(I wrote this on Google+, but it was long enough that I thought I should share it here)

This post doesn’t make much sense. Being a rational person, I can see where they - they being +Android Police - are coming from. And I like Android Police, but none of this opinion is founded anywhere outside of popular trends in mobile game development.

Yes, I do realize taking something of an offense to - what should’ve been an opinion piece - an editorial is ridiculous, but it isn’t any less ridiculous than writing an editorial stating “if your mobile game features any of the following bullet points, and a lack of innovation, you’re doing something wrong.”

First of all, there isn’t a rule that every game released should be more innovative than the last. Innovation is idyllic, but it isn’t always reality. Sometimes iteration is the best way to go - especially on mobile. Games can be patched and updated quickly, sometimes even changing how the game looks or is played.

Yes, the rate at which endless runners are released onto the Play Store is insane, but it’s slowing down. And when was the last time you played a bad endless runner? Their pricing models can occasionally be annoying, but they’re games that work for everyone - not just the core group of Android fans. That genre is especially iterative. Each of, let’s say, Subway Surfers’ subsequent updates have marginally improved the game, and though it may not be for some people, they will always have the choice to play something else - even if it is another endless runner. There are tons of them.

Essentially, the same can be said for the Infinity Blade-like genre. It works on mobile - which is why it attracts larger IPs. It’s a modular gameplay template that you can place almost anything over. Though we may wish for a console-style Avengers game on mobile, it just wouldn’t work. And for every Rockpocalypse and Blood & Glory (which aren’t doing much wrong, they’re just not very good), there will be games like Horn, Dark Meadow and Bladeslinger.

You didn’t completely trash 8/16-bit titles - which I appreciate, but just setting those games aside and labeling them as just nostalgia-grabbing throwbacks or just a visual crutch just isn’t true. I’ve talked to developers of 2D games, and it isn’t just an easier visual alternative or blatant nostalgia-grab. Some of these guys come at it from a point of adoration and respect for a very specific art style that they personally enjoy or would like to preserve. There’s a whole culture around appropriating aspects of that era (Chiptunes, Pixel Art, a ton of Indie Games), and dismissing that just doesn’t seem fair. Android’s progression as a platform shouldn’t be measured by the fidelity of its games, but the quality of its games.

From personal experience, sometimes it is easier for a wider swath of people to grasp an atmosphere or plot through something abstract or representative than to do the same through stark realism. In some cases, it’s easier to comprehend. And you can totally just not enjoy 8/16-bit visuals, just not for the reasons listed in the article.

I don’t want to divulge completely into the argument against in app purchases. Yes, more often than not this pricing structure can be forced into a game that doesn’t need it or wasn’t built around it. I see that a lot, it’s an understandable qualm. But you mentioned Real Racing 3’s to implementation. In that game, it’s excessive, yes. But would you be willing to pay an initial $15 to $20-something if it were released in full? Maybe, but the majority of Play Store-goers wouldn’t, and that’s who EA has to play to. Not a very specific core group of Android gamers, but the other whatever-percent of people make up the Play Store.

Those are the type of people who will find and play that game and pour money into it because they may not play the the hundreds of titles that you or I might (I mean, that game looks incredible). And until those types of people are willing to pay for a game on their device, this whole iAP thing won’t change. But that doesn’t mean that the aren’t smart people who are developing better ways to implement it.

And in general, unless zombies are used as a means to progress gameplay and story or are bullet bags, they just shouldn’t be used.

Lastly, these are fads: they’ll pass. But we shouldn’t just say ‘if your doing this, you’re wrong’, because who knows. The next awesome Android game might be a an endless runner or Infinity Blade-derivative, and it may even include in-app-purchases.

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