Telecom major's gaming consultant Pratik Sapra speaks about trends in mobile gaming
Fascinated by the world of gaming since the age of seven, Pratik Sapra, gaming consultant on the developer relations team at BlackBerry, manages the technical relationship with top game studios and the indie developer community. His expertise includes mobile game development, game engines and the BlackBerry 10 platform.
NASSCOM is holding a two-day game developer conference in association with dna in the city. Sapra speaks to dna about recent trends in mobile gaming and future of BlackBerry games.
The change
The Indian market has seen a change in perception when it comes to BlackBerry models is what Sapra confirms. "The market does not look at it as just a device used only by office-goers or corporates. It has been taken seriously for gaming as well. This also brought us to launch a couple of games on the BlackBerry 10 platform," he said. The team has also been working on improving the hardware, supporting peripherals of games like joysticks and controllers to enhance the complete process of gaming.
"We intend to offer the best of both worlds with a productive device which is packed in with apps built on an open source which makes it easier for developers to use this as a platform. It is a communication tool with the right amount of entertainment too," he said.
The market
"So, in terms of games, an average BlackBerry user buys more games and spends more money on games as compared to others. Developing games on every platform is very easy but we stand out in terms of experience and application programming interface. I can throw numbers of app revenues but that is not the point, the idea is to have a great gaming experience which I believe we have been able to provide," shared Sapra.
"We are tapping the market by introducing new improvisations like the built for BlackBerry programmes where if you follow our guidelines, then we award certifications in the virtual world," he said. BlackBerry is also adding support for Unity, a popular game engine, this year. They are also working on improving their BBM support and Android real time support.
"If you are an Android developer, give your app to our tools and it will help you create the game without changing a single line of code. This is important for developers as it helps them to see value of the platform before making the investment," he said.
For young gamers
After highlighting the fascinating industry, Sapra cautions users to be careful. "There is tremendous potential in the industry to explore and with the right exposure anyone and everyone can develop a game at home, publish it and make millions out of it. Having said that one needs to really get into the whole perspective of developing games. It was not the same five years ago where you need special tools and platforms to develop one," he said, citing the importance of gaming schools.
"Gaming is still not taken as a serious profession for various reasons. So, proper infrastructure is needed to bring about adequate awareness."
Games launched by BlackBerry
Little Big City
Bubble Birds 3
Wonder Zoo
Slots King
Green Farm 3
Danger Dash
PBA Bowling 2
Dark Galaxy
Jewels Cave Free
DAY 2 events
10 am
How psychology helps to design better games
Mobile/tablet games and their monetization
Unrest, Kickstarter & Crowd Funding
11 am
Transition from a premium (paid) to Free 2 Play in mobile gaming
2 pm
Perpetual dilemma of developing games for feature phones vs smartphones – what works in India?
Introduction to acquiring users through Facebook
Panel discussion: Cloning
3 pm
A Date with Data- Why Numbers Matter!
Creating a niche-based game development company
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