The Mobile Gaming Scene: Reviews and Tips for Smartphone and Tablet Games

The dedicated gamer has always dominated the FPS genre. With regard to the fundamental components of a first-person shooter, not much has changed in the two decades since id Software pioneered with Wolfenstein 3D.
You are still a wobbly gun that is wobbling through the world, shooting at anything that moves, despite the fact that the corridors may have grown larger, the bad guys’ edges may have been slightly smoothed out, and some bright spark may have added mouselook.

Since Rare first demonstrated with GoldenEye that you could murder people quite proficiently with a controller, the most significant stylistic shifts in the genre have been brought about by smartphone and tablet gaming. New first-person shooter (FPS) experiences are being created out of the familiar shapes and colors that we all take for granted by mobile game developers, who are experimenting with control schemes and playing rhythms.

This is perfectly demonstrated by Tasty Poison’s Neon Shadow. It’s an old fashioned shooter spruced up in the luxury of the Application Store. The core of this Gold Award-winning experience is a series of tight corridors, spinning ammo pickups, and staccato circle-strafing gun fights. The Tasty Poison team focused on getting the “feel” of those early shooters right from the start because they were already familiar with touch controls. It created a experience that is both a tribute and a display of new concepts at the same time.

The game has short levels, co-op multiplayer on the same device, fights over wifi, and a few other innovations that help it stay current in a crowded market. Telescopic sight, and Tasty Poison director Steve McIvor believes that further experimentation is possible. In a future version of Neon Shadow, for instance, I would love to use the camera to give players more options for personalization.

Developers of mobile FPS games are not only coming up with new ideas but also need to catch up in some crucial areas. Developers are having to work around the fact that the mobile market lacks the multiplayer infrastructure found on PCs and consoles. The controls, on the other hand, may be the most significant difference between forging new paths and following in the console crowd’s footsteps.

Chip Sineni, director at Phosphor Games Studios, finds the most room for improvement in this area. “Mobile shooters are just getting started. We tried out a few different control methods that we really like, but they aren’t used in the market right now because there are better options. It’s fun for developers to think there’s still room for innovation.

World War Z is a movie-related first-person shooter developed by art gallery Phosphor that features intriguing controls. World War Z has a lot of ideas that are likely to become mainstays of first-person shooter gaming on the App Store, despite the fact that Phosphor never quite manages to blend all of the disparate components into a cohesive whole.

For instance, the manner in which Phosphor distinguishes between various forms of combat. or allows you to roam around freely but forces you to stay where you are in a sophisticated shooting gallery when the crowds come.
For the FPS genre on touchscreen, these innovations appear to be positive steps. But for Sineni, it’s just as important to know the player and when she’ll be playing your game as it is to know the device she’ll be using. This is because we anticipate that users will play in bursts before going to bed or randomly during downtime, such as in a doctor’s office.

Arnaud Bonnard, director of game development at Gameloft, asserts that in order for developers to advance the genre, they must comprehend those various play styles. People use a variety of apps, whether for work or fun, and they are accustomed to using one for a short time before switching to another. Additionally, the staggering number of brand-new apps added to the App Store each week accelerated this trend.”

Levels that only last a few minutes and instant visceral gratification when you start playing a first-person shooter are very important features of this new generation of touchscreen shooters. Additionally, Bonnard views the future as one of iteration; smoothing down the harsh edges; and better integrating the controls you need to use with the actions you can do. Everything hinges on the kind of experience you want to create.”

Sineni stays a home gamer on a fundamental level, despite the fact that he’s hopeful about the eventual fate of the versatile shooter. The great mobile shooter concepts haven’t been perfected yet, but if any publishers want to get in touch, McIvor says that while console and PC gaming come with larger budgets and teams, mobile gaming is easier.