I have looked at all parts of video games and realize that in order to make it as a designer you have to start from somewhere. Companies will not hire fresh out of college and the minimum requirement is 3 years experience as a designer. On the contrary, mobile developers do hire out of college (well programmers) and offer good internships. However there is a problem. No original content.
I posted this on their forum today.
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I have been paying attention to Gameloft for some time and I have noticed that there aren't any recent games based on original tiles. I understand why though. Consumers are drawn to games that they are similar with and the best way to do so is buy using brands and licenses that suggest quality. This is effective but the inevitable byproduct of such a strategy is a formula that leaves no room for experimentation. Creativity becomes shallow as many titles with so similar structure revolve around the same gameplay mechanics. Many games of the same genre use the same engine used to create a game made many years earlier.
Without paying close attention to the list their is a large number of games with faces you know you have seen somewhere before. The average man will come up to the site and say "lets see here. We have Die hard 4 (movie game), Driver LA(mobile port), Surf up(another movie game) and…… what's this? OOOO, GUITAR HERO!! No what, guitar legends, an imitation. Well I liked Guitar hero so I will download this one." With that, one can easily suggest that most of the games are in a sense just "mobile versions" of already existing material and serve as "Merchandise" to the above. There have been a few games made that are original. A notable example is Gulo's tale, with its great gameplay and clever stage design. It's an old game I know, but still a very well made game.I am pointing this out because the technology used to make games (both software and hardware) is becoming more complex and we should start to focus a little more on trying the new stuff & ideas that are just waiting to be used/created/discovered. I am not saying that Gameloft should stop making games based on other brands (I actually like a few of those games), I am just saying that there should be a game franchise that they should call there own .
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Heroes: The Mobile Game will allow fans of the show and casual gamers the chance to experience the thrill of the superhuman abilities of the show’s characters. Will it use the Lost engine ? Will it use the Prince of Persia/Splinter Cell engine ? What would you like ?
You are exactly right there!
I mean, if mobile phones are becoming more diverse, then why not the games for them?We've seen dramatic improvements in mobile games over these few years, so now is a good time to get into the scene.Good luck making it into the industry, It would be pretty interesting to see more original games in the mobile scene, rather than remakes and ports.I only suggest that you learn to make games for mobiles ASAP, maybe even make a game or two showing what you can do, as a company like Gameloft would be more interested in what you do rather than what you say.I personally despise mobile games. I feel that cell phones should remain strictly a utility for mobile telephone, although I don't mind internet access or GPS. Depending on the design of the phone, music and video is cool too. After all, the purpose of mobile devices is to reduce the amount you need to own/carry while maximizing productivity and entertainment while on the go.
Games, however, should be left to the professionals like Nintendo and Sony. DS and PSP for me. Remember the NGage?Heh. I too think mobile games are stupid, but my phone came with Gulo's tale, so I completed it at a bus stop one day. Pretty good game.
I know that most phone games are stupid (do you hear me nokia. your games are stupid). But professional gaming is becoming more and more expensive and thus the over reliance of big budget games and the people who can make them.
The phone industry is a largely ignored industry (and we can thank the Ngage for that) so I plan to take advantage of it.It's nice to see your ambition.
Please don't ever make a snake!!! Every mobile i've ever had.. has had snake on it!