play the game with the different asymmetrical in different platforms and the mobile PG (Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing platforms are symmetrical (similar) or asymmetri- phone is one of the platforms, most of the game- Game) where the players can use mobile phone for cal (different). There are already games that can be play can happen in the mobile platform, the other doing small tasks in the game. played in different platforms, such as an MMORPG platform(s), or equally in all the platforms. A typical “A Tale in the Desert” [4]. However, having the mo- example of a game where the mobile phone would Nokia Research Center has conducted two quali- bile phone as part of the cross-platform functional- be the main platform could be a game where some tative studies together with SonyNetservices and ity is not common yet. Hinterwars is probably the content for the mobile game is created in other plat- Gotland University on what kinds of cross-plat- first commercial cross-platform MMOG (Massively form, for instance, in a web page. Mobile games can form access methods could be popular among the Multi-Player Game) [25] including the mobile com- also benefit from allowing the players to use the most current MMORPG players [34][35]. In these stud- ponent. In Hinterwars, the gameplay in the PC and feasible available platform for communicating with ies, 28 players participated in in-depth interviews. mobile platform are symmetrical (see Figure 4). each other, e.g. for writing messages in a game fo- It was found that the MMORPG players were very rum. A good example of a game where the PC game interested in using mobile features that allow them could be the main game, and the mobile phone to connect to the communication

8 Chapter 2 Users and Games channels of their favorite PC-based MMORPG. Mixed-reality games [26] often use several platforms interesting, share files, and more. Also, using small features that would not affect too to create the playing experience. Various platforms much the gameplay in the main platform and would can be used for informing about the game, entering One enabler for the location-based games to become not require too fast interaction were popular, such the game, playing the game, or observing the game. more popular is the increasing amount of location- as trading items or crafting. Features that involved These games often allow various levels of participa- technology that is available for the consumers with getting notifications from the MMORPG received a tion from active players to observers or even non- relatively low price. For instance in Finland the pric- mixed feedback. They were considered useful, how- players (who do not necessarily even know that they es of GPS modules (such as Navicore) have come ever, sometimes players were worried about “being are part of the game). These kinds of games have this down rapidly within the last two years. The compa- borderline gaming all the time” and getting too in- far been mostly successful as promotional games. A nies who are providing just maps today will start to volved in and addicted to playing. We also studied good example of that kind of game is Nokia Game consider what other kinds of applications they could using the mobile phone to play an MMORPG in a that has ran from year 1999 as a promotional game provide for the consumers. One sign of this is Navi- location-based mode. According to our study, these event for Nokia [44]. core’s map application that gives the driver of the kinds of games would not be popular – unless they car instructions. In addition, the driver can choose would be specifically designed to be location-based Location-based games (LBGs) which voice he wants to use from several options in the beginning. It is unlikely for the location-based (among which are some celebrities). MMORPG mobile game extensions will be popular Location-based games have not been a major com- in year 2010. What is very likely is that some more mercial success this far. A few commercial location- However, there are still many problems with the loca- subtle features, like accessing the communication based games have been launched, such as Botfight- tion technologies. For instance, GPS is very suitable channels or trading with mobile, will be commonly ers [7] and Mogi Mogi [37]. Geocaching [22], which for using in a car since being outdoors all the time used with some MMORPGs. is a real-world GPS assisted treasure hunt game, is makes seeing the satellite easier. However, gaming also an example of a location-based playful appli- and traffic can be a tricky combination and using a The first PC or console games that will use mobile cation that has gained some popularity and rather GPS device constantly when walking around in a phone to support the game will simply connect to much publicity. However, the location-based genre city can be cumbersome (especially in rough weath- the communication channels of the game. We have is a niche. In our interviews, the response for ques- er conditions, such as heavy rain). Some problems seen already a few examples of this, for instance, tions related with the near-future success of loca- with using GPS for location information have been Habbo Hotel [23], a virtual world created by Su- tion-based games ranged from skepticism to slight reported as well, for instance in the vicinity of very lake, has included a mobile chat client that was used optimism. It was also noted that maybe the location- high buildings [5]. Other technologies for location for sending messages in the game. Later Sulake re- based games have been too often very goal oriented tracking exist, but utilizing them is not necessarily moved this feature from the game since it was not games and that the popular location-based applica- that easy either. The mobile operators offer tracking used much. The reason for this was probably that the tions could be more playful. One example of a loca- services which are not as accurate as GPS. Using a typical players did not yet have advanced-enough tion-based (proximity based) application is Nokia’s location service by operator may be expensive and phones to use the feature and the pricing for data Sensor application [47]. The users of the Sensor ap- require going through a lot of bureaucracy [36]. One traffic was very high in the mobile networks. The plication can browse other users of the same applica- option is to use the CELL-ID for obtaining a rough time was too early for the feature and now both of tion who are in the vicinity (i.e. within the Bluetooth knowledge of the whereabouts of the player. How- these issues are changing. range), and see if they can find someone ever, this information is sometimes seen to be

9 Chapter 2 Users and Games owned by the mobile operator which may cause and user-created content (see Figure 5). Mixing the virtual and real – pervasive gaming problems in commercial applications. Proximity gaming can be a more suitable way for locating According to the definition that is used in the Inte- players of the same game at the moment, since the grated Project on Pervasive Gaming (IPerG ) [31] technology for doing this is already widely avail- pervasive games are “game experiences that are in- able. Some commercial applications already exist terwoven with our everyday lives”. This means that (such as Nokia Sensor that was mentioned earlier). pervasive games mix with our everyday activities. Those who are interested in proximity gaming can In the extreme cases this could mean games that are read more about it in Tom Söderlund’s article in the more like a life style than just a game. Pervasive article appendix of this report [51]. gaming can - but does not necessarily need to mean – location-based gaming. Location-based games are When talking about LBGs, concentrating on accura- a subset of pervasive games. cy can be a red herring. Accuracy may not be important, and sometimes using exact location informa- One good example of mixing virtual and real is a tion in a game can be even threatening for players game event organized by Nokia Research Center who do not want to let the other players to know and a collaborative project Sensor Planet [48] is about their whereabouts. There is always potential Manhattan Story-Mash Up event (Figure 6) in the for stalking if a very accurate location technology Urban Games festival in New York. In this game is used. Sometimes it might be interesting for the event, the players were taking pictures of real-life player just to know that the other player is in the objects in the street and other players were guessing same neighborhood. Some mobile games may be lo- what these objects represent. The second mode of cation-based even without the players realizing that play was web-based, where the players wrote stories they are playing a location-based game. The players around the content. Earlier examples of these kinds may just play a game in a certain location. One ex- of games exist, too, such as, Can You See Me Now, ample of this could be a mobile-assisted bar quiz. Uncle Roy All Around You, Pac Manhattan, Human Pacman etc. These kinds of games can be particu- One big problem with commercializing location- larly successful as promotional game events, for in- based games is the amount of resources that is needed Figure 5 An example of a research prototype stance, Nokia has used a mixed-reality game “Nokia for customizing the games or applications to differ- called Constellations where content is automati- game” already for years for promoting its phones. ent locations. A few solutions exist and the solutions cally generated to fit new locations. More in www. may also show direction to where the location-based mupe.net games or playful applications will go in the near future. The location can be relative, the location may The Location-based games will probably still stay be not mapped directly to the real world, and the as a niche in year 2010. However, we will see more game may utilize existing maps and services location-based games than today.

10 Chapter 2 Users and Games There are a few reasons for connected gaming not The game received particularly good reviews and being more popular today. In the earlier days, there good publicity (see e.g. [44]). were big usability problems with connected gaming. Most of the users had no idea how to even set up network settings. Nowadays this is not a big problem anymore as many mobile phones come with pre-set network settings or the operators send the settings automatically when the user inserts a new SIM card in his or her phone. However, there are still many problems. One of the biggest one is the pricing of data traffic in mobile networks, as also occasionally cited in our interviews. Most of the op- Figure 6 Manhattan Story Mash-Up event in New erators charge the data transfer by kilobytes, which York. The pictures taken in the game were posted Figure 7 A good example of a contemporary mul- makes it very difficult for a normal user to estimate in a wide-screen in Manhattan. ti-player online mobile game that has received how much money is spent when playing. This will change in the future when operators offer more good reviews: Pathway to Glory. multi-player friendly pricing models (see section 4). Our interviews gave some indication that the bor- In the case of server-based online games, it can be ders between the digital entertainment and gaming, also rather expensive to set up and maintain serv- Community and also virtual and real may blur more in the near ers. Latency in the mobile networks is a problem in future. An example of this already happening is the the games that require fast player-to-player interac- The community is often seen as a very important part alternate reality game connected with the Lost TV tion [20]. 3G networks help this a bit, but there will of the game, particularly in the case of multi-player series. still be latency and disconnections from the network games. Human as a species has a strong need for so- (particularly if the players are moving, e.g. sitting cializing and communities have existed probably as Connected games (or online games) on a train). Even if the network technologies would long as the human kind. In Massively Multi-Player not advance fast enough to offer a smooth real-time Online Game (MMOG) industry, there is a saying Connected (online) mobile games have been com- multi-player gaming experience in the mobile net- “they come for the game but stay for the commu- ing to the market already for several years. Howev- works, there are many ways to design multi-player nity” which is very much true. Plenty of literature er, most of the mobile games are still offline games, games that are latency resistant [20]. exists describing the benefits of a game having an even if some of the mobile games use short-range active player community (see e.g. [40]). communication technologies, such as Bluetooth or A good example of a successful connected mobile infrared to facilitate locally multi-player games. In game is Pathway to Glory (Figure 7), which is a Nokia study [19], 45% of the mobile game players strategy game where the players guide their troops reported that they play multi-player mobile games at to solve missions in Second World War. least once per month.

11 Chapter 2 Users and Games In mobile games, community aspects are impor- Joining the game happens by invitation of another tant as well. Our interviews revealed three different player of the game. kinds of opinions: Another example of a commercial community-fo- 1. The communities will be a central part of cused approach in today’s mobile gaming already is mobile games. The mobile phone is a social device the N-Gage gaming platform [43], which has an ac- used for communicating. tive player community around it. As the publisher’s role becomes stronger in mobile games industry, it 2. The communities will be important but it is is likely that communities form around certain popu- not clear where the mobile game communities will lar publisher’s game titles. Also, as connected gam- reside. One very potential candidate is the Internet ing and even massively multi-player online gaming (e.g. a mobile game that is accompanied with a web (MMOG) becomes more common in the mobile page(10) ). Some interviewees also suggested that lo- platform, it is very likely that the role of commu- cal communities may become important for mobile nities grows as well since it has been very central applications. in the PC or console-based MMOGs and connected games. Figure 8 Sea O’Fortune is a good example of a 3. Communities may not be an important part mobile-based MMOG game world of mobile games in 2010. The mobile phone has its limitations (e.g. the keypad, screen size, and the ma- turity of connected gaming) and the success of on- The skeptical responses were based on the limita- line mobile games has been still moderate. tions of the mobile phone and networks. It was also The opinions that reflected mobile game communi- mentioned that the more casual and older players not ties already being important part of mobile gaming being necessarily interested in using a lot of time in already in year 2010 were more common. A few order to get involved in game communities. Howev- skeptical responses existed. er, often different roles are possible in communities ranging from active participants to observers. One good example of a community-focused mobile commercial game is Digital Chocolate’s MLSN sports league [37], which is an entirely community- based game where the players manage their sports leagues to compete with others. In the academic domain, a good example of a game that is based on the player community is COUP [11]. In this game, the (10)However, some of the mobile phone are already more like players compete with each other to climb up in a multi-media computer and web pages can be browsed equally both with mobile phones and desktop computers. social hierarchy.

12 Chapter 2 Users and Games Prosumerism Serious games typically need to make the educa- when participating events. This is already possible tional purpose very visible for either the founder of because the mobile users can browse Internet gam- In other media than only the games a common trend the game or the player. The serious games have been bling sites with their mobile devices. Many of the seems to be the more active role of the consumer. often criticized for not being fun. However, it could first mobile gambling games will resemble the ones We call this prosumerism, which means that the user be the definition of a serious game that makes it so that are played today in the Internet or at Kiosks. takes a role of a content creator or a hobbyist pro- (it needs to be something serious, If it is fun, it is not However, some mobile gambling concepts will uti- ducer in a service or application. This trend certainly serious!). The more fun games that can have edu- lize the “live” aspect. Sometimes the mobile gam- also affects the mobile gaming. However, the mobile cational or health benefits are often seen as games bling games can be part of a bigger concept where phone offers quite limited screen real-estate and in- that are played just for fun (e.g. dancing or singing the game is played on different platforms. put methods for creating content. Some of the con- games). tent-creation or publishing tools may reside in other platforms. One example could be a game where the The mobile phone is a good platform for serious player can customize the game character in detail in games. The phone is almost always with the user a web site but plays the game with mobile phone. and it is very accessible and can be aware of its One very potential mobile technology for creating context. The user can always access the phone and or publishing content is the mobile phone camera. engage in learning when he or she has time. In ad- Use of voice has potential too, however, the use of dition, the learning can happen in the right context, voice has not been utilized much in mobile games for instance, the players could get some additional today. Also, we have noticed in when playtesting information about the real locations where they are mobile games that quite often the players prefer to currently in. In health games the context becomes play the mobile games without the sound. even more important. A good example of a successful serious game in a portable gaming console is We will see more games where the players can pro- Nintendo DS Brainage [8]. Even this success alone duce or create content (11) . However, these kinds of is likely to encourage some of the mobile developers games will not dominate the market in year 2010. to experiment more in the field of serious gaming. The technology is still a barrier in this area. Seriuos games are related to the bigger topic of per- Serious games suasive games. Advergames (games that advertise something) are another form of persuasive games Serious games can be defined as games that, in ad- and they are briefly discussed in the Section 4. (11)Lincoln Wallen defined the player created and published content nicely in Nokia’s NERD conference in year 2006. He dition to being fun, serve some useful purpose, such referred to player created content as something where the play- as education or staying healthy. All games can be Gambling er creates things from the scratch and player published content where the player uses content provided by the game developer said to be educational or to influence the player to to create content. In the latter case, the content has already some extent – the very core of gameplay is to learn Mobile gambling will gain popularity. The players value as itself. A good example of this is podcasting (user-published content) and users composing songs themselves (user- to master to play the game. can gamble with the mobile phone simultaneously created content).

13 Chapter 3: In the following, we have listed the technology trends that were found in our workshop and interviews. It must be noted again that the new technolo- The bigger developers typically have their automat- ed testing platforms for testing mobile games. Technology gies listed in this report do not refer to Nokia road mapping but only to the interview data that was col- lected in this study. Camera The mobile-phone camera was already mentioned as an existing technology that will affect what kinds In this section we discuss the technological trends Platform fragmentation of games will be popular already in the near future. that are related to mobile games. The focus is more The mobile phone camera is mainly used for three in the platform issues, not as much in the mobile The platform fragmentation is one of the biggest purposes: 1. creating content, 2. interaction, and 3. network technologies, but it must be noted that both technological issues in mobile game development. creating augmented reality. The examples that we are important. The different platform manufacturer’s phones vary give are here are from our research projects, how- a lot, most importantly, in software development en- ever, it is likely that we will see commercial mobile The technological trends are particularly interesting vironments, screen sizes and keypads. The mobile games using the camera in similar ways already in since when a particular technology gets common phones developed by the same platform manufac- year 2010. A good example of a current commercial and accessible via APIs (Application Programming turer vary as well. Porting a mobile game to sev- mobile game where the camera is used for game in- Interfaces) in mobile phones, it can enable new eral platforms can be as expensive as developing the teraction is Final Fantasy: Before Chrisis [17]. commercially viable mobile gaming styles. A very game itself. good example of this is the mobile phone camera, Many MUPE [41] games use the mobile phone cam- which is becoming almost like a standard feature in The platform fragmentation, according to our inter- era for content creation. One example of this is the the more advanced mobile phones. Not that many views, does not go anywhere by year 2010. Some Superstar game where the players try to take pic- commercial applications exist yet, however, the use improvements will happen, particularly among the tures of the other players without them noticing it. of mobile phone camera is very popular in research same platform manufacturer’s phones – the big- Another example of this a game prototype where the projects. In these research projects, the camera is ger manufacturers like Nokia know that this is a mobile-phone camera was used to create race tracks typically used for creating content, interacting with real problem for the developers and are working on in a rally game. The mobile-phone camera has been the game or other players, and creating augmented making their life easier. The bigger game publishers used for interaction in a few research projects. A reality. One of our invited papers roadmaps the fu- may also able to agree about some standards in the good example of this is the AR tennis game [24], ture mobile technologies (Sonja Kangas, VTT: The future. where the player uses the mobile phone camera to Technology Centre of Finland) [32]. Another in- play tennis with another player. A classical example vited paper by Frank Fitzek of Aalborg University A big driver for the fragmentation is the fact that of an augmented-reality game that uses the mobile describes a new kind of network architecture that new devices come frequently in the market and that phone camera is the mosquito game, where mosqui- could be used in mobile games [18]. may even increase the fragmentation in the future. toes (or viruses in another version) are augmented For the bigger mobile game developers the platform on top of a real world view. fragmentation can also been seen as an asset since it is a huge barrier to entry for the smaller ones.

14 Chapter 3 Technology networks include GPS, operator-provided location radio access protocols. In late 2005 and early 2006 tracking, proximity technologies, such as Bluetooth, during the initial real-world deployments of HSD- Wi-Fi, and identifying the CELL-ID. Since the lo- PA, data throughput rates for individual terminals cation-based games were already discussed earlier ranged from 1 to 3 Mbit/s with latency times be- in this document we will not go further in detail in tween 100 and 300. UMTS networks deployed with here. HSDPA are particularly attractive to operators due to the continued cost savings and projected subscriber Connectivity models which are associated. According to the 3G America’s website; UMTS users have grown to 81 The mobile phones will have more options for con- million subscribers globally in less than one year, necting to the mobile internet and the access will with projections of more than ten times that amount be more ubiquitous. The high-end mobile phones by 2011 [1]. already have Wi-Fi connectivity, and it is likely to become more common in low-end mobile phones as 4G network technologies are already in planning but well. The ideal situation from the users point of view will not probably affect that much the market yet would be that the mobile phone could automatically in year 2010. These networks can potentially offer choose the most efficient network available (e.g. 100Mbps data transfer over IP compliant networks. Figure 9 A player using the mobile phone camera fastest or cheapest) seamlessly. We got indication in 4G networks may also be compiliant with Wi-Fi and as a controller when playing tennis against an- our interviews that some multi-player online games WiMax and reduce operator costs. other player may use streaming technology for gameplay. The operator interoperability can be sometimes a Other new interaction technologies The mobile network technologies are evolving, like problem. This could be the case when a game would in the past and we can expect the speed and the cause the operator’s presence service to see if quests Some mobile phones already incorporate 3D motion pacity to grow in the future as well. Currently, in the can be sent to a player who is not currently actively sensors that can be used for a new kind of game in- 2G networks the latencies are still rather high, typi- playing a game (to see if he or she is for instance teraction. Technologies that make controlling mobile cally ranging from 300ms to one second. There can working). games easier may gain popularity since that seems be also occasionally high latency peaks or the users to be a problem currently. may disconnect from the mobile network (particu- Bluetooth is one of the most commonly used tech- larly when commuting). GPRS and EDGE are the nologies currently for connecting multi-player mo- Location technologies most deployed 2G technologies. bile gamers. Tom Söderlund’s article [51] in our article appendix discusses proximity gaming. Location-technologies are becoming more common 3G UMTS networks improve data rates greatly but and accessible in mobile phones. Location-based latency increases are marginal. In the 3GPP Rel-5, games were already discussed earlier in this report. HSDPA promises low latency times using IP based Examples of such technologies in mobile phones or network infrastructure combined with enhanced

15 Chapter 3 Technology Communication between the applications However, the game design nicely involves this and the JSR-118/MIDP 2.0 for 2D graphics, JSR-184/ uses the field radio as a metaphor for sending the M3G for 3D graphics, JSR-239 offering Java bind- Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) enables flexible messages in order not to break the immersion. ings for OpenGL ES, and the upcoming JSR-297/ game interaction functionality (see e.g. [50]). SIP M3G 2.0 which adds support for advanced features, protocol can be used for handling online game ses- Graphics performance such as programmable shading. sions, presence, and messaging in text or even data stream. Every player can be identified with a unique The graphics power of the mobile phones has in- All of these standards will have an impact on the SIP address. The players can, for instance, invite creased a lot – the high-end mobile phones like No- mobile games that will be developed in the near fu- other players who are not logged in the game to play kia N93 already have hardware accelerated graphics ture. with them. Using SIP may become more common in and are capable of showing equivalent graphics as the future since it seems to solve some of the prob- the PlayStation2 gaming console. This will make Software platforms lems that are related with online gaming and it is al- developing 3D games for mobile more feasible, ready commonly supported in the mobile networks. however, the usability issues for playing 3D games The software platforms for developing mobile with small displays must be taken into account. games that exist today will be still strong in year VoIP while playing Many mobile game developers and publishers seem 2010. The most popular one currently is Java. Brew to favor 3D games, which showed also in our inter- is also popular, particularly in the Northern Amer- Some of the online mobile games are likely to use views. For instance, Gameloft has announced that ica. Some developers choose to use Symbian for voice chat simultaneously with gameplay already in the company’s goal is to eventually launch all of its creating a richer gaming experience. In the native year 2010. This is due to the small size keypad that game titles in 3D [2]. side, Windows Mobile is an upcoming competitor, needs currently not only to be used for communica- but not that many games for Windows Mobile exist tion but also for controlling the game. Voice com- The developers gain access to the new graphics fea- yet. munication with mobile is very natural, and as soon tures through the use of standardized graphics pro- as this is technically (and commercially) feasible, gramming APIs. An industry collaboration known A very promising new software platform for mobile some of the online mobile games will utilize it. as the Khronos Group has been very successful game development is Flash Lite. When Flash Lite in specifying high quality APIs with wide accept- becomes more common we will see a lot of porting Today we can already see some signs about going ance. Examples of these include the OpenVG API of old simple web games. In the research, Python to that direction, even if voice communication while for hardware accelerated 2D vector graphics and the has been quite popular. A good Python compiler ex- playing online mobile game is difficult to implement OpenGL ES for 3D graphics. All major manufac- ists for the S60 Nokia phones and it is used in many at the moment. In Pathway to Glory [46] mobile turers have either already implemented or are plan- research projects. game, the players can communicate with each other ning to implement these APIs in their handsets. An- with recorded short voice messages. The quality of other example of a Khronos group’s standard is the the voice messages sent over GPRS cannot compete OpenKODE initiative for native gaming [33]. with the quality of making voice calls. On the Java side, the Java Community Process (JCP) has been equally active, with examples like

16 Chapter 3 Technology Convergence them in addition to a mobile phone. Then on the oth- The combination of connected gaming and increas- er hand, if the mobile phone ends up to be the playing popularity will create a need for enhanced secu- Convergence of the mobile phone technologies is er’s only gaming device, then getting sometimes an rity both in a technical sense and when considering a strong trend. A good example of convergence is enhanced gaming experience is desirable. cheating and other typical problems in online games. the mobile phone and camera. The high-end mobile Another issue that will make security even more im- phones are becoming more and more like mini com- In the following, we have listed a few development portant is gambling or trading game items for real puters that can handle various tasks. When more paths that could make mobile game peripherals suc- money [13]. Such games have not yet been seen in mobile phones enable easy web browinsg, playing cessful already in year 2010: the mobile phones, but this may change in the near browser-based games with a mobile phone will be- future. Steven Davis’ paper on mobile game security come common. In some cases, the development of - The peripherals are multi-purpose devices in our collection of invited articles describes these accessories and peripherals for the mobile phones - Some of the users play games only with issues in detail [12]. Protection of the content will may also increase divergence. their mobile become more important as its value gets bigger. - Content that support the use of peripherals Peripherals exists - The usability, coolness-factor, and pricing Development of peripherals can be an opportunity of peripherals are acceptable for the mobile phone to provide opportunities for a richer audio-visual game experience and better in- Security teraction. The other way to go is developing ways to connect mobile phones to already available other The security issues have not had a very big role so devices. A good example of this is TV-out connec- far in mobile gaming. The sellers have been natural- tion that already exists in some mobile phones (for ly interested that when a user buys a game he cannot instance, in Nokia’s N93 phone). These kinds of copy it to other devices. On the other hand, this is a connections also enable the users to use generic pe- problem for those who change mobile phones and ripherals for the mobile phone, e.g. data glasses that would like to play a mobile game with their new support external signal input. It should be also noted, device. However, this problem has not necessarily however, that the content often needs to be designed seen as a big one since a new phone model would to support the new output and input formats. need typically a new game version anyway. Also, many of the story-oriented current mobile games The success of peripherals for the mobile phone, do not include that much content and are quickly particularly dedicated ones, is not certain. One very played trough. important thing that separates the mobile phone from other portable gaming devices the mobile phone is However, as quality of mobile games increases and always with the user, even when the he or she would the gaming experiences become more connected, the not be planning to play games. It is not certain if the security issues become more and more important.

17 Chapter 4: customer, and the best billing mechanism that exists for mobile games. advergames. The alternate- or mixed-reality games also often tend to use a promotional revenue models. Business We got indications in our interviews that the times will be hard for small mobile game developers in the near future. The solution for this is to team up with The mobile game players will be more often able to try out the games before buying them. A study a bigger publisher or aggregator. The operators are [53] commissioned by Nokia revealed that “Try be- Value Nets typically not interested in discussing with the small fore you buy” is very important for the mobile game players since they have established relationships player. One comment in our interviews was, though, Our group of interviewees was quite biased in the with the bigger ones already. When the interoper- that “try before you buy” may be problematic if the developer side with only a few operator respond- ability increases, the times will become easier for games are very short anyway. ents. On basis of the interviews it was very clear that the smaller developers publishers again, but this will the game developers in general think that the opera- probably happen after 2010. In-game advertisements will provide a revenue tors are currently taking too big role in the value net stream for some games. This is something that is and are actively looking for ways to go around them. The companies who understand the mobile platform already emerging in the non-mobile space. A good There was some confirmation for this in the operator as a unique media will probably have an advantage example of a game where the in-game advertise- side as well. However, the operators continue to be over to those who attempt to publish material that is ments play a big role is Funcom’s Anarchy Online typical provider to offer a starting point for finding familiar from other platforms in the mobile. A good [3]. Advertising more in games makes sense partic- the games and often take care of billing the custom- comparison made by one of our interviewees was ularly when considering that young people tend to ers. that the traditional publishers of TV content are typ- use as much or even more time playing games than ically not as successful in the Internet as new play- watching TV. In our interviews, the mobile game publishers pre- ers like Google or Yahoo. dicted that their role will be stronger in the value net. Paying for content may become more common in We got some indication about that from the operator Revenue Models mobile games. For instance, episodic content fits side as well. In the near future, there will be opera- quite nicely for the mobile platform where the play tor channels that the publishers can control rather The existing revenue model for mobile games is very sessions are supposed to be shorter than with a PC independently. Some publishers will have their own, much based on the players paying for a single game. or console. Virtual asset trade and real money trans- operator independent, portals for selling games. The The subscription-based model is gaining popularity actions in games have been an emerging trend in the publishers who collaborate with the operators can also in Europe and has been a strong model in Asia PC gaming recently. This will also probably have take the responsibility of transferring the game to the already for years. The other revenue models that will some effect in the mobile gaming, one of our invited player directly and then just let the operator know become more common include promotional games, papers discusses these issues [13]. for what the customer needs to be billed. The op- game renting, paying for content, and gifting. Ex- erators will not vanish anywhere from the value net amples of promotional mobile games exist already within the next few years since they have a strong (e.g. TibiaME [52] launched by T-Mobile). Flash role currently, a trust relationship with the Lite will probably increase the amount of mobile

18 Chapter 4 Business Distribution discussed already earlier. for instance, how the mobile TV operates currently in Finland. Even if a user would be interested in playing a mo- Billing bile game, it may be difficult to find where to buy Marketing and brands the game or the user is not even aware of the games One barrier for new revenue models is the billing that he or she might be interested in playing. This is models that the operators are providing. According Advertising in the print media becomes more com- one of the biggest problems at the moment in distri- to our interviews, the operators will provide more mon. The new phenomena will be easier to get into bution. The situation may become even more con- billing models in the near future. For instance, the the knowledge of the audience faster. A good exam- fusing for the users when there will be more portals users can form groups and the billing can be done ple of this is Jamba’s Crazy Frog. that are selling mobile games. At the same time, the for the group instead of an individual. increased advertising and reviews around mobile The more flexible billing models will also enable Some of the bigger mobile game developers are games will probably help the users to find the good models where the players pay for virtual assets or building their own, mobile-originated game brands. portals for buying the games that they want to play. even trade them with each other. One of our invited Brand building can also get easier when the game articles considers real money transactions (RMT) in publishers will have their own distribution chan- Most of the mobile games today are distributed over games [13]. nels. According to our interviews, the operators are the air (OTA) and this will not change by the year not always that interested in new brands since they 2010. OTA seems to be a more successful mod- Billing for the content may happen in a different like to play safe. This seems to depend on the opera- el than selling games in retail for mobile. A study place where getting the content does. For instance, tor since not all of them are interested in branded [19] shows that mobile game players are currently the mobile game could be bought with a console games. While the bigger players from the console interested in downloading games over the Internet game in a box but then the content downloaded over and PC games field are entering the business, we (OTI) as well (the popularity of OTI was 35% and the air with, for instance, an access code. will see more familiar brands from there to emerge OTA 45%). However, this may reflect the high pric- in the mobile space. Some of the interviewees who ing for data transfer currently. When the prices for Cost were acquiring content said that they are not particu- data transfer go down and the reliability and speed larly interested in big licenses. One trend that also up, the popularity of OTA will increase. Currently The cost for developing mobile games will grow emerged in the interviews was that the social net- OTI usually means downloading games to a PC while the quality requirements(12) for mobile games works are used for marketing games. and transferring them to a mobile phone, however, increase. We got some indication in our interviews OTA and OTI will also converge when the mobile that the cost versus revenue rate is not well-balanced. The players will have more awareness of the mobile phones can be also used as Internet browsers that The development cost of mobile games is going up game publishers and if they are usually publishing use Wi-Fi for data transfer (and the more advanced but the revenues are not increasing as quickly. good games or not. Some players will choose the ones already can). Also, the traditional console and games that they buy based on the publisher. PC games business is moving towards OTI. An arti- The cost for data-transfer has been a big barrier for cle in Gamasutra shows that in future games may be mobile online gaming. In the future, many operators distributed more often in the Internet [21]. The issue will offer flat data transfer fees. Sometimes, the data of who will provide the distribution channels was transfer fees can be included in the service. This is, (12) This refers to the users expecting better graphics etc.

19 Recommendations by friends and trials sent by camera, will also encourage developing games with inside the operators’ portals. Times will be hard for friends seem to be currently very important for the new interaction styles and possibly even new mo- the smaller publishers or developers who don’t have mobile game players [19]. It is very likely that these bile game genres. their own portals or relationships with the operators kinds of features will be used more frequently in or bigger publishers. selling the future mobile games When considering the software platforms for mobile game development, the existing ones will be Chapter 5: strong (Java, Brew, and Symbian in Europe), and Flash Lite will gain popularity. The users will have more possibilities for connected gaming as the mo- Conclusions bile phones will offer possibilities for using various technologies for data transfer (3G and the next generation, Wi-Fi, etc). We are not expecting the mobile gaming to change The distribution of mobile games is currently a huge radically from today to year 2010. The mobile games problem. This will change at least somewhat by will have a lot more publicity and the players will be 2010. Utilizing viral distribution and “try before you more aware of mobile games. An increasing number buy” will be successful. There will be more portals of people who consider themselves as gamers will for buying games, provided by the operators, big be playing mobile games, sometimes this will be a games publishers, and platform manufacturers. The cross-platform experience where the player can ac- portals will have better usability and provide more cess the same game from various platforms includ- information about the games for the players. The ing mobile. “Snack” or casual games will be still players will have also more knowledge about the very important part of the business. Currently these portals, games, and mobile game publishers. Some kinds of games generate most of the revenue in mo- of the players will trust certain publishers to create bile games industry. The partition of games that are good-quality mobile games. geared towards more hard-core gaming experiences will grow but not radically. Online gaming will be The publisher’s role in the value net becomes strong- more popular when the technological and commer- er, however, the operators will also still be strong in cial barriers get smaller. the value net. The roles in the value net get clearer and publishers may take over some of the tasks that The technological advancements in the mobile have belonged to the operator, such as transferring phone, such as hardware accelerated 3D graphics, the game files directly to the player. Some of the will drive the increasing quality of the mobile games. publishers will have their own distribution channels Some technologies that will become more common and some will work together with operators taking in mobile games, such as the mobile phone more independently care of their own “channels”

20 Acknowledgements Jussi Holopainen Juha Ruskola Nokia Resarch Center, Finland Mr Goodliving, Finland The following people were invaluable in the many Teemu Jalava Mattias Svahn forms of contributions to this report. They helped Nokia Research Center, Finland Swedish Inistitute of Information Science, with participating interviews, commenting and re- Aki Järvinen Sweden viewing the reports, and writing articles. The con- Veikkaus (the Finnish National Lottery Tom Söderlund tributors and the company where they were em- Company), Finland Blaze, Sweden ployed at the time of the contribution are listed Sonja Kangas Mika Tammenkoski below in alphabeitical order VTT (The Technical Research Center of Digital Chocolate, Finland Finland), Finland Jyrki Usva Juha Arrasvuori Sampo Karjalainen Sonera, Finland Nokia Research Center, Finland Sulake, Finland Lincoln Wallen Tomi Aarnio Praveen Karoshi EA Mobile Games, UK Nokia Research Center, Finland Nokia Technology Platforms, India Vicky Wu Raimo Backstrom Jani Karlsson Froghop, USA Nokia Networks, Finland Nokia Multimedia, Finland Serguei Zhitinski John Paul Bichard Jaakko Kievari Mobos, Russia Idea Milk, Sweden Nokia Multimedia, Finland Greg Costikyan Vesa-Pekka Kirsi Manifesto Games, USA Nokia Multimedia, Finland Steven Davis Jani Kärhämä GlobalSecure Inc, USA Fathammer, Finland Frank Fitzek Panu Mustonen Aalborg University, Denmark Satama Interactive, Finland Anton Gauffin Ning Yang Nibble Gamelion, Finland Nokia Research Center, China Tim Greenhalgh Mark Ollila Galaxylife, UK Telcogames, UK(13) Tim Harrison Seth Pfeiffer Vodafone, UK Nokia Networks, USA Mikko-Pekka Hanski Markus Ramark Idean Resarch, Finland Nokia Multimedia, Finland If you have contributed but your name was not in the Fernando Herrera Adolfo Rosas list, please contact Elina.M.Koivisto@nokia.com Rovio, Finland Telefonica, Spain (13) Since Novermber 2006 Nokia Multimedia in Finland

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[34] Koivisto, Elina M.I., and Eladhari, Mirjam: User [53] http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061127/ukm003.html?. elspa.com/?c=/charts/mobile.jsp Evaluation of a Pervasive Game Concept. Proceed v=85. [17] Final Fantasy, Before Chrisis. Square Enix. Japan ings of DIME-arts 2006, Bangkok, Thailand, 2006. [54] Wu, Vicky. Mobile Devices and the “Traditional” 2004. Gamer. Mobile Games 2010 Report Articles, 2007.

22 Appendix for the Mobile Games 2010 re- Panu Mustonen When designing early WAP-games, the data port, the invited articles Satama - Finland traffic creation was almost automatic. The networks and phones were slow, so what ever Mobile Games and Data Traffic game you designed, it consumed a lot of time Creation (and thus circuit switched data time because always connected). Optimization of data traf- Introduction From History Greed to Future Need fic was also thought to be nonsense because the real customers in 2000 were seen to be mobile operators. However, the revenue mod- This Appendix consists of the invited articles and testing of a proximity game prototype. WAP els based on data revenue share were not in for the Mobile Games 2010 report. The arti- The seventh article by Vicky Wu discusses When mobile gaming started to come to the existence – the operators were not ready to cles look at future mobile games from various transmedial access, what kinds of strategies wish list of handset manufacturers and opera- give away revenue that they thought was the points of view, ranging from the early history can be used in implementing games with tors the only possibility was through WAP- backbone of their business. Earmarking in- to design and technical aspects. The articles transmedial access, and how transmedial ac- based games (excluding mini-scale business come from certain games was very difficult are each authors’ opinions on their topics and cess can benefit game developers. (Please around Communicators, Palms and of course – and looking back to those times, it was also do not reflect Nokia’s road mapping or future note that in the Mobile Games 2010 report the legendary Snake-game). Starting 1999 quite disturbing for the operators to give away product releases in any way. Some of the arti- the terms “cross-platform access” and “cross- there was quite buzz around mobile games data traffic figures which saying the least were cles may even contradict each other or the Mo- platform games” are used instead of this less and companies getting ready to do those not always very convincing (or at least they bile Games 2010 report; however, since pre- commonly used term.) The last article by mysterious games. There were no WAP- were not in the scope of “hockey stick” fig- dicting the future is a difficult task, we wanted Frank Fitzek describes a potential architec- phones and the only devices having a WML- ures of all the future estimations). In any case, to show different points of view for the readers. ture for future mobile multi-player games. browser were some PDAs from PSION. This the WAP-games were bought and licensed to and the lack of proven business models did their services because they are always an easy In the first article of this Appendix, Panu not prevent venture capitalists investing in way to show the end-customers what new Mustonen describes how mobile gaming has new mobile game companies (this was how technology can mean to them. The mobile evolved from past and predicts what will companies like Springtoys and Riot-E were game companies kept on doing mobile games change in the future. The second article is founded in Finland). At the same time a lot because there were not many alternatives and written by Sonja Kangas, and she looks at of companies were founded or grown around of course everybody hoped that some day op- the trends in the digital media and how mo- “mobile internet” – so it was not just games. erators would open up their data revenues. bile gaming will be like in the future. Kangas also looks at the future technologies in the hy- The common denominator behind all these J2ME ENTERING TO THE STAGE brid media. In the third article, Jean Paul Bi- companies and their products was to create In no way were the WAP-games a mistake for chard defines how portable and mobile games data traffic on the new WAP-enabled handsets. the companies or for the mobile games indus- are different and looks at what is required In the calculations of those days there were try. Even though the full monetary potential to create true mobile games. The fourth and two main sources for greed. The first source of them was not achieved, they taught the fifth articles are written by Steven Davis. In was that the WAP-games and content had to game companies to make server-based games his first article, he discusses the real money use circuit switched data over GSM. The data from the beginning as well as thinking about transaction phenomena and the second one call rates for the early users were very high, optimizing time need of the game – either to- concerns the security issues in online games. and it was assumed that GSM operators would wards the operators needs or then to the actual In the sixth article, written by Tom Söderlund be willing to share the data traffic income with game experience. When J2ME started to raise ,concerns proximity gaming. The article is game companies. The other source was the es- its head in 2000 it was again time to think written from the design point of view but also timates of data-usage growth as well as the what kind of revenue models were needed in lists technologies that can be used and gives estimated roadmap for new networks and new an example of the design, implementation, phones capable of color and real-time gaming.

23 these games. It was understood that the games From the end of 2001 there was also a very gamers who think that networked multi-play- 4. Network connected games that take needed to be very small (40k) to get through important change in the operators’ attitude to- er gaming is part of normal game experience. into account for example players position in the WAP-gateways, and also very simple. The wards mobile entertainment and games. The At the same time Xbox Live, N-Gage Arena, physical world. success of ring tones had proven the business operators started to run down their own content numerous Counter-Strike servers and simi- 5. Connected snack games. For exam- of Premium SMS (PSMS) and value-added teams and started to use content aggregators. lar services have highlighted the importance ple racing over Bluetooth or 4G networks. services, so that was definitely on the other This changed the rules of the data-traffic game of community in gaming. The mobile phone side of income calculations. In the year 2000, at the same time. The operators understood that is all about communication and as such also Will this mean that the role of the operator operators normally still had their own teams their business was in enabling PSMS or WAP- about communities – this is also something is more to be data-pipeline because the big for buying and even contracting games and based micro payments (game downloads). that mobile game developers have been saying publishers will always charm the gamers with this fact transferred the data traffic dilemma Now the game developers were out of the for ages. On the other hand, the console game their favorite game titles? No, because on the into the downloadable games. What kind of data-traffic revenue game – this time for good. publishers have been dreaming about combin- other hand, the operators know communica- J2ME games would bring operator data-traf- ing mobile and console gaming by some other tion and how their customers like to commu- fic and thus get the upper hand when fighting From player exploitation to player satisfac- way than just by selling title licenses (many nicate. Bringing in that expertise to the mobile on the position on operators’ game portfo- tion - times creating games that are quite horrible game business will bring them to be “player” lio and a good visibility on their marketing? Connected Games in 2010 compared to the original “big screen” title). again in the game. At this point, communities were one of the so- Now in 2006 we are in the situation of 3G net- When combining these different factors, in lutions brought in. Even high-score-list send- works being launched around the world and 2010 we should see at least 5 kinds of con- ing was thought to be a community function. with those networks (and of course with total- nected mobile games: Other possibilities were new level and equip- ly new handset generations), the mobile game ment downloads (and thus bringing extra rev- industry is entering to the actual mobile Inter- 1. Those with a logical connectivity to enue source from micro payments) and the net era. Streaming content has bypassed the the console- or pc-games. This is not just in the mother lode of mobile gaming – Multi-player games as mobile contents weapon of choice technology level but also in the game design games. At the same time with the downloada- for data-traffic generation, so the mobile game and game experience level. Mobile games of ble games entering to the mobile entertainment industry does not have to think about revenues this type will not be just smaller screen ver- markets, the networks also changed to packed (or more importantly operators’ revenues) sions but they will bring in extra elements to switched data with GPRS which of course from data. What is the situation of connected the game as whole. For example you can prac- brought new operator business models to the mobile games right now? Not very good I think tice some difficult move in an extreme sports field. Now it was not anymore about how long – there are just too little good multi-player game in you mobile and when you are skilled people played, but how to keep them to trans- games in the mobile field and community func- at it enough the mobile sends that data to the fer data in the mobile networks. The sad thing tions tends to still be just sending high-score server or to the console directly so players from the games perspective was that even lists. Now it would be perfect time to start to character has also up-graded skills in console though now the networks were packet based, think data-traffic with mobile games; not be- version. the data transfer was not real-time, far from cause it is possible money creator but more 2. Game communities through mobile it. Latency was a big problem and real-time because it gives more possibilities for mobile phones. Mobile IM, IVR and other normal multi-player games had to wait for 3G. Simple games to fight in today’s games environment. mobile communications technologies will round-based games were brought in 2001 and be used by people to contact each other by 2002 to anticipate to the need of multi-player In the “normal” gaming world connectivity just knowing for example each others avatar games as well as many multiplayer-platform has brought a whole new genres and it has names from the game. development companies were founded. The also raised certain game titles to huge success. 3. Mobile phones as remote controls to price of game development went up espe- MMOGs and networked multiplayer games the massive multiplayer games. cially when it was compared to the slow in- like Counter-Strike have created a generation of take of J2ME capable handsets in the markets.

24 Sonja Kangas boys when looking at the frequency and diver- Mobile devices will have become the control- VTT- Finland sity of use. As a result of social media trend consumers are becoming multi-taskers utiliz- ling device for the total experience as well as acting as a payment channel. ing several mobile and online channels simul- Consumers are spending more time with dig- taneously and communication acrobats with Mobile users will use their wallet, wearable ital media than ever before. In 2005, the use of their variety of communications devices. or jewel kind of mobile terminals when glid- television increased and online use continued ing from one network to another without even to rival television as the most-used medium. Three interesting aspects about current con- acknowledging it. Mobile users will get both Video games, containing everything from sumer behavior are: 1) leaving traces, 2) selected and edited television and online con- mobile and wireless to networked console media acrobatics’ multi-tasking culture and tent on their mobile devices when requested, and pc games, have established their role as a 3) pleasure orientation. It is increasingly rel- according to their context and social profiles. merchandising category with cross licensing evant to leave its own mark (tags, comments, The issues taking a strong foothold in the de- between movies and video games providing modifications, patches) to the networked me- velopment of novel types of mobile games a major source of revenue for movie studios dia communities and interlinking with mobile are: 1) agile methods in project and technol- and others. with online communities. Multitasking refers ogy development, 2) utilizing context infor- to a way of using several channels, devices mation in mobile solutions, 3) brand devel- The first defining factor of the current digital and services simultaneously to link with other opment through co-modification possibilities media is that the consumption of digital con- products and related themes. Media acrobatics provided for various fan communities, tool- tent is channeled through given devices: from refers to the fast reception ability of new tech- boxes and modification tools, 4) tagging and iPods to mobile phones and PCs according to nologies, devices and services, as well as an marker technologies created by both profes- the appropriateness of users’ needs. Currently, open-minded experimentation mentality and sionals and enthusiasts that enable the social the digital device with its brand and image is a misuse (also known as “creative hackerism”). intelligence of the environment. Adaptability part of the total experience, as Nintendo, Sony As a general effect of these, one can say that and modularity will be key issues when shap- and Apple have shown. This also has effects media use is in transition points. The change ing future game experiences. on content. For example Nintendo games can affects mobile games and the expansion and only be played on Nintendo devices and in the creation of new active consumer groups. The device, the user, the context of use and spirit of Buzz and EyeToy party games, Sony the content are mobile. This enables more and is integrating more beneficial content, e.g. By the year 2010, mobile media will have de- more possibilities for users to act as co-crea- advertisements, information and music, into veloped into an integral part of a total gaming tors of content. Web2.0 trends with mash-up video games. This development will have an experience. The experience environment will from the Internet will quickly become com- effect on the entertainment market as well as no longer be device-specific but will cross dif- mon in the mobile world at the same time total gaming experiences in the future. ferent devices as well as social and physical when cross media solutions evolve and dif- contexts of use changing the experience into ferent media are not considered as separate The other defining factor is demographic data a continuum ”everywhere – all the time – by contexts of use but as one complex entity of (age, location and gender). The assumption any device”. This development will boost different devices and channels. Hybrid media that gender would play a central role in the the development of more fragmented games (combining printed with digital media) will markets for video games has struck a strong where users can take the game with them on be key solutions for flexible marketing of ad chord with game developers. Before the evo- a mobile phone and continue playing on any hoc and long-lasting games through different lution of more social or physical video game screen (public screen, at an Internet café, on channels and various user groups. types, the generalization of the Internet has a cruise ship or in a shopping mall), as well . partly changed the situation with various on- as having a clear role in supplementing and line games and chatting communities, and modifying the game content. Toolboxes will faded out the differences between girls and be widely available to users.

25 Technology roadmap: Critical paths for networks.

26 John Paul Bichard These games are designed to coexist with the Now consider someone sitting on the bus play- and immersive experiences to their mobile life. – IdeaMilk Sweden functions and environments that the player encounters in their everyday life: entertain- ing a portable game: hands gripping the device, thumbs flicking around, eyes focused on the What about visuals? There are distinct issues February 2006 ment channels such as video and music, and functional technologies such as way finding screen, the user connected directly to a constantly changing, compelling visual window. with screen-centric devices in the personal mobile context. Engaging or deep visual and and communication channels. In this envi- The engagement is high, the interaction high, tactile interaction as typified by portable game Going Out to Play... ronment, the mobile games will take into focus high and awareness of surroundings low. devices (PSP, Gameboy) demands single-fo- The future of gaming in the fluid account shifting attention and player focus, cus activity in an environment that requires the intimate qualities of the mobile space as The difference between the two is significant. multiple levels of awareness. Try finishing a mobile environment well as social aspects of mobile device us- Mobile games can benefit from the transpar- racing game on a PSP whilst crossing a busy age in public spaces. Games that fit into this ency typified by audio/phone use compared to road - good luck! Visual interaction can only category include: pervasive, location-based, the demands of portable game play. The ease be effective in the fluid mobile environment What will the mobile games be like in 2010? augmented-reality, generative and adap- of use, the lightness that allows multi-tasking once graphic content and GUIs can be seam- In looking to the near future of mobile gam- tive games that take into account the play- whilst delivering an engaging experience is lessly overlaid on the user’s visual field, ei- ing, two thoughts spring to mind: firstly that ers physical, emotional and psychological typified by this switch from music enhanced ther via heads up displays or through more a ‘game ready’ lightweight personal mobile presence in a mobile place. At the time of everyday life to conversation and back again. invasive biological methods. This form of space has already evolved, seemingly unno- writing there are arguably no games that ef- augmentation can be seen as a complimentary ticed; secondly, that the term ‘mobile game’ fectively engage this personal mobile space. Should mobile games of the future drop the or additive visual enhancement rather than a should be re-considered. The term has be- visuals in favour of the audio-only interac- distracting or exclusive visual engagement. come generic, referring to any game that can A New Type of Mobile Environment tion? Of course not, but dialogue- or audio- Whether effective technologies can be de- be played on a mobile device, but mobile based games that seamlessly drop in and out of veloped to enable this over the next 5 years games could be divided into two categories: Within their everyday environment, the mo- the players mobile life offer an elegant alter- remains uncertain. Video projection glasses the Portable Games and the Mobile Games: bile user is able to move fluidly between native approach. As phones become increas- are becoming less cumbersome, the jury is several connected but different augmented ingly loaded with functionality, embedded still out as to whether consumers will want Portable Games refer to screen-centric places: consider a typical mobile user, walk- devices and services, the most effective and to use direct retinal projection devices and games that are playable on mobile devices ing or on a bus, listening to mp3’s on their fundamental functions of the phone are still there will be ethical concerns over biological but which have not been designed to utilise phone, immersed in a sensory soundscape. the circuitry and interfaces that enable con- solutions such as implanted feeds that inter- or engage the characteristics of digital de- A phone call comes in, the person holds a versation. This is overlooked in portable game rupt or augment the flow of information to the vices in a mobile environment. The port- conversation, still aware of their surround- design. The mobile phone is, by default, very visual cortex directly. These functions will able games typically demand a high degree ings but co-existing in a conversational place. efficient at enabling conversation, at storing require refined models for visually enhancing of player attention. They include: ported ar- The call ends and the music space continues. and processing sound files and streaming data. their environment, situating gameplay in the cade, quiz and puzzle games, lightweight or At most, there is a click of one button on the everyday and building forms of interaction ‘mobile’ versions of game licences and lo-fi user’s lightweight headset chord during the Audio-centric mobile games would appear to that allow users to fade visual assets in and extensions to existing console or PC-based whole switch from music space to conver- be an effective model which is yet to be fully out of their surrounding experience at will. games. Whilst the portable games are success- sational space and back again. There is no explored. Over the next 5 years, remote-serv- ful from a commercial point of view they do sign of a mobile ‘brick’, no visual interface, er-based systems that generate and stream lo- . not typically engage the properties particular no complex GUI (Graphical User Interface), cation aware content, respond to shallow and to casual and periodic mobile device usage. no demanding tactile interaction, no graphi- erratic player interaction and allow verbal or cal window into another world. The interac- audio communication to merge with other eve- Mobile Games, as distinct from Portable Games, tion is shallow, the engagement deep, and the ryday activities, will be realised. Such games refer to games that are designed to take into hardware awareness practically non-existent. will blend seamlessly with the players other account the player’s fluid mobile environment. tasks and functions: opening up their perceived personal boundaries and adding new depths.

27 The Future... Tomorrow! Steven B. Davis, an underlying concern related to the recogni- do value their virtual assets. So much so How are these games to be developed? How CEO, tion of real value for virtual assets. They may be concerned about security and reliability is- that they steal them from each other and will pay real money to short cut the game by buy- is the fluid mobile environment to be fully uti- lised? Current research and art initiatives into IT GlobalSecure Inc. sues related to these virtual assets. After all, if the assets have a real, financial value and there ing virtual assets or characters. These games typically do give players a direct mechanism pervasive and mobile gaming are establishing is a loss (due to a natural incident like a fire to exchange goods via simply giving them to a strong lead. The current EU-funded IPerG Virtual Worlds, Real Money or a hacker), the game operator may be held each other or trading them in-game with other pervasive game project is taking the lead in accountable. This could force additional costs players or with game operated stores. Game exploring both augmented reality and mobile on the game developer to ensure that the game developers also encourage the in-game econo- gaming spaces with results expected over One of the most controversial and interest- is more secure and reliable than the developer my by having skills in-game for crafting (mak- the next two years. Other initiatives, such as ing phenomena in online gaming is the rise of had planned. Stopping hacking and cheating virtual items), operating a virtual economy the cross-disciplinary Backseat Playground Real Money Transaction (RMT). RMT sit at ing would be more important to ensure that with virtual currency, rewarding players for project at the Interactive Institute in Sweden, the intersection of the real world and online the integrity of the game and player’s assets the completion of missions or quests with vir- look to lightweight but immersive interaction games. Game players use real money to ac- within it. The concern about liability for the tual cash or assets, and by imposing scarcity through an audio centric model, linking game quire virtual game assets – often in defiance integrity of a game’s data may be the single on different goods. Money is a good moti- events to everyday objects. However, in or- of a game’s Terms of Service. Game players largest factor driving game companies fight vator in games as well as in the real world. der to fully realise the potential of this sector, handle these transactions through informal against legitimization of RMT. This argument relevant design, development and distribution peer-to-peer exchanges, traditional open auc- is on shaky ground as recent cases in China The very same factors that the games use to models need to be established. Just as budget tions and classified ad services, or through have accepted the “real money value” of vir- reward long-term play (rare items and pow- airlines have established their own niche in dedicated game auction & currency exchange tual assets (“More attention paid to virtual erful characters) also create the incentive to the airline sector, independent films in the services. property protection”, Xinhua, 6 April, 2006) pay to take short cuts. Players may not have film industry and graphic novels in the pub- the time or inclination to work as hard as lishing industry, so mobile games need their Game players want these assets because they If virtual assets in games have real value, there the game developers would like them to in own discrete sector. A new sector will require make the game more fun for them: rare & may also be tax implications (for gains on order to achieve these exotic items and sen- strong commercial and organisational models powerful items or highly advanced characters sales). Also, criminals could use game assets ior skills. Thus, RMT arises. Players trade and an overhaul of game development prac- or even large amounts of game currency. Basi- and asset transfers to launder money. Finally, in goods and currency through external tices and creative processes. These changes cally, these players want these items because game developers need to be very careful to markets including auctions, like eBay, and include but are not limited to: new types of they do not have the time or the skill or the ensure that they are not construed as operat- dedicated services, like IGE. Players also mobile games and their associated design and patience to acquire these assets through tradi- ing a casino. Gambling consists of three ele- sell characters that they have developed. development, heterogeneous creative teams, tional game play. There is a common quota- ments: something that is put at risk (the wager new models of distribution, realistic end-user tion about playing World of Warcraft “begins or bet), an element of risk (since these game’s While this began as an amateur effort by cost models and mobile-sensitive forms of in- at level 60” that reflects this situation. There is typically include a random element in the ap- players, it has turned into a business. It start- teraction. In order to co-exist with the portable a legitimate argument that RMT’s popularity pearance of different treasures, combat, and ed with anecdotes about college students and traditional digital game sectors, the mo- is more a reflection of poor game design than encounters), and something that can be won quitting school to make a living by play- bile game industry needs to (re-)invent itself: an indication of the criminality of players. (where denying the value of virtual assets ing Everquest and has grown into organized drawing on the best aspects of existing game becomes clear). Game operators have tried companies “gold farming” – playing a game development, design and research whilst es- Some game companies and members of the to avoid these risks by declaring the worth- professionally to earn an income – and “out- tablishing new, purposed and distinct prac- industry have argued rather vehemently that lessness of virtual assets and claiming full sourced play” where players hire other play- tices of its own. Only then, will we see games RMT is an abomination that ruins games. To ownership for them in their terms of service. ers, mostly in third world countries, to play that can truly be termed ‘Mobile Games’. date, RMT has not been shown to be the cause their characters for them while they sleep of loss of players or destruction of a game’s The problem for these game develop- to accelerate their seniority in the game. economy. Game companies do have ers and their supporters is that players

28 RMT and the “grey market” in game assets and the assets are available at a fixed price to Masters helping smooth game play. Steven B. Davis, may have spawned major, and potentially organized criminal activity. In Korea, over 1 mil- anyone, the secondary RMT market disap- pears. The concern over RMT does not reflect a sub- CEO, lion National ID numbers were compromised and more than 170,000 of these IDs were used While the RMT black market continues for stantial problem for the online games industry. It mainly is a sign of the industry’s immaturity. IT GlobalSecure Inc. to set up fake accounts for NCSoft’s Line- most online games, several have embraced This cultural disagreement can be addressed age game as intermediary accounts for gold this market. Sony has set up a RMT server for through game mechanisms that eliminate the Security Issues in Online Game farmers (“China Lock out 170,000 Lineage Everquest 2 and several smaller games have value of RMT or embracing RMT as another Design Accounts”, Korea IT News, 14 March 2006). fairly open policies towards these exchanges. layer of interactive entertainment. Through these services, players can exchange While the growth of online gaming on PCs, NCSoft is considering using mobile phones in-game assets and characters for cash. The Virtual worlds provide entertainment through consoles, and handsets is widely seen to be the as part of an improved authentication scheme total market value of this secondary market is a combination of virtual products and serv- future of the industry, if not its savior, there is to protect against fraud. In Asia, most players currently estimated to be $800 Million Dollars ices. The cost of building, maintaining, and a rapidly growing dark-side of piracy, cheat- play their online games at Internet cafés. From (US) annually. operating these systems is growing rapidly, ing, and griefing. While there are security a security perspective, these public terminals just as the costs of computer games are grow- tools that can help, and in many cases, help are an invitation to attackers. By moving play- The fact that the secondary market in online ing. Online game developers have the oppor- a lot, part of the issue is the basic environ- er authentication to an individual’s mobile games may be as much as 20% of the size of tunity to explore new strategies to work with ment – these are games played on networks phone, and perhaps using identification, au- the total online gaming market raises an inter- their customers to expand this entertainment facilitated by computers. This may seem obvi- thentication, and payment services through the esting question – what is the real potential for medium in ways that are only beginning to be ous, but it is a given circumstance that is ig- handset, game operators will be able to battle these virtual businesses and how should game understood. nored surprisingly often by game developers. these forms of identity fraud (It is worth noting developers exploit them? The problem is seen clearly when problems that while Korea is moving away from the use arise – trivia games are inherently vulnerable of its National ID numbers for online transac- By legitimizing the interchange between to being cataloged; twitch-based games, to tions, China has taken the opposite view to en- game assets and the real economy, they can macros and automation; skill-based games, sure parental protection and fight game addic- tap an additional revenue stream. By taking a to strategy assistants; and poker and other tion.) Moving the games themselves to mobile modest commission, the game company could multi-player competitive games, to collusion. phones may also be appealing. Casual games directly grow their revenues – and they are in are the most rapidly growing segment of the the best position to provide the integrity and Several categories of traditional games never market and, given identification and payment security needed to foster these efforts. Also, made it to computers – basic word & spell- concerns, mobile platforms may be increas- by consciously incorporating support for ing games and math puzzles fell by the way- ingly appealing to developers and operations. player businesses, games may increase their side due to their obvious vulnerabilities – they popularity and open up new forms of game simply were not suitable for the medium ex- Going Forward play. Today, “gold farmers” are considered cept in limited “solitaire” style games. Now a nuisance at best, and disruptive to a game, that computer gaming has moved online, In the US and Europe, online gaming business at worst. Game designers can make it more several styles of play that were successful models are dominated by subscription-based profitable for commercially minded players to in single-player and face-to-face computer gaming. In Asia a free-to-play, pay-for-virtual carry out activities that increase other player’s gaming, are probably impractical for serious, assets models is growing rapidly in popularity. satisfaction with the game or reduce the cost commercial game projects. This is not due to Interestingly, this Asian model doesn’t have to operate the game developer’s entertainment a “fun” factor, but rather the nature of most the same issue with RMT because the game service. No one questions paying someone to online play. Players are widely distributed itself is based on actual sales of items by the wear a Mickey Mouse costume at Disneyland around the world, relatively anonymous, and game operator. Since there is no supply limit or waiters at a restaurant or even Game

29 have access to powerful computing tools While anti-virus and anti-intrusion appli- Virtually every game with an online compo- this design approach does not address at all. and control over the gaming platform. Game cations attempt to warn a user that they are nent has had public problems with cheaters There are several popular game design arche- businesses are also changing. They are no doing something foolish, an anti-game mal- and hackers. This is even true for many sin- types that are not really suitable for widely longer making money by simply selling ware program must stop a player from doing gle-player online games, not just multi-player distributed online play: reflex games, games and distributing games, but rather by of- something to a platform that he himself, owns. games. Even something as simple as high score with optimal strategies, and puzzle games. fering game services by subscription; pro- rankings can be a target for cheaters seeking moting products with community, contests, This radically changes the way that these to spoof their status as a game player. The Reflex/Speed-based Games – Many action and promotions; and even by gambling. malicious applications are fought and makes breakdown of these basic community serv- games that have migrated from PCs or con- the security task much more difficult. Vir- ices can damage even the simplest of online soles are closely tied to the actual physical Mobile gaming is particularly vulnerable tualization tools and rootkits, both of which gaming experiences. The security problem is performance of the player. Acting faster in – the phones are growing in power quickly, get “underneath” the operating system, not simply an issue for “the security guy”, but real-life is reflected in superior game per- but security of the wide range of platforms is mean that defensive software will be run- needs to be a central part of a game’s design. formance. Unfortunately, these games are problematic. Even 3G networks do not offer ning at an even greater disadvantage. It is ripe for automation. Bots, macros, and ex- the speed and responsiveness needed to sup- worth noting that within a week of the pub- The default solution, server-based gaming, ternal applications can enhance performance port server-based gaming – a situation fur- lic announcement of the Sony-BMG Root- is far from perfect. While it does address a through the game client and it is also possible ther aggravated by metered billing models. kit in the fall of 2005, hackers had used its number of problems, it has several limitations. to bypass the game client with an independ- Pricing for data traffic and latency consid- design to hide their programs from World The biggest challenge is that it is so easy… ent application to talk to the server directly. erations make moving as much of the game of Warcraft’s Warden Security application. by moving all of the state and game play to a play to the player’s platform as possible. server, all kinds of security problems appar- Optimal Strategy Games – This scenario is Game security is a fairly unique problem ently disappear. The key problem is “appar- really a variant on the first case. If an auto- The state of the art in attacking games is grave. – malicious game players want to partici- ently”. First, for performance and convenience mated application can reliably choose a strat- Malware is a major issue of traditional PCs pate in the game, but cheat and circumvent reasons, many games wind up storing more egy that is better than most human players and and will move onto mobile devices as they be- the game’s security. The “Insider Problem” game state and doing more processing on the do it faster, the game has a serious problem. come more powerful and viable gaming plat- has always been one of the greatest security client-side than they initially thought. This Games like Chess or Poker as well as many forms. What is worse, while most malicious challenges. Standard security tools simply opens up these systems to all of the hacking computer games are vulnerable to this de- applications are being installed in spite of their don’t work in this environment. Encryption attacks and other problems that they thought sign weakness. Note, this is a design problem owner’s wishes, “game malware” or cheating and digital signatures, even if applicable, as- they were avoiding by using a server-based – if the game has optimal or superior strategic software is desired by the platform owner. Vi- sume that the data being encrypted or signed design. Second, because many server-based choices that can be determined independent ruses and worms, the other familiar forms of is legitimate – something that cannot be guar- designs are actually implemented as a single- of the actions of other players, then most de- malicious code are not wanted by the compu- anteed with a malevolent player consciously player game with remote players, they do in- signers would consider this a flawed design. ter’s user and inadvertently installed via mail using malicious code. Anti-virus type tools sufficient validation of inputs from the remote or other application or self-installing through are also substantially weakened when the plat- clients. This can come in two major forms: lack Puzzle Games – Solitaire card games, jigsaw weaknesses in operating system security. They form owner wants the malicious code to work. of data validation – where the client provides puzzles, and most recently, Sudoku, are all are there to either damage the machine, steal input actions that are not legitimate under the games that work fine as single player expe- valuable data, or launch attacks on other user’s Online game developers need to wake up game and time validation – where the client riences. This is also true of many computer computers. Game malware, on the other hand, to this truth. It is not that all of the players provides input actions at invalid times, usu- games that have the weaknesses noted above. is carefully installed by the platform user, him- are trying to cheat or subvert their game, ally too many actions too fast. Finally, as these Once the game is online, linked by a commu- self. Because the user is the one who wants this but some are. These malicious players are games become more serious business and there nity with high scores or multi-player play, the code available to give him an advantage, all anonymous and difficult to hold account- are economic concerns of the player involved vulnerability of these games becomes appar- of the traditional security measures are irrel- able. The few cheaters and hackers can dev- (everything from real-money transactions to ent. Most can be analyzed off-line to determine evant. After all, the computer tends to trust the astate a game for the many honest players contests and gambling); players do not trust the an optimal strategy that can “beat the clock”. user to install applications. and cause real damage to a game business. game provider to be fair. This is an issue that Trivia games are a closely related category..

30 A motivated player or group of players can at- An example of this would be to change online It is an important consideration and a con- Tom Söderlund, tack the game in two ways: they can cooperate poker so that players draw their private cards straint that needs to be addressed consciously. to rapidly research and determine answers to from separate decks so that knowledge of Clever combinations of game systems and Blaze - Sweden unknown questions and they can build a catalog other players’ hidden cards would not pro- business models can be used to obviate what of question/answer pairs. Such a strategy can vide an advantage. would otherwise be a serious security weak- Proximity Gaming - New forms of rapidly deplete even a large question set mak- ness. Secure game mechanisms do not have ing the game either prohibitively expensive to Rich Inter-player Interaction – Diplomacy to look like “Rock-Paper-Scissors”. Graphics wireless network gaming maintain (basically growing the question set Games – simple game mechanics can be have gotten so powerful, that game design- Proximity gaming, i.e. close-range wireless faster than players can attack it) or rapidly combined with inter-player interaction to de- ers have had to return to good game design network gaming, is coming fast and hard with collapse under collusion and online research. liver a game play experience that is hard to to deliver a successful game. Online gaming new devices such as mobile phones, the Sony automate. The most famous such game would is only in its infancy. While security chal- PSP, and the Nintendo DS. This opens up new Solutions be the old Avalon Hill game, Diplomacy. lenges are new and important, hopefully, they gaming possibilities, and the combination of The inter-player negotiations and possibili- will server to unlock the creation of new and proximity gaming and mobility is particularly What is left for game designers in the face of ties for deception make for a game that will exciting forms of game play that truly exploit exciting. Imagine the kind of ad hoc multi- these problems? Gratifyingly, the social ele- likely be secure against automation until ar- the power of network and social gaming. player games where people suddenly enter ment that makes online gaming so exciting tificial intelligence gets much, much better. each other’s games simply because they’re in and popular can provide tools to thwart many range. This article discusses proximity gam- attacks. High Variability Games – card games and ing from a game design perspective, including collectible card games – One of the advan- new types of network games, pseudo-persistent Games without Optimal Strategies – Rock- tages of card games as a game mechanic is game worlds, and electronic rumors. The tech- Paper-Scissors – Games that are designed so that the situation can vary greatly from game nology will just be mentioned briefly, societal that every choice has a counter-choice and to game and play to play. The same set of and privacy issues will get little or no attention. every tactic, a viable response, are likely to cards can be wonderful or worthless. This be resistant to machine based strategies. With degree of variability can make these games Introduction careful design, a game creator can build game resistant to easy automation. Game designers mechanics that do not have clear biases to- do need to proceed with caution as the appar- Definition wards a limited set of strategic choices. Au- ent complexity of the game system may hide tomated tools can play no better than humans underlying optimal or dominant strategies. The definition of proximity gaming used in and, hopefully, there is no effective algorithm this document is close-range wireless network to “psychologize” an opponent. Wireless game developers often act like con- gaming. The word “proximity” implies close- sole developers who have put their trust in ness to something, which excludes online Collusion Resistant Games – Game designers hardware security provided by the platform. multiplayer gaming such as massively multi- for online games need to consider collusion as Unfortunately, virtually every hardware se- player games (MMOGs). a serious concern. Today, it is virtually trivial curity system has been defeated – including to establish an outside, undetectable commu- game consoles. While early wireless platforms Proximity gaming is not the same as location- nication channel with a partner. A traditional were so limited that it was impractical to at- based gaming, since location-based requires solution is to rapidly change sets of players so tack them, the same power that makes these that the game is aware of the player’s absolute that partners have few opportunities to work handheld devices promising gaming systems or relative position, while proximity gaming together. Other options include designing also makes them credible targets for attack. only requires knowing that something is close, games so that collusion / collaborative play is and possibly the distance. The proximity of a feature and supported by the game mechan- Online game designers should not solely consid- what is an interesting question, and as this ar- ics or remove it from the game entirely. er security as the driving factor in their design. ticle will reveal, this could include other

31 players of a certain game, a device, or a per- create the illusion of a persistent world Wireless LAN (802.11) supposed to work across multiple networks. son not actively participating in the game. game, or viral aspects such as “electronic ru- From the device, the cell ID can only be ex- mors” that are transmitted to nearby players. 802.11, also called ”Wi-Fi”, is a set of stand- tracted with low-level software, such as na- Simpler close-range multiplayer games that ards for wireless local area networks de- tive C++ code on a Nokia 7650 Symbian utilizes Bluetooth or Wireless LAN is in- Proximity gaming is also considered an inter- veloped by the Institute of Electrical and phone (the miniGPS application from Psi- cluded in the proximity gaming definition, esting area for the latest handheld game de- Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The 802.11 loc does just that) (Psiloc.com, 2005). Just but such games use the wireless communi- vices. When Sony presented the PlayStation family contains several protocols where the having the cell ID locally on the device is cation just as a replacement to a fixed con- Portable (PSP) during Game Developers Con- most popular one is 802.11b, which fea- no good for a proximity service, so it must nection or network. Instead, this article fo- ference (GDC) 2004 (Ackerman, 2004), prox- tures a maximum data rate of 11 Mbit/s, a be paired with other player’s cell ID using cuses on innovative design concepts based imity gaming was mentioned as an interesting range of up to 100 meters, and operates in an online service of some kind, transmit- on wireless communication, concepts that field of next-generation multiplayer gaming. the 2.4 GHz band. (Wikipedia.org, 2005) ting the data over a GPRS or 3G network. cannot be implemented in a fixed network. Technology Wireless LAN offers high bandwidth, but RFID A wireless network is assumed, not because consumes a lot of energy. Wireless LAN is to- it would be the only way to incorporate Proximity gaming is not tied to a specific tech- day a common technology in PCs, but is also Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is proximity into a game, but because wire- nology, but can be implemented an different becoming popular in PDAs. Wireless LAN is a method of retrieving ID codes over short- less communication technology is becoming styles on different devices. also used in two powerful handheld gaming range radio. An RFID tag is a small ob- widespread and thus the most feasible way systems: the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS. ject, such as an adhesive sticker, that can of implementing it. One could imagine prox- Wireless networking technologies be attached to or incorporated into a prod- imity gaming using different kinds of sen- Cell ID positioning uct. RFID tags contain antennas to enable sor devices, but that requires exotic technol- Bluetooth them to receive and respond to radio-fre- ogy and therefore lose its commercial appeal. Cell ID positioning can also be used to ac- quency queries from an RFID transceiver. Bluetooth is an open specification that enables complish proximity gaming, but is differ- Why proximity gaming is interesting short-range wireless connections between ent from Bluetooth and wireless LAN since Because of its static, passive nature, it’s difficult telephones, computers and other devices and it’s not a communication technology. In- to use RFID as the basis for a multiplayer game. Entering a multiplayer game is normally a for- thereby simplifies communication and syn- stead, it’s a rather crude method of locating Instead, RFID could be used for incorporating mal procedure. The player defines her charac- chronization between devices. Bluetooth wire- people, and can be used to find out wheth- items or passive players into a proximity game. ter, selects which game server to join (or sets less technology uses a globally available fre- er people are in proximity of each other. up a new game), decides who to play with quency band (2.4GHz) and can transmit data up Other wireless networking technologies etc before entering the game. The wirelesses to 2.1 Mbit/s on distances from 10-100 meter. A mobile network consists of thousands of an- of proximity gaming allows for ad hoc mul- (Apple.com, 2005, and Ericsson.com, 2005). tennas, or cells, and a mobile phone (device) Some devices have used their own proprietary tiplayer games, where people suddenly enter is always connected to one of these cells. wireless communication system. The Cybiko each other’s games simply because they’re in Compared to wireless LAN, Bluetooth offers Both the mobile network and the device are device used its own radio technology, and so range. The Japanese Lovegety was a simple lower bandwidth but is a cheaper technology always aware of the ID number of the cell the does the new Nintendo DS (although the latter yet powerful demonstration of a proximity and consumes little energy. Bluetooth had a phone is currently in. By matching devices also features wireless LAN communication). service: a device that beeps when a potential slow start but can now be found in most mid- that are reporting the same cell ID, you find partner was nearby, based on a set of prefer- and high-end mobile phones, and is also used in devices that are in proximity of one another. ences (Iwatani, 1998). three handheld gaming systems: the Gizmon- do, the Nokia N-Gage, and Tapwave Zodiac. In practice, this is slightly trickier. Acquir- The ad hoc-ness in turn unleashes several in- ing this information from the mobile net- teresting game design aspects, for example work requires a relationship with a mobile that clusters of proximity gaming devices carrier, or preferably several if the game is

32 Devices Nintendo DS Game design aspects Mobile phones The Nintendo DS (”Dual-Screen”) is rath- Given the basic concept of proxim- er odd-looking with its twin 256x192 pix- ity gaming, there are several design Mobile phones may not be the most powerful el LCD screens, where one of them is a choices to be made when designing a gaming device, but what they lack in perform- touch screen. The DS supports both wire- proximity game. The following chapter dis- ance they make up in volume: mobile phones less LAN and a proprietary radio commu- cusses a few design patterns to consider. are an everyman’s device, and for many peo- nication protocol. (Nintendo.com, 2005) ple the first game console they come across. Formal vs. ad hoc game sessions The modern mobile phones often have color Nokia N-Gage screens, multimedia features, and decent Traditional multiplayer games follow a formal game controls. But first and foremost, a phone Nokia N-Gage and the follow-up N-Gage structure. A player starts up her game applica- is a communication device and it’s almost QD is based on Nokia’s Series 60 platform tion, enters the multiplayer mode. She designs taken for granted that a new phone has GPRS/ and is essentially the same device as a Nokia her character, either loads up a saved character 3G and possibly Bluetooth connectivity. 7650/3650 mobile phone. It got a bad repu- or creates a new one. The player creates a new tation due to some poor design choices but game, thereby defining what game rules should Cybiko is still a powerful device. The device has a apply to the game session. Other players can 176x208 screen and Bluetooth and GPRS then join the game, thus accepting the stated The Cybiko was introduced in 1999 as an connectivity. (Forum Nokia website, 2005) rules of the game. When enough players have entertainment PDA for teenagers. It fea- joined the game and all players have set them- tured a 160x100 grayscale screen and a Sony PSP selves as “ready”, the game session begins. proprietary wireless communication system that enabled messaging and gaming The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is the highest- in 19.2 kB/s over a range of 50-100 m. It performing handheld gaming device to date, was a totally proprietary system, but since with performance almost equal to the PlaySta- it was so early in the market, it gathered tion 2. The screen is large, 480x272 pixels and quite a big group of buyers and developers. the device has wireless LAN communication. Gizmondo Tapwave Zodiac The Gizmondo from Tiger Telematics is packed The Zodiac is a Palm OS-powered game de- with technology: GPRS and Bluetooth connec- vice available in the US, UK, Singapore, tivity, a camera, and a GPS receiver. It sports a and Korea. It has a large 480x320 screen, a An ad hoc game session in a proximity game is where players automatically join the same game 320x240 screen and NVIDIA hardware accel- graphics accelerator from ATI, and features session when their devices are within range of each other. A single-player game seamlessly eration (Gizmondo.com, 2005). Unfortunate- Bluetooth connectivity. (Tapwave.com, 2005) becomes a multiplayer game, and then returns to single-player mode when the connection is ly, after the Gizmondo bankruptcy there will broken. Game characters are defined beforehand. Game rules are either fixed, or negotiated be little development support for this device. between the devices when merging two game sessions.

33 Connection and disconnection as game Mutual consent event In a traditional multiplayer game, all players normally agree to take part in the game and know the game rules that apply. In a proximity game, the total opposite can be true. One player can actually “invade” another player’s game without permission. An example could be to stop by and leave a virtual “graffiti tag” in another player’s game, a sort of social invasion. If players can move around with the proximity gaming devices, players will constantly connect and disconnect from each other. These events can be used in the game design itself, as an indica- Distributed game world tion of a player entering or leaving a certain range. In a proximity game, the game world can A simple application can play a sound or show an animation when another player was nearby. be distributed across the participating play- More advanced games could change gameplay mode when someone connects, e.g. change from ers’ devices. With ad hoc game sessions, observation mode to battle mode. the game world could then grow or shrink as new players join or leave the game. Anonymity Imagine a game where each player has her own pirate ship. Before encountering any other player, the ship floats by itself in sea, and the player can walk around with her character on the ship. When another player is in proximity, another pirate ship appears on the screen. The two players can battle, but also board each other’s ships. Every new player means a new ship on the screen, Multiplayer games can be designed to allow anonymous players, where players create an and so the game arena grows with each player. The ship becomes an analogy for the device itself. avatar, an alter ego, and masking their true identity. Combining this with ad hoc game sessions, this allows for games where you could suddenly start playing with a stranger. The only One example of a distributed game world is the game “Pac-Man Must Die!” developed by the thing you would know for certain is that the other player is close enough to be in range. In Viktoria Institute in Sweden. Players stand close to each other and play the game on wireless a setting where there are many people and where appropriate devices are widespread, it can PDA’s. In the game, the players control ghosts and try to avoid being captured by Pac-Man. be an exciting part of the game trying to figure out whom you are playing with in real life. The game arena is distributed across the players’ devices, and a player can capture Pac-Man by moving away from the other players when Pac-Man is on the screen. (Viktoria.se, 2005) A problem appears when the players disconnect when one player is on another player’s “ship”. What should happen; should the player return to her own ship, or just vanish into thin air?

34 Persistency between sessions - pseudo-per- Viral behavior and electronic rumors New types of network games sistent game worlds Putting the pieces together, this chapter explores how proximity gaming can be used to create new game concepts. . Matchmaking With the Lovegety as basis, it’s easy to im- Proximity gaming, especially in its ad hoc sense, is an ideal ground for viral game behavior. Messages agine match-making games and services. and virtual items can travel between players. Players could “infect” other players that are within range. Create a profile, and the device will notify you when someone matching the profile is Information within the game can be viral, too. If in-game information, such as the state of nearby. The Lovegety was a pretty simple the game world or the high score list is synchronized between players upon connection, in- device, and a game could involve more role- In the case of a distributed game world, the formation spreads from player to player. But as in the classic “whisper game”, no player will playing elements and allowing the player state of the local game worlds can be saved hold the absolute truth, and the quality of the information is weakened as the distance to the to create a more detailed profile. Such serv- between game sessions. When a player visits source increases. The more connections each player makes, the more pieces of the puzzle she ices rely on a large community, and there- another player’s pirate ship again, she finds a will have and thus the closer to the truth she will be. That in turn can foster social gameplay. fore the mobile phone is a suitable platform. sword that was left there on her previous visit. Involving non-players Sports Given enough players, the illusion of a persistent-world game could be created. This “pseu- One extraordinary aspect of viral gameplay is wherever she went. The game objective was to Sports and other physical games are excel- do-persistent game world” would act as a per- to involve non-players in the game. Given that get one’s own virtual frog out of the shopping lent applications of proximity gaming. With sistent world as in massively multiplayer online the game device can detect and in some sense mall as quick as possible. (SICS.se, 2005) the players moving around, proximity is a games (MMOGs), but in fact it creates lots of identify a nearby person, other people can act way to detect other players and possibly parts fragments of a world. The persistency is main- as “props” in a proximity game. Non-players of a physical game arena. It’s easy to im- tained through synchronization between two can be tagged by players, possibly carrying a agine an orienteering game, where players players at a time. This will lead to inconsisten- virtual infection or a virtual piece of informa- would have to move around and find navi- cies in the game world data, and these discrep- tion. The non-players could either be totally gation points powered by Bluetooth trans- ancies must be dealt with in the game design. unaware of the game in progress, or they could mitters or similar. But other forms of elec- be manipulated by players as part of the game- tronic sports are also feasible, including ball play, e.g. coaxed to walk in a certain direction. sports (with a virtual ball). The case study on “Proxiball” later in this article demonstrates Two students at the Swedish Institute of Com- how a sports game can be implemented. puter Science (SICS) used this game design element to design a game for shopping malls. The game called “Frog Race” enabled players to use Bluetooth devices to scout for nearby persons that were carrying Bluetooth-enabled phones. When a suitable person was found, the player can attach a virtual “frog” to the person. The frog will then follow the non-player

35 Pervasive games The interface was designed to be extremely had to be rewritten to do the communica- simple and quick to use, since this is a physi- tion in a serial, “one-step-at-a-time” manner. In a pervasive game, a game that blends with cal sports game where players can spend the player’s real world, the game device would limited time looking at a screen. Each par- Testing rather take the role of a ”tool” in a real world ticipant has a device of her own, and another setting, than being the scene for the game it- two devices are used as goal cages. There are For testing the first version of Proxiball, self. Such a game benefits from the viral as- two teams; blue and red, without restrictions four people from the author’s office were pects of proximity gaming, for example to send on the team size. The game interface shows selected. With two additional phones as secret pieces of information between agents. the player in the centre, with nearby team goal cages, a total of six phones were members in the bottom half of the screen and used. The goal phones were put on tables An example would be a game about a vi- nearby opponents in the top half of the screen. roughly 50 meters away from each other. ral outbreak. The virtual virus spreads from Selecting another player and pressing the person to person as soon as they are within fire button passes the ball, or try to steal the range. Even non-players could be carrying ball if it was held by the selected opponent. the virus. The players have the “tools” (i.e. game software) necessary to track and de- The devices acting as goal cages are run- stroy the virus. But since the virus spreads ning the software in a special mode, where it in the real world, the players have to find counts the number of times it has received the the people carrying the virus and maybe ask virtual ball (i.e. when someone has scored a Screenshots from Proxiball. former “patients” about their whereabouts goal). The goal cages automatically give the in order to track the source of the virus. ball to a member of its own team after a goal. Implementation Case study: Proxiball As test platform, Nokia Series 60 phones were chosen. The game application was This chapter describes how a simple demon- implemented in Java (J2ME) and Blue- stration application on proximity gaming was tooth was used as communication protocol. designed, implemented, and tested with a focus group of players. The Bluetooth programming interface is event driven and supports events for when Design a new device is found. However, it does not have an event for when a connection to a Proxiball was designed to be a small demon- device is lost. Since Proxiball relied on both A phone used as the Red Team’s goal. stration of a proximity sports game. The basic events, custom code was added to create a concept was “virtual rugby”, a team-based “memory” of nearby devices and to trig- The four players gathered in the centre, game where the objective was to deliver a vir- ger events when a device lost connection. right between the two goal cages, and the tual ball to a virtual goal. There was no am- game started. As the application started up bition to create a commercial product of this Testing turned out to be a big problem, since the on each phone, the virtual ball flicked from concept, merely to use it as a research plat- actual Bluetooth implementation on the mobile screen to screen when the phones synchro- form for other proximity gaming concepts. phones turned out to act quite differently com- nized their connections. When it finally sta- pared to the emulation on PC. The hardware bilized, the ball ended up in the phone of a implementation only supports one connection surprised member of the red team. He ran at a time, so the game’s communication layer to the blue goal and scored a quick goal be

36 fore anyone else could react. The blue goal personal space in a game. But changes are Apple.com, “Wireless gets more personal”, played a sound effect of a fanfare. 1-0. on the horizon, and these two elements are http://www.apple.com/bluetooth/, last visited tied to each other, pulling the other forward. 2005. The ball was handed to a blue team member who Ericsson.com, ”Bluetooth Wireless technol- now was nearby. He started moving towards the Pervasive computing is no longer a vision – it is ogy”, http://www.ericsson.com/technology/ red goal, but suddenly the ball was snatched by already here. People carry around plenty of small tech_articles/Bluetooth.shtml, last visited the red player and another goal was made! 2-0. computer-powered devices: mobile phones, 2005. PDA’s, digital cameras and music players. Forum Nokia website, “Nokia N-Gage Tech- nical Specs”, http://forum.nokia.com/n-gage, The next logical step is to get all these devices last visited 2005. to work together. “Connectivity” will be the Gizmodo.com, “iPodmagotchi”, http:// predominant feature of many consumer de- us.gizmodo.com/gadgets/konami/index.php, vices; not only mobile phones and handheld last visited 2006. It feels good to be on the winning team. devices, but also music players and toys. Gizmondo.com, “Gizmondo inside: specifica- These devices will connect with each other tions”, http://www.gizmondo.com/unit/speci- Here are some comments from the testers: for improved integration, but also with other fications.asp, last visited 2005. peoples’ devices to exchange information, as Iwatani, Yukari (1998), ”Love: Japanese “Interesting concept, but the fun doesn’t well as for pure entertainment value. A re- Style”, Wired, http://www.wired.com/news/ last very long. It feels a bit weird running cent example is Konami’s music toy Otoizm, culture/0,1284,12899,00.html around with an invisible ball. It’s awkward which remixes your portable music, and also Nintendo.com, “Nintendo DS Technical to run around while staring at the screen.” shares music with other Otoizm users that Specifications”, http://www.nintendo.com/ Blue player moving in to the goal area. happen to be nearby (Gizmodo.com, 2006). techspecds, last visited 2005. “Well, it’s certainly a new twist to a mo- Psiloc.com, “miniGPS”, http://www.psiloc. Now, the blue players grouped and started bile game. With some improved us- In short, people will grow more accustomed com/index.html?id=155, last visited 2005. running in a wide arc around the office, quick- ability and more stable communica- to sharing information, and interacting with ly passing the ball back and forth. They ap- tion, this could well become a fun sport.” nearby people in a connected manner. Their SICS.se, “Frog Race” is a master thesis proached the red goal, now guarded by both definition of privacy will be reshaped and project at the Stockholm University carried red players. Intense button-jabbing followed Future outlook: proximity gaming in 2010 redefined. As that happens, game designers out by Jenny Niemi and Susanna Sawano, as the blue players tried to score a goal and the will feel more confident in adding proximity supervised by Annika Waern and Petra Sund- red players tried stealing the ball. Suddenly, the Will proximity-based games be a new game gaming features to their games. And wire- ström at SICS, http://www.sics.se/interaction/ fanfare sounded from the red goal phone. 2-1. genre of its own, dominating the video game less gaming will never be the same again. projects.php, last visited 2005. shelves in five years? No, proximity gaming Tapwave.com, “Zodiac product specifica- – compared to massively multiplayer games References tions”, http://www.tapwave.com/zodiac_ and pervasive games – will not be coined a specs.html, last visited 2005. game genre in its own right. Instead, elements Ackerman, Kyle (2004), ”Sony on Hardware: Wikipedia.org, “IEEE 802.11”, http:// of proximity gaming will seep into the design PlayStation 2 Add-Ons and the PSP”, Fric- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/802.11, last visited of mobile and handheld games, little by little. tionless Insight, http://www.frictionlessin- 2005. sight.com/Articles/GDC2004SonyKey/GDC- Viktoria.se, “Pac-Man Must Die!”, devel- Two things hamper the development of proxim- 2004SonyKey.htm. oped by Alexander Jaako, Annelie Lundén ity gaming applications: penetration of game de- and Staffan Lönn at the Viktoria Insitute in vices that can communicate with each other, and Sweden, http://www.viktoria.se/fal/projects/ social acceptance of “invading” other peoples’ collgames/, last visited 2005.

37 Vicky Wu, Froghop netration to convert non-gamers into casual centage of the traditional gamer demographic. Gamers from the traditional game sector are mobile-games players. But these back-pocket If the mobile games are viewed as a lesser ver- still a huge, untapped, and underserved mar- - USA devices that we never leave home without sion of an original, it will be harder to jus- ket. Rather than pigeon-holing mobile gam- can also be a valuable platform for existing tify a large number of recurring mobile game ing, it is important to strip away any pre-con- Mobile Devices and the gamers. The question is: what type of mobile downloads. ceived idea of what mobile gaming should be. “Traditional” Gamer gaming applications can entice the traditional The concept of transmedial access, where the gamer market? Despite the amazing developments that focus is taken off of game translation and onto Abstract have occurred in mobile gaming, most ad- native game applications, is an emerging alter- Before delving into this question, it is worth vancements have been developed through native in the mobile games arena. Transme- While mobile gaming has become incredibly mentioning the distinction being made in this a tunneled vision. Building upon existing dial access leverages different mediums (such popular around the world, there are some ob- paper when referencing “traditional” gamers ideas and paradigms, many game develop- as mobile phones) and determines what type stacles to be faced in the future. There are and “casual” gamers. A traditional gamer refers ers still view the phone as just a miniature of game content can be better experienced several reasons for this, primarily the fact that to those who play various videogames (PC or console. Shrink-wrapping a console or PC on the phone than other available mediums. today’s mobile gaming experience is a casual console) and generally exhibit hardcore gam- game isn’t the only way – nor is it always Transmedial access should not be confused activity designed to pass the time. Neither ing behavior and purchase patterns. Being a the best way – to appeal to the traditional with what is currently labeled as “cross-plat- the platforms, nor the games lend themselves traditional gamer does not exclude them from videogame player. Learning to repurpose form” games, where a particular game is to extended periods of gaming . The current enjoying casual-style games. Casual gamers content to appropriately fit devices is the big- developed for the console, PC, and mobile. users of mobile games are not gamers per se, gravitate towards games with shorter learn- gest hurdle that game developers face today. Cross-platform games are generally not con- but rather casual users with little commitment ing curves – the kind you can just pick up and nected among each device, and are essentially to the game itself. With so many companies play. The biggest misperception is that casual Leveraging Mobile and Fixed experiences the same game slightly tweaked for varying fighting over the small amount of casual time, gamers only play for short bursts of time; they together control mechanisms. The game experience the market must lure a new audience in order in fact often have hardcore playing habits, but provided should not emphasize that they are to continue growing. Instead of simply con- their purchase patterns are different. Casual Portability and connectivity are the unique interacting with a super-powerful or sub-par verting PC and console games into mobile gamers’ price/value perception of games sepa- strengths of mobile devices. While almost device; they should feel like they are being of- experiences, a stepping stone approach will rates casual gamers from traditional gamers. everyone seems to grasp that mobile phones fered the opportunity to interact with the game help open mobile entertainment to the more- are meant for capturing short bursts of activ- through the best medium for that purpose. demanding gamer market. In this paper we Because purchase patterns are important to an ity “anytime, anywhere” because of its port- will examine the importance and impact tradi- industry’s sustenance and growth, traditional ability, very few seem to recognize the power How to Apply a Transmedial Strategy tional gamers will have on the mobile gaming gamers are key for propelling mobile games behind the “connected” part. Still working industry, how the concept of transmedial ac- forward. Traditional gamers are willing to within the confines of existing paradigms, la- As the computer game and mobile device cess advances mobile gaming in an evolution- embrace new game-related content, and are tency and other technical limitations are being markets continue to grow, interest in the in- ary (rather than revolutionary) manner, and the willing to pay for products they believe will blamed for the lack of connected games; mo- tersection of those applications are on the rise. and the path it will lead the mobile games to. enrich their gaming experience. There have bile games remain as isolated pass-the-time Players are starting to look for multi-platform been numerous efforts geared towards attract- experiences. It’s very difficult to build depth capabilities to effectively stay on top of their What’s in it for the Traditional Gamer? ing the traditional videogame player to mobile and user loyalty within the casual commute game; developers want different ways to draw games, such as licensing traditional game IP time. However, creating options for players the player in and keep them connected. The Mobile phones, as well as the mobile games Although many traditional game players do to keep your content with them as they move mobile device is a perfect medium to serve as industry, have come a long way in recent years. enjoy playing mobile games in their downtime, from device to device can open opportunities an additional access route for existing games However, the majority view of mobile games anecdotal evidence suggests that traditional for additional content. Portability and connec- that traditional gamers are already paying to is that they are only for casual gamers. With gamers continue to perceive mobile games tivity combined offers endless potential that play. By providing these gamers with a means cellphones being “mass market” devices, the as pale imitations of console games. Current stationary applications can’t: connecting gam- to remotely access part of a meta-game, the focus has been to leverage the platform pe- mobile game offerings appeal to a small per ers to their community or an overarching story. mobile gaming market can secure a large

38 group of consistent, enthusiastic users. The from the computer designing the aesthetic Why is transmedial access important to Even the most dedicated users have dif- same level of enthusiasm is also shared and functional aspects of custom-made game the industry? ficulty keeping up with the dynamic in- among those who favor multiplayer games, items. In addition to being an interesting di- formation. To remain active and included, either in cooperation or in competition with version in itself, the design applet transfers Isolated mobile gaming applications provide users need ways to better communicate, co- others. Leveraging the existing gamer mar- the designs into the game, giving characters flexibility but don’t offer enough experiential operate and coordinate in an effective manner. ket to introduce new products will help pro- not only items optimized for their own uses, depth; this limits immersion, accomplishment, mote the acceptance of online mobile gaming, but also items that personalize their avatar and and loyalty factors, cornering mobile-only ex- Playing games is a choice of what one does for and additional mobile gaming applications. make it more their own. Pocket universes are periences as mere diversions. But many tra- fun. Both mobile and traditional games need contained scenarios – one mini-quest or one ditional persistent and multiplayer games that to take into consideration the lifestyle and There are three general principles in transme- type of task – that, when completed, reap a offer depth and intricacies require a significant, gameplay habits of their demographic, and dial access where the use of the mobile phone reward in the meta game environment. These concentrated, stationary commitment, which how each device can contribute to customer can be applied in countless creative ways: custom-created mobile mini-games add a few then leads to customer attraction and reten- attraction and retention. It is not only an in- twists for high-end titles that the hardcore tion issues. If fixed and mobile was leveraged dicator of business viability, it is ultimately an As a communication device: relaying & re- gamers welcome can take on the road with different types of entry points to your IP and indicator of whether the game is fun. Satis- sponding to time-sensitive data and dialogue. them. Instead of being isolated casual games, community, one device could help the other, fied gamers means bottom line benefits for Whether it’s coordinating an MMO raid or players can navigate a few hazards to gain a leading to a harmonious business equation. game developers. Combining fixed and mo- managing a tournament in an RTS game, re- new decorative garment, practice mixing po- bile draws the player deeper into their game ceiving notification of game updates or server tions in order to raise their alchemy skill, or Gamers don’t have a problem paying for some- and community, which in turn benefits both status, the phone is the perfect device to help even just bop some monsters for a bit of XP. thing they find valuable. Remote email-check- the traditional and mobile games industry. gamers stay in the loop with their commu- ing devices often come with hefty price plans, nity, and in-the-know for game-critical data. With the above three principles of transme- but ask most business people whether they Value-add Leads to Mass Market dial design and utility, the mobile and sta- find that service worthwhile, and most do. We As a portable joystick: allowing players real- tionary platforms complement each other already are used to leveraging mobile tools to Transmedial access allows gamers the same time ability to affect character advancement, by providing experiences that are different, help us stay connected to clients, colleagues, type of convenience to access game statistics, housekeeping issues, and other virtual world yet best run on its respective device. With- and information for quick decision-making. additional game content, and game commu- status. You want that Singing Runcible Sword out the commitment of booting up the com- We understand the value of mobile access to nity, focusing on connected and often times from the in-game auctioneer – but you can’t puter, free moments on a commute to work increase productivity, and therefore are willing asymmetric experiences. If the mobile strat- stay home all day to make sure no one out- can now be used to continue a character’s to pay for it. In fact, without those tools, we’d egy highlights the strength of mobile phones bids you. Transmedial access can help players virtual progress and to advance a story. actually miss it. With a single-platform offer- instead of its limitations, gamers will find their who like to interact with the in-game auctions ing, the gamer experience is also incomplete. mobile device to be an indispensable part of by providing real-time access to the auctions A transmedial strategy can also be utilized to their gaming experience. There will be more whenever they want, giving cell phone alerts create persistent narratives, add variety to play- Whether in a massively multiplayer online than one type of successful mobile gaming when an auction is about to expire or a higher er challenges, collectibles, and quest formation, (MMO) game, or with multiplayer games application, but transmedial applications have bid is entered, and – importantly – allowing or provide in-game reward mechanisms that and tournaments, peer actions and event the opportunity of helping traditional gamers immediate responses to change. organize their are then accessible through a mobile device. changes have cumulative effects that are become comfortable with the concept of rely- inventories, set up the order of their quests. When access is never farther away than a back consequential to individuals, whether or ing on their mobile phone for entertainment. pocket, we have reached a state not only of not they are available...similar to real life. This expands the user base substantially. As a mobile mini-games: creating pocket-sized persistent worlds, but also of persistent access. But unlike real life where we have plenty of experience extensions (such as mini-games), tools to help us juggle multiple responsibili- A transmedial strategy can be applied to both where accomplishments can be uploaded and ties, access into virtual worlds is through a hardcore and casual games. But until you cre- translated into virtual world value. With a mo- single access point; active participation re- ate a genuine value-add to the demographic bile applet, players can spend their time away quires a significant stationary commitment. that not only wants to try new tools for game-

39 enhancement, but is willing to pay for it and Frank Fitzek, consumption. While the wireless data rate can ated. This architecture could easily be mapped tell their friends about it, mobile games will be increased for each individual terminal at to school children playing on the school have difficulty reaching its full potential. The Allborg University larger costs in terms of complexity and en- yard (but it is not limited to that scenario). traditional gaming market is comprised of ergy consumption, the energy consumption is game enthusiasts, eager to embrace new prod- - Denmark the critical issue at present and it will become On the other side this architecture did not ucts and services that can bring value into their even more important in the future. The energy support the gaming with players which are gameplay experiences. Just as new technol- Mobile Gaming 2010 consumption determines the stand by time of not in the proximity of the short range com- ogy becomes mainstream technology through Cooperative Mobile Gaming the gaming console and therefore the degree of munication, but may be placed somewhere the momentum of enthusiasts, transmedial ac- freedom in a mobile world. In order to overcome else in the communication network playing cess will propel traditional gamers – and sub- Abstract --- This articled presents a way in the described problems of energy consump- on a central server. As multiplayer games sequently the casual gamers – to look at their which mobile gamers may access the cellu- tion, costs and complexity we are motivated seem to be the most attractive forms of gam- mobile phone as an entertainment device. lar communication system in the future. Co- to look at novel communication architectures. ing (currently, five million players daily ac- operation among terminals is advocated here cess World of Warcraf t), the proposed ar- in contrast to the existing communication In [1] we have already outlined first novel architecture needs to be revised and we will method, where the base station communi- chitectures for gaming services to access cellu- present a novel more refined architecture. cates with dedicated communication links to lar networks. It was assumed that each player the end terminals. By using the inbuilt short has a mobile gaming console with two types Cooperative Access range communication with high data rates, of wireless connection. The first connection is terminals form cooperation clusters. In ad- the state of the art cellular link (offering low As shown in Figure 1, we envision the follow- dition to that each terminal uses the cellular data rates, large delays at high prices, but full ing architecture (in close relationship to the communication link with low data rates to coverage) and the second one is a short range one given in [1]): Players are able to access form high virtual data rates for the cluster. communication (high data rates and low delays the gaming server via the wireless or the wired Furthermore, the cooperative access yields and no or very low additional costs). In the connection. As an example the game played reduced energy consumption per terminal and paper it was advocated to form gaming clus- can be a first-person shooter (FPS) game such reduced costs for the customer. The forming ters, such that they can be found at any LAN as Halflife or a massively multi-player role- process of the cooperative cluster is moti- location and play with friends in the proximity playing game (MMORPG) such as World vated by technical as well as social reasons. of the user using the short range communica- of Warcraft. While the players join the first- tion. The cellular connection was only used to person shooter game with its character for a Introduction and Motivation manage the game (game initiation, authenti- limited time, the MMORPG foresees to build cation, score submissions, map or digital item the character over a long time, which can be Quality of service is the enabler to ensure downloading etc.). Therefore, the proposed a year. Thus, players are highly interested in financially successful wireless and mobile architecture was particularly well suited for having certain access to the game that will not communication systems. One of the most games that have offline software distribution, loose their improved and trained characters. promising services is mobile gaming, espe- but require a registration (authentication) each cially multiplayer games which are of special time the game is played. This kind of archi- Those who have a fixed connection are re- interest to the players. To port the multiplayer tecture was especially interesting for network ferred to as Fixed Players and those who are games to the mobile world, there are some and service providers. The network providers connected in a wireless fashion are called Mo- problems that have to be addressed to enable could increase their financial efficiency (mon- bile Players. All players are connected to one mobile gaming for multiplayer games. As ey per bit) as most of the traffic is transported of the gaming servers hosted by Provider A, with any mobile end system, the mobile gam- over the short range and not over the cellular B or C. We assume the fixed players will not ing consoles are limited in the wireless data connection so the service providers would get discover any problems as they have a power rate, maximum allowed costs, and energy a small benefit each time the game was initi- supply and huge backbone capacity (e.g. flat

40 rate) and hereafter we focus only on the mobile gamers. In case of user E1 and E2, the players need a gaming console with a cellular connection offering huge bandwidth and small delays similar to the fixed connection. Even though the gaming traffic is small compared to video streaming, there are given periods where a lot of action takes place and high data rates are required. This will lead to short delays. To achieve the required characteristics, the gaming console has to be high complex (ending up in a high priced entity) and investing a lot of energy and money. Therefore we advocate the usage of cooperative access (e.g. formed by User A, B, C and D). Once again we come back to the idea of a gaming console with two kinds of connection, the short range and the cellular (or central- ized). In case the players have grouped (occasionally or because of the later explained advantage) they can establish multiple links to the overlay network. In contrast to the single reception case, the terminals will not receive the full information, but receive only partial information in the first step. The cluster needs to coordinate this kind of cooperative access with disjunctive information and exchange the retrieved information over the short range communication link. The partial information per terminal is different for all terminals. To retrieve the full information, the terminals exchange the received data over the short range communication. The received information can be distinguished into three types: i.) common part: gaming maps, general information, high scores, etc. ii.) dedicated information: only for a given terminal Figure 1: Architecture for Multi Player Gaming with Cooperative Access

41 iii.) derived information: additional in- These advantages will encourage players to formation for a given player or set of players. group together motivated by technical and fi- By using this sort of information in addition nancial reasons. In addition to that, mobile gam- with the common information, new informa- ers may even form grouping because of social tion can be derived. This seems promising as reasons or reasons related to the type of game. all players within a cooperation cluster may be located near by even in the virtual world Social Grouping: Often players meet to per- and information may be coded differentially. form together in so called clans (some sort of gaming team). The real life communication In the Figure 2 the merging process of three helps to play more efficient or to plan future individual gaming streams into one coopera- steps, even though more advanced games offer tive stream is shown. After the gaming server voice support to communicate among the play- knows about the clustering, it will take the ers. Therefore this technically driven architec- streams and start to rearrange the informa- ture will have its feedback to the social life. tion. First of all the common information is extracted and put in the front followed by the The advantage for the manufacture is that low dedicated information. Obviously the common and high complexity terminals are needed. part is now only transmitted once per coopera- While the high complex terminals are used tive cluster and not multiple times, so this is by a small number of users, the mass mar- already a first gain by the cooperative clusters. ket will use the cooperative terminals. It has to be noted here that also the high complex Advanced gaming servers may search for terminals may use cooperation to achieve the compression possibilities to get the derived cooperative gains such as less energy con- information. Nevertheless, after the new co- sumption and shared costs while playing. operative packet is generated, some mapping is needed to determine where to send the in- Figure 2: Merging process of three individual gaming packets into one Business Model formation. Assume that all terminals have a cooperation packet fixed bandwidth (same packet size P1, P2, and In contrast to the architecture proposed in [1], P3), so there is an optimal sending strategy to To sum up, the cooperative communication logies this is true such as in the case of GPRS the envisioned cooperative architecture as- reduce the later exchange over the short range has the following advantages: data from the base station that will be ex- sumes that all terminals are directly connected communication link, but that is out of scope changed with Bluetooth among the coopera- to the cellular system and therefore the bill- of this paper. What we can also see by this ex- Less Complex Cellular Access: Compared to tive users and more examples can be found. ing can be arranged by the network provider. ample is that an inherent multiplexing is given a stand alone air interface, the cooperative one If we foresee new technologies for short Furthermore, the gaming provider will also (Player 1 is receiving data for the whole group will be less complex and low cost end termi- range communication such as IEEE802.15.3a, bill for its services. There are two billing ap- and player 3 is offers some data for player 2). nals are the result. the energy per bit becomes even smaller. proaches, namely the separate and the trans- This may be seen as misusage of the foreign parent billing. capacity, but roles may change and as we have Less Energy Consumption: By cooperative Shared Reduced Service Costs: As the coop- explained earlier, the gaming group has one access, it has been shown in [2], that the pow- erative group retrieves nearly the same amount Separate Billing: With separate billing the common goal (which is to win the game). er can be reduced dramatically. This statement of information as the stand alone player, the customer has a contract with the network pro- holds as long as the short range communica- costs can be split among the players. Even the vider and one or multiple separate contract(s) tion is using less energy per transmitted bit network provider will see this as an advantage as with one or multiple game service provider(s). than the cellular approach. For most techno- this approach breaks new ground of customers. The cellular provider charges the customer

42 for the use of the cellular connection. Conclusion: Transparent Billing: With transparent bill- Cooperative gaming architecture will enable a ing, the cellular billing entity is used for both, new way of gaming by overcoming the known the billing for the cellular connection as well problems in the wireless domain as there are as for the billing for the gaming service. The the energy constraints and the related costs. two main advantages of the transparent bill- Also cooperation is based on technical rea- ing approach are that (1) the customer deals sons, it maps perfectly to the needs and wishes only with one company (i.e. the billing for of players how they enter the gaming zones, the gaming service is transparent to the cus- which is in so called clans. Cooperation of- tomer), and (2) the customer’s SIM card can fers advantages for players, manufactures, be used for reliable billing. Therefore, the network providers and service providers. transparent billing approach may be viewed as customer friendly. Note that for transparent References: billing, communication between the cellular billing entity and the game service provider is [1] F.H.P. Fitzek and G. Schulte and M. Re- necessary to establish the price of the service isslein. System Architecture for Billing of (this however is transparent to the customer). Multi-Player Games in a Wireless Envi- We note that both the transparent billing ap- ronment using GSM/UMTS and WLAN proach as well as the separate billing approach Services. 2002. in Proceedings of the First is inspired by the successful service model of Workshop on Network and System Support NTT DoCoMo [3]. NTT DoCoMo takes re- for Games (NetGames 2002), pages 58-64. sponsibility for the network infrastructure. Braunschweig, Germany. The services for the platform are provided partially by NTT DoCoMo and partially by [2] Frank H. P. Fitzek and and Marcos Katz. selected partners. The idea of the business Cooperation in Wireless Networks: Prin- model is that NTT DoCoMo receives the traf- ciples and Applications, Springer, ISBN1- fic revenue and the service providers receive 4020-4710-X, 2006 their transaction revenue. In case the providers are using NTT DoCoMo’s value-added [3] K. Satoh. NTT DoCoMo activities in services, such as billing, NTT DoCoMo also and beyond IMT2000. Presentation at 11th receives the revenue from the transactions Time-Market Symposium, Sky Garden, Sony- (similar to our transparent billing approach). Center Berlin, Germany, Sept. 2001. In relationship to the cooperative gaming, the billing does not require any additional changes as long as all cooperating consoles share the bill equally. In case of heterogeneous billing some small changes are required to offer the needed flexibility.

Mobile Games 2010 By Nokia

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