Swipe This!: The Guide to Great Touchscreen Game Design

Chapter 1: Hardware Wars

Sigh.

I hate to do this to you because you seem like such a nice person, but every book has to start with the writer assuming that the reader knows little or nothing about the topic the book is about. My fondest wish is that you already know enough about tablet gaming that I can dive right into professional-grade tips and techniques delivered in the most obscure jargon and arcane argot.

Alas, I cannot. While I am sure that your head isn’t completely devoid of even the most basic of knowledge . . . what a handheld device is, what a video game is, what a touchscreen tablet is, and so forth, this is where I write the literary equivalent of talking . . . very . . . slowly . . . and for that, I deeply apologize.

Okay, future game design genius, let’s start with some basic definitions:

Video game: A game people play on a video screen.

Touchscreen: An electronic visual display that can detect the user’s touch.

Tablet: A light, thin portable computer consisting mostly of just a touchscreen. Also known as a tablet computer.

Smartphone: A phone that (often) features a large touchscreen interface, possesses a fast processor, and provides additional features such as apps, access to the internet, and video playback. Of course, this book only applies to designing for smartphones with touchscreens.

Handheld gaming system: A dedicated video game playing device that ...