Android market basics

Phones of today are powerful beasts with a myriad of features - everything 
From satellite navigation to powerful internet connectivity. However it is surprising that many people don't know that these features exist and treat what would have been a supercomputer thirty years ago as just a phone.
It's not what you'd expect though as I've found in my informal research that the expected stereotype of the aged doesn't always holds true, with my father in law recently proselytising about the benefits of the twitter app to increasing a websites Seo and also raving about a certain talking, farting Tom cat app.
Contrast this sixty year old with a twenty something colleague who didn't know that you could download apps to your phone from the Android market, and indeed didn't know where the market icon was, and we have an increasing gap between the tech savvy and the rest.
So what needs to be done: Another puzzle/opportunity for developers and manufacturers to get their heads around. Features by the bucketload fantastic, but of little use if you have to have a degree to even be able to find these marvels.

The Sony Android love story

The Xperia Play is the first Playstation certified phone and is quite remarkable and entertaining. I'm fortunate enough to own one and prior to some revelatory news that I read today didn't think that I could afford to have another gaming device in my pocket.
Well the upcoming Vita might change that idea.
It seems that Sony Ericsson has fallen in bed with Google and Android with so many of their phones such as the superb xPeria Arc utilising what seems to be the os of choice at the moment, Android.
But such is the romance between these two giants and such is the versatility of the Android os that it seems that the powerful, quad core Vita , due to be released sometime towards the end of the year, is supporting a version of Android.
So with access to the Android market, a much larger screen than smartphones and an enormously powerful processor, the Vita might soon become the portable gamers' platform of choice.

Android Ice-Cream Sandwich: Good or Bad?

With the closing heatwave of the summer it's never too late to have an ice-cream . That's why Google is imminently releasing their new os 'Ice-Cream Sandwich' sometime this Autumn. Purportedly the os will work effectively on both tablets and phones. Some of the features include a new app drawer ui and stackable homescreen apps. A faster performance is of course expected and Google is very excited about their new project. So where's the downside: Well from a user point of view it seems all gravy but what is an issue and has been an issue for Android for a long time is fragmentation. Fragmentation is happening on two levels: The first is that the os supports many different types of phones with a variety of screen sizes and processing power, amongst other things. What this means is that many phones due to their low processing power have not been able to upgrade to the newer os's , Processing power is not the only concern as some phones ship with an os and the manufacturer neglects to update it when a newer os emerges ( yes, HTC Desire we're talking about you). So whilst the legendary creamy cool sandwich will assuredly be fantastic developers and phone manufacturers must beware of further fragmentation. As this article from the Android developers website shows: http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html   . The situation is already, well, fragmented! Then again we must also consider the opportunities present here, for a genius developer whom can come up with a programming solution to this fragmentation there could be a lot of money to be made. So Ice-cream sandwich get it while its hot, umm,cold!

Distribution of the various Android os' by platform

Developers look no further.

Android Developers

It's tough being a developer.Pioneering new ways of doing things and trying to make alittle money to tide you over until the big project takes off. Gametrender tries to take the strain off of you by providing our marketing and translation services and we've always got our ear to the ground when it comes for other resources for developers. With that in mind I'd like to introduce 'Gto's Developers' Cave'.

Started by community lauded developer Damian Gto the website is a powerful and large forum for Android Developers. The community is vibrant and learned and very active in support of all the work that is going on. I highly recommend having a look if you're a developer.

Gto's Developer's Cave

http://damiangto.emc2production.org/index.php

Funding for Apps

It's fun and creative making apps, but let's face it a big reason that you all do it is to make the money.
Gametrender is always on the look out to find you new and better ways to get your apps to market and one of the best ways that we've come across in a while is Appbackr.

Using the power of the masses the basic concept is that people invest money at a wholesale price in your app, when the app get's to market the backers get a certain percentage of the profits. Looking into it the highest backed amount I've seen is 20 Thousand dollars raised so far for the port to Android of the popular iPhone game  Medieval.

The company is well worth looking into if you're trying to raise money or if you want to be a micro investor in apps.

Android Tablets vs iPad

Tablets are nothing new but a burgeoning area of applications is tablet optimized apps. The big question on everybody's lips though is whether to go for an Android tablet such as the Samsung galaxy Tab, or the iconic forerunner-the iPad 2.
In the end it really depends whether you're an Android or iOS fan. Both of the so-called top tablets offer very similar functionality but the operating systems are what makes or breaks them for consumers: The slickness of iOS or the customisability of Android.

Here to help you with your choices is our new partner, Uk based 'D-Shop'.

Stay tuned for product reviews from themselves and the latest tablet optimized apps reviews from ourselves.

App Store Alternative

Gametrender is always looking for new, better and more ways to get the best apps into the hands of all eager app users out there:So we are proud to announce I our app store is now up and running. Android market and the Apple App store are great but so many apps are drowned beneath the multitudes that alternatives like http://gametrender.appstore.com are needed to let all apps that might elude you have their time in the limelight. We are just getting started so things are a little rough and ready. Developers contact us if you want to be hosted, gamers pay us a little visit and bookmark us for the future when we get the store open properly.

Developer Competition

Our app marketing service is starting to become very popular, with some developers noticing a definite increase in downloads. And that's not to mention our other popular services of app language optimisation and translation.
Our website continues to grow too with the five thousand mark just around the corner.
So here's the contest: when Gametrender reaches its five thousandth reader we will pick one lucky winner from the hat(the draw will be recorded on Youtube) to receive one of the free Gametrender services: app marketing, translation or dialogue optimisation.
The small print: you have to be a blog follower/member to win. It's free to join (see that little button on the right hand side?)  so start following and GOOD LUCK! App Developer Contest

Nintendo versus Android

About five months ago I finally took the mobile phone contact plunge and took a phone on contract. It was not just any phone though, but the much applauded Xperia Play. The first official Playstation Phone has lived up to its hype, the exclusive, at least for a time, games have come thick and fast including Backstab and Minecraft  optimised for the Xperia Play. Developers have lived up to their promises with major players like Gameloft and EA sending quality titles the Xperia Play way.
The Play is also more importantly not just the first Official Playstation phone but also an Android phone so benefits from the fantastic customisable operating system and the superb Android market. That is why the Nintendo 3Ds that I bought just a week prior to the phone arriving has subsequently been sold. Good and unique as the 3DS is I just don't have time in my life for two gaming platforms and the Xperia Play with its Android market access and continuous presence in my pocket (it is a phone after all!) makes it a winner all round.

App gaming goes to the Movies

Ever since the first pixel ponged off of a virtual bat and the first time an invader entered our space, video games have been founded on the twin pillars of fun and technology. Gamings swift rise in the use of technology is remarkable and very similar, but much swifter then the early days of film.
Movies over a series of decades progressed from black and white silent film, to many tens of years later soundtracked colour films and eventually the third dimension as we have it today.
Video games quickly rose from black and white symbolic graphics to the almost photo quality, three dimensionally capable, gesture controlled, triple aaa soundtracked, hundreds of million selling franchises that we have now.
But for both forms of entertainment we seem to have a new is better attitude. A new game or movie will come out and all the hype, hyperbole and excitement surrounding it will push thoughts of other old games out of our heads.
In the movie industry, whilst not desirable, it is not damaging to the industry. The reason why is that in the course of a year an unfeasibly large amount of blockbuster movies aren't released. There are enough released that they can co exist quite contentedly together. If a patron wants to watch all of a seasons top movies then it is quite possible that they can. It is also quite feasible that older but no less brilliant movies like Star Wars and The Godfather et al can also exist and be viewed alongside the latest blockbusters as the weight of their names has enshrined them in the public consciousness, to such an extent that even though they are made with outmoded technology and techniques they are still very much enjoyed by viewers today.
Video games however have the problem that sometimes the technology of bygone years is so far removed from todays that it would be very hard to enjoy a relatively old game. Just as it would be unlikely for a modern person to watch a circa 1900 silent movie, so would it be unlikely that a gamer would enjoy a game of Pong other than out of curiosity.
Gaming still needs to mature its technologies to the point, at least from a graphical perspective, that a game created today could still be enjoyed in fifty years time and not be absolutely cringeworthy and embarrassing to play. Just as a game of chess by its very nature is not technologically dependent, this is the position that gaming needs to be in.
However when it comes to mobile gaming there is another hurdle to games enshrining themselves in our consciousness as evergreen heroes, aside from monoliths like Angry Birds. That hurdle is both Android and I phones strength and Achilles Heel. As mentioned previously in any one year it is fully possible for a film buff to enjoy all the big releases. However with smartphone gaming there are so many big releases that it would be almost impossible for a gamer to keep up with them all
So whilst gamings rise can be correlated to that of movies from a technological and state of the industry perspective we still have a long way to go.

App of the week: 'Stardust' -inspired by Nasa

If you're going to do something then do it well. Or in the case of Damian Gto's  " Stardust": Superbly!

Here's your checklist: Do you love games? Do you love games that challenge and yet relax you at the same time? Do you love brilliant graphics and great sound? and some optional checks: Do you like Mars? Does Space interest you? And what about the great work NASA does?

Well check one , more or all of the above and Stardust might just be on your game wish list. Inspired by NASA's Mar's exploration Stardust takes the simple premise of an image matching game and does it with such panache; style and love that the game shines out from its peers.

Does it actually have any peers? Well, yes if you're looking for a card matching game. A very resounding no if you're looking for a card matching game with great playability that uses actual images taken from Mars as its card set.

Space is out there-Stardust is a lot closer and just a download away on the Android Market.

https://market.android.com/details?id=org.emc2production.stardust&feature=search_result

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUOf7xtWUbg&feature=player_embedded

Naming Apps WYSIWYG

Have you ever wondered where these app get their names from?The Android Market and rivals are inundated with apps so it's interesting to see some of the marketing strategies that are coming out from app developers in a very congested market. Of course major app developers always have a trick or two up their sleeve and Sony has come up with an Ace of Spades by quite simply naming one of their new apps with a foolproof name that does exactly what it says on the packaging Video Trimmer. What does the app do, trim videos of course! https://market.android.com/details?id=com.sonydna.videotrimmer. The Video Trimming app has many rave reviews and is well worth checking out.
Superb marketing by Sony, wysiwyg(what you see is what you get) is strangely enough a concept not properly explored in the App Development game as developers try more and more outlandish names to make their creations stand out. Leave it to an old grandmaster like Sony to make back to basics fashionable again. As for the app in question, its simple and trimmed and the high quality you could expect from Sony. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6fUulEflgU&feature=player_embedded

Expected app features

App gaming is a very luxurious hobby with us lucky spoiled gamers wanting even expecting certain sets of features. So what sort of features do we want, is there an expected feature set and do these features actually help to sell apps?

Of increasing popularity in recent times are services like Openfeint providing online leaderboards and friend matching for online games. Services like this make it easy to share, play and compete in games.
Other features can range from the simple, such as a dedicated pause button, to more traditional gaming features such as multiple difficulties.

Many of the top mobile apps are very savvy to the worth of a good feature set, such as multiple tracks in racers or different character wardrobes, both of which amongst others can be used to perform micro transactions and gain money for the developer.

It is interesting to see the direction that some developers are taking app features. Increasingly those already mentioned such as leaderboards are becoming mundane and the best developers are integrating dedicated phone features into increasingly varied uses, such as the use of GPS for location based gaming.
It seems that the more features we have the more we want, and
as long as the developers keep producing the goods we'll keep on being astounded by our phones.

Travel Friendly Apps

Being a frequent traveller I often have the dubious pleasure of whiling away time at the airport duty free ( five hour plane delay! Thanks Easyjet!) As a general moan duty free is not what it once was as homegrown shops now seem to be much more competitive.Anyway not to digress, this isn't a travel blog after all, but I've kicked off the post talking about Airport shopping as there is one particular product on shop shelves that should be of particular interest to App Developers as a source of revenue : The ubiquitous travel games.

Coming in at an average price of about seven English Pounds they can be found all over the airports, I assume they exist elsewhere but here is where they are at their most noticable. Monopoly; Ludo; Draughts;Backgammon etc. They're a good idea and should be having probably existed as long as long haul flights have, but as a technocrat I firmly believe that now is the time to move on.
Let's face it you're probably only going to use it once and then lose the pieces, also why pay such an exorbitant rate if you can get a smartphone app that can do the same. And of course if you're lucky enough to have a tablet then the large format will be even more enjoyable.
It's not just the cost saving and longevity that would make a travel app better then the physical game but all the extras that can be added: leaderboards; high score tables; a list of your destinations and winners of games for previous journeys-the list is endless.
So frequent flyers say no to airport shops-your phone is the future so use it! https://market.android.com/details?id=com.mobizfun.ludo&feature=search_result

Best Ludo game .

https://market.android.com/details?id=air.ferreiradevelopment.hangmanMania&feature=search_result

Great Travel Hangman Game-Who needs paper?

App Developer Contest

Just a post for our developer friends out there. If you fancy your chances and want to get competitive than give this a go : http://www.basic4ppc.com/forum/basic4android-updates-questions/11343-contest-write-quickest-sudoku-solver-win-500-a.html

If you're a developer finding this contest from my link then write back and let us know how you got on. Remember that we're still needing developers to add their details and credentials to our database.

Google Offers on Android Market, when?

As a frequent researcher of Android related apps and technology I'm often on the net looking for inspiration for articles. It's an onerous task but frequently rewarded with many interesting tidbits-things we should really know as technocrats but which slip beneath our radar. Whenever Google does something we should be all over it- especially something as phenomenal as Google Offers, in a nutshell Google has now taken the torch on from Groupon and is attempting to do the same thing that Groupon has succesfully accomplished-ie give offers out to consumers. Perhaps with their enormous power Google will provide an even better service. The catch being that as far as my research indicates Google Offers has only rollled out in the  USA so far , so let's hope that it becomes global sooner rather than later.

This article ,however, is not about the new Google service( a more in depth analysis can be found at ), what this article is actually thrusting towards is what Google Offers could actually be, harnessed to the power of the Android market.

Push notifications and location based offers become a big game winner for such a service when leashed to an always on smartphone. So whilst the rest of the world waits with bated breath to see when Google Offers will get to their doorsteps now is the time for enterprising developers to start making the apps that will become the authoritative application to use when the service is rolled out. So early adaptor developers get busy: A huge opportunity is just on the horizon.

android games

The new fourth estate: Android App Journalism

Where to get a job as a game reviewer?Luckily for us Gametrender is not a traditional app reviewing or game reviewing website as these are as prevalent as rain  in a thunderstorm on the net. However between our general analysis of the state of smartphone gaming and plugging our various services we do occasionally venture into pure reviewing and it' s interesting to see how app  game developers different personalities affect the way they treat with you,for example Orangepixel self professed lovers  of games and responsible for some of the best retro inspired app games , such as Super Drill Panic, are brilliant to work with,  some other companies not so much. We wait with interest to see how the new breed of online journalists take on this task.Reviewing Iphone and Android apps is never easy as there are so many quality apps out there. Here's a superb commentary I found whilst researching this article: http://gamerdeals.net/blogs/nick/archive/2011/09/06/diary-of-a-wimpy-games-media-site.aspx
android games

Global Android App Phenomenon

Pseuds bandy about the fact that we are a global village, connected by the information superhighway an event in a far away land that our ancestors would never have believed existed can affect us right in our own homes. Hence Hurricane Irene becomes akin to a global blockbuster movie with people on the edge of their seat wondering what will happen next, the credit crunch drives up the price of bananas in Sierra Leone, and the destruction of a large twin building changes the whole world forever. What else unites the world, technology of course, and nothing more so than mobile phones. From Bombay to New York , Iphone and Android phones are immensely popular, as well as the phones the apps and games for smartphones are universal in their popularity.
So is gaming a social , world encompassing phenomenon, it will be interesting for readers in technologically poor countries or travellers to those countries to write comments on this post. But speaking for connected countries the moment I realised that Angry Birds had upgraded itself from a smartphone app sensation to a phenomenon was when I worked into a small food supermarket in the small Israeli town of Haifa and saw an Angry Birds magazine. In Hebrew!

android games

Vodafone App Developer Contest

Vodafone is a giant in the mobile communication industry and is starting to throw it's substantial weight behind app developers. Browsing the net for developer resources I came across their competition that they are running https://developer.vodafone.com/smartaccess2011/

For all app developers interested I believe that the gist of it is to create an app that will help 'phones be more accessible to the elderly and handicapped people. So a chance to develop apps, which is what we do best anyway, make some serious cash, and help disadvantaged people. Definitely an opportunity not to be missed.

android games

Mobile Genres : Endless Running

Depending on a platforms capabilities there have always been certain genres associated with different platforms. The Nintendo Wii for example will always be associated with motion control games, normally of a childlike persuasion. Pc games will always be known predominantly for RTS and other mouse friendly games.
Touchscreen mobiles in the relatively short time they have been around have carved out a surprisingly large amount of genre niches. That is not to say that these types of games only exist on this platform but it would be hard to argue that touchscreens aren't the best suited for them.
This article is another one of our series articles in which Gametrender will discuss some of Smartphonings favourite genres. The one that is up on the podium this week is 'Endless Running'
A very reviewer friendly genre as it does exactly what it says. The character normally runs from left to right with inputs from the player normally limited to single finger jabs usually associated with an action like jumping. Scores are normally totted up by how far the character runs and the challenge is tempted up by adding obstacles along the way.
So far so simple, so you'll be asking what's good about it and why should you play it. I've chosen a brilliant endless runner called DIVERSION  https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ezone.Diversion&hl=en   as an example to show exactly how good a polished version of this genre can be.
Diversion is by far the best endless runner I've played. At first appearances it's apparent how much effort has gone into the game. The graphics are superbly rendered in 3d being easily on par with a mid generation Playstation One game. The music is all jingly and bouncy filled with adrenalin and hinting at the potential for manic kinetic energy.
The avatar you play with has a lot of personality. A female protagonist has been chosen perhaps in a cursory head nod to the legendary Mirrors Edge. The avatar its imbued with personality , and adding to the games sense of polish and fun is upgradeable. With lots of different outfits waiting to be bought or unlocked. Not only that but part of the fun is that each outfit bestows different skills which it is up to the player to find out.
On to the game itself, firstly it must be pointed out that it has lots and lots of levels, hence a lot of longevity.
Of course it wouldn't be up to much good if the levels lacked variety, but variety they do have in bucketloads-floating minse,slides,jumps,warps,ziplines to name a few. Timing is crucial on each of these as you attempt to get the highest score.

Diversion-Superb Endless Runner

And just when you thought that they couldn't possibly lavish any more love on this game then up they come with... Boss Battles! Very Impressive stuff and certainly a great poster child for app gamings beloved Endless Runner genre. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMO8g_52O2w&feature=player_embedded 
android games


If you like this then read our follow up post

App to English:Optimising Android apps language

As promised here's the update on our latest marketing drive. If you recall we were offering to 'optimise the language' of apps that were translated badly from a foreign language into English. Our first client was Kidga.com . With over 14 games on the Android market he wasn't doing too badly for himself. However doing my research he stood out like a sore thumb because of how badly his app descriptions were worded.:
 ''Original Description:
Try new gameplay in match3 style game. Beat highscores.
Train your logical thinking in a new fascinating game. Its something between match3 game and puzzle game. Slide gem on another gem of the same type to create new supertype. Two or more neighbouring gems of the same supertype (depending on level) would be removed.
Challenge other gamers in pursuit of highscore.
In case of any issues, please, mail to support@kidga.com''
As you can see first impressions would show that he seriously needed to get some professional help. So help we did:
''Try this new and fascinating 'Match3' style game. Compete at your best and you might just beat the highscores. Maybe!
If you're a logical thinker you can only get better with this app, if you're not then what better way to get that brain training? In a unique fusion of a 'Match 3' and puzzle game this will draw you in as you frantically smash those gems together to get the elusive supertypes. As the levels progress the supertypes smash together and get erased gaining you a higher score and a shot at the leaderboards.

In case you have any issues please mail: support@kidga.com''
Over the next few weeks I'll be mailing him and others back to see if the language fixes helped them at all. From my side of things the campaign had got off to a roaring start with gametrender.webs.com now an official partner of Kidga games and linked in his apps.

A Kidga game.

This is one of Kidga games many games that I've helped to optimise.

Old skool not cool: Android Gamings homage to the past.

Old Skool

If youre a gamer of a certain age then its inevitable that at one stage you definitely chucked away the gdp of a small African country on coinops in the arcades. Well now thanks to the marvel of  the internet and throw away app gaming we can get back to the sordid past of impossible  levels, ridiculous learning curves and pixelated graphics. Now the problem with nostalgia is that its often very wrong, we only tend to remember the positive. Thats why I’m loving “Meganoid” https://market.android.com/details?id=com.meganoid.engine&hl=en great reviews from lots of websites made me give this platformer a go. Five minutes and numerous spike and fall related deaths later made me glad to be in 2011, for me any way old school gaming nowadays just seems far too frustrating! Moores law says that computing capacity will double every few years, well Gametrender's  law says that 5 minutes of game time now should be twice as fun as it was ten years ago.Progress please! Whats  your thoughts: Old skool to the back of the class or still top marks? android games

When will we know? App gaming's coming of age

Being a long time gamer I remember quite a few stand out moments of my gaming career, those beautiful awe inspiring jaw dropping feel good moments that make being a gamer worthwhile. My list probably differs a lot as everyones would. Metal gear solid on playstation was superb http://uk.gamespot.com/ps/adventure/metalgearsolid/review.html , the cinematic beginning just immersing you so much in a time when cinematics where just taking off. Final Fantasy VIII had a gear start too with the hero and the villain squaring off in a brilliant sword fight. When Resident Evil was still fresh and full of tricks I was shamefully one of those who jumped as the zombie dogs sprang through the  window. Well I could carry on the whole day about these stand out moments but , and heres the point, I haven’t yet had one of those moments with mobile gaming. Whys that low production values? Not enough time investment to become involved? Well whatever the reason I think that when we start to have these standout moments thats when we know mobile gaming will have come of age. android games

Build it and they Will come! App Translation

Initial uptake after my marketing email was very good indeed with about three developers contacting me for work straight away and some for future work.
Another new client was Central Bytes  . At this stage I was about to turn from a fixer of descriptions into a scriptwriter(almost)
Hello,
We are very interested in your proposition.
We can provide link to your website in credits window inside game.
I am attaching 2 files to this email: game description and app dialogue.
Thanks a lot!
I'd like to say that I did a good job on the games improved English description
But the real work was only starting! The developer had also emailed me his APK file which I had to go through with a fine tooth comb and change his awful English into something at least vaguely understandable! All I can say is thank goodness it wasn't a RPG, as it ended up being a very late night indeed for what was probably only about a thousand words of dialogue!

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Expanding into Android App development

So marketing campaign firmly underway we were quite happy bimbling along and re-translating the occasional app on the market and had just finished another optimisation for a client called ferreiradevelopment.com when he emailed back with an interesting proposition: ''I had an idea here. I got the hangman application which was made ​​entirely in Portuguese. I need to translate it to english, but i don't know what words are easy and hard. So i need to help with that. I have de source code of game all done, beucase i did it in portuguese. So i need only the translated words. I don't know if a english hangman application will be good sold at android market, but if you want to translate that for me''
(Please note his use of English and you will see why I thought he'd be the ideal client!)
And so with that simple email I was started on the road that would eventually lead to being a partnered publisher on the Android market itself!

Android Games on holiday

Mobilephones have in recent times joined the staples of a man's pocket, adding to the dynamic duo of keys and wallet most people wouldn't consider leaving the door without their mobile phones also.

These miniature computers,thanks to app access now have virtually unlimited uses: communication device,gps,alarm,camera,watch being among some of the most basic functions that we can enjoy. However there are some hard engineering facts that stop us using them to their full potential: they're just too damned easy to break!

Engineers have done a superb job in recent use in making mobile components faster,cheaper,more reliable and ever more powerful, however there is a pressing need to make them much stronger. Recently on holiday I was spending a lot of time poolside and down the beach. I'd unconveniently forgotten my camera at home, but whereas my mobile normally quite easily fills that gap I was reluctant to expose it to the sand and heat of the beach. Swimming laps in the pool I thought to myself that my experience would be enhanced if I was able to time my laps using the phone or listen to music. With its built in accelorometer it would have also been great to have an app that could analyse my swimming stroke and give me advice. That app sadly will not be invented for the forseeable future as phones are not pool friendly. Even sat relaxing around poolside I was reduced to reading a Kindle as in direct sunlight my xPeria Play's screen was just too hard to see.

Again on a bicycle tour down the Majorcan coast I was reluctant to bring the phone for fear of knocking it, on another note functions such as Google Goggles and Google Maps would have made the bike trip more enjoyable, but international internet access rates are far too steep to to be using the bandwidth for such activities.

Motorola Defy:A step in the right direction

So engineers you've created for us in the form of these great Modern Android Phones and other smartphones a new exciting generation of device, but it's akin to having a Ferrari supercar and only being able to drive it on sunny days on flat roads. There is a lot of potential being left untapped.<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/android" rel="tag"><img style="border:0;vertical-align:middle;margin-left:.4em" src="http://scm-l3.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=android" alt=" " />android</a>

From humble beginnings: Traditional gaming inspiring app gaming

Android gaming and smartphone gaming is arguably one of the most cutting edge fields in entertainment today, a developer has the ability to virtually create a game within a few hours, the tools and technology that developers and gamers have access evolve at a phenomenal rate. And more importantly unlike traditional gaming industries the Android market has a massive amount of freeware resource tools to draw on. But there is one issue that no amount of cutting edge tools can solve: that of creativity. The ideas of game designers must come from somewhere, recent games I've played give a very strong case for traditional non technological games being a very good source of inspiration.
  Pocket  Soccer by Rastergrid Entertainment http://rastergrid.com/blog/ especially got me thinking about this issue. The game it must be said is very good, with a slick presentation, three difficulty levels, lots of playability and polish. Of note was the way the game was played, on a simple playing field players take it in turn to push one of the players represented by a disc with the teams flag on it, to score goals. The influences are two fold with traditional football being a clear influence, flick football being another and interestingly enough the Rts staple of turn based games. Arguably without the developer drawing on these influences, whether consciously or not, the game of  Pocket Soccer would not exist.

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Expanding the Android market in China and beyond

It's a well known and much lauded fact that the Android market is undergoing a huge expansion and will soon overtake the app store in terms of sheer content. However like much of the world there remains a terrible gap, that of language. For true global dominance it will be necessary for both google and apple to expand heavily into largely language barred areas like China and India.
Through our prolific following Gametrender wants to ease the way by helping to get developers apps translated into foreign tongues. We've initially made contact with interested parties in China who will help us to get this underway.
So true global dominance awaits for the app developer cunning enough to use our service.
Quality apps for all, not just the English speaking elite!

Those In the Know: Super Drill Panic

There's an old adage that you should stick to what you're good at. That's why when a good game comes out reviewers will often look at the developers pedigree.
There is nothing worse than some fly by night programmer wannabe that has no love nor understanding for videogames clogging up the market with his soulless products.
It's not often that Gametrender will deviate from it's usual informed and educated perspective to absolutely say how Earth shatteringly brilliant a single game is. Well ladies and gentlemen this is one of those occasions!
Orange Pixel is the developer in question and their love of gaming and sense of fun exudes from every pore of their new game " Super Drill Panic  ". Taking the simple template of the vertical runner genre, you know the type, where an object/character drops onto different platforms and is steered left and right while the screen slowly descends, if the screen catches up it's game over.
Well this is where Orange Pixels' game stands out. Firstly there is a story behind it, with an adventurer crashing in the jungle and blundering through hidden temples in pursuit of treasure. The gameplay is also spot on, with no glitches and also some great retro inspired graphics.
The point where the game starts to become better then it's peers is when you realise that there is more than one level and even a shop to buy upgrades such as run faster boots. Then to make it even better there are great unlockable extras like arcade mode and even a whole new character and story!
But what really shone out for me was the games personality which shows how the developers actually care intimately about games. The little touch of the character dropping references to classic past titles like Paperboy and Rick Dangerous it's not only hilarious but also filled me with nostalgia and made me realise what a great heritage games have.
Orange Pixel, games by gamers for gamers, and that makes all the difference! 

What Gaming forums can teach us.

Here at Gametrender one thing we know is our Android games, it's our bed and butter and day to day business. However when we started to explore the forums we were in for a pleasant surprise. Obsessed with new, better, more and the fact that new games come out at such a ridiculous pace means that so many great games become swamped under the deluge of titles that arrive on a seemingly second to second basis. The Android market its often criticised for its lack of filtering and search unfriendliness so it becomes so hard to find what we might enjoy. In the name of Research gametrender recently set off to explore some of the wilder reaches of the internet. It reminded us very much of a certain locale in Hyde Park, London. In the park is an area called Speakers Corner, here on a small raised platform anybody can climb up, whenever they wish and harangue the crowds with their opinion, whatever it may be. Well the forums, and there are many hundreds of them are just like this with everybody having their own personal soapbox to climb aboard and shout from. However from a gamers perspective they are pure gaming gold. All the little hidden gems that we might have missed can be found there, whether the forumites opinion on what is or is not a good game is irrelevant, as the android market is so happily filled with freeware that once you've got a games name you're only seconds away from having it on your phone. That's why I've found and enjoyed obscure titles like Wordwrench, Barr, Buka and Trapped. Very likely those are games that for me would have been buried forever in the markets vaults, but a little but of digging has led to some great, and free, fun. Just remember though in the fast paced gaming world that amateur opinions are great but Gametrender will always be there to provide you the customised service that you need to find the best games and apps that suit you. android games

That's what we're talking about!-Amazon Mechanical turk

While computing technology continues to improve, there are still many things that human beings can do much more effectively than computers, such as identifying objects in a photo or video, performing data de-duplication, transcribing audio recordings or researching data details. Traditionally, tasks like this have been accomplished by hiring a large temporary workforce (which is time consuming, expensive and difficult to scale) or have gone undone.

The text above was lifted straight from the Amazon Mechanical turk website. I'm not going to plug their service but the reason I've quoted them above is that they're singing off the same song sheet as Gametrender.

How is a multi million pound website having the same ideas as my humble internet startup you ask? Well simply the fact that they agree that the human touch is still the best when it comes to some things. What does Gametrender do? It uses real humans to recommend apps to real humans, so Mechanical Turk go and get your own concepts!

Best Android games 2011

What Android apps are hot so far ? By no means a definitive list, but a good starting point to explore the best games for  Android 2011. These are some of the standout games so far: Diversion, Gun Bros, Burn the Rope,  Starfront Collision, Rainbow Six Hd, Backstab, Robotek, Baseball Superstars, Battlestar, Eternity Warriors, Zenonia 3 . Look forward to elaborations in future posts as to why these are so highly regarded. The Android market moves fast though so expect this post to be a work in progress with lots of future updates when more Android games come out. android games

Apps for children and adults

What  constitutes fun? Here we go with another post that attempts to put some order into the game world but psychologising what makes gaming fun. For those talented developers out there feel free to borrow any noteworthy comments to inspire any hit games of tomorrow.
Here at Gametrender we're always on the look out for inspiration for the games industry. Having a young child is proving to be a constant source of innovation and encouragement. Don't worry this not going to be a schmaltzy article about parenthood etc., however watching my child at play I've found very useful from a game development perspective .
Toddler play particularly is quite useful to observe as they have progressed beyond baby play which is formless and moment orientated just involving colours, sounds and stimuli, but is something closer to adult play with rules and concepts starting to be imbued into the game.
Where childs play has advantages over adult play is that there are far fewer preconceived notions of what makes a game good or bad, dull or entertaining. Adult play is very obsessed with win states. A football match is played with the express purpose of winning. That us not to say that a player won't still enjoy the game, but losing will certainly detract from that enjoyment.
A child will spend hours, a notable achievement with a supposedly limited attention span, playing randomly with no end state, no win or lose state in mind. Careful observation of this play will show that it does have it's own set of rules. It's not random free form play but is definitely rule based plat.
A child with a toy car will ,if he or she has seen a real car before, and we can assume they have if they are playing with a toy one, pretend that what they have is a real car. The car will not fly, it will not be an extra dimensional portal. It will in all essence be a car and have behaviour expected of a car. Adults will drive a real car for miles just for the sheer thrill of driving, a child will play with their toy car with this same purpose, the thrill of play, movement, without artificial constraints. The rules are certainly there but are more organic, natural rules and not imaginary, even arbitrary rules imposed on the toyset ultimately inhibiting play.
As a case example lets consider the real life situation of a child playing with a wooden trainset. It is a wooden train set with a wooden track that slots together. There are right ways to do it, hence the instructions, but there are numerous other ways that the tracks slot together. Theres a bridge too, and assorted wooden trees , animals and a wooden police station, fire station and hospital.
The child or more likely the parent
puts the track together , the various furniture is placed randomly and the child plays. So why is this fun and where do the rules come into it. Firstly all the rules aren't just self imposed, natural laws of course apply, if the train goes too fast it will fall off the track, if it's on top of the bridge it will roll down hill. That's physics!
All the rest is imposed by the nature of the play, it's a train so it goes on a track, it doesn't fly and so on. Like the real world animals and people can be on the track. Accidents will result in a visit to the hospital or firehouse. What games to play: how fast the train is, how big an accident, what about passengers? The point that this illustrates is that with  play like this natural rules will fall into place, other rules can later be imposed but all they are doing is building on the template of the original, purest and best form of the game. I think that Elf Farm try to encapsulate this sense of wonder and carefree child's play in their games and are well worth checking out if this article has struck a chord.

Best Alternative Android Keyboards

With all the typing,websurfing and emails flying out from our Android phone a good Android keyboard is essential.
SWYPE is one of the best Android keyboards . One of the best things about an Android phone is it's ability to be customised, so when there is a better way to do things you can be sure that we can find one on the market.
SWYPE is a new type of Android keyboard that is becoming highly popular, so much so that manufacturers of new phones are starting to bring it out as standard software.
I do a lot of blogging straight from my phone, in fact this very post is being written via phone using Swype! What makes it great is that instead of tip tapping away for hours you can type out entire words without lifting your finger from the keyboard.
It's very clever and highly intuitive. Use it and it will seem almost magical as your clumsy keyboard swypes actually resolve themselves into legible messages. The keyboard learns too, with a clever top bar giving you choices of words when it's not quite sure what you want. Generally it's very intuitive though and messages can be swyped out in a fraction of the time of traditional keyboards.
It's not all rosy though as the keyboard does seem to be memory intensive and need a faster phone to work well. Also it can't be found on the Android market and needs to be downloaded(for free), from the Swype website.

Happy Swyping! <a href="http://technorati.com/tag/android" rel="tag"><img style="border:0;vertical-align:middle;margin-left:.4em" src="http://scm-l3.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=android" alt=" " />android</a>

Crazy app downloads:Why did I do that?

Have you every looked on another persons phone? Not their messages or voicemail but actually what apps they have downloaded? It can be a very illuminating and sometimes downright scary experience. At a barbecue this past weekend it was getting to that time of night when most if not all conversations were exhausted and people were starting to deploy their smartphones enmasse. Another observation of the smartphone generation is that in one way they are very similar to baby boomers of a previous generation. It's never uncommon at parties of a certain age group for those with babies to trot them out and expect coos and aahs and suchlike from their captive audience. Well the smart phones who are infant less have found a way to retaliate! They bring out their phones, only of course if they are new and shiny enough not to be an embarrassment (the equivalent of a baby with a scary looking rash?) and like the other unlucky bloke across the room being regaled with baby stories the smartphoner feels obliged to show you what apps are on their phones. Well at this particular barbecue thankfully all the infants had been put to sleep leaving me at the mercy of a smartphoner. That is why at one in the morning I found myself being bored to death by a man smashing virtual bottles and being equally mystified as to why a thirty something year old would be deriving so much satisfaction from a talking, farting, drinking dog that you can beat up! On a positive note I was shown Sniper which is now on my to download list. It also made me realise how good the Gametrender concept actually is. Log onto gametrender.webs.com and you too could be having your own particular irritating app, drunk or sober, to bite or entertain with as you please. android games

Android apps for all occasions: Happy Annibirthday

The first time I saw it happen was on  Everquest, real world holidays started to be celebrated, Christmas being one of them, with snow, a virtual Santa and present giving occurring, all of course with a fantasy theme. Gaming has of course moved on since then, especially into the mobile realm. Many games now try to gather interest by having different editions for different occasions. Angry Birds does this particularly well with their  Angry Birds Seasons for Iphone and Android. Halloween, Christmas and even Saint Patricks Day celebrations are themes in the game. It serves to make the game more immediately relevant and thus more interesting. Games for different occasions are definitely something that needs to be explored more, for example why can’t games give out special bonuses or prizes on the phone owners birthday. Should relevant newsworthy events be reflected in game updates, particularly story driven games? Also how much of a thought is given to the user interface of games, surely a game designed to be played on a morning commute should have controls designed around it. What about queues? Gamers often while away their time in long queues by playing games, do the developers tailor their user interfaces to reflect this? Apart from seasonal, holiday and event orientated gaming developers must become aware and savvy to the different types of situations their games are likely to be played in and design them with that in mind. Remember developers mobile games aren’t just for indoors on the couch: they are ubiquitous, ever present multi contextual commodities that can be played anywhere from thirty seconds to hours and for a gamer to get the most from their game these insights should help inform design. gametrender@googlemail.com

Our Partners in the Android Market

As Gametrender continues to expand we are starting to do some valuable work with a number of Android developers. In this part of our blog we we'll feature some of the games and details of those we work with. These aren't intended to be in depth profiles or game reviews , but just to give you our reader an insight into the world of development and those behind the future hits of tomorrow.

Android RPG :Zenonia 2

Riding high in the charts Zenonia 2 the hit RPG game for Android and Iphone has some big tricks up its sleeve. Hiding behind some cutesy last gen graphics it presents a solid role playing game with an ever expanding feature facet and it is remarkable that this RPG is on Smartphones! I’m not reviewing it here but just opening up to debate some very intriguing concepts that it brings up. I’m only about an hour into the game but its starting to throw up some hints about innovation which is increasingly rare to find these days. As I get further into the storyline behind the Zenonia 2 RPG I’ll explore these features more but at the moment it’s just the cleverness behind them that fascinates me. I haven’t even tried the features yet but as soon as I’m close to a wifi network I’ll be checking out the network features. Whats good about the pvp and messaging capabilities is that they form a seamless part of the game and not some front end menu feature. For instance the Arena is just there in the first town you come to, as is a phone box type message hub. No show, no fireworks and most importantly total integration into the game environment. Like I said I haven’t even used the features yet, but just had to write about the mere fact of their cleverness. Heres a developer who understands that we game on phones so such seamless use of phone type features such as phone messaging and always on smartphone connectivity is a massively innovative coup. I’ve a strong feeling that I’ll be writing a lot more about this game in the future as I Explore these and it’s more traditional gaming environment. It’s not hard to see why it’s consistently in the top android charts, not just as a top mobile RPG but as a superb Android and Iphone game in any category

Some unusual App Marketing Strategies

Gathering interest by releasing your app initially on a higher spec phone seems to be a new and unusual app marketing strategy for some Android  publishers.
That the Android market is fragmented is a phrase often bandied about by the Smartphone industry. What they mean by this is that due to the plethora of phones of differing types running Android, all the different specs of these phones and indeed the different versions of Android (Android Gingerbread OS quicly being superceded by Ice-Cream Sandwich and even that looking to be made extinct b a rumoured new Android Update in the form of the rumoured Jellybean Android OS) it makes it very hard for every app developer to be singing off of the same song sheet as it were.

 Some app developers have used this fact to improve their app marketing: thinking particularly of the Tegra chipped Android  phones and the Xperia Play, these are generally high specced gaming phones (boasting as standard 1 GHZ plus phone processors and dual cores).
But more importantly these are Android handsets that are also highly marketed. So if a new game comes out on these or similar phones the internet is normally all over it and it becomes biggish news for at least a little while.
So whilst anybody who has more than a passing interest in gaming will see this so called gaming news on the net as an Xperia Play or similar exclusive their need for the game will naturally grow, according to the age old principle of ” You want what you can’t have!” Thus when the Android game has benefited from it’s so called exclusivity based marketing and is released to other phone owners it is more likely to be purchased.
 Clever marketeers use this app marketing strategy and prove that Android's fragmentation can indeed be a strength and not a weaknesses.

Best Android Developers

Android games have burst onto the gaming scene in a big way and some Android game developers are makning a very big name for themselves.
As more and more money gets ploughed into the Android  app gaming industry a couple of big names are beginning to emerge. I deliberately have not researched this article and have just let my average days gaming bring a couple of names to the forefront. The idea being to download what I want and what has been recommended as a top game, free game or paid game., from the market and then see which Android developer's are making a splash. Are these the app gaming industries big players, maybe, maybe not but what they are is names that have stuck in my head from just playing around.
So it makes sense that what they are creating is making it through to the average gamer. Rovio is obviously up there as one of the biggest mobile developers, just on the strength of its Angry Birds franchise.
 Playing on an Xperia play you can’t but help see Gameloft products all over the place, essentially gameloft games are just a rehash of best selling game like Tomb Raider adapted for the Android market ( Play Gameloft's 'Backstab' and you'll see what I mean).
 Hyperbees is also a prolific dev of quality Smartphone games and  one that also springs to mind at the moment. Of note is that Ea ( the Xperia Play version of Deadspace and Need for Speed Most Wanted are worth a look) is also joining the party, clearly gamings biggest publisher wants a slice of mobile gaming pie.
Thats all I’m going to mention, deliberately like I say I only wanted to list from memory as for Android gaming right at the moment these stand out the most. As an Android gamer who do you think should be included in this list?

Game Psychology: Reasons behind Angry Bird's Success

Going back to my previous Angry Birds posting I hinted that they might be other deeper factors behind the games infiltration into our lives. Stand by for this one: anthropomorphism. What !you say. Ap for short, Im not going to keep typing that out in full, is the psychological process whereby humans give emotions and human attributes to non human objects or creatures. Whether deliberately or by design Rovio have managed to master this with their creation. Each angry bird is distinctive, angry eyebrows and glaring eyes showing us their righteous avian fury. incensed tweets worthy of a blood thirty mob. The pigs too take on human characteristics their every oink seeming to be a middle finger pulled up at the birds. Their shifty eyes ,and on some crazy mustaches, making them seem to be villains. So AP delicately applied to make the birds and their foes seem human and thus stick in our minds more. Perhaps its this more than the top notch game play that has made Angry Birds such a hit. Read more about Game Psychology

android games

It's all about the publicity

Gametrender is branching out. It's sad to see that there are so many good ideas for apps out there that are let down by the language barrier. So because here at Gametrender we're good all around nice guys(and we love the publicity!) we've been contacting developers who to put it bluntly, need help with their English and have been offered to improve their app translations and scripts. Here's the email that we've been sending out.
Dear Developer
I am the owner of the "Gametrender" blog and website. As part of our marketing strategy we are offering app dialogue script optimisation to any interested developers.
As a consumer and trender of apps I am very conscious how poor translation can have a negative affect on the enjoyment of games and apps. Particularly in relation to story based games. We are not offering to translate your app , as of course this has already been done. However, what we will do is enhance the translation of your app. Your app will be more professional, more accessible and more enjoyable to the end user. If you feel that your app dialogue has been poorly translated or that it could be enhanced, then we would like you to take advantage of this offer.
This is completely free and of no obligation. The reason behind this is that it is part of our marketing strategy. Gametrender is a brand new start up website that recommends apps to customers. By offering you this translation optimisation service we aim to get our name known and perhaps even expand into script writing and optimisation through our website. If you do use this service all we ask is that you recommend us to other developers and help to get our name known throughout the community.
 We have also had a lot of interest recently in fixing the front end descriptions on the Android market, which of course we are quite happy to do too.
The script optimisation will be performed by a native English speaker who holds a degree in English and a postgraduate degree in Education. Additionally he has over three years experience as an English teacher.
If you wish to use our free service then please email us at this address. Alternatively feel free to browse our Gametrender Wordpress blog and our provisional website: gametrender.webs.com .
Thank you for your time and all the best with your current and forthcoming developments.
Yours faithfully
Gametrender
Over the next couple of posts we'll let you know how that goes down with the development community.

Calling all developers (and Gamers and anybody else really!)

Gametrender always plans to bring you the latest and best apps. However as part of a marketing drive we've been closely working with a number of non-English developers. We thought that it was such a pity that many apps are inaccesible, ir virtually so due to really poor translations. So rather than just complaing about this we went and did something about it. A week later and we are pleased to say that we have not only helped translate the market description for a number of apps but have even joined forces with a Brazilian developer to bring a Hangman app to market. Well if you're a foreign developer looking to fix your translations into proper English or even a gamer who knows of an app that could benefit from this then let us know. We're always happy to bring gamers the games they want-by any means possible!

Here's the  Android market link for our pet project 'Hangman Mania' optimised from the original Portugese.


Developers we've helped to optimise their apps are: kidga.com;http://www.ferreiradevelopment.com/ and the RTS Android Developer Central Bytes

So there you have it , the future is bright the future is GAMETRENDER

Hangman Mania

android games

Angry Birds Updates and more

Apparently if youre a blog about video games you have to write at least one article about virtual Avian phenomenon Angry Birds to keep your blogging license. So what makes a simple app so huge that it has a million plus downloads, its own range of plush toys and a movie inspired by it? Firstly its got to be said even though I, along with ninety nine percent of the developed world have played the game it does get awful sameish quite fast. However its almost always worth a quick five minute blast before boredom or frustration sets in. Pondering the phenomenon then lets look at what it does right. Firstly its obvious its polished, graphics are good and more importantly distinctive, sound is awesome with some hilarious effects, my favorite being the pig snuffles and levels are well designed in that it is always possible to achieve your three stars but never ever easy or impossible. Casual gamers love it for its cute simplicity, for hardcorers theres the challenge of getting 3 stars on every level and Rovio clearly shows their knowledge of what makes gamers tick by throwing in loads of hidden Easter eggs. Another big factor is the care that they throw behind it. Update after update in the format of  seasonal goodness like Christmas and Halloween editions make the game always seem new and contemporary. Then of course theres a whole new game in the form of Rio. I’m sure all this constant development cuts into their budget but its also been a major factor behind the rise and rise of this game. However thats  only the  obvious factors AB also has some nifty psychological hooks which make it so addictive. Lets save that for another post though as the discussion could get kinda heavy. So if youre not a bird addict now you know what some of the hype is and hopefully if youre a developer you will learn from them birds to make us gamers some new future treats.

gametrender.webs.com 

Really free?

Theres many ways of getting our games fix, thankfully many of them free. But is free really all its cracked up to be? Surely you sat free can’t be such a bad thing? But if you look at the fact that we have so many games to play and a limited amount of hours in the day then the fact that free and possibly low quality games are cluttering up our phones memories and our precious gaming time is surely a bad thing. Of course there are many good free games out there, thats why we need services like Gametrender to help us to find them. Stay tuned for later articles that will explore other ways in which games can be made that are high quality but don’t necessarily cost us anything.

That's more like it

Gametrender is in the business of putting top quality apps in the hands of gamers so it gives a warm glow when we see the big companies making some effort. Sony is welcoming all developers for xperia play from the largest to the smallest to submit their games to their website. If the games meet Sonys criteria they will feature them on their website and through various other public means. Good for you Sony getting behind the developers and getting us access to more games. And along those lines if youre a developer reading this then by all means get hold of us and initially through the blog and later the website we can help expose your games. android games

Take a good thing?

Back in days of yore when phones seemed to do little more than make cracky calls the seeds were laid for the multi million gaming industry of the future. Who can forget  Snake? But have we improved on this? Hd graphics, million color uber pixel screens and always on connectivity but have we yet made anything mobile as maddeningly addictive as Snake and its ilk? Debate! android games

Xperiences with Gameloft customer support

Back in the day you’d go into a shop and physically choose your item. Hold it in your hand, weigh it consider the pros and cons and then buy it.The retail model applied to physical video games too and shops were if not happy about it, still obliged to accept your returns. Now that we’ve moved away from physically handling apps and games for our phones surely a more robust system should be in place for returns, especially if the games are defective. In subsequent posts we’ll look into the various methods currently employed, but this post will mainly concentrate on experiences with Gameloft customer services. Now regular readers will have noticed Gameloft coming up fairly frequently in posts. They do churn out a lot of entertaining games on a frequent basis. However it seems that sometimes quality control is lacking and buggy versions get released. Of particular note on my Xperia play is Modern Combat 2 , delving into the forums it appears that nobody can get the game to work on their Xperia Play! So despite having a version optimised for the so called premier gaming phone, it doesn’t even work. Of course from my tone you can tell that I was one of the ones caught out. Firstly it must be pointed our that I’ve discovered two ways to pay for their games. Paypal transactions, which I’ve used and phone billing, I personally prefer the Paypal transactions as they give you a receipt number as proof of purchases if something goes wrong. It seems that to seek help it’s necessary to email Gameloft who, eventually, get back to you with a solution Which invariably seems to be a link to an alternative game.Although I suppose a refund would have been forthcoming if I had asked. All in all the process is straightforward but I have to point out some caveats: firstly the average resolution time takes about a week.Also disappointingly their website doesn’t seem to keep track of purchases very well, with none of my numerous purchases showing up resulting in Gameloft having to track down the purchases. Also even though all problems have been eventually resolved I would prefer if the problems didn’t exist in the first place and bugs were eliminated in the first place. android games

Free to Play Apps?

What you would be prepared to pay for in free to pay title? In one of my previous postings I spoke about the different models that games use to make money.Increasingly common are micro transactions in games which make gamers pay for amongst other things, virtual goods.So the question is what gamers are prepared to pay for. Amusingly there is a spoof game which exists on facebook called Cow Clicker. Why I mention Cow Clicker is the fact that you can part real money to buy something quite meaningless. You can pay to get a patterned cow which is fair enough, but as part of his social comment the developer had made it so you can pay to get cows with miniscule differences to each other. For example one model faces left, the other which you will pay for, faces right. And yet still people pay! At one stage before it was banned sellers did a roaring trade on ebay selling virtual currency for online games. It is write common in MMORPG games for there to be a pay for virtual currency which can be used to purchase virtual goods. Swords, armour, clothing, the sale of virtual goods is booming. But where do you draw the line. Reading the forums it seems that it is not unusual for consumers to sometimes spend hundreds of pounds on virtual goods. Would you pay for a right facing cow? gametrender@googlemail.com android games

Happy Annibirthday

The first time I saw it happen was on  Everquest, real world holidays started to be celebrated, Christmas being one of them, with snow, a virtual Santa and present giving occurring, all of course with a fantasy theme. Gaming has of course moved on since then, especially into the mobile realm. Many games now try to gather interest by having different editions for different occasions. Angry Birds does this particularly well with their Seasons edition. Halloween, Christmas and even Saint Patricks Day celebrations are themes in the game. It serves to make the game more immediately relevant and thus more interesting. Games for different occasions are definitely something that needs to be explored more, for example why can’t games give out special bonuses or prizes on the phone owners birthday. Should relevant newsworthy events be reflected in game updates, particularly story driven games? Also how much of a thought is given to the user interface of games, surely a game designed to be played on a morning commute should have controls designed around it. What about queues? Gamers often while away their time in long queues by playing games, do the developers tailor their user interfaces to reflect this? Apart from seasonal, holiday and event orientated gaming developers must become aware and savvy to the different types of situations their games are likely to be played in and design them with that in mind. Remember developers mobile games aren’t just for indoors on the couch: they are ubiquitous, ever present multi contextual commodities that can be played anywhere from thirty seconds to hours and for a gamer to get the most from their game these insights should help inform design. gametrender@googlemail.com android games