Seriously, please don't troll... do you think the Apple Watch has any potential as a gaming platform? The question arose in my head before, but I assumed the answer was no. I personally have no interest in the Apple Watch, just like I had no interest in the iPhone until I learned I could make games for it in 2008-ish. Today, I give it a google search, and come up with some rather recent articles of games for the apple watch:

http://toucharcade.com/2015/04/27/apple-watch-impressions-game-companion-apps/

In our last piece about Apple Watch games, we covered the trailblazer developers that debuted games that were either specially designed for Apple’s latest platform or were updates to existing games that played, well, as if they were made for the device. However, there’s a whole other category of apps for the Apple Watch that the company is classifying as Companion Apps which are designed to supplement iOS games that are just too complicated for the little machine. We’ve taken a look at a few of these upgraded apps and our impressions are below.

Asphalt 8

We start out with Gameloft’s Asphalt 8 [Free], which is an arcade racer that we absolutely loved when it hit the App tore back in 2013. In terms of Apple Watch figures, Asphalt’s companion app is the most basic one out of all the ones that we’re checking out today. There aren’t any new gameplay elements or even special unlocks for using the Apple Watch app. Instead, all you can do with the Asphalt 8 companion app is check to see if there are any current promotions and events within the game.

It’s a pretty passive entry into the Apple Watch store, but Asphalt 8 typically has a lot of events going on at any time. While the jury is out as far as whether or not it’s easier to simply fire up the game, the potential to quickly look at what’s going on in the game and decide whether or not it’s worth launching the app is an interesting idea.

Modern Combat 5: Blackout

Another Gameloft title, Modern Combat 5: Blackout [Free] is the latest entry in the military based first-person shooter. While the game boasts a full single player campaign, the game’s strongest and most lasting appeal centers on its fully featured online multiplayer mode.

Considering how important multiplayer is to Modern Combat, it’s not surprise that its Apple Watch companion app focuses on that portion of the game. Launching the Apple Watch app gives you three different options to check out. Players can view their detailed multiplayer statistics, they can look at all single player and squad-based events that are currently being offered in-game, and they can customize their loadouts. That last feature is probably the coolest as one can not only view each multiplayer loadout that’s on an account, but players can also customize every aspect about it which will then be fed back to the game with any changes ready for you once you launch Modern Combat 5 on your iOS device in the future.

The stats and events are nice, but I think it’s pretty cool that you actually change up your multiplayer loads on the fly. It sounds like a small feature, but considering how resource intensive Modern Combat simply from launching the app on an iOS device, it’s pretty convenient that it can be done in an Apple Watch setting.

Real Racing 3

EA’s Real Racing 3 [Free] easily vaulted to the top of the racing genre when it launched back in 2013 and it continues to be a favorite even today. In terms of Apple Watch support, Real Racing 3launches Team Driver, which is a supplemental mode that lets you pay an entry fee to have a driver participate in a race outside of the game. It essentially translates to paying for a timer to start and the end of the timer (i.e. the finish of the race) rewards currency (more than the entry fee) which can be collected and used in-game. Getting further into the actual game unlocks more races that translate to higher entry fees and higher rewards.

As far as companion apps are concerned, this is the exact sort of thing that I was expecting and I think it works well forReal Racing 3. It’s never a bad idea to open up an avenue to pick up some extra gold with quick check-ins, and the ability to do so from an Apple Watch makes it even cooler. The main complains I have right now deal with stability in the Apple Watch app - it tends to either hang indefinitely or take a long time to load. Hopefully those issues can be fixed but otherwise it’s a good addition to the game.

Family Guy: The Quest for More Stuff

In case you’ve never heard of it, Family Guy: The Quest for More Stuff [Free] is basically Simpsons: Tapped Out [Free] but in the Family Guy universe. There’s a lot of currency to collect (or purchase), buildings to construct, and timers to wait on. It’s also had a decent amount of staying power for a genre that is incredibly saturated.

Family Guy’s Apple Watch companion app works in a few different elements. The superficial elements are the addition of a few short movie that can be seen that show what exactly a few of the characters do when they’re performing actions inside buildings. This is purely a visual element and doesn’t really add anything to the game other than maybe a short laugh the first time they’re seen. The Apple Watch app’s second feature is a simpleMemory game that offers the possibility of earning clams (Family Guy’s premium currency) the more you play.

The Memory game is a bit bland but the possibility of earning clams is alluring. Otherwise, the companion app has some potential and is a nice bonus for folks that are already playing the iOS freemium game.

As you can see, there’s a lot of variety in terms of functionality when it comes to companion apps. Personally, I think the ones that offer some more active input have greater potential than those that serve content passively. Of course, the platform is incredibly young so time will tell as far as what developers have in store in the future. Regardless, we’ll be keeping tabs on new Apple Watch developments as they come in.

Although I'd be interested in building one title for this device, I'm not exactly in a rush to do so. Normally when a new platform comes out, I prefer to get in before market penetration level goes beyond 2% (that's a business rule I was taught years ago), but for now, I'm going to keep an eye on it, and judge for myself whether the endeavour is worth it or not.

So, what do you think of this? I'm sure half of you hate Apple, but that's really not the point of this thread (I personally thought this concept was ridiculous at first myself).

Shogun.

Sure, there's potential there. It's not a great device for most "traditional" sorts of games, of course, but certainly there's some room there for some interesting, experimental endeavors. I think the best of those will take advantage of the unique aspects of the device; the fact that it's probably always with you and in contact with you, while the phone may not be. There's some interesting potential for asymmetry there, although the full extent of that likely won't be realized until the native application SDK is available; WatchKit is pretty limiting at the moment (basically pushing storyboards and some data from your phone app).

But a lot of people enjoy that kind of limitation on either a design or technical level, so...

You cannot currently write a stand alone app or game for the AppleWatch. You can only write your apps as extensions to full iPhone (only iPhone not iPad yet) apps. Yes your watch extension could be a complete separate game but you cannot package it or distribute without shipping a full phone app.

I have already worked on one AppleWatch app that was released on launch day and has been featured by Apple. The process was fairly painless and Apple were very supportive. All very exciting yes.

However now I have the actual hardware (several test devices at work) I can safely say the device is very underwhelming. I am a bit of an Apple fanboy but, this is one device I will not be getting and would not want to be seen in public with.

I was sceptical of the smartwatch game market until I heard some guy at a talk say (sorry, cant recall who it was)

"It is not that games can not be made for the next generation [smart watches], it is that you lack the imagination/inspiration to create a game for it... The next generation of mobile games will be very different to what we have currently"

From the advertisements I have seen, it appears the only purpose of the iWatch is to get you laid

From the advertisements I have seen, it appears the only purpose of the iWatch is to get you laid

Correct.

This is how Apple has operated for over 20 years, and it works well for them.

Since the early 1990s, Apple has pushed for sex appeal.

While beige boxes were seen as masculine and strong, they went with with curves and a traditionally-feminine white.

In the later 90s when companies were moving to black squares with windows and blue/red LED lights, Apple went with the iMac, a cute little console box in bright colors and fruit-sounding names. They pushed hard for sex appeal and status symbol.

Their laptops were redesigned for sexy and status. Sleek lines, a large glowing white LED Apple logo that contrasted with the occasionally tiny square blue or red or green LEDs on most laptops. When someone pulled them out you knew that they paid a lot for it, and that means a lot in the high-octane high-business worlds where large solid-gold watches and tailored suits are noticed and admired, but practical inexpensive watches are off-the-shelf clothing are spurned. It was not about the computer. It was about the status symbol.

PCs were big taking your whole desk, Apple replied with a tiny "Mac Mini", a tiny little box. It was again sold as sexy status. It was marketed as a status symbol, the Big Boss doesn't need a giant computer cluttering the desk. Powerful people have clean, uncluttered desks with tiny, sexy, status-symbol computing boxes.

The iPhone was less capable than the competitors when it entered the market. There were almost no applications, the devices had slower processors, less memory, and less graphics power. But the iPhone was distinctively sexy on the outside and had a big price tag. The iPod success was largely from sex appeal and status symbol.

In their product ads, the product photographers are focused entirely on the sexy. Here's an article by one of their product photographers, with a video showing some of the crazy rigs and the process to build an Apple ad.

On Friday, for almost the entire day, one co-worker had people visiting his desk all day long, over and over, to look at his fancy white wristwatch. In a meeting we asked about what apps were on it, what it was actually good for. So far it was used as a clock, as a calculator, to play Pandora, and to tether with his phone for making phone calls by holding his arm to his face. By far the biggest use was as a sex symbol, a status symbol.

And as a sexy status symbol -- not so much as a practical item -- once again Apple is filling their bank account.

I imagine the watch would serve as an interface, just like a keyboard and a mouse, to a game that's being played in real-life, e.g. laser tag, gokart, earth-caching, or even a game that you play on PC as part of a mini game or a puzzle.

I doubt it could become its own standalone gaming platform like mobile phone due to its really limited screen size and means of input.

I doubt it could become its own standalone gaming platform like mobile phone due to its really limited screen size and means of input.

Disagree.

Creative people can make a game out of just about anything.

Elevators and a display panel? That's enough for Ping Pong. Programmable lights on the side of a building? Project Blinkenlights can use it.

As a device, you've still got a lot of games already available in the mobile space for location-based games. You've got biometric data so that can be built into games, especially exercise-centric games getting your heart rate up to levels appropriate for your aerobic exercises, followed by games to get it a little higher, then back down, then back up, maybe something like the old ski games where you need to get your rate in between the gates to get a better score. There was a challenge not too long ago (not finding it with a super-quick google search, you can try it) for single-press button games where the only available UI was a single button press. Games like Tiny Wings fit that description.

Give a half hour or so and I'm sure I could fill a page with game ideas. Many will be old concepts revisited, but they could be great games on the platform.

From the advertisements I have seen, it appears the only purpose of the iWatch is to get you laid

Correct.

This is how Apple has operated for over 20 years, and it works well for them.

Since the early 1990s, Apple has pushed for sex appeal.

While beige boxes were seen as masculine and strong, they went with with curves and a traditionally-feminine white.

In the later 90s when companies were moving to black squares with windows and blue/red LED lights, Apple went with the iMac, a cute little console box in bright colors and fruit-sounding names. They pushed hard for sex appeal and status symbol.

Their laptops were redesigned for sexy and status. Sleek lines, a large glowing white LED Apple logo that contrasted with the occasionally tiny square blue or red or green LEDs on most laptops. When someone pulled them out you knew that they paid a lot for it, and that means a lot in the high-octane high-business worlds where large solid-gold watches and tailored suits are noticed and admired, but practical inexpensive watches are off-the-shelf clothing are spurned. It was not about the computer. It was about the status symbol.

PCs were big taking your whole desk, Apple replied with a tiny "Mac Mini", a tiny little box. It was again sold as sexy status. It was marketed as a status symbol, the Big Boss doesn't need a giant computer cluttering the desk. Powerful people have clean, uncluttered desks with tiny, sexy, status-symbol computing boxes.

The iPhone was less capable than the competitors when it entered the market. There were almost no applications, the devices had slower processors, less memory, and less graphics power. But the iPhone was distinctively sexy on the outside and had a big price tag. The iPod success was largely from sex appeal and status symbol.

In their product ads, the product photographers are focused entirely on the sexy. Here's an article by one of their product photographers, with a video showing some of the crazy rigs and the process to build an Apple ad.

On Friday, for almost the entire day, one co-worker had people visiting his desk all day long, over and over, to look at his fancy white wristwatch. In a meeting we asked about what apps were on it, what it was actually good for. So far it was used as a clock, as a calculator, to play Pandora, and to tether with his phone for making phone calls by holding his arm to his face. By far the biggest use was as a sex symbol, a status symbol.

And as a sexy status symbol -- not so much as a practical item -- once again Apple is filling their bank account.

I still don't understand what makes hardware such as phones, laptops and cars sexually attractive.

I haven't had a chance to see an iWatch yet, but I really struggle to see how people can use them effectively. I have difficulty using phones with 3" - 4" screens, so really can't envisage trying to tap buttons on a ~40mm surface.