Blue Shell Games CTO interview
Blue Shell Games CTO Dave Young discusses how technological advances in mobile devices have shaped game design
eGR Mobile Intelligence (eMI): New devices are obviously faster and the screens are more detailed. How much of an opportunity is the mobile market for developers?
Dave Young (DY): For Blue Shell itâs been pretty huge. Itâs allowed us to create a niche and drive a wedge into the mobile gaming industry as a whole. For us, considering weâre limited to the casino market which is something with a large customer base of adults, acquiring a new game platform in mass numbers over a very short period of time, itâs been very quick. If you really understand the platform and spend a lot of time working with the devices, you can provide an experience that integrates much more tightly with a personâs life.
eMI: What are the trends for gaming applications on smart phones or tablets?
DY: We tend to think of consumer usage patterns between smart phones and tablets as quite different. Tablets definitely have a time of the day when theyâre most active, and that would be at the weekends or evening hours. Tablets also tend to have longer play sessions; theyâll run 15, 20 or 30 minutes on average whereas smartphone sessions are much quicker. We watch our players transition across other platforms, so it’s also important to give players an experience in which their data is shared, their contacts are shared so they can continue to interact with their friends regardless of where they are and what device theyâre using, and thatâs actually quite a challenge as the platforms are very different.
eMI: How have users responded to these new features and capabilities of the mobile gambling market â has it been universal approval?
DY: I think the issue users have the toughest time with is managing the payment solution. Theyâve taken very well to having a console-quality experience in their pocket, but itâs still very new technology and much of the user base are working professionals, theyâre busy adults. You have to make sure the technology is simple, robust and easy to use. You want to provide an experience that is simple enough