Rise of the multiscreen: How iPad and Android tablets are changing the way ... - TabTimes

There’s a shift going on in the traditional video game industry that shows the future of interactive entertainment will be multi-screen experiences with tablets firmly in the mix.

In addition to the booming mobile gaming market, more game makers are starting to develop expanded experiences that allow players to connect with console or PC gaming experiences while on their Apple iOS or Google Android tablet or smartphone.

Blizzard Entertainment was one of the early game makers to allow its World of Warcraft players to check into the fantasy world of Azeroth while away from their PC. With over 10.5 million subscribers, fans can’t play the massively-multiplayer online game on their tablets, but they can connect with their in-game avatars and make preparations for their next expedition on the PC.

One of the biggest console game releases of May, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier from Ubisoft, was designed from the ground up to take into account the growing number of tablet users that are increasingly looking to stay connected with their games while at work or traveling. The game publisher just launched the Ghost Recon Network specifically for this audience. And moving forward, every future Ghost Recon title will utilize this free service.

“The Ghost Recon Network has a website available where players can go to check out their player stats, check out their characters and also edit their weapons using a 3D GunSmith tool,” said Rob Newn, lead designer on the Ghost Recon Network at Ubisoft’s Red Storm Entertainment studio. “You can go in and gear up your character, customize your weapons, tech and grenades, and then see those changes in-game when you turn on your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or PC.”

If player happens to be a virtual officer or squad leader in the game, they can also invite new members to the group, promote or demote existing members and send out a squad message of the day, which will propagate on the website, in-game and also on the tablet and smartphone. Additionally, there are heat maps for all of the game types and maps that gamers can peruse to learn about the unlocks available in the game. And tapping into the social networking foundation, players can share things like custom gun designs with their friends and the community.

“We want you to be part of the Spec Ops 24/7,” said Newn. “Even if a player has left the game, we want them to stay with the experience by checking out stats and formulating strategies and preparing for their next mission.”

Tapping into connected experiences with social media

More game publishers are devoting more resources to these types of connected experiences. Ubisoft actually hired a separate studio, Loot Drop, to create a Facebook game, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Commander, which also has a stand-alone iOS version available. This strategy game was designed for Facebook and iOS gamers and takes a strategy approach to the franchise, contrasting with the third-person perspective shooting action of Future Soldier.

“The great thing about social and mobile is that the time slice that people dedicate on Facebook or iPad is very similar,” says John Romero CEO, CCO, coder and game designer at Loot Drop. “They’re very similar amounts of time, which allows us to create a Facebook game and then move it on to iOS. It’s the same game, but different platforms. It’s nice because you don’t have to redesign the whole experience to put it on an iPad.”

Activision is readying a tablet launch for its popular Call of Duty Elite online program, which has over 10 million registered users and over 2 million premium subscribers. Already available via PC, the network is expanding to iOS and Android devices to allow Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops players to stay connected to the game worlds from anywhere at any time.

“For mobile our intent was to have a set of applications that would not just be a straight conversion of the website because we wanted to make sure that the design was tailored to the platform that it would be on,” said Choco Sunny, studio head at Activision’s Beachhead Studios. 

Custom tablet apps

The developer is creating custom applications for the iPod, iPhone and iPad, as well as Android devices. These will be much more simplified experiences than what players experience on the Call of Duty Elite Website.

“We carved out the functionality that we thought would be suitable for each platform,” explained Sunny. “For example, on your phone you might not want to be digging into great detail on the heat map of a particular match, but you definitely want to know what's going on with your friends. You'll see your player list of other players who happen to be on there. And then you can get the details of their career.”

The iPad and Android tablet apps for Call of Duty Elite will take advantage of the larger screens. There will be an Elite feed with all the information of what’s going on, so friends can stay connected, track their own stats, as well as those of other players, and also be notified about any upcoming Call of Duty tournaments or competit ions.

“We're actively developing this with the goal of having very tailored, specific functionality just for the mobile platforms,” said Sunny. “That said, we built the site in HTML5 so that if you do decide that you want to see the full site on iPad, you can do that.”

With the big E3 conference coming June 4-7 in Los Angeles ((Editors note: This story was written shortly before E3) , more games are expected to be announced that further explore this trend of multi-screen gaming. Gamers have more screen available to them throughout the day and research shows that more gamers are playing on tablets even when home with a console available. The more tablets increase processing power, the more powerful gaming experiences will become, further blurring the line between online worlds. In the near future, game universes will be fully accessible via different screens, each providing a unique entry point and experience.