There hasn’t been any coverage of touch and/ or handheld gaming in earlier posts, as we’ve seen these technologies as being solely about solitary gameplay. In particular, the Nintendo DS has become the ‘distraction’ of choice for many parents: convenient, portable and isolating.
Fortunately 2010 seems set to bring together a series of technologies that appear likely to offer a more social or shared approach to how many of us play handheld games in the future.
Apple iPod touch 64 GB (3rd Generation)
The hardware and interfaces underlying change are touch technologies but their success is highly dependent on the ‘killer applets’ subscription model used by the iStore and the videogame industry’s new willingness to build a wider variety of gameplay into major titles.
The DSi, the Kindle DX, the iTouch, the iPhone and Google’s Android OS for mobile devices have already set out the framework for what we can expect over the next three to five years:
Games based around a rich variety of skills and experiences
Lower development costs for handheld games compared to full console games
Exploitation of the popular handheld puzzle games market
Demand for shared gaming, living room gaming and portable gaming
All in one telephony, life management, Internet and gaming platforms
The DS and DSi already show what can be delivered at relatively low cost, as titles like Nintendogs and Zelda: Spirit Tracks offer plenty of challenges, novel situations and varied puzzles.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (Nintendo DS)
‘Brain game’ titles like Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training can’t begin to offer the same variety of gameplay and skills found in RPG titles. Expect more good quality ‘touch’ RPG gaming in 2010 when ‘Okami 2′ appears on the DS and DSi.
Nevertheless, the DS, DSi and PSP simply don’t offer the combination of screen size, high resolution displays and portability needed to deliver portable, shared gameplay. There simply isn’t enough screen space to ‘open up’ the current devices to those around you, play immersive games or offer fluid ‘touch, drag and drop’ sharing within and across screens.
Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device 9.7″
The next wave of touch technologies should have more to offer. Several new touch slates are set to appear over the next year. These are all set to have larger screens and are, essentially, lightweight ‘touch netbooks’. Hopefully they’ll take a few lessons from the Kindle DX Reader, which is wafer thin and similar in screen size to at least two of the hotly anticipated ‘slates’.
Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device 9.7″ – Side View
There appear to be three main options, an ‘iTablet’, the MS ‘Courier’ or a Google ‘slate’:
The ‘iTablet’ or ‘iSlate’ is rumoured to be a 10″ iTouch with a price tag in the range of $1000. It’s likely to offer a large screen and high quality components. Gaming will be available from day one with direct access to the iStore and a healthy number of developers ready to exploit the screen space. It is unclear whether or not Apple’s device will simply be a glorified iTouch or include a full Apple OS system. At the suggested price a full ‘netbook’ with Apple OS would surely be necessary to justify the expense. In either case Apple’s ‘slate’ can expect to sell well to premium buyers but is unlikely to be available to many kids.
The MS Courier seems to have made an appearance on Gizmodo a couple of days ago. It appears to be a fold over device with two screens. A sort of chunky DSi, which is really not what gamers are looking for. The book ‘metaphor’ puts a fold down the middle of the gaming and ‘touch, drag and drop’ space. I’m trying not to use the Filofax word.
Google aren’t talking about delivering their ‘touch netbook’ until the end of 2010. The suggested cost of $300 seems slightly improbable given the rumoured specifications. However, with current netbooks at $300, ramped up 10″ screen manufacturing and ready to go Google OS software this is the option that seems most likely to deliver shared gameplay into homes and schools.
Okami
A ‘gSlate’, or similar device, allied to a touch interface could start to delivered shared, social gaming. Players would be able to let others see what they’re doing on screen, co-operative gameplay could move beyond squeezing two players into a single screen and players’ media-rich lifestreams should be easier to share and more dynamic.
‘Okami Legend: The Small Sun’ is due out on the DS in 2010
As probably the most ‘touch ready’ RPGs around, Okami on the Wii, and the known features of Okami 2 on the DS, offer a clearer picture of what to expect. In addition to the use of gestures to move around, search and fight; Okami’s brushstrokes allow players to use touch or motion gestures to do everything from sweeping barriers aside to unlocking the explosive colour inking of landscapes released from ‘darkness’.
Playing such a game on a larger, high resolution touch and pen screen, (with enough space to use a wider range of gestures and play alongside your friends), would go a long way to delivering a more shared and less solitary hobby.
The possibilities become clearer after taking a look at the Flipnote Studio software available for the DSi. Flipnotes allow players to sketch, manipulate and share animations using the DSi’s stylus and touchscreen. The software has proved very popular but it would be so much more impressive on an Internet-ready slate, which would allow the creation of highly personalised lifestreams for sharing across the full range of social networks available on the Internet.
