Hello

Our team is now stuck on the debate about our endless runner. Half of the team thinks the game should be in portrait because it is now the most popular and most user experience friendly when you can control your application with just one hand. Other half thinks that landscape will be better because most of the 2d runners are made in it and you will have less issues with UI also user will have more time for reaction.

Can you give us any piece of advice?

3 minutes ago, Tarapaty said:

Can you give us any piece of advice?

Runners should be landscape. Players need reaction time.

If it makes sense for the character to be running upwards, then do portrait. ex: a rocket ship makes sense to be moving upwards.

But what about Super Mario Run or Flappy Bird they both managed to create good experience in portrait mode

Yea I know that Super Mario Run get predefined levels but with it's dynamic it would also work as randomly generated

1 hour ago, Tarapaty said:

But what about Super Mario Run or Flappy Bird they both managed to create good experience in portrait mode

Great argument against landscape. Either go with portrait because those two games created a "good experience," or flip a coin.

I'm not agreeing that Flappy Bird gives a "good experience." Before the game was made non-functional by numerous iOS upgrades, I tried it and I wasn't enamored of it. The short reaction time inherent in portrait was surely part of the intention of the designer. If you want to challenge your players, go with portrait. If you want to give your players an "easy to learn, difficult to master" experience, you should go with landscape. 

Since your team is split 50-50 on which is better, make it a user-selectable option. Create it in both landscape and portrait, and let the player choose which s/he prefers.  Or flip a coin. Or split your team in half and play a sport or a game to find out which side wins (both the game and the orientation). 

On 2/27/2018 at 11:43 AM, Tarapaty said:

portrait because it is now the most popular and most user experience friendly

Do you have data to back that up? My own (anecdotal) impression is that almost all mobile runners are in landscape.

On 2/27/2018 at 11:43 AM, Tarapaty said:

you can control your application with just one hand

I don't get why this is specific to portrait mode? I play a number of endless runners one-handed in landscape mode. I was playing Alto's Odyssey that way this morning on the bus.