Hey everybody,

I am interested in your thoughts on (party) games that use smartphones as controllers. I mean non-real time input (so not mario kart for instance where your phone would emulate a crappy X360 controller). The main examples of such games are those in the Jackbox Party Packs. How they work is basically: The game is displayed on a screen (e.g. your TV) and you and your friends use your phones to input answers. So it's really a game you play locally on your couch.

I love these kinds of games, they are similar to board games in how they play and the kind of audience they cater to (everybody!). It allows for some interesting mechanics, as players can draw on their devices, or have secret information on their screen (for instance your hidden role).

But, aside from the Jackbox Party Pack, there are barely any of these games out there despite smartphones being around for quite a while now. Is it just me or this is new genre barely explored? Is this because developing these kinds of games is a bit more involved? What kinds of games are now possible? Personally, I think any turn based board game could be translated, but in my opinion the board game experience would often be superior with the tactile play pieces. For trivia/quiz stuff it seems to be a perfect platform (or: actually, party board games in general).

Past weekend I've been dabbling in gamedev again with a small project with such an input method. So far I've got the framework with the smartphone input working (including lobby screenshot). Up next is implementing a simple game, which will probably be a simple trivia game.