Industrial Toys, an independent studio hoping to create mobile games that will appeal to core gamers, has announced its first title and provided a teaser trailer. Morning Star is “a reimagining of the sci-fi shooter for touch”, and it definitely looks like a traditional FPS. You play a guy called Charlie Campbell, who is an exocommunications specialist left with the task of saving humanity from a vicious alien threat. So far so standard.
But obviously the problem with mobile shooters lies in the controls, and the teaser offers no clues as to how they'll work, though the developers have stated that they're focusing specifically on getting it right, “banging away on R&D with nailing down a satisfying control scheme”. Though the team seems cautious, saying their goal to “completely change the expectations core gamers have for their mobile games” is “totally unreasonable”, if this does work they'll be laughing. After all, developing a control scheme that feels natural and unrestrictive is one of the biggest obstacles keeping mobile games from completely taking over from more traditional consoles, and the gap will be significantly narrowed if the team succeeds.
Do you think they can do it? Or will a touch screen never hold up to buttons and triggers?
