Game Storytelling
Most mobile apps dwindle into obscurity after their 15 minutes of fame — mobile games last about 15 seconds.
There are exceptions; Rovio built a franchise around Angry Birds. They expanded into film, licencing the brand for merchandise sales and, of course, spin-off games. I was hopeful that Pokemon Go could overcome the honeymoon fad by pumping out engaging game content, but it had a different fate and many problems along the way. Come to think of it, where else could the Pokemon franchise expand to? Mobile seemed to be a good venture, and it makes sense, get to users where their eyeballs are looking.
In order to keep eyeballs looking, you need an engaging story.
There’s an awesome storyline, character development and content affinity for games like Halo, Assassins Creed and Uncharted. Why doesn’t this exist for mobile games? I’d say it’s a platform thing. I bet that if any of these titles were brought to mobile, they’d suffer the same fate as other franchise that tried to go mobile unnecessarily. Even their hardcore fan bases would be let down.
Still, there’s a lack of storytelling for games that are exclusively mobile, and that can hurt engagement, which eventually affects converting a casual gamer to a fan adversely.
Here’s why mobile games can’t be engaging:
- Mobile isn’t a dedicated platform to gaming: It can’t captivate the time and attention required to convey a story, and there are too many distractions during gameplay for gamers to stay engaged. You get notifications or need to use your phone for something else; those interruptions aren’t typically experienced in console gaming.
- Switching cost: For consoles, gamers buy a game and stay obligated to it for a longer duration. It’s a hassle to return the game or toss it, but with mobile, it’s a matter of deleting the app and browsing the app store for a replacement.
- Game modes: Simply put, a tiny screen means fewer game modes and boring or non-existent multiplayer experiences. Even worse, developers may be pressured to force a game mode to fit the constraints which isn’t fun for anyone.
Since it’s easy to own and disown apps, developers need to teach or onboard gamers, engage them immediately, and then get them addicted. It’s nearly impossible with interruptions and people constantly on the go.
The future for mobile gaming doesn’t seem bright. We’re in a world where as soon as a meme becomes wildly popular on social media, an opportunist game developer will capitalize and build out a quick meme game. Bottle Flip 2k16, Cash Me Outside, the list goes on. Maybe we’re fated to play cheap games on the subway to pass time and that’s about it.
Check out Musical Storytelling and follow Ideas and Words for more!
