Introducing the Mobile Game Development Special Interest Group of the IGDA
Mobile Games and entertainment is a rapidly evolving part of the game industry, from the successful introduction of mobile consoles to the new opportunities seen in the wireless industry. This rapid industry expansion has not only introduced interactive entertainment to a new audience but has opened up many new possibilities to connect with casual and core gamers. In response to this industry growth and attention, the Mobile Game Development Special Interest Group (MGD-SIG) has formed within the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) to offer an independent and balanced knowledge source for developers.
The MGD-SIG will serve as a central resource for discussion of the unique opportunities and requirements of mobile games. The creation of games that can be started quickly, paused and resumed later offers a new set of challenges for game companies. All members of the mobile games value chain must start to discuss the consumer needs, technical limitations, resources and technologies from related fields and new models for interacting with the consumer.
"We will see mobile games change the face of the industry in the next few years. The redesigning of classic games and styles for the mobile environment was a great first step, but there is a long road ahead with many more possibilities," said Kurt Uhlir, leading expert in location based games and mobile applications, and MGD-SIG Chairperson. The increase in online game play begun in fixed point games will carry forward to the mobile game world. The market will begin to see increases in multiplayer mobile games and the integration of new technologies such as GPS and camera phone features. These new technologies will offer not only new styles of games but more efficient methods for controlling characters and game environments on mobile devices.
In the next few months, the MGD-SIG plans to issue its new online magazine focusing on successful game launches, marketing of games, and the particular advantages and issues seen in current developments. Work will also begin on a series of whitepapers on new technologies, value chain relationships and the differences in fixed and mobile development studios. Karthik Swaminathan, MGD-SIG Advisory Board Member and Executive Producer at Screentoons will oversee the coordination of these publications
Visit the MGD-SIG website at http://www.igda.org/mobile for more details. Please contact the MGD-SIG to volunteer or provide ideas, success stories and resource at mobile_sig@igda.org.
About the Mobile Game Development Special Interest Group (MGD-SIG)
The Mobile Game Development Special Interest Group is an independent part of the IGDA community that serves as a balanced voice for developers, publishers, researches and aggregators of mobile games. The MGD-SIG offers a shared ground for industry-wide views, collaboration and experimentation on development, limitations and opportunities of this new area.
About the International Game Developers Association (IGDA)
The International Game Developers Association is a non-profit membership organization that advocates globally on issues related to digital game creation. The IGDA's mission is to strengthen the international game development community and effect change to benefit that community. For more information on the IGDA, please visit www.igda.org.