This is an interview with Small Device and is little different from other interviews conducted by Banjaxed as Dikshant and Srini make up a tag team to answer the questions. :-)
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us Srini and Dikshant Dave. Can you tell us a bit about Small Device? What is the company background?
Srini
In 2001, Dikshant identified the mobile market potential and cemented Small
Device Technologies to cater global mobile value chain demand. This is Dikshant's
second business venture besides Grey Matter India technologies. (Dikshant
founded Grey Matter India Technologies in 2000 along with five other entrepreneurs)
[Refer www.greymatterindia.com]
The core objective of Small Device formation is to capitalize exponential growth in the mobile market by providing end-user centric solutions to mobile value chain. Small Device (SD) offers consulting and technology services to wireless communities across wide array of wireless devices. Small Device's service mix includes Product Engineering, Mobile IT consulting and Mobile Technology services to global players. Our complete understanding of product development lifecycle has enabled us to develop end-user focused innovative mobile applications on various mobile platforms. We specialize in developing interactive Java games, Symbian productivity applications, Mobile utility tools, Pocket PC applications and solutions.
Our focus is to balance the mobile value chain by providing technology services to both end of mobile value chain i.e., Mobile infrastructure/service providers and end users.
In last two years we achieved many milestones in mobile space. In fact we are the first one to achieve call automation break through on Symbian platform (refer Mobile Assist - http://www.small-device.com/ma.htm). We have been working with top game developers in Europe, Middle East and Asian market.
Can you talk us through the typical stages involved in producing a mobile phone game?
Dikshant
Mobile Game development process is not very different from conventional
console or PC Game development. Typically it involves Conceptualization,
Story Boarding, Character development, Gameplay, Level Design, Digital Prototype
and full running versions. Important difference between Console and Mobile
development is in processor and memory usage. While in Console and PC, one
usually doesn't have very stringent processor or memory constraints, Mobile
devices pose a great challenge in terms of optimal usage of available resources.
How do you see the mobile phone gaming landscape changing in the next few years?
Dikshant
The Mobile gaming industry globally, is currently growing at a compound
rate of around 150% a year. This trend should continue for another 2-3 years
more after which it will stabilize to a lesser rate. For every player in
this value chain, there will be lot of prospective growth opportunities.
The growth will also be determined by the hardware technology in Phone devices.
If the Phones could meet up the computing power offered by the specialized
gaming devices, then that would open up the doors of the core gaming industry,
which is currently slated to be a Trillion dollar industry. Companies like
Nokia have already started doing that, the example of that is the "N-Gage",
latest offering by Nokia. This is a Phone device whose ergonomics and processors
have been optimized for Handheld gaming. While that is a very good initiative,
it is still very far from the actual gaming platform like GameBoy.
Srini
From business perspective I would foresee mobile games contributing notable
share of revenues to mobile operators. Data services are the future and
we all know it. Technology investments by mobile operators, high-end handset
released by equipment vendors, stabilized mobile community portals and support
to mobile developers have created a closely coupled network delivering high
values to end users. Also easy payment options provided by mobile operators
made data services like games more popular and affordable.
My bet is on mobile advertising boom via mobile games. Entertainment industry has already started investing on mobile games as promotional channel. E.g. Movie trailers, ring tones etc. This is just the beginning and future lies in using mobile games as powerful mass communication tool.
Do you design games for a particular handset or are things fairly compatible,
Dikshant
Small Device is one of the leading providers of compelling content for Phone
devices. We provide quality Applications and Games for mobiles phones for
various existing standards/platforms like Symbian, J2ME, BREW, etc. We have
a strong focus on Games and currently have tie-ups with number of leading
mobile Game distributors and developers across Europe and US. Games that
we develop are mainly dependent on the geographic market that we are targeting
for a particular game, since different areas have different makes of devices
as preferred choice. In general most of our games are based on basic J2ME
MIDP1.0, however to get the maximum out of the device, we usually have to
use the native libraries provided by the handsets.
At Small Device we also spend much of our efforts into R&D in various
technological developments like Video Streaming, Online Wireless Multiplayer
Gaming, Bluetooth Applications, etc.
Mobile phone games can be basic, so what do you see being possible in future, say two years from now.
Dikshant
Mobile Hardware technology has been advancing from what we have seen so
far. It can be expected to follow Moore's law and if it takes that trend
we should see some really powerful gadgets capable of handling really high-end
3D graphics and audio. The way the mobile gaming industry has moved so far
one can easily see more demand giving rise to more and better products.
. If the Manufacturers can come out with the devices, which could offer
a very powerful computing platform that can, run a compelling content, then
that would accelerate the acceptance from the end users. Also the Mobile
network infrastructure will have to be made strong enough which can provide
the user with the seamless access to various services and can offer a smooth
Billing and payment system. Content Providers would act as the primary components
in the value chain, since they are ultimately responsible for the quality
of games that a user downloads on his Phone.
If you were to build your dream mobile phone game what would it do?
Dikshant
Well there are many games in different genres; one to name would be
Quake if it were an FPS. I would also like to see Everquest, an MMPOG on
a mobile phone.
What is your advice for the wannabe developers trying to get into mobile phone game development?
Dikshant
It's a great time to be in the market. As it is just growing and undergoing
a great thrust seen from increasing demand for better games and more variety.
However the market as yet is not matured so one might have to adapt some
non-conventional methods, but right now the opportunities at the horizon
seem to be good enough if not plenty. It will surely depend on how the developer
positions himself in the value chain. It is quite imperative for a developer
to build his own niche in the market and have a well-defined line of offerings.
I have seen many of the developers shifting focus based on the transient
hardware platform market. In my view this is a mistake and one needs to
chalk down his business methods and technology focus and expansion limits
carefully.
Dikshant Dave
"Popularly known as 'Dave', he holds a Masters in Technology and
has detailed exposure to techno-marketing. Dikshant founded Small Device
in 2001 and leading as CEO since inception to build Small Device as preferred
mobile brand. Prior to Small Device, Dikshant founded Grey Matter India,
one of the leading Indian software services firm in 2000. Besides his pivotal
role in Small Device, Dikshant also plays active role in GMI board activities
as technology evangelist.
A renowned speaker in Indian & International forums, Dikshant has penned and presented number of papers in global summits.
An avid reader he likes to cover a very broad range of topics from P.G Wodehouse to Management.
Dikshant@small-device.com
Srini
Srini looks after marketing stream at Small Device. His role covers setting
up the marketing processes and systems that incorporate business intelligence,
information systems and strong customer relationship to improve predictability
and performance of the company. This is in addition to creating a consistent
brand identity and message that pervades all aspects of the marketing effort
across regions, market and technologies.
Srini hold a MBA degree from a reputed Indian B-School.
sshrinivas@small-device.com
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Thanks Dikshant and Srini for taking the time to answer a few questions. If you would like to find out a little more about Small Device you can visit their website.