I have never had an app game before. I think the reason is that I have always perceived them as excessively distracting, and borderline rude to play when anyone else is around. Also, I know how addicting they can be if people get into them, and I don’t particularly want an addiction.

Now that I have finally tried a few as per our class assignment, I think that I can more fairly knock them. Starting with Candy Crush Saga, the game is certainly entertaining enough, but something inside me feels like it’s dying when I play it. I don’t know the best way to describe it, but in a way I feel like this kind of game is a waste of time where most full-fledged video games are not. As our book put it, this game seems to be “process-oriented,” and more like a “toy to be played with,” whereas I would describe a good video game as more substantial than that.

The Simpsons: Tapped Out is probably a step up from Candy Crush in my book as far as game quality goes, but to be honest it doesn’t do a whole lot for me either. I enjoyed it for some of the same reasons that I enjoy simply watching the TV show, but the way in which it guided your every step and only left the physical screen-tapping to the player took something away from the gaming experience. In other words, it didn’t feel particularly interactive. Also, it unnerved me quite a bit when my phone notified me that “Homer has finished breaking into the neighbors’ house to watch TV.”

Regarding the last app game, SolForge, I actually thought this game had some good things going for it. To start, its strategic nature was appealing, because it actually felt like an accomplishment to win a game in a way that the other two games did not. It was actually a card game, with elements of strategy, chance, and “interesting choices” that gave it much more room for individual style. In fact, it felt distinctly like a fusion of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, two strategy franchises that I love.

I guess app games are pretty entertaining, but in general I can’t say I am interested in pursuing them further. I think there is something to be said for having physical consoles that you have to go use if you want to play video games. The idea of having endless gaming at our fingertips strikes me as uncomfortably invasive; not just into the life of the player, but those around them as well.