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Game graphics on Android phones

I've been playing around my newly bought Nexus One and one thing I've found is that while graphics and colours when doing most things in general are so vibrant and beautiful to look at, games look decidedly 2nd rate.
Why is that? Is that something to do with the hardware or the APIs provided by Google? It would be nice to see something like Plants vs Zombies on the iPhone. From my limited use I find the graphics on my Nexus One slightly better than the 3GS on everything except when it comes to games, where it is left far behind. I found that really weird.
On a related note, I'm no developer myself, but I'm of the opinion that the success of the platform will depend a lot on 3rd party development, which means a lot of support given by Google to developers. What's the situation like now? How easy/hard is to develop for Android phones and what are the scopes for improvement?

Bump.
Any opinions from Android developers on here?

its because pre nexus one/desire there was only one android phone which could even play good graphics and that was the moto droid .
give the developers some time ... now that more powerful android phones are coming out, we'll see more and more better looking games ... as an example look at raging thunder 2 ... you might not like racing games but that game has exceptional graphics
nothing as good as the iphone yet, because iphone always had a very powerful gpu from the get go so all of iphone game developers have had that much time to play around with them ... android just started getting powerful gpus
hope that answers ... and anyone with more knowledge, feel free to correct me if i'm wrong

alienwolf426 said:
nothing as good as the iphone yet, because iphone always had a very powerful gpu from the get go so all of iphone game developers have had that much time to play around with them ... android just started getting powerful gpus
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Thanks for the explanation, makes sense. Which new Android phones have good GPUs on board?

Watch out here comes the "Droids"
TT1986 said:
Thanks for the explanation, makes sense. Which new Android phones have good GPUs on board?[/QUOTE
Galaxy S doing video game demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpP5QljEqow&feature=related
Galaxy S vs. Iphone 4:
http://3gsiphone.com/jailbreak-and-...-vs-samsung-galaxy-s-video-review-part-1.html
Reading about GPU:
http://androidandme.com/2010/03/new...bird-chip-to-have-3x-gpu-power-of-snapdragon/
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jhnstn00 said:
TT1986 said:
Thanks for the explanation, makes sense. Which new Android phones have good GPUs on board?[/QUOTE
Galaxy S doing video game demo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpP5QljEqow&feature=related
Galaxy S vs. Iphone 4:
http://3gsiphone.com/jailbreak-and-...-vs-samsung-galaxy-s-video-review-part-1.html
Reading about GPU:
http://androidandme.com/2010/03/new...bird-chip-to-have-3x-gpu-power-of-snapdragon/
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Whoa! That is good.
Excellent stuff, good times ahead then.
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its mostly due to the fact that a lot of older phones (eg. the htc hero) dont have gpus whatsoever. the moto droid had a gpu, therefore could run good graphics in a 3d game. the samsung galaxy S has a great gpu on the cpu die and will run some really impressive games on it, in fact, it could run much better looking games than on the iphone.

for a art developers view
Ok well I'm a 14+ year vet of games industry on console games, in technical art production, but my view would be the same as a programmer I would suspect. Just like when doing a multi-platform release back in the ps, saturn, n64, dreamcast etc... days, you dont really want to do lots of work for all platforms. Neither do you want to cut your biggest market chunk out by them not getting the experience others get with better hardware. This takes me back to PC days when we have powerVR primary GPU's, or ATI, or Nvidia, or matrox, well the list got big. The graphics capabilities sometimes had to be addressed almost as if they were different platforms (this is b4 HAL abstraction sweetness and todays DX domination). I suppose at the end of the day, I would not choose to dev only on android for the SGS, that cuts some 99% of the market out. What apple has done is have fixed hardware and Development LIBs for that hardware. This makes it very easy to give all iPhone users the same experience. With android, too many variances in hardware and capability, also maybe hits taken from phone operator system additions and services.
So in my opinion, you cant have such and open system that can have lots of variations and get games in numbers and quality that we see on iphone. Not cause android phones cant do it. Cause not all of them can etc, and it's too varied.
Just my opinion

deanwray said:
So in my opinion, you cant have such and open system that can have lots of variations and get games in numbers and quality that we see on iphone. Not cause android phones cant do it. Cause not all of them can etc, and it's too varied.
Just my opinion
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I see what you mean. It's a lot like Console vs PC isn't it? I'm a PC gamer but i can understand why publishers/developers prefer console because they don't have to deal with a large variety of hardware. In other words, optimizing gaming experiences on Android phones could be harder than on iPhones because of the same reason.
Lets hope the difference isn't too big though.

TT1986 said:
I see what you mean. It's a lot like Console vs PC isn't it? I'm a PC gamer but i can understand why publishers/developers prefer console because they don't have to deal with a large variety of hardware. In other words, optimizing gaming experiences on Android phones could be harder than on iPhones because of the same reason.
Lets hope the difference isn't too big though.
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Porting from PC to console and vice-versa is probably easier than iPhone to Android, though.
I remember Valve saying that porting The Orange Box over to the Xbox 360 was very easy. They said something like they put the PC code -- with a few changes like control configuration -- through a 360 compiler and the game was up and running.
Also, with the PC, you have just two major processor brands (Intel and AMD) and two major graphics card brands (NVIDIA and ATI). The APIs and stuff are also far more mature.

google could do what Palm did.
Palms PDK allows porting of iPhone games to the Pre in a matter of hours.

theineffablebob said:
I remember Valve saying that porting The Orange Box over to the Xbox 360 was very easy. They said something like they put the PC code -- with a few changes like control configuration -- through a 360 compiler and the game was up and running.
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That's probably because it's made in XNA or some other cross platform code. That's one of the things pulling me toward WP7 (that and Zune Pass ).
Devs can write one code base, and in a matter of days have it ported to all major Microsoft software. As an Android dev myself, that would be amazingly useful did I also produce desktop software. I mean think about it, write an app for PC, then also target XBOX360, ZuneHD, normal Zunes, and WP7 all with essentially one codebase with very few small changes between them. That's some amazing stuff.
I toyed with XNA before and it is a beautiful way to code. Not to mention that the C# it uses is essentially Java with a few modifications.

[Q] Best mobile phone for hardcore gaming

just a quick question: WP7 with Xbox live or iPhone or Android, Which among them would u recommend for hardcore gaming on the go considering present and future support and software? i'm having second thoughts about my device and was thinking of maybe switching. please no consoles, pc's, etc.

If you want HARDCORE gaming, neither WP7 nor iPhone will be good enough...PSP/PSP2 is what you'll want

You could wait for the rumored (dc if it's "confirmed" it's still a rumor to me) Sony phone, supposed to be like a psp running android.

i mean, only from those 3, wp7, iOS and android. i was thinking about gaming on the go with the same device making calls, sms, email, movies, music

slighmd said:
i mean, only from those 3, wp7, iOS and android. i was thinking about gaming on the go with the same device making calls, sms, email, movies, music
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for gaming on the go with the best future potential, i'd say wp7 has that crown.

Currently, android. Give it a few months and WP7.

Currently have an HTC Trophy, wife has an iphone. My mom has an Android (really!). So i guess the right thing to do is stick to WP7 and be patient

as much as i know we have emulators for psx and other conosles on android?^^
winmo got a psx emulator too (not wp7)

Cool, a psx emulator! Thats a plus then. Hate this dilemma

Lizzo said:
for gaming on the go with the best future potential, i'd say wp7 has that crown.
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wp7 doesnt have ish for it .. what are u talking about .... only gameloft hd and dungeon defenders are worthwhile games , and theyre for android
that said id reccomend a galaxy s series or psp phone or a tegra2 phone

What screen size do you think you need for hardcore gaming? I can't imagine playing anything in great detail on a screen smaller than a tablet (iPad, Galaxy Tab, etc.)

Any screen size will do i guess or maybe at least 3.5"

Although i will never buy an iPhone, i have to admit that iPhone wins for gaming. Casual gaming, not hardcore. Android sure has WAY morapps then WinMo, but tbh, i was a bit dissapointed at the quantity/quality. iPhone has dedicated officaial game devs, wheras android is open source and there aren't that many blockbusters.
i personally use ny Ipod touch. i don't use my tab for games, there aren't many :/

Android is best for gaming. At CES, lots of new games were demoed for Android.
http://www.appolicious.com/tech/articles/4690-ces-android-other-platforms-see-a-big-gaming-boost
WP7 has the potential to be a big gaming platform, but it's never going to happen if people don't buy it, and so far, they aren't. Of the few who have bought a WP7 phone, fewer people are satisfied with it than people who bought Android phones.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/71041
Are phones carrier subsidized in the Phillippines? If not, then you will get a whole lot more phone for the money going with Android over iPhone.

Android has better hardware for games
iPhone has better optimization. The devs all just focus on one device hardware to build upon. the apps are more stable.
Gangstar on my ipod touch 2g is smoother than on my Samsung Galaxy Tab :/
p.s - I'm not a Apple fanboy.

None for now. WP7 might have a chance with XBox Live integration (and I think we might see some XBox games ported over, maybe not), but nothing much right now. iOS does have a ton of casual games, but not too fond of hardcore gaming on it (I think the screen size is way too small). Android has the advantage in hardware (obviously), but has a lack of drivers and, with the exception of emulators, the game selection is poor (might change).

Windows Mobile 6.x True playstation emulator.
FSpcse on TG01 = Unbeatable
(except hd2)

the new PSP
I would wait for the Atrix to come out, as it will be a powerhouse.
iPhone seems to get more support for games though and they are always released on iOS first.

Play Station Phone

ok!ggggggggg

Is ios superior?

are iPhones and ipod touches far more advanced technically Than the play or other Android phones? I ask because ios app store has some great games like prince of Persia (the ps2 version) yet Android is lagging behind? Why?
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Well, the reason is because Android is widespread and open to many different hardware, as IOS is only available on one identical unit.
Think of it this way.
Android is to PC, iOS is to Mac.
iOS is much more consistent because there aren't any devices that are stronger or weaker, because they're all the exact same hardware, so optimizing is a cinch, while Android developers have to focus on SO many different devices, processors, etc.

Selim873 said:
Well, the reason is because Android is widespread and open to many different hardware, as IOS is only available on one identical unit.
Think of it this way.
Android is to PC, iOS is to Mac.
iOS is much more consistent because there aren't any devices that are stronger or weaker, because they're all the exact same hardware, so optimizing is a cinch, while Android developers have to focus on SO many different devices, processors, etc.
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This.
But ICS is pretty much putting everything behind and putting us ahead of iOS

Thanks. Now I understand. So is the play inferior to the iPhone 4s technically?
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KindaUndisputed said:
Thanks. Now I understand. So is the play inferior to the iPhone 4s technically?
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If you think PC is inferior to Mac.

Selim873 said:
Think of it this way.
Android is to PC, iOS is to Mac.
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So what does that make Windows Phone 7?
Android = Linux

It was about the hardware, not OS
The Alpha Gamer said:
So what does that make Windows Phone 7?
Android = Linux
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Yes, Android is Linux.
But Selim873 was pointing to hardware fragmentation. You cannot buy a Mac and put the video card you want. You cannot get a mac with the processor you want. There is no Nvidia/Intel/AMD processors to choose from, nor the 32/64 bits thing in Mac.
Apple has complete control over the hardware and you can only buy what they sell and they sell the same thing to everybody. it is not like that on PC, where you can have a PC with different processors/graphic cards/ram/hard disks/whatever you want.
So the fragmentation on Android hardware allows us to have dual screen devices, gamepads, physical keyboards, etc, but it also increases the amount of drivers people need to work with and the amount of optimization needed to release anything. On IOS you have only one thing and everybody have the same, so it is easier to optimize.

I sold in my iPhone 4 the instant I heard that you didn't have to "jailbreak" it to install emulators and your own custom apps. So IMO iOS is vastly inferior to android.
Pretty much the same thing when I bought a Mac, traded that in when I realized none of my games could run on it other than Half Life 2 series (which I had already played the he11 out of btw) (Mac OS 5-9 Was better than OS-X ANY day IMO) so I got an Alienware M15X which was more powerful for less money, plus I got a couple of Mac OS 9 PPC's which actually run

loismustdie555 said:
I sold in my iPhone 4 the instant I heard that you didn't have to "jailbreak" it to install emulators and your own custom apps. So IMO iOS is vastly inferior to android.
Pretty much the same thing when I bought a Mac, traded that in when I realized none of my games could run on it other than Half Life 2 series (which I had already played the he11 out of btw) (Mac OS 5-9 Was better than OS-X ANY day IMO) so I got an Alienware M15X which was more powerful for less money, plus I got a couple of Mac OS 9 PPC's which actually run
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True I have a Ipod and a Ipad as well as the Tablet S and Xperia Play On android the developers are faced with a challenge to optimize the devices for games on IOS they have to do It once forever.
But to get true grip of your IDevice you have to "Jailbreak" and Avoid you warranty .
On android we can custimize Our Stock rom to what ever we Like Home Launchers apps Widgets.
MAC=iDevice
Windowss/Linux=Android
Now look at which one is better you can also download files on the go on android, install different markets upgrade your memory when ever you like etc.....
People think of android as a Slave its a heavy System to run but it payes of in the end .
You decide if you prefer Fixed Specs or Changeable soecs

As an operating system iOS is better than Android. But iPhones in general are not better than Androids. Why? 3.5" screens, that's why .
iOS is very solid, I am a game tester for EA's mobile division and the kind of punishment it takes puts it in front compared to Androids.
But then again iOS is an anti-democratic ****, that gives you absolutely no freedom, so no matter how well built it is, it's still going to be trash from a smartphone's perspective (until you jailbreak it)

unix linux android
Unix=Linux=Android
Unix= 100% coding base.
Linux= 50% Code 50% graphic
Android= Perfect build Graphical System with Coding Support.
Android going to be No 1 sooooooooooooon... cheers...

You can't compare Android to Windows, Android is at least secure and efficient

AtomicKoala said:
You can't compare Android to Windows, Android is at least secure and efficient
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Explain how windows isn't secure and efficient if you're not computer savvy?

AtomicKoala said:
You can't compare Android to Windows, Android is at least secure and efficient
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Like I said, Linux

So I dont start my anti-ios rant please see my comment here>http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1256874. I get a but sensitive & worked up when I get myself started talking about freedom.lmao.
Sent from the tuffest android ever...xplay...crowd cheers.

If you were a developer at Google.............

Hello everyone,
Just for the sake of fun. If you have been given the opportunity to decide the future of android, What would you do? Which feature do you want to see in android?
May be people @ Google are 'really' watching this thread. Who knows?
Shoot your opinions
PS: I would say, a multi user (logoff and on) feature so that one can change profiles in office and home. (Haven't seen this as native android feature)

Feature wise, I'd push for smoother graphics, put an end to the "iPhone is faster" trolls.

Smoother ...more exclusives to android.. game mostly ...as gamevil seem to stick every thing on iPhone first ..
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One of the things that holds back game developers is having to do extra work to support multiple GPUs (Tegra, OMAP, Adreno, etc). It would be nice if Android had something like DirectX on Windows where the GPU brand doesn't matter, instead the GPU is certified for a DirectX # level and can run all games up to that #.
There have been some good games out there that were Tegra only early on for example and when you see its incompatible with your graphically capable OMAP device its not good. Judging from the reviews left people don't like when this happens.

I really don't understand why android cannot run as smooth as iphone, i think it's really system problem rather than hardware's problem...

crazyricky said:
I really don't understand why android cannot run as smooth as iphone, i think it's really system problem rather than hardware's problem...
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Apple have a few phones they build inhouse, and create software and drivers for it, that they can constantly tune and improve.
Google on the other hand, have to support an unlimited amount of devices and drivers, so they don't get the same time to improve drivers. Not to mention you then get 3rd parties with their own skins and what not.
It's the price we pay for freedom

Is the OUYA game console pointless and/or doomed to fail?

(This was originally posted in a sub-sub-sub forum, but I don't think there was enough traffic to get any responses, so maybe it's better suited for this General section?)
I just wanted to bring up a few thoughts I've had about the upcoming OUYA console, and see what you guys think.
1. I still don't really understand how/why all of this couldn't have been handled by simply creating a GoogleTV-specific OUYA app...?
2. Besides the OUYA's dedicated game-centric market, and their custom controller, what does one really gain that is not already available in the Android ecosystem?
3. How do they plan to prevent their entire custom OS (Or their individual apps) from being ported to other Tegra-based GTV devices in the future? Or, given their outright support for hacking the device, would they even care?
4. And then there's this: Google reportedly making a Game Center for Android
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Google-reportedly-making-a-Game-Center-for-Android_id30026/
If one was to pair the above (hypothetical) "GTV Game Center" app with a Google-branded "Nexus Controller," wouldn't the entire OUYA become pointless? Would you prefer an app/service that is fully integrated with the entire Google ecosystem, rather than a custom version of the OS and functionality that are outside of (or weakly tied to) said ecosystem?
That said, I still plan to buy a OUYA, but only because I'm a sucker for shiny new toys -- especially of the Android variety! :laugh:
What are your thoughts? Am I "over thinking" this console? Do you think it will be made pointless by an evolution of the GTV?
I'm just looking for friendly debate, so please keep it civil...

It's $100, a lot cheaper than most phones capable of gaming. It's hackable, so rather than spending a bomb on a new phone to play the latest games, just add some more cpu/gpu for a lot cheaper. It has a controller, no more crappy touch screen controls, or spending a fortune on a PS3 controller.
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I guess my biggest issue with it is that they're leaving out the GTV capabilities. That just doesn't make any sense to me at all.
If the Vizio Costar switches to a Tegra3, they could simply add an "Ouya Game Center" app, and be done... in that single move, they'd make the entire Ouya console obsolete.

i feel like i'm the only person afraid of kickstarter. but, i think this thing will really only appeal to people that don't want to invest in sony or microsoft's new consoles.

I'm just waiting to see what Sony and Microsoft are going to bring to the table, hopefully we will see an Android LIKE experience with their next gen console's.
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I plan on buying this regardless in addition to the next MS console.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

They openly support hacking the console so any gtv apps/services they don't natively support we can always add in later. As for porting their OS it could be possible and I think they would care but honestly it would be a completely different experience compared to the console. For instance a tablet with the ported OS and bluetooth controller would be similar but possibly just not up to spec causing slow response time or crashing/freezing. it seems cool though and I'm all for it, especially since I saw it a while ago on Hackaday (that's how I heard about it).

Google TV's half-hearted Android port is too restrictive for me.
Lost faith in Sony after PS3 Linux fiasco, and BMG CD Malware Scandal. Microsoft Surface with Windows RT's "Secure Boot" is also too restrictive for me.
Lenovo's LeTV has full Android port and comes with game controller(s).
...So for me, it comes down to $1000 LeTV vs $99 OUYA ...until Google Game Center becomes available on tablets.

dbzfanatic said:
They openly support hacking the console so any gtv apps/services they don't natively support we can always add in later. As for porting their OS it could be possible and I think they would care but honestly it would be a completely different experience compared to the console. For instance a tablet with the ported OS and bluetooth controller would be similar but possibly just not up to spec causing slow response time or crashing/freezing. it seems cool though and I'm all for it, especially since I saw it a while ago on Hackaday (that's how I heard about it).
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The problem with hacking the GTV apps and functionality onto the Ouya is that they're not including the HDMI input that is required for actual GTV functionality. If they just added that one port, I think it would make a lot more sense, and it would have that much more potential...

Well again they support total hacking of the system so my guess is that someone will get it up and working with an HDMI port. Honestly my bet would be less than 2 weeks after release it'll either be posted here or on hackaday or both (here because it's an android console, hackaday because it's a hardware hack) so we'll really just have to wait and see but it's not out of the realm of possibilities.

its a waste of time the ouya, if i want a console id rather use the ps3 or xbox 360, and if i want android gaming, id rather game on the tube or train or bus on the way to work/home/whatever to pass the time with on my gs3 or one x,

it's a nice idea, but it will never compete with the 'big boys', android games just can't compare
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xd8 said:
it's a nice idea, but it will never compete with the 'big boys', android games just can't compare
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yeh they suck compared to the big boys, what a daft idea,
when portable devices can get real computing architecture (not arm, arm sucks) and decent battery life along with support for dx11+ style graphics, anti aliasiing, etc,. then this would be a big deal, right now, its just a waste of space

mox123 said:
yeh they suck compared to the big boys, what a daft idea,
when portable devices can get real computing architecture (not arm, arm sucks) and decent battery life along with support for dx11+ style graphics, anti aliasiing, etc,. then this would be a big deal, right now, its just a waste of space
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I'd like to see what the Ouya would be like with the new intel mobile processors, and yes.......... an HDMI port.
I'm not going to say the current Ouya will be a total bust, the funding says I'm not alone in that thought. I do see this taking over as the kids video game system, all those silly games kids download on their parents phones from the play store...for $100. Pretty decent.
The Xbox 720 and the PS4 will still be the dominant consoles though.......... it would be nice if Ouya's presence made them lower the future pricing; the slim PS3 coming out is rumored at $150.

I have a theory on what Google now plans to do with the Nexus Q: add their own Google Game Center app and release the Q as a Ouya alternative. Hell, they may even include OnLive and/or GoogleTV capabilities (if they add a second HDMI port).
Since it's a Nexus device, it would probably be even more hacker-friendly than the Ouya...
One can dream, right?