Family Tech Blog

Tag: mobile gaming

  • What Parents Need to Know About Super Mario Run

    What Parents Need to Know About Super Mario Run

    Guest post by John Wilkerson of The Wired Homeschool.

    Super Mario Run, announced earlier this year, is the first highly anticipated mobile game from Nintendo. Initially released for iOS devices, it is expected to be released for Android early next year, parents can expect to hear about the chart-topping app for months to come.

    On its first day, Super Mario Run was downloaded 2.85 million times according to Apptopia which broke the previous record of 900,000 downloads held by PokÈmon Go. That means if your child hasn’t already installed the game, they’ll want to soon.

    About the Game
    Super Mario Run is a single player, side-scrolling, endless running game where players guide the eponymous Mario through several worlds to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. Along the way players collect coins while trying to avoid Bowser’s minions and falling off the screen. If you’re a fan of Super Mario Brothers this sounds familiar to you.

    Nintendo has done a good job of making this game unique. It’s not just a simplified version of a very popular game from the 80’s. It has unique game-play elements that will entertain you and your kids.

    The game has a mini-games within it which can be unlocked by earning tickets. You earn tickets by collecting all the pink, purple, and black coins on each level. You can also recruit Toads into your kingdom to restore it to its former glory.

    Initial and On-going Costs
    The first 3 levels of Super Mario Run are free. To unlock the remaining episodes you’ll need to spend $9.99. While this seems like a lot for a casual game, keep in mind that there are no in-game micro-transactions. No need to worry about Johnny or Sally running up your bill.

    Additional Features
    In addition to earning bonuses in the game, bonuses are given for connecting your Nintendo account. If you or your child don’t already have an account, you can create one in your device’s browser.

    Players can also connect with friends by sharing their player ID, linking to social media accounts, email, text, or adding someone’s player ID manually. Once you’re friends with another player you can challenge them in Rally Mode.

    Final Thoughts
    Super Mario Run is a fun game that you and your kids will want to play. It’s challenging and the nostalgia factor for adults is certainly what’s driving its popularity.

    As with any game, parents need to be aware of a few things:

    1. If you link to or create a Nintendo account you should be aware of the privacy policy.
    2. Linking to social media accounts brings with an additional set of privacy issues.
    3. While initially free, the $9.99 price might seem high but there are no micro-transactions.
    4. There is the potential that your child will spend too much time playing it.

    About the Author: John Wilkerson is a homeschooling dad of 7 living in upstate New York. Through his podcast and blog, The Wired Homeschool, John has been providing practical advice to parents on using technology in homeschooling for over 6 years. Connect with John on Twitter: @jwilkers.

  • You May Be Shocked by the Top Grossing Mobile Games of 2016

    You May Be Shocked by the Top Grossing Mobile Games of 2016

    The way game developers make their money has changed quite a bit over the past several years. There was a day when you would just purchase a video game and then play the whole thing until you either got tired of it, beat it, or wore it out. Nowadays we have access to so many mobile games on our phones and tablets that don’t ask for any money up front. Somehow, though, these “Freemium” games end up being the ones that make the most money every year. How is that?

    If you have spent any time playing these games you have experienced it yourself. You download a game that looks awesome in the commercial and in the app store. You get started and enjoy the gameplay right away. Soon, however, you seem to stall out a bit, or you’re playing in an open world with other real people and they all seem to be way ahead of you and are destroying your village or blowing you away on the scoreboard. What’s a gamer to do? Never fear, the premium game designers built in a way for you to get a boost to your game score or a new way to skip the long wait to let your in-game work get done so you can collect your reward. All you have to do is spend a few bucks here and there and you can play the game non-stop without any delay. This is how Freemium games make their way to the top of the money makers list. Here’s a screenshot of Statista’s top ten of 2016 list.

    Every game in that top ten list is free to download. Note that the amounts listed are daily revenue. These are dollars made from people who have decided to spend little bits of money here and there to help themselves play these games a little faster or a little better. The top game, Clash Royale, is one where you battle against friends with an army you have built. You have to use gems to build your army so you must either spend money to build your army faster or play a lot and wait for your “chests” to open and give you new soldiers (in the form of cards). Pokemon Go comes in at number two. This one will allow you to keep trying to “catch ’em all” by buying new Pokeballs when you’ve run out. Finally, numbers three and four are Game of War – Fire Age and Mobile Strike. These two games are often advertised on television and have received much criticism about the gameplay in their product being a lot different what they’ve portrayed it to be. For some, the promise of better gameplay causes them to spend money in hopes to gain more levels faster. It’s a new way to do mobile games and has even trickled into the console and computer game markets.

    It’s called DLC and stands for Downloadable Content. This is new features and game content that gamers can spend more money on to enhance gameplay or keep the story of the game going. Obviously, the success of the in-app purchases in mobile games has inspired other game developers to use this model to increase the profitability of their product. The largest difference is that you still have to purchase for the initial version of most console and computer games. As you see below on the screenshot from ThinkGaming.com, the first pay up front mobile game on the top grossing list is Minecraft Pocket Edition at number 35.

    What Parents Should Know.

    Obviously you should know that nothing is truly free. Our kids should understand that too. As I explored in more depth in our Mobile Device Vocabulary Series, there have been instances of parents finding out their kids have made very large in-app purchases without permission. There are ways to protect your accounts from money being spent unintentionally. Make sure your app store account asks for a password every time you make a purchase. If you have Apple products, set up your icloud accounts with family share so you can see what apps your kids have and make them ask permission to download anything new. Also, be sure to discuss with your children that sometimes their favorite games ask for real money. Teach them that they should ask you before agreeing to buy anything “in-game.” You don’t want a surprize charge on your credit card. While iTunes and GooglePlay have pretty good track records of refunding purchases, it’s a hassle I’m sure you’d like to avoid.

     

  • Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 2: Gaming (1)

    Mobile Device Vocabulary Lesson 2: Gaming (1)

     

    Smartphones and tablets have brought a whole new set of tools to game developers. It’s critical that you, as a parent, understand some of the language used in the descriptions of these games. Since you know your kids you’re the only one that can decide if a certain game is dangerous for your child or not. For instance, our oldest is pretty analytical and has an addictive personality. Because of these traits we are very careful how much time he has in front of a screen, especially in un-controlled, purely recreational activity. We know that he can get obsessive very quickly so we have some pretty strict boundaries on his screen time. Hopefully the following terms (the first three of six gaming terms) will help you better understand some game descriptions so you can pick the right ones for your kids.  (more…)