The Nintendo Switch and The Rise of Midcore Mobile

Diary of an Indie Game Developer: Chapter 2

I got a Nintendo Switch for Christmas, and I gotta say playing Skyrim on the Switch is great! I’m not the only one who thinks so, either. This is notable because Skyrim is a big AAA open world action role-playing video game, not the kind of thing you’d typically expect to play on a portable gaming device.

I’m also playing the new Zelda on the Switch. It too is an amazing game, and like Skyrim, it’s also amazing how great a gaming experience it is on the Switch. Playing this big 3rd person action-adventure game on a portable device doesn’t feel compromised in any way at all.

So, what does this have to do with the game I’m making, you ask? Good question!

Well, it just so happens that what I’ve been working on is a little 3rd person action-adventure game… for Mobile.

What? Yeah, I know. While there definitely are games of that type for mobile, they’re certainly not your standard mobile fare, but I think the time is right to do one. I think we’re just about at the point where a 3rd person action adventure game could be super fun on Mobile. Why now? Take a look at this:

Notice anything? My new iPhone 10 is almost all screen, and it’s almost the same screen size as the Switch. The devil’s in the details, of course: How do you make on screen touch controls not suck? How many people have phones with BIG screens? The Switch has more RAM than a typical smartphone. Switch games typically take up more a lot more disk space than mobile games. Lots of problems to solve, for sure.

Still, I’m optimistic that it could be great, so I’m going for it.

Now, time to get back to work…

See you next week.