Apple Watch is here, how big is the game market for smart watches

In the early hours of March 10 in Beijing time, Apple officially unveiled the smart watch Apple Watch, as the industry, children's shoes may be more concerned about the smart watch as a platform for the potential of the game, how the game on the smart watch, today, the British "Guardian" published a related article, Foreign developers have expressed their views on this. Most people believe that Apple can often bring an ' earthquake ' to an industry, smart watch games to the characteristics and limitations of its devices to design a unique game experience, the following look at the compilation content:

The game is a very sharp medium, they can enter people's life anywhere. Every time a new digital platform emerges, the game will never be dropped, whether it's a tablet, augmented virtual reality, or an intelligent home security system. Humans, like most animals, are born players.

However, in an era of rising smart watches, the game currently has a limited role to play, and most of the Pebble and Android Wear devices are used for health and convenience tools, all of which have a common feature: they are small in size, Is closely related to people and has an accelerator for tracking motion. So we see a lot of game hopping apps.

Of course, it is certain that there are many games on the smart watch do not need people to run, but so far, these content is limited to the classic games, such as "Tetris", "Eat Beans" and "electronic chicken" and other types. According to the current most successful Pebble game "Pixel Miner" planning would Luton said that these games are wrong, "the reckless way to add heart rate and pedometer tests to the game or to try to shrink the smartphone game for small screen devices may get users ' attention at first, Because at this point the user is exploring the capabilities and capabilities of the device, but these games cannot last. ”

But whether you want to admit it or not, when Apple enters a market, it usually brings an ' earthquake ' to the industry, and a lot of new developers are interested in it. So what will happen to smart watch games in the near future?

Better for quick Games

Perhaps the future of smart watch games will make the ' short time ' feature of the smartphone game even more pronounced. "The right approach is to consider how the device is used by users and develop the game accordingly," Luton said. Smart watch is a very high frequency, short time game equipment, and low control accuracy. This means that your game interface must be super simple, such as a touch screen operation or only one button. If the smart-game is designed to be a game that waits for coffee time to play, the smart watch game should be designed to play while waiting for the elevator.

In fact, the previous precedent, Nintendo's old Game&watch game is actually a simple LCD game, such as from Grandstand's "Stone Age" to Mattel's "Dungeons and Dragons" and other games, are based on simple and entertaining interaction, Game presentation is a very important experience. Casio has even made basic LCD game watches, such as the nelsonic of a very cute Zelda game. Smart watches can bring such games back to consumers.

Further, the concept of a five-second game, the Bishi Bashi and the WarioWare of a very hot game can spawn a game platform with unique needs.

Simple value

It is possible that the limited gameplay and interface capabilities of smart watches are enough to trigger new and unusual ideas. Developer and researcher Michael Cook said, "game developers like the new interface and operating mode, GDC's latest annual activity is to explore the new interactive form with the game." Apple has shown a very attractive form of communication for the watch, such as graffiti on the screen, a remote click on another person's wrist, and so on. ”

"Small screen and simple interaction also reminds me of Robin Baumgarten in his game design experiment, Baumgarten's most recent creation is line wobbler, players can play on a single flash." Designing games for very small screens is a very cool challenge. ”

Can do social extension games

Another idea of smart watches is that you can join a fast-paced social experience so that friends can quickly and seamlessly exchange information while they are shopping. Developer Bennett Foddy said, "I personally believe that the social continuity game has a lot of potential and that these games can be played all the time, either alone or with friends." For these games, even if you have only one nanosecond (One-zero seconds) to check their progress, you don't have to open the app or take out your phone to view it. These games may only need to be clicked a certain number of times on the phone, or only in a specific location, the depth of these games may not come from the software itself, but from the way you use it in your daily life. ”

smart watch. jpg

Smart watch games should allow players to play at the same time without stopping the movement

This is already a feature of the Nintendo 3DS host, which can automatically collect the simple details of another 3DS user, and then you can view their data when you have time. Street passes also contains a series of small games that can only be done with other users.

Such a game can actually be done in a more complex way, said game developer Moo Yoo, "developers will have to bring more and better experiences to the minds of players, not just on the screen." I think there will be a great demand for highly interconnected social games and dynamic social content, and you can refer to games like Farmville, where you can give virtual animals to your friends. A smart watch game can be a system of advice, acceptance, and rejection, whether it's a dating game or a social game. ”

Can do the full touch game

The smart machines have accelerators so they can feel the movement, and the smart machines have WiFi connections that allow multiple players to interconnect. Add this to a device that you won't throw away or throw into the corner of the room, so you can have more physical games.

"I love to make a digital game that joins the running game, and the smart machines are always close to people," says Alistair Aitcheson, a designer in charge of "greedy bankers" and "Tap Happy sabotage". So it's a great fit to join a game that beats the other's wrist. ”

It sounds crazy, but it's actually a very exciting indie game. The basic play of Johann Sebastian Joust, which is a multiplayer game that uses the PlayStation move dynamic control, the player must try to nudge or hit the opponent, The player who survives the longest in the game and does not get hit can win. The game has a lot of fun, but for many people it's more difficult because most people don't have 8 PlayStation move handles, and in the smartphone version, players are likely to put their phone in the room, but the smart watch version can do it.

"I've always wanted to do something with hidden information, and players can get different experiences depending on how they play," Aitcheson said. Using a mobile phone to show such a play can be a bit clunky, and it slows down the pace and the focus of the game. But on a watch, players can get a glimpse of new details, and they can go on running with different stops. ”

Can be the second (or third) screen of other platform games

Another obvious use of smart watches is that it can be a second or third screen for a host, PC, or tablet game, whether it's porting personal information or playing games, or just playing a particular game, so that players can really play at any time.

"We've seen the game trends in the real world beyond the mainstream screen," Skylanders "and" Infinity "in Disney are very good examples, so it can be done on smart watches, Auroch digital Tomas Rawlings said. As an extended gaming experience, both page tours and MMO games can be linked to smart watches. I am more interested in the way board is used, where there are signs of revival in recent years, and linking these games to players and their movements can lead to more possibilities. ”

At the same time, programmers and web developer Adrian Smith believe that smart watches can fully achieve the effects of sci-fi movies, as part of the expansion of the computer network, he said, "the most unique innovation may be augmented reality, because the smart watch itself is an augmented reality device, such as, A player's heartbeat can change the behavior of an enemy in a PC horror game, or a smart watch can become a second screen or interface, such as a N64 game before GoldenEye can become a watch game. In "Alien Isolation", the watch can also be detected when the alien vibration screen, or in the "Halo" game, you can use the wrist Cortana, you can chat in the game. And there is a strong connection between the smart watch and the expression, so it's ideal for a personalized gaming platform. ”

Smart watch games in the future, in addition to health applications, there may be a very interesting possibility, which requires developers to understand the new platform of entertainment, and really grasp and understand the smart watch platform limitations and characteristics. Perhaps, with the official entry of Apple, the smart watch game market will greatly increase the interest of developers.