The industry at large might be excited about the opportunities of location-based play, but as PocketGamer.biz's pages today have shown, developers working in the sector have a far more grounded take on their speciality.

Ken Seto of Massive Damage – the Canadian studio behind iOS zombie defence release Please Stay Calm – is just as optimistic as anyone about the potential of location-based play in the future – what we understand as a location-based app today will soon change, he says, but he's also equally realistic about the state of play now.

In particular, the studio's CEO believes too many games make location their sole focus, when it's gameplay that separates the good from the bad.

We caught up with Ken for his take on where things stand today, and what's likely to be location's new direction.

Pocket Gamer: Do you think location-based games have the potential to be a significant part of the industry?

Ken Seto: I think location is an as-yet unexplored context for gaming. What we call location-based gaming today may be very different from location-based games in the future.

I believe future games that use location may not necessarily need to define themselves as 'location-based' games, it will simply be another gameplay mechanic.

So in short, yes, it will be a significant part of the industry, but probably not in the way you might think.

 

What are your views on balancing gameplay between single and multiplayer elements?

With Please Stay Calm, we try to design the game to be fully playable without requiring the presence of other players.

All of our multiplayer gameplay is either opt-in or  as seamless as possible so players can experience multiplayer without hassle or onerous levels of coordination with others.

 

What are your views on a/synchronous play with respect to multiplayer features?

Synchronous is really hard to pull off in mobile due to the wide variety of possible interruptions.  It's a very different environment than sitting at your computer at home playing World of Warcraft or Call of Duty.

We strive to make our asynchronous multiplayer as visceral and engaging as possible - when done well, it doesn't feel asynchronous.

 

What are the biggest challenges that need to be solved?

The biggest challenge is in using location as a compelling gameplay mechanic without overly restricting players due to their location.

It's tricky and ideally you need to make the game playable even in rural areas with nothing around. Another issue is getting people to get over the fear of allowing the game to know their location.

What do you think gives Massive Damage a competitive advantage?

With Please Stay Calm, we're treating location as a fun gameplay mechanic to support the vision of our overall game design.

We're not using it in a restrictive manner and we're prioritising gameplay, social and fun first before anything else. 

Location-based gameplay is not a silver bullet.

Aside from your own titles, are there any other location-based games you enjoy playing?

I've tried others but nothing really captured my interest.  

 

Do you think the inclusion of GPS and mobile-like social features in the PS Vita will help the market's growth?

Sad to say, I'm not convinced portable gaming has much of a life left since the advent of iPhone and Android gaming.

My DS and PSP have been collecting dust for years and I hardly ever see anyone with portable gaming handhelds anymore.  There are very few people who need dedicated hardcore gaming devices on the go. 

 

When's the last time you check-in with Foursquare?

I usually use Foursquare at least once a day

 

Where can check-in tools go next?

I believe Foursquare has big plans that haven't been revealed yet and Facebook has some learning to do regarding location - exactly why it bought the Gowalla team.  

I look forward to seeing the results of that acquisition.

 

What next for Massive Damage?

We're going to keep pushing the envelope in terms of bringing location-based gaming to the the mass market.  

We're innovating on multiple fronts, not just using location in a creative manner for gameplay but also doing things on the social and storytelling side that no one else in the mobile MMO market is doing. I'm sorry I can't elaborate on this until we get further along in our plans.
Thanks to Ken for his time.

You can found out more about Massive Damage on the studio's website.