A Brief History
In 1997, Nokia launched the successful mobile game Snake for monochrome phones. Long gone are the days when there was one game that everyone played on their phone. Do you remember the Era of Snake? Come to think of it, is quite surprising how addictive it was when there was not much graphics, not much excitement and just a 2D game with minimal graphics. Even so, the amount of time spent on that one game was incredible. Nowadays there are infinite options when it comes to mobile games.
Digging Deeper
Installation
When mobile phones first surfaced, the games that existed were a default part of any phone. Nowadays, just like many digital games on PCs and consoles, mobile games also need to be installed and sometimes can be a hassle; however, there are certain apps that provide a variety of mobile games to be played in one place that way you avoid the hassle of multiple installation. As part of the installation of Kiss918, you are required to verify the app and trust it in your settings, which is the case with quite a few mobile games. After that, you will have access to many games through the app on your phone.
Graphics
Because there were not that many game options, the need for graphics to attract players to the game was not essential. Nowadays, if the graphics involved is not incredible, then players will be put off and resort to a competitor providing the same game with a much better view.
Variety of choices
From racing, to football and war games, there are so many different genres that the choices are endless; however, there are certain games that are so addictive that they become extremely popular.
Processor
The more graphics and options included in the game, the bigger the processor required on your mobile. An older version of any game would not require a high processing speed as the options and technology were limited. But the more technology inserted into making the game as realistic and as fun as possible, the higher the processing speed needed to avoid the phone from lagging or freezing.
Memory
Games on old phones were just part of the existing memory; they could not be deleted and did not require much space. While downloading an app on your smart phone will not be an issue for one game, installing many games will require a memory card on its own or else your phone will be difficult to use. Every time you take a photo, you will be reminded with the amount of space you do not have, leading you to have to make the choice of deleting games, deleting personal files or investing in a memory card to have more space.
Internet connection
The internet revolutionized the gaming industry. Being able to connect and play with people at the same time in different territories of the world or combine together to play towards the same mission at the same time is something that changed the direction of games entirely. That is all possible due to the accessibility and connection that the internet provided. Also, playing games on social media platforms and being able to see that someone else topped your high score is one of the reasons why gaming has taken up more of our time just so we can save face and show everyone who is boss.
The form of competition in the old days meant remembering your score and seeing what score the person next to you got on their device. Nowadays, the internet connection has made it possible for competition to thrive while playing online games against each other or just sharing screenshots to prove that you are the ultimate, unbeatable player.
There will always be games
The simplicity of games that older versions of mobile phones provided no longer have a place in today’s ever changing, fast-paced world. When the mobile phones evolved into smartphones, the games had to evolve as well to become more appealing as the industry grew immensely, but no matter what technology is heading towards, there will always be certain games that are addictive, manage to adapt to the latest technology and constantly keep the players entertained.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
World Video Game Hall of Fame. A History of Video Games in 64 Objects. Dey Street Books, 2018.
The featured image in this article, a photograph by Zuissii of a Nokia 3310 playing Snake II, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
