Back in the day, you used to only be able to play digital games in special environment or setups. Arcade games in the arcade, home games on consoles, handhelds or dedicated PC setups. In today’s environment of enormously powerful technology and sophisticated computer systems, we are no longer bound by these limitations.
In this age, we can access an enormous amount of games from the very browsers we use to access the internet. These come with a few oddities and issues which commonly crop up for many users, however, so here we will go over a little of what you need to know in order to aid your browser gaming experience.
A common way to play, as just another use for the main computing systems which we have at home or at work. These systems come with the advantage of usually being the most powerful, which translates to a smoother overall gaming experience. These are bulky, however, and in this limit their use.
Another issue which can commonly rear its ugly head in browser gaming related to the bloat of the browsers themselves. While many browsers today are designed to use little memory, many of us use add-ons or extensions which can hinder the overall experience. Because of this, it can be a good idea to have a browser which is dedicated to gaming, and another which is dedicated to general internet duties or work.
An enormous advantage in the way of PC or laptop browser gaming comes in the form of compatibility. Mobile devices might have trouble accessing or running some browser games due to various licensing issues with platforms like Flash. Adobe, for example, stopped officially supporting Android systems in 2012 because of complaints of poor performance and difficulty in quality control for the multitude of different systems. Because of this, desktop browsers will usually have far fewer issues.
This is not always the case, however, as many online websites which deal with browser games are forward-thinking enough to take these issues into account. Online casinos, for example, tend to be well aware that a significant proportion of their customers are playing on mobile devices. Interestingly, these online operators vary in their approach to mobile gaming, with some offering standalone apps, others mobile browser play and some a combination of the two. Still, games such the 32Red roulette casino games, which include Multiplayer Roulette and Live French Roulette Gold tend to work well across devices because they base their systems around this understanding from the outset.
“Firefox Mobile for Android” (CC BY 2.0) by Johan Larsson
Devices we always carry with us, and as such the ones which usually offer the most in terms of accessibility. Mobile devices are fantastic in this regard, but not without their own inhibiting issues. These are twofold- issues of power and control.
In terms of power, these mobile devices are generally less powerful when it comes to performance than laptops and especially desktops, an inevitable result of smaller batteries, wanting a lower overall cost, lighter materials, and smaller size. This can cause an issue when it comes to playing more modern and demands games, sometimes requiring players to stick to older variants. While turning down the commonly-included graphics options can help to alleviate pressure in this regard, this is not always a viable fix.
When it comes to controls, the concern is one of input. With a mouse and keyboard, everything tends to be nice and simple to use. Likewise, a browser game developed especially with mobile devices in mind will tend to control very well on those devices. On the other hand, playing a game made of desktop systems on a mobile and touch-based device can be a frustrating experience.
Take the games over at Kongregate, for example. This is a website which features Flash and HTML5-based browser games from the modern to those upwards of a decade old, covering almost all game genres. Some of these browser-based games are near-impossible to run on the wrong type of system, or at least unpleasant to play because they were not designed to run on all systems. Fortunately, many developers are taking this into account, and multiple versions of the same game for different systems are becoming increasingly common if you keep an eye out.
“wifi” (CC BY-ND 2.0) by The Man in Blue
Also of a concern is data usage. Whereas internet bandwidth on desktop systems and from WiFi is no longer usually a concern, the same cannot be regularly said for mobile data. Mobile data is usually considerably more expensive than land-based broadband, offering around a tenth of the data allowance for the same price, than a grounded counterpart and because of this, its use should always be on your mind as a player. It should be noted that this can also heavily depend on the type of games being offered.
To use previous examples we can look Kongregate again – a great site but one which tends to tailor to desktop gamers and as such the data use is often profound. For that reason, a few of their more prominent games have been published as standalone mobile apps. To again fall back on the casino website examples and how they tend to come with an understanding of mobile limitations, the previously mentioned 32Red example, like many online casinos, understands that a lot of players are from mobile devices. Not all casino operators follow the same strategy though, as for instance Betvoyager requires players to download their software, even when playing on a PC or Mac.
Simpler, “casual” games tend to have much lower data requirements, which better fit with the lower bandwidth which is available for users of mobile data connections. If they required too much data then fewer people could play the game, and they would hit their data caps much faster, which they aim to avoid for the player’s convenience.
With the above information in mind, it becomes possible to better target your experience for your exact device and environment. What is suited for your system, was it developed for your system, and is it within the boundary of your bandwidth? By taking these factors into account you can save not only on time but also on frustration. Take it from somebody who has spent a lot of time playing browser games the wrong way – you don’t want to follow in those footsteps.
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