IN THIS CHAPTER
Over the next few pages, we'll look at some of the current micro games currently out on the market. Many of these games are popular blockbusters and come from top game companies such as Sega and Bandai, but you'll also notice that hobbyists and small independent teams have created some of the best examples out there.
This chapter covers a wide variety of games for various micro platforms:
If you really want to design games that wow, it is highly recommended that you check out your competition. Playing and studying other games is a terrific way to get interface and gameplay ideas, learn what doesn't work, and become sure you're not doing something that has already been done.
Although many of these games are just tinier versions of games we've already seen, loved, and gotten addicted to, many of the most exciting products in this chapter are utterly original. You'll find games without graphics, games that rely on global positioning, and games that wouldn't work anywhere else but on a micro device.
The goodies in this chapter will show you that big-game concepts are indeed possible on the smallest of screens, and often with the smallest of budgets.
The reasons why the best games are fun to play are difficult to encapsulate. Finding gameplay features that work is especially important in the micro world, where there are so many limitations and so few examples of quality gaming.
Some qualities to look and aim for:
Easy to learn—If the game is too complicated, most people won't take the time to hike up that learning curve. And there's almost no room for instructions on handheld device screens. So make things ultra-intuitive!
Clarity of visuals—The graphics should be as large as possible. The screens are, as you know, very tiny, and most people like to hold the screens at chest level, about a foot away from their eyes.
Simplicity of gameplay—The gameplay itself should use a few keys and be very clear and easy to understand.
Quick game periods—Cell phone users often play games while waiting for meetings to begin, during quick subway commutes, or while sitting on the porcelain throne in the bathroom. Breaking your game into short, quick levels is usually a good idea.
Interactivity—Playing against machines is cool. But if you can play the game against other humans, you've got some real competition! And you also have a built-in community, keeping people coming back to be with friends they have met.
As new technologies come into play, Java micro games will become more powerful than ever. Some examples of these technologies are as follows:
Color screens with better resolutions will make for bright, engaging graphics.
Faster processors and video chips will provide better animation and even 3D graphics.
Better audio capabilities will add the element of music and sound to games.
Location-based technologies will give games the capability to know exactly where in the real world a player is standing. Games can be written engaging real players in the real world, using the phones only as a transparent tool to connect.
Wireless connection technologies such as Bluetooth will give small devices short-range radio connectivity, enabling phones and other devices to connect to other phones, larger servers, or other peripherals—without using valuable and expensive wireless network services. This can allow for extremely quick multiplayer gaming, as long as both players are in the same vicinity. Likewise, third-generation networks will bring the power of broadband speeds to mobile devices.
The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), which is discussed in great detail in Chapter 4, “Wireless Standards:How Data Goes To and Fro,” is a very simplistic game platform. All game traffic must be downloaded from the network and must be displayed in simple cards. The cards themselves are nothing more than small Web pages. You can basically display text, see simple black and white graphics, and enter basic data into a form. That's it! Worse yet, the downloading between each card is usually very slow, requiring a few seconds of patient foot-tapping.
Despite all these limitations, dozens of creative and daring individuals and companies have come out with an impressive array of WAP games.
URL: http://www.wirelessgames.com/
The Wireless Games Web site was created by a publisher of wireless games and other technologies called Digital Bridges (http://www.digitalbridges.com/). This British company is dedicated to creating and expanding the reach of WAP games.
Some of their offerings include the following:
Shown in Figure 3.1, this is a full-featured role-playing game. This game brings the worlds, characters, and play from the beloved Steve Jackson Sorcery game onto wireless phones.
The game is a typical fantasy adventure. You quest in search of the Crown of Kings, solving puzzles, fighting monsters, and building up your character.
You play a tank commander, facing off against another tank. All you do is choose the direction you want to fire, select a velocity, and fire. Your opponent then gets a shot at you.
You can actually send your opponent messages as you shoot it out. A simple but engaging game.
You are a trainer. You must take a virtual fighter and try to build the best boxer by juggling various attributes. You can then compete against other fighters, as shown in Figure 3.2.
The more your boxer fights, the more experienced he becomes. You can continually edit and save your character for future battles.
In this simple game, you are a master safecracker trying to rob an entire town. You go from store to store, guessing codes and trying to get the loot. You have ten tries before the police show up.
This is a WAP variation of the popular and addictive Mine Sweeper game that comes with all Microsoft Windows machines.
You must try to work your way to the center of a grid and grab the flag. But the going isn't easy—you must sniff out and avoid stepping on any mines.
Wireless Games offers a suite of various games of chance, including
High/Low
Video Poker
Blackjack (see Figure 3.3)
Roulette
Craps
Additionally, there are a number of simple, popular classics offered:
Fours—A “Connect-Four”-type game. Try to drop checkers into slots and get four in a row (see Figure 3.4).
Tic Tac Toe—Everyone's favorite (and unwinnable) three-in-a-row game.
This is a simple virtual pet “game” created by The Games Kitchen, and borrowing from Bandai's popular Tamagotchi.
The idea is to take a baby pet and feed, care, and play with it. You must keep it happy and full, or it will get sick and possibly even die. Figure 3.5 shows a sample game session. Your pet “lives” in real time on the Wireless Games servers. You can log in and check on your pet at any time.
Trivia is one of the simplest and most sensible genres of wireless games. Trivia doesn't need a lot of fancy graphics or network speed—only a good database of tough questions. It's easy to quickly log in and challenge yourself to a few toughies at any time. Trivia is also something that is highly popular, given TV shows such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Wireless Games offers two games:
This is a popular card-collecting game, licensed from Playaday.com. One player picks a statistic from the back of a selected card and issues a challenge to an opponent. If the opponent's card has a higher stat, then the opponent wins the card that you challenged with. Figure 3.6 shows a sample card.
This advanced game lets you play on a 3D simulation modeled after an actual golf course. You and your caddy must choose the best club based on the wind and course conditions, and then hit the ball in a given direction. Figure 3.7 shows a sample screen.
Jamdat has become one of the most successful wireless game companies in the world. The following is a sampling of Jamdat's games:
One of the most popular WAP games in the world is Gladiator. This game brought in more than 3.2 million extra minutes of airtime on the Sprint PCS service in the first three months after it launched in October 2000.
The rules are extremely simple: You are a gladiator challenging an opponent to head-to-head combat. You can choose which area of the body to strike at, what type of strike to deliver, and how to defend, as shown in Figure 3.8.
Your gladiator will grow stronger with each win. You can then take your new, stronger gladiator and challenge other players.
At its heart, Gladiator is no more than a multiplayer version of Rock-Paper-Scissors. However, clever graphics, engaging text, and a strong community base have turned the game into a sort of epic.
Other games by Jamdat include
Home Run Derby—A baseball game of pitcher versus batter. Two players face off. The pitcher chooses the type of pitch, and the batter chooses the type of hit. The result will range from a strike to a home run.
Krazy Konondrum—A party game where you get to answer questions such as, “Would you rather be a doughnut or a pomegranate?” The game takes your answers and compiles them with other people's, generating a live survey or poll.
Rock, Paper, Sizzer and Roshambofu—Jamdat has several versions of the original Rock-Paper-Scissors game. In Roshambofu, you play the game against an Ancient Master, as shown in Figure 3.9.
This Swedish company has created a set of innovative offerings.
This clever game goes beyond the “Virtual Pet” genre, allowing you to act as a master to another human being. Players can pick their goals, depending on the personality type of their characters. You can then balance your character's various attributes and skills, as shown in Figure 3.10.
Your Lifestyler character lives, eats, sleeps, dates, and works—just like you. But there are all sorts of highly humorous and wacky situations and confrontations, where choices must be made. Choose how your character behaves, and the character will begin to fall into different lifestyle categories, including Casanova, Athlete, Couch Potato, Average Joe, Geek, and Clown.
Picofun Football, released in 2000, was one of the world's first multiplayer WAP games. This soccer simulation game allows you to manage your own team. You can pick from dozens of players to buy and sell. You must also pay good salaries and keep morale high. During fantasy games against other players, you can see detailed statistics.
On the Green is a highly detailed golf simulation game. There are numerous courses, each with different graphics, hazards, and scenery. With each hole, you can choose your club, angle of swing, and the power of the swing. As you play, you can progress up 13 skill levels.
URL: http://www.handy-games.com/hg/index.php
This German company has created some of the goriest and sexiest WAP games out there. Quite an accomplishment on such a small, black-and-white screen….
This is another dungeon-exploring role-playing game. As illustrated in Figure 3.11, you must work your way through a maze fighting monsters and seeking treasure. You will eventually find keys to open doors to new levels. The graphics are particularly good for WAP, and they're rendered on-the-fly. You can also save the game at any time and continue at your leisure, which is a nice feature for the on-the-go game player.
This is a turn-based tank battling game. You face off against the enemy in a 5×5 grid speckled with buildings. You can perform two actions each move, with the option to either move, fire, or repair your tank. This game can be played against other people or against the computer. You work your way up a high score list with each new battle.
This is another fighting game, very similar to Jamdat's Gladiator. The gruesome graphics, however, are much more advanced, as shown in Figure 3.12.
You take on the role of an Interpol cop, chasing a criminal around the world. You must hunt from locale to locale, gaining clues and learning more about your suspect. When you think you've got the criminal identified, you can issue an arrest warrant.
This is a logic puzzle wherein you move various crates across a grid, trying to match a given pattern. You must carefully study the board and pick a strategy with each level.
This game is another variation on the “Virtual Pet” genre. In this case, you're in a relationship with a “Virtual Girlfriend.” You must keep up with your girlfriend's demands, choose different ways to make money for her, and be sure to pay attention to your girlfriend regularly. Figure 3.13 shows a sample screen. The game is a little sexist, of course, but if you're into that sort of thing, the juvenile humor of it all might be for you.
URL: http://www.funcaster.com/
FunCaster offers 30 different types of games, including casino, chance, mind, leisure, word, and kids games. Some of the more unusual offerings include
Mermaid—A game of pure chance. You can choose from five different rocks. Choose a rock, then guess what type of marine lifeform lives beneath. You can double your score if a mermaid appears.
Shapez—Guess the arrangement of four shapes, given six possible shapes, as seen in Figure 3.14. The play is similar to the classic Mastermind game.
Unplugged Games creates back-end game technology as well as original wireless games. The founders of the company come from a strong game background and are focused on using small devices in innovative ways.
Void Raider is a complex, rich game of intergalactic trade and war. You begin as the Ensign in command of a tiny starship, and must capture enemy merchant ships, selling the cargo at a profit. You can also hire yourself out as an escort, and protect friendly merchant ships from enemy raids. If you get good enough, you can even go on hunts for enemy privateers, kidnap them, and demand random.
You must manage your crew, your ship's engine, and your weapons. As you earn more money, you can upgrade your ship and hire better crews. You can eventually get promoted to Fleet Admiral.
In this wacky game, you are a fashion designer trying to predict next season's trends. This is a rich guessing game with amusing writing and wacky situations.
Word Trader is one of the most original WAP games out there. You are given a list of five words. Each word is associated with a different category, such as animals or cooking. You trade away the words you don't want to other players, and then get new words dealt to you at random. The idea is to build a list of five within the same category.
After you've made a match, you “claim” that category. The first player to claim six out of eight categories is the winner.
URL: http://www.ngame.com/index.html
nGame features games that can be played across multiple platforms. Many of their games work on the Web, on interactive TV, and on mobile phones.
The company has dozens of WAP games, including nearly every classic casino game. They also have a great selection of originals.
Try to breed the most exotic aquatic life! You are given a few alien fish to start off with. Take care of your fish, feeding them and playing with them, to encourage them to mutate into new breeds. The game features dozens of different breeds, each with different attributes and behaviors.
The game is multiplayer and the world is persistent—you can log off the game at any time, and your fish continue to grow…or waste away. You can access your virtual aquarium from the Web, your cell phone (Figure 3.15) or your digital TV set (Figure 3.16).
You command a fleet of eight ships—patrol boat, minesweeper, assault ship, submarine, destroyer, cruiser, battleship, or aircraft carrier. Select two of your ships to fight. If you use a powerful ship, you will always win—but you want to avoid sacrificing a powerful carrier against a lowly patrol boat. Points are gained for every enemy ship you defeat, as seen in Figure 3.17. The game can be played against human players or against the computer.
You choose a Kung Fu Master and then fight against an opponent. Each turn, both players pick from a selection of martial arts moves. More powerful moves are less likely to hit. As with most other nGame games, this game is playable against either humans or the computer.
You are a hacker. Your job is to create various attack programs and do battle with other players across the network. You must also write your own defensive programs, because you can be attacked at any time.
The game is in a persistent world. Your programs can be attacked whether you are logged in or not. As you explore the network, you will also compete against dozens of other hackers. Your can maintain your programs by logging in via the Web, digital TV, or mobile phone.
There are 90 different offensive and defensive programs to choose from! Figure 3.18 shows a sample screen from the game.
The i-mode platform and phones have similar capabilities to WAP, but generally provide much faster service and have the potential to display color graphics. There are hundreds of different games, many of them similar to the games reviewed in the previous sections.
It's not often that a cell phone game becomes a sensation. And who would have thought that the game to take Japan by storm isn't about princesses, monsters, or soldiers, but about fishing?
As of early 2000, Dwango Kamone, the company's site for i-mode games, has accumulated more than 1.5 million users. Some of the most popular wireless games in the world can be found here.
Turibaka Kibun literally means “crazy for fishing” in Japanese. The idea couldn't be simpler. You choose a place to fish, select your bait, and then…wait. See Figure 3.19 for a sample screen shot.
Eventually your phone will call you back. If your phone is on vibrate mode and you hold out the antenna, it'll even feel like a virtual fishing rod.
The Simple Messaging System (SMS) is a simple way of sending instant text messages from cell phone to cell phone. The latest specifications enable graphics as well as text, along with more advanced interaction. See Chapter 4 for additional information on SMS.
There are many SMS games. All of them are equally simple: You send a special message to particular number, and you will get another message in return.
The Finnish company Sonera Zed, in conjunction with Small Planet Ltd., has created a game similar to Turibaka Kibun called Fisupeli. The game is available only in Finland.
To play, you simply send a text message FISU to the number 400. You will then get a text message back describing your fishing environment. Over time, you will get text message alerts containing one to three different types and sizes of fishes.
You can log into the accompanying Web site at any time to see your fishing history.
URL: http://www.bluefactory.com/
In addition to WAP games, Blue Factory specializes in games for SMS. Currently the games are focused on European carriers Europolitan-Vodafone, Telia, Mviva, Halebop, and Sonera Zed.
Their collection of games includes the following:
Hunters & Collectors—This is an advanced multiplayer game that uses global positioning technology. The characters are cuddly but dangerous rabbits, beavers, and other fuzzy animals.
The way it works is ingenious. Sign up and pick an animal to be your avatar. When two players are close to each other (based on their actual position in the real world) a duel is initiated. They will get an SMS message indicating that the battle is ready to begin.
Each player sends an SMS message with the amount of ammunition they want to use and their choice of weapon. The results of the duel will be shown, as in Figure 3.20.
Players can log into the Hunters & Collectors Web page to buy new weapons, check their stats, or look at the game map.
Cool Vibes—Another dueling game using real positioning, this game is similar to Hunters & Collectors, but based in a psychedelic, tripped-out 60s world.
Flirtylizer—Not exactly a game, but extremely cool! Sign up and you can flirt anonymously with anyone you choose. Using mobile positioning, the Flirtylizer will point out where your secret admirer is located.
Get Nessie!—A game where you try to “fish” for the Loch Ness monster. It also includes dial-in elements with actual voices.
Banana Battle—Estimate the distance to an opponent and then fling a banana at them. All game messages are exchanged via SMS.
ExtremeQuiz, FootBallQuiz, SciFiQuiz, and CelebriQuiz—All variations on an SMS trivia game with questions about extreme sports, football, sci-fi, or celebrities.
URLs: http://www.itsalive.com/ and http://www.botfighters.com/
One of Sweden's most popular cell phone games is called BotFighters. Players create robots and can select elements like shield, weapon, eyes, and armor.
Using mobile positioning, you are notified when you are in the vicinity of another robot. You can issue SMS attack messages to the number 6688 to try to defeat other robots. Unlike other dueling games, BotFighters is literally about being quickest on the draw—whoever sends the attack message first will win. Damage depends on the weapon used and the amount of armor the target bot is wearing.
If you log into the BotFighters Web site, as shown in Figure 3.21, you can upgrade your robot and buy new weapons. More importantly, you can sign contracts to find and destroy other robots, and earn lots of virtual money in the process. You can retrieve information about the top assassins and view their actual known positions on a map of the city. This allows you to literally track down your target in the real world, getting close enough to their location to zap them.
It works like a virtual paintball game, and it has become somewhat of a craze in Stockholm. Some players have gone so far as to engage in car chases and ambushes. The game costs $5 to $10 a month on top of regular cell phone charges, depending on usage.
URL: http://www.vizzavi.co.uk/
Sign up for one of these games—currently only available through the Vodaphone system—and you can star in your own game show. You can opt to answer football (soccer) trivia or general trivia questions. The questions arrive via SMS, and you must send an SMS answer back. The faster you answer them, the more points you'll get. After each weekly competition, a list of the top ranking players will be sent to all opponents.
This book will focus highly on the Mobile Information Device Profile (MIDP) of J2ME, because it acts as the backbone for all small, mobile devices. Although the official release of MIDP is in its early stages, many companies and hobbyists have managed to put out an impressive line of games. Clearly, the speed in which games can be designed, programmed, and deployed is a result of the widespread use of Java and programmers' expertise in using it.
URL: http://www.javaonthebrain.com/java/midpman
An independent programmer named Karl Hörnell has put out some of the most impressive MIDP games, for both the Palm OS and cell phones. A cute and effective Pac-Man clone named MIDP-Man and shown in Figure 3.22, pushes MIDP's limits.
URL for BlockBuster: http://holycow.tripod.co.jp/cooldownboy/blockbuster.htm
URL for HolyMoley: http://holycow.tripod.co.jp/cooldownboy/holymoley.htm
BlockBuster, created by a Japanese programmer who calls himself HolyCowBoy, is a takeoff of Breakout or Arkanoid. Move the paddle back and forth in order to catch the bouncing ball. The ball will break apart blocks, sometimes releasing valuable pills that make your paddle bigger or cause the ball to move more slowly. Figure 3.23 shows the game in action.
Holy Moley is a “whack-a-mole game” that ingeniously lets you use your phone's numeric keypad to quickly whack moles that pop out of holes. You'll need quick reflexes! And be careful not to whack a flower. The game has six different stages. Figure 3.24 illustrates all the mole-whacking fun.
URL: http://www.rr.iij4u.or.jp/%7Ekoichi/index.html
This is a simple but full-featured draw poker game created by another Japanese programmer named Koichi. A screen sample is shown in Figure 3.25.
URL: http://www.cocoasoft.com/index.html
Some of the most advanced MIDP games out there were written by none other than Roman Verhovsek—CEO of Cocoasoft and coauthor of this book.
Axion is a quick-moving arcade game. You fly your ship through different landscapes, avoiding a wide variety of bad guys—each of which exhibits a different difficulty and behavior.
As you progress through the levels, you will pick up different weapons and types of missiles, as shown in Figure 3.26.
The game will connect to a server and keep track of the top 100 players. Slightly different versions of the games are available for different phones. If your phone supports sound or vibrations, so does the game—your phone vibrates with each explosion!
i-Skiing, shown in Figure 3.27, is a simple downhill slalom competition. Move your skier back and forth between the flags, racing against the clock. You will assessed a time penalty if you miss flags. There are also a number of different slopes to try.
Different versions of the game work on MIDP, iAppli, Personal Java, and KittyHawk (LG Electronics' i-Book phone). Multiplayer features will be provided in the near future.
Indiana Jerrys is a complete side-scrolling platform game, similar to Super Mario Brothers or Manic Miner. You must move through different levels, avoiding bad dogs. Different levels have elevators and other moving platforms, as well as power-ups and goodies that can earn you a higher score. Figure 3.28 depicts Jerry in action.
Additionally, the game is multiplayer, with the capability for people across the world to compete in the same levels.
URL: http://www.romeblack.com/Wireless/playing.html
The game takes the simple Rock-Paper-Scissors idea and adds a new twist: You log in with your cell phone and join up to five other players in a maze. You take the role of either a rock, a piece of paper, or a pair of scissors, as seen in Figure 3.29.
You then chase opponents around the maze, while being chased by them. Rock will beat scissors, scissors will always beat paper, and paper will beat rock. Whoever is caught loses that round of the game.
The Sky Arts site features several different puzzle games for MIDP, along with a reversi and poker game.
In the Cube game, various colored cubes will fall from the top of a grid. If four or more of the same colored squares are positioned in a horizontal or vertical line, then they will disappear from the grid as shown in Figure 3.30. Any cubes higher up will fall, causing chain reactions. If you wait too long, then the cubes in the grid will grow until there is no more room, and you will lose the game. The other cube games provide variations on this theme.
URL for M-Type: http://www.jshape.com/mtype/index.html
URL for Street Fighter: http://www.jshape.com/msf/index.html
M-Type is a Micro Edition version of the popular 80s arcade game called R-Type. You simply move your ship around, avoiding fireballs from bad guys and trying to beat the big boss at the end of each level. This game boasts some of the most impressive graphics to ever reach the small screen, as shown in Figure 3.31.
MIDP Street Fighter is a takeoff of one of the most popular arcade fighting games of all time. Although the game is not quite as advanced as the arcade version, it allows you to pit two martial arts characters against each other, as in Figure 3.32.
URL: http://www.spruce.jp/freemidlets/
The Spruce Team in Japan has created an entire suite of famous arcade games:
Spruce Invaders—A smaller version of Space Invaders.
Spruce Tennis—A simple paddle and ball game.
Spruce Blocks—A Tetris clone.
Spruce Shooter—A simple fly-and-shoot game.
Spruce Matchup—A simple concentration memory game.
Spruce Driver—A racing game, similar to the game that we will be creating together during the course of this book. See Figure 3.33 for a screen shot.
URL: http://www.redteam.co.uk/dopewars/
Meanwhile, the Red Team in Great Britain has created a MIDP version of the popular text game Dope Wars, seen in Figure 3.34. Travel between Afghanistan, Colombia, and other international locales buying and selling illegal narcotics. Avoid CIA agents and use false-bottomed suitcases and ceramic handguns.
Most of the action happens as text messages, but this simple and funny trading game is still fast-paced and, well, addictive.
The exact specification for J2ME on Palms and other PDAs is still being worked out. But early release versions of the Kilobyte virtual machine (KVM) and a reduced set of J2ME classes were made available to the public as far back as two years ago.
NOTE
Any MIDP game or other application can run just fine on the Palm, as long as the MIDP libraries are installed. See Chapter 2, “The Mobile World,” for a full list of platforms and devices that support MIDP.
The following sections offer a sampling of some of the work that people have done with these early samples.
URL: http://www.aa.alpha-net.ne.jp/kataho/to/index.html
This simple game, created by a Japanese programmer name Kataho, allows you to control a fairy-like character. You move around the screen collecting gems, trying to avoid random flashes of lightning, as seen in Figure 3.35.
The full source code is available at Kataho's Web site, as well as a level editor that lets you design your own game maps.
URL for IceBlox: http://www.javaonthebrain.com/java/palmblox/
URL for Warp: http://www.javaonthebrain.com/java/palmwarp/
These are examples of fast-action arcade games. In Iceblox (Figure 3.36), you control a penguin that must smash through or slide strategically-placed blocks, avoiding or crushing bad guys.
In PalmWarp, shown in Figure 3.37, you fly a space ship through 3D-looking levels. The goal is simple—move up and down shooting bad guys and avoiding their attacks. There are all sorts of cool-looking characters in this game, such as buzzsaws, tanks, and bazooka birds.
URL: http://www.puzzle.gr.jp/hobbit/index.html.en
Yet another Japanese game programmer called Hobbit has created a slew of numerical puzzle games for J2ME. One of the most interesting is called Let Me Alone, shown in Figure 3.38. The goal is to fill blocks in a grid so that the same number doesn't appear more than once in a given row or column.
NTT DoCoMo's specialized version of Micro Java is called iAppli. We'll learn all about it in Chapter 22, “iAppli: Micro Java with a Twist.”
There are many versions in DoCoMo's 503-line of phones supporting iAppli, and it is a very popular service in Japan. In general, iAppli is much more suitable for games than the basic MIDP classes, with support for great sound, full color, and better graphics and animation.
Many of the top game companies in Japan have created iAppli product lines. And other big players such as the Disney Internet Group International (DIG) have become content providers for i-mode.
As a whole, iAppli provides a great glimpse of Micro Java's near-term future: As a powerful platform for professional-quality pocket games.
URL: http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/hqm/imode/squiral/index.html
This game, created by Henry Minsky, is a quick-moving Tron clone. Check it out in Figure 3.39.
URL: http://www.dwango.co.jp/kamone/samurai/
Samurai Romanesque is of the most advanced role-playing games ever created, not to mention one of the most advanced mobile games ever. You play the role of a samurai in the Era of Warlords (1468 to 1600), trying to rise from foot soldier to general.
The game costs 300 yen per month (about $3), and allows players to join a massively multiplayer world. Up to 500,000 players can exist on the same server simultaneously, able to meet, fight, trade, gossip, and chat with each other.
You can use your mobile phone offline to train your samurai in the art of the sword, and then log in to the gameworld to do real-time battle. This allows you to have some fun with the game without paying packet fees, or if you are in an underground area with bad network coverage.
The game has some unusual, fascinating details. For example, you age one year per day of each session. The weather in the gameworld is determined using real-time Japanese weather information. If it is raining outside, it will also be raining in the gameworld—making travel and swordplay difficult.
You can live to be about 40 years old. During your life you can opt to become a ruler, or you can serve a master. As time goes by, your hair might recede and you will earn battle scars. Meeting, courting, and flirting with women takes several days and careful acting. Eventually, you might marry and birth a child. The child will actually inherit some of your character's traits. After a game session ends, your character dies, but you can control your child as the next generation of samurai.
The game includes several hundred towns, each of which is full of teahouses, shops, and inns. As you walk through a town, as shown in Figure 3.40, the graphics scroll from side to side. Your goal is to reach castles, where you are given missions or the opportunity to join armies.
Traveling between towns occurs in real time, though you can hire horses or rickshaws to get there faster. If you like, you can log off during transit. However, other players can attack you at any time!
Every so often, huge epic battles between competing warlords occur, as shown in Figure 3.41. You can fight for a given lord and be rewarded for bravery if you emerge victorious.
Dwango also provides a multiplayer game-matching service for iAppli called Challenge! The Hard-Boiled Way. Because the service uses a dedicated server, all game moves are transferred at high speeds and reflected on players' phones almost instantly.
In addition, the server uses pseudo push to cut down on packet fees. Data is only sent over the network, from server to phone, when necessary. If somebody's mobile connection is interrupted, their game state will be stored until they reconnect.
The service allows you meet, chat with, and face off against remote human opponents. Players' ratings are stored, and players can be automatically matched up based on ability.
The service offers six different games:
The Billionaire—A popular card game. A pack of cards is distributed between up to four participants. Each player is marked with a rank, ranging from billionaire to pauper. The poor must give their best cards to the billionaire. The discarding then begins with the lowest numbered card. The player who gets rid of all cards first is the winner. Figure 3.42 shows this game in action.
Reverse—A Reversi or Othello clone, where players take turns placing either black or white checkers on the board, trying to surround and then flip the opponent's pieces.
Chess—The strategic game of kings, shown in Figure 3.43.
Gobang—A simpler variation of the popular game Go, where players place pebbles on a grid in an attempt to line up five pieces in a row.
Pincer Checkers—A variation of the popular Shogi game, where two players try to surround each other's pieces.
Military Checkers—A unique checkers game using military artwork.
Sega has created a version of its popular Sonic the Hedgehog side-scroller game for i-mode. You must collect rings while avoiding enemies. Figure 3.44 depicts a sample screen. Sega also plans to create a cell phone version of its popular Out Run game.
The creators of the popular fighting game Tekken have created a low-latency version for i-mode. In Tekken Command Battle, shown in Figure 3.45, players can face off and choose to attack, parry, or throw. A word then appears. Whoever types in the word faster and more accurately will cause more damage.
In addition, Namco is releasing some of its classic titles for i-mode on its EZweb service. Expect to be able to play classics such as Pac-Man and Galaxian.
Capcom plans to extend its Biohazard game franchise with a micro i-mode game called Biohazard iSurvivor. In this role-playing game, you move around Raccoon City fighting zombies and improving your character's abilities. Players will also be able to team up with others to complete their quest.
The company that created the Tamagotchi virtual pet is focusing heavily on iAppli Java games. Descriptions of some planned releases include the following:
A gambling game where players can place odds on the outcome of different types of future events. Players will be able to check out odds, and even buy and sell properties, trying to become king of the town.
A game in which you correspond by e-mail with virtual girls. The more responsive you are, the more intimate your relationships will get.
Mystic Grapple—A virtual trading card game where you command sorcerers and summon monsters, trying to collect the best deck of cards.
A golf simulation game.
Mah Jong—Travel around Japan and compete in different mah jong tournaments.
URL: http://www.cybird.co.jp/english/
Cybrid has created a service called Mini Game Tengoku (Game Paradise), available to i-mode users for 315 yen (about 3 dollars) per month. The service will include 14 different games:
GliderAction—Lift your glider to the right or left and try to ride the currents to land softly on the landing pad. You must avoid hazards such as crows and UFOs, and earn extra points by grabbing jewels that dangle from balloons.
Seed no Bohken (The Adventures of Seed)—Control Seed as he moves around a maze, avoiding monsters. Similar to Pac-Man.
Seed no Meikyu Tanken (The Labyrinth Adventures of Seed)—A similar game, where Seed runs through a labyrinth using seeds as weapons—he can plant them, causing trees to quickly grow and block enemy monsters.
TypeCannon—This educational game, shown in Figure 3.46, tests your math skills. An equation will flash across the screen, and you must type in the correct number solution to hit the target with your cannonballs.
Takoyaki King—You must quickly grill takoyaki (octopus dumplings) for your demanding customers, and sell them all. If you serve them too raw or too burnt, you will lose customers.
Snake—This game, shown in Figure 3.47, is a much more graphically advanced version of the black and white Snake game found on many Nokia phones. Move around the screen eating eggs, growing longer with each egg you eat. You must avoid crashing into walls…or your own tail!
Businessman—Keep customers happy by selling them good products while making high profits. A simple business simulation game.
Ohajiki Daisenso (The Great War of Ohajiki)—A marbles-like game where you pick a direction, choose a force, and then fire balls around the board, trying to knock your opponent's balls off.
Poker—A quick draw poker game.
Hikkoshi Meijin (The King of Moving)—Organize objects within a room, trying to clear away enough space for your little red sofa.
CannonBubble—Change the angle and force of your cannon, shooting bubbles in the sky. Try to arrange three bubbles of the same color to make them pop.
CubeBuster—A concentration game where you must flip cards and try to find matches.
URL: http://www.hudson.co.jp/eng/index.html
Hudson Soft also provides an arcade site called “webbeeHudson” that allows i-mode users to play micro versions of classic Hudson Soft games. Here are some samples:
Miracle Quest—A role-playing game, shown in Figure 3.48, involving more than 200 different scenarios.
Miracle Golf—Participate in weekly golf tournaments. You can practice offline or compete online against others. Figure 3.49 offers a glimpse.
It took Nintendo about ten years to sell a hundred million Game Boys. In the year 2001 alone, it is expected that nearly four hundred million mobile phones will be sold.
There's a big, big market out there for mobile games, maybe even bigger than the market for PC or console games. So time's a' wastin'!
In the next chapter we'll cover popular mobile phone standards that can serve as a basis for your games.