Blog: Is Mobile Gaming Really Gaming?

As mobile gaming as grown in popularity, there has been a growing rift between those who play games on mobile devices, and those who play "real" games. I first realized that people made this distinction when the creator of Angry Birds claimed that consoles were dying, and wanted people to stop using the term "casual" games.

This all boils down to the simple question of "what is a gamer?" Sadly, it's also incredibly subjective. My definition may be very different from your own - and how can we agree whether the guy playing Angry Birds for hours on end is a gamer if we can't agree on what we're arguing about?

So what could a gamer be? From my experience there are a handful of popular viewpoints on this.

• Someone who has been playing video and computer games regularly, and seems likely that they will continue to do so. Usually it's someone whose primary entertainment medium is video games. They may watch movies or hang out with friends, but if they had their way the majority of their time would be spent gaming.
• Someone entrenched in the gaming culture. They know the lingo, they bond with other gamers, they stay up-to-date on what's happening, etc. These aren't just people who sit down and play Call of Duty for a few hours; they're the ones with a Triforce tattoo, a framed ticket from Comic-Con, or a Super Mario Bros ringtone.
• Anyone who appreciates video games. Maybe they don't have the time to sit down with a 20 hour adventure game, or their game time is so erratic that it's easier to play simpler games. While they may not play often, they enjoy when they do play.

I've obviously painted some pretty broad strokes, and even omitted some groups entirely. While there may be those who play Warmachine or Magic and not video games, I've found that video games are a gateway hobby that leads to more enjoyable types of gaming.

But as you can see, it's hard to hammer down an agreeable definition. I've seen criticisms of mobile gaming ranging from lack of story, not hard, shallow gameplay, bad graphics, not expensive enough (what?), no controller or mouse/keyboard, ?etc. But the problem with that is that you can apply that criteria to many popular games as well.?

Games like Call of Duty and Halo, while possessing a single player story, could sell games solely for the multiplayer. That's because the "hardcore" gamers play it for the competitive side, while some enjoy it for the story. When I'm shooting an enemy because he's standing on a flag in the streets of an African village, there's really no story there. There's an essence of story (local militia vs. foreign army), but nothing more elegant than birds getting revenge on thieving pigs.?

Or what about games that aren't there for their difficulty? Games like Fable and Skyrim have great stories, but their difficulty is either non-existent or incredibly arbitrary. They aren't designed for a challenge, but around what you can do in the game. You can die, and there may be some tough areas, but for the most part your goal isn't to survive but to explore the world and enjoy the story.

I don't want to nit-pick, but my point is that not all games have all aspects. A game can have a great story but low content, or offer a high learning curve and terrible graphics. Sometimes you can squeeze most of them in to a game, and sometimes you can't. Yet as long as they're playing these games on consoles or PC, we call them gamers.

Why isn't the same true of people who play on mobile devices? Games like Chaos Rings or Infinity Blade have stunning graphics but rather simple controls. The games are difficult and satisfying, so why does the screen size matter? Or what about games like The Walking Dead that were huge hits on consoles and were "basic" enough to be translated to mobile devices?

It seems to me that a new breed of gamers has been created, and we don't know how to treat them. Whether its a sense of elitism or just being protective of our hobby, we criticize those who want to identify themselves as gamers without owning a single console/PC game. Someone can have a high score in Angry Birds, or has beaten the entire Zenonia series, and yet we give them a derisive snort and turn back to playing Borderlands. Instead we should welcome what they bring to the table - an escape for those who want to game, but don't have the time or money to keep up with it.

My view? I say anyone who enjoys gaming is a gamer. I don't care where you do it, or what you do it on. If you're spending your free time collecting pointless things, getting invested in a fictional world, competing against humans or AI, or just saving pixelated princesses, you're okay in my book.

See you tomorrow!

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Source: http://rayofpaintstudios.blogspot.com/2013/06/is-mobile-gaming-really-gaming.html

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