There are those who will only play a video game if they can do it on their computer. Their gaming world starts and ends there.
App games are seen by many as inferior. There is this perception that those who play app games are not “real gamers”. The problem here is that this concept is presented by people who don’t play app games and have a strong bias against them.
A vivid example of the strong bias some people have about app games happened at BlizzCon 2018. Diablo Immortal was announced by Wyatt Cheng, Lead Designer of the Diablo Immortal Team. It was completely unexpected. The moment it became clear that Diablo Immortal would be an app game – and would never come to PC – the crowd reacted negatively.
App games are underrated. Everyone who attended BlizzCon 2018 had the opportunity to play Diablo Immortal. I found it to be incredibly fun, and fast, and could not wait to find out what lore this game would reveal. Those who didn’t try it – because they don’t play app games – were missing out.
Pokémon GO is an app game that can only be played on a phone or tablet. It is an extremely popular game, worldwide. Nostalgia plays a role in this, as people who played previous Pokémon games when they were younger want to relive that experience. The game is fun, can be played without making any real-money purchases, and (before COVID-19) encouraged people to go outside and get some exercise.
D&D Beyond launched the D&D Beyond Player App. It enables players to view all of the characters they have on D&D Beyond. Players can manage health stats and spell slots, make skill checks and attack rolls, track conditions, and more. I can see how this app would be useful for players who are away from their computer on game night.
App games aren’t inferior to games played on a computer or console. The purpose of gaming is to be entertaining, to give the player an interesting world to explore, and to make it easy for people to play with their friends. The best app games provide all of that.
(Image credit: Ketut Subiyanto)