Software Development

What video game legend Sid Meier learned going from console to mobile

Despite all the bluster, the mobile industry is still in a nascent transformation and separation from browser and console-based design. At this Trends in Mobile event, video game legend Sid Meier shared his lessons from turning to mobile gaming.

Matt McDermott, a creative director at idfive, was one of a dozen speakers at the Trends in Mobile event.

Despite all the bluster, the mobile industry is still in a nascent transformation and separation from browser and console-based design.
A dozen speakers giving four-minute quick pitches at the Trends in Mobile Baltimore Innovation Week event last Wednesday at the University of Baltimore made that abundantly clear. Even Sid Meier, the legendary video game developer made famous for Civilization and now leading Firaxis, has had some lessons along the way transitioning from AAA console gaming to its mobile cousin.
At the event, he shared a handful of his clearest lessons in his 15-minute keynote address, which you can watch below.

Sid Meier’s lessons on going mobile:

  • Horsepower — the speed of mobile gaming is advancing so quickly that the industry shouldn’t be “designing down.”
  • Premium versus Freemium — Established gaming companies are very comfortable selling a physical game for a good profit. Scaling usage with free downloads is a still un-established model for Firaxis.
  • Attention Span versus Play Rhythm — If game speed shouldn’t be changed for mobile, then the habits of a user most certainly should. Mobile gaming is, of course, meant to be done on the move and the time necessary to accomplish a game’s objective needs to reflect that.
  • Price/Value Expectations — Mobile is in a place for experimentation, where getting a game out cheaply and quickly has a higher priority than lengthy turnaround times. However, some established firms do have different expectations from their users.
  • Monetization and Design — How valuable and engaging a game is becomes its revenue model for in-game upgrades, as opposed to marketing to get an initial purchase.
  • Reviews and Ratings — With a more democratic video game environment, reputation trumps all. The virality of mobile gaming far outpaces that of even the most cult-ish console games of the past.
  • Phone versus Tablet  If the browser is seen as different than mobile generally then development companies must distinguish priorities and design for phone and tablet users, which present different experiences.
  • iOS, Android and Windows — In early mobile development at Firaxis, Meier focused on iOS “because I have an iPad,” he said, but he quickly got a lot of feedback from Android users. The fractured mobile market comes with wider expectations.
Companies: Firaxis Games

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

Tech lab space opening in new 4MLK building, thanks to $2M in public funds

EDA officials are ‘hopeful’ Tech Hubs program will live on under Trump

AI is being used in more and more of the hiring process, especially at high-volume companies

The 'person of interest' arrested in the UntedHealthcare CEO shooting had a ton of tech connections

Technically Media