Shannon V. OKeets
Posts: 15458
Joined: 5/19/2005
From: Honolulu, Hawaii
Status: offline
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As a developer, I have to say that the game design drives the hardware requirements. On top of that can be added glitz, which may or may not increase the needs for computer hardware.
It use to be that main memory, disk space, and CPU speed were the primary hardware constraints on whether a game design could be implemented successfully. None of those is a major concern anymore.
Nowadays player interface components and band width needs are the elements that limit a design. Of the former, screen size is the most important, with manipulators (is there a better term? - labeling voice as a manipulator seems wrong) a close second. Band width is only relevant if there is a need to communicate with other players or if disk space isn't local to the CPU device. Oh, and adding sound is rarely a problem on any platform.
So when you compare IPads etal to PC's for their ability to host a game design, look at the screen requirements, the interface tools needed to enter commands, and the speed with which data must be retrieved/sent.
Putting monster games onto smaller platforms is usually going to fail the screen requirements. Band width would be another possible constraint. At the same time, those games are unlikely to need the more recent innovations in player interface manipulators.
I think of this as input to the game from the player (manipulators) and output from the game to the player (screen and sound). A human player can only generate so much data. Receiving and processing that input stream isn't a problem for current technology. Writing code to process it can be a lot of work, especially if there are numerous decisions being made by a player.
For example, if the player is only moving one item (e.g., his head) and his choices are a direction in 3 dimensions, then processing the input data stream is trivial. But if the player can 'hold' multiple items simultaneously, adding and subtracting from his collection, and act upon each item individually or as a group, with a range of different commands, well then, the code to support that can be a bear to write.
When programming real time simulations output to the player use to be the major constraint, but that has been mostly alleviated by the increased performance of graphics cards specifically designed for that genre. Those cards do little to help communicate to a player when a lot of information (non-3D) needs to be provided.
Maps come to mind. Tables/spreadsheets are another. Some tricks, (zooming in and out, auto-scrolling) can be used to overcome a limited amount of screen real estate. And the newer IPads always seem to have higher resolution, which definitely helps. But there are limits to what the human eye can perceive and interpret on a small screen.
I like to watch the stock market reports on TV, not so much for the content but for how they display a wealth (pun intended) of information to the viewer. I am simply dazzled by the current state of the art they exhibit in communicating data to a human. If a monster game design has data output requirements anywhere near that magnitude, then an IPad isn't going to cut it.
Or look at the news reporting that use political maps with numerous subdivisions geographically and by demographics. If a war game has different types of units which can be concentrated at different points across a map, then the developer has to do something comparable to communicate to the player where the units (a.k.a. demographics) are currently - possibly also projected over time. Again, a small screen is a major constraint on whether that game is feasible for a given platform.
So I repeat my primary point: what does the game design require? Does the platform meet those requirements? Look at the screen and get a feel for the manipulators. Perhaps an IPad will work well. Perhaps not.
_____________________________
Steve
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RE: New Titles Announced for 2012 - 
Of course, these newer platforms may generate a lot of cash that some of us hope will benefit the PC instead of killing it.
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