Where next...

Now that i have decided to steer my research in a direction more suited to the specialization i want to do i have started to look at the technology of the iPad, taking, and building on the work that i did on the platform with regards to its use in education. 

The IOS devices, and more specifically iPad has brought allot to the world of gaming in teams of technology, but also in terms of the new growing market in casual gaming that it, along with smart phones and consoles like the Wii have helped to provide access to the vast world of gaming. I researched this topic last year for our IOS game design project.

The graphical, and processing power that these devices, for their compact size have brought to the table is the leading factor in their popularity. The power of modern smart phones allows developers to design games that constantly push the boundaries of what is thought to be possible on a mobile device. 

One only needs to look at a game like infinity blade to see how far the mobile platforms have  become.

Infinity blade runs on the Unreal Engine 3, the engine, an engine know to support many triple A gaming titles for console and pc. 

Higher resolution, large, touch sensitive screens have also helped to revolutionize gaming and make it accessible and intuitive for everyone. 

The ease of use, (thanks to simple control schemes) of many current mobile games has been a large contributory factor to their success. Some of the best examples of of these are Angry Birds, Doodle Jump, and Cut the rope which lie at first second and fifth in terms of most downloads on Apples App store. 

 (Angry Birds, and Angry Birds Star Wars)

(Doodle Jump)

The popularity of games and devices is obvious at one look at statistics for the the App store. which which has expanded form 500 Apps (not just games) in July 2008 to 800,000+ in January 2013.

Technology like this has started to Blur the line between what is teamed in the industry as "hardcore" and "casual" games and gamers. In fact i believe that it has helped gaming to come full circle, and to embrace the more "casual" spirit of its past, which games like Pong, Super Mario and Pac Man boasted. Comparatively these games are far more like those mentioned above than many games that get called "hardcore" or "propper games", Battlefield, Halo, and 

It could be argued that "retro" games have more in common with today's "Art Games" like journy, or Braid.