There's been a lot of talk recently about addressing the demands of core gamers within the mobile space.
That's the reason stalwarts of the scene such as Glu Mobile, Storm8 and Epic/Chair are now being joined by the likes of Kabam with Industrial Toys, Supercell and Aeria also looking to get in on the action.
Trumping the rest
US publisher Playdek could be shoehorned into that band of brothers, but its business focus is even more core; converting physical card-based and tabletop games into digital form.
"We have a history in console games, working with the likes of THQ, Disney and Pixar, but in 2011, we transitioned to mobile and tabletop games," explains CEO Joel Goodman, himself a 17-year veteran of the games industry.
Based in Carlsbad, California, the company hit the ground running, teaming up with local outfit Gary Games, bringing its Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer deck-building title to iOS.
It's since signed up deals with companies such as Lookout Games (Agricola), AEG (Nightfall!) and GMT (Commands and Colors), ensuring it's going to be busy throughout 2012.
Building on good foundations
What's interesting about the space is working on existing games means that - in most cases - the rules and gameplay mechanics are well honed. Instead, it's aspects such as user interface and graphics that are key to ensuring a good experience.
"It's all about quality. You have to execute well and ensure you don't dilute the brand and the gameplay. That's our differentiation," Goodman says.
"Especially in terms of the UI. It needs to be pristine. You can't clutter things up."
Another tricky aspect is the need to add artificial intelligence.
"Of course, this audience wants to play multiplayer, but we also want to enable solo play," Goodman says.
"Board gamers will set aside an evening to play around a physical game with their friends, but they also want to build up their experience on their own."
Walk then run
Still, he expects that the more games Playdek works on, the more it can build up its expertise in terms of bringing existing properties to mobile, quickly, while keeping the quality level high.
"There are processes we can standardise, and we have our own core engine and our own server infrastructure, which is designed for asynchronous play," Goodman states.
The technology is platform agnostic, so although initially the company is just working on iOS, it plans to release on Android.
It's a similar situation in terms of hooking up with the free-to-play business model; Ascension is a $4.99 game.
"The download numbers make it hard to ignore, but some games can't be reversed engineered in that way," Goodman ponders.
"We think the price point of our games is fair given the experience we provide, though, going forward, we will look to explore freemium versions of our games where it's appropriate."
Doing core well
For the present, however - together with its partners - the company's focus is building up a strong community .
"Working very closely with Gary Games [for Ascension] translated across physical and virtual very well," Goodman points out.
"We got good data, especially in terms of multiplayer activity, and combined with the other things we learned, that will feed into our future games.
"Our success will come from honing our products, providing the highest quality for our audience, and I think that will also result in a broader social appeal."
You can find out what Playdek gets up to via its website.
Interview
Contributing Editor
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.
Related Articles
Top Stories
News
Apr 18th, 2024
Fortis team boosted by top ex-King, PopCap EA, Microsoft and Warner Bros. Games talent
News
Apr 18th, 2024
UK skills crisis prompts call for games industry-led body to tackle key challenges
News
Apr 18th, 2024
AI joins the team at King: "Our challenge is to create the right amount of challenge"
News
Apr 17th, 2024
Monopoly GO! celebrates its first birthday and shares its behind-the-scenes story
Feature
Apr 15th, 2024
46 top mobile games in soft launch: CSR 3, Plants vs. Zombies 3, LEGO Hill Climb Adventures, Candy Crush Blast, and more
Feature
Apr 15th, 2024
Hot Five: XCOM Legends’ rumoured shutdown, Squad Busters verges on soft launch, and Royal Match reaches $3 billion
Events
HIT Games Conference Istanbul 2024 | Apr 18th | |
Game Job Fair – Spring Edition 2024 | Nordic | Apr 18th |
Arts DAO Fest 2.0 | Middle East | Apr 20th |
App Promotion Summit London | Europe | Apr 25th |
Esports Future Summit | Middle East | Apr 27th |
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2024 | Middle East | May 1st |
The MENA Games Industry Awards 2024 | Middle East | May 2nd |
GameDev Atlantic 2024 | May 4th |