A landscape of odd shapes and multicolored blocks litter the area. I hear screams in the background and the sound of flying projectiles hitting the ground. Taking a survey of the carnage that lies before me, only one thought goes through my head: I guess there's no time for Fallout 3 tonight.
After many long days of work and coming home to my messy two-year old, an odd trend has started in my gaming habits. I used to stay in my room for hours playing the latest console RPG, never thinking a simple game like Peggle would be my game of choice in the future.
Downloadable games have lately become the new trend in gaming, with the iPhone leading the charge and DSi and PSPgo doing their best to keep up. Some people say because of the economy and the low barrier of entry, with cheaper prices than their console counterparts, short casual games have become more popular. Others would say that technology has finally caught up to allow for these services. While both of those are definite factors, I think that simple time management is the biggest selling point.
Surveys have reported that the average age of gamers is 35. Most 35-year olds have a 40-plus-hour workweek, a house, and a family to take care of. Because of this, it's hard to find the time to sit down and focus on a 60-hour RPG or even a 10-hour action-adventure game. Still wanting to satisfy their gaming fix, these gamers have turned to the world of the App Store.
Short casual games have been around as long as Flash has been available on the Internet. And with the advent of Java-enabled phones, these games have steadily become more popular. For years, "hardcore" gamers never gave these games a second thought, most not even considering them real games. But with the arrival of the PlayStation Network, the App Store, and most recently DSiWare, shorter "casual" games have started to be embraced by those same jaded gamers. Companies like PopCap and ngmoco are changing what downloadable games are really about. No longer are these just Diner Dash or Bejeweled rip-offs, but they are games with real depth and, dare I say, story.
One of the best games on the iPhone currently is ngmoco's Rolando. At first glance, it looks surprising similar to LocoRoco on the PSP, but the visual style is where the similarities end. Instead of being solely a platform game based around using the shoulder buttons, Rolando is a platform and puzzler game based on different types of creatures called Rolandos.
What set this game apart from others in this genre on the iPhone is the quirky personality that ngmoco is known for (just look at their free app Topple). Not only do each Rolando have distinct abilities that must be used to complete the levels, their personalities are so well implemented that you don't want to see them fail. Although the story won't bring home any awards, it's refreshing to see they took a chance on developing a story to help it stand out from the crowd.
Quality handheld titles translate well to the downloadable space and quality console titles can as well. Underworlds is a Diablo clone for the iPhone and one of the best out there. It will currently only last you a few hours, but the developer, Pixel Mine, has promise that more content will be added with free updates.
Another great game is Vay, also on the iPhone. This is a remake of the Sega CD JRPG by Working Designs, who localized the Lunar series. This may be one of the only traditional turned-based RPGs on the platform, but it is a well-made one with quirky humor and dozens of hours of gameplay.
One of the biggest advantages to downloadable games is that developers aren't afraid to take risks with gameplay ideas. When you tell someone that you are playing a game called Flight Control, images of boring air traffic controllers and heavy simulation gameplay come to mind for most people. Fortunately for developer Firemint, enough people thought to give the game a try and discovered one of the most addicting and fun games on the iPhone.
The basic concept of this game is simple. There are three base types of aircraft that have different landing strips: large, small, and helicopter. When one of the aircraft comes on the screen, you drag a line from the plane to the appropriately colored landing strip (or helipad). It sounds easy until you are maintaining 15 planes in the air going at different speeds all about to crash into each other.
While just trying to get a high score is fun enough, one of the greatest additions to games in the last year is Twitter/Facebook integration. Like most people my age, I don't have tons of friends with iPhones to brag to about my latest Flight Control score, but developers are now allowing gamers to automatically post scores and challenges to friends on their favorite social networks. While it may seem like a small addition, embracing existing and popular social networks is the best way to bring in more gamers.
Downloadable gaming has come a long way in the last two years. These high quality games are cheap to make and sell, have imaginative and original gameplay ideas, and can integrate with existing and popular social networks. Console developers are starting to take notice, too, as evidenced by Microsoft's E3 Press Conference with announcements of Facebook and Twitter integration in Xbox 360. Even though my real life has become more important then my gaming life these days, with the App Store, DSiWare, and PSN, I can still stay a part of the gaming world.
