Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
game audio professionals had to adjust accordingly. The Sega Game Gear
version of Sonic had to make do with three Square waves and a noise
generator playing in less memory than the Genesis allowed! So with that
being said, let's explore the latest chapter of going back to the future,
and examine this new emerging market.
I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Handheld consoles were arguably
the i rst mobile game platforms in
existence and are still enjoying a fair
amount of market share. Although
there were devices used to play games
as far back as the late 1970s, it was
Nintendo's revolutionary Game Boy that
i rmly established the genre of portable
gaming.
For this level, we're interested in games created for a new generation of
hardware and software not solely dedicated to the task of gaming, such
as the iPad, iPhone, Android tablets, and more.
MOBILE GAME STYLES AND FORMS
Casual Games
These games are usually meant to be played in a relatively short
period of time. Users may play, sometimes several times a day, from
nearly any kind of device: a smartphone, a tablet, or a laptop. These
games are designed for mass appeal and generally not targeted
towards dedicated game fanatics. Casual games can cover a huge
swath of gameplay styles and genres, from the relatively relaxed
Flow Free (Big Duck Games) to the twitchy and fast-paced Temple
Run (Imangi Studios).
One of the i rst well-known casual games was a version of the classic
Snake game played on Nokia cellphones in the late nineties. Users
could easily play this while on their commute, or waiting in line.
The Nintendo Game Boy
Designed in the early 1980s by Gunpei
Yokoi, the same engineer who mentored
Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of
Donkey Kong , the Game Boy
arrived on the scene at exactly the right
moment and with just enough power
to play limited versions of Nintendo's
popular arcade games. The unit featured
two pulse wave generators, one PCM
4-bit wave sample channel, and one
versatile noise generator. The unit only
had one speaker, but headphones
provided stereo sound.
A well-known blockbuster casual game is Angry Birds which
catapulted (pun intended) its maker Rovio to instant stardom.
The gameplay is utterly simple. A bird is used as ammunition for
a slingshot, knocking down various structures in the process. The
game involves fairly simple techniques, with levels that can be played
quickly with satisfying results, as the blocks come tumbling down.
Now, 30 years later, the Game Boy
has also helped to inspire the whole
chiptune movement. Modern day
composers are using game technologies
 
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