Whether it’s Candy Crush, Fortnite, Clash of Clans, or another top-biller, the odds are slim that you don’t have a game installed on your smartphone. However, this is nothing new. Think back to the days of Flappy Bird, Talking Tom, and even Angry Birds. Once a game blows up, it’s nearly impossible to resist the temptation of taking it for a spin. Everyone’s either talking about it, or you can’t stop seeing ads for it.
Saying this, and thanks to the incorporation of smart-technology, trying a game once is all it takes for us to become glued. By the way - that wasn’t a nod to Glu - although their developers did change GenZ and Millennial mobile gaming culture upon the release of their celebrity-influenced programs like Nicki Minaj: The Empire and Kim Kardashian: Hollywood.
As the years go by, mobile games are reaching more than ever. Engagement grows by 10% annually, in fact. What’s got us hooked? Augmented reality plays a major role. Think of the games that come into the real world. Pokèmon Go is a great example, and has even earned over $1.9 billion in revenue.
On the other hand, and not so new to have been incorporated, artificial intelligence is a gaming element used to make games more relatable, adaptable, and grabbing. Unbeknownst to most, in-game artificial intelligence has been used since the beginning. How do you think Mr and Mrs. Pac-Man are able to autonomously plot the most efficient route between two points? Pathfinding AI. How do you think non-playable characters in Red Dead Redemption 2 walk around doing bizarre things during gameplay? NPC AI.
In-game artificial intelligence can even open doors for children. There is chatbot technology, such as the Ally program, specifically designed to flag abusive language exchanged between players in online gaming. Endless similar instances can also be found in a plethora of mobile games.
So, what’s left? It’s been awhile since a new game has stopped the world and grabbed our attention. In the future, we can expect technology to equip our games with graphics as high-definition as a naked-eye view, and others that can adapt to our individual play style.
In the meantime, just keep gaming. 25% of today’s iOS apps are games, and ¼ of humans on the planet will be an active gamer by 2021. If you’re interested in furthering your understanding of the world of mobile gaming in conjunction with the super-tech that fuels it, lay your eyes on the graphic below.
Infographic source: https://www.pinklion.ai/infographics/gaming
