Superscape's Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Paul Beardow knows his stuff when it comes to developing Mobile Java 3D games. Superscape have developed and published 14 mobile 3D games so far with significantly more than this in the pipeline. He explains the importance of getting the game design right and understanding the platform, how Sony Ericsson supports these issues and sums up his 3D development experiences with five top tips.

The Superscape perspective
Superscape has been a technology vendor, game developer and publisher since the mid-1980s, when they released the world's first solid-shaded 3D games. Since then they have been instrumental in the development of the standard for Mobile 3D Graphics (M3G) and now have one of the largest portfolios of 3D games in the market.

"You can refine the details and tweak gameplay, but if the fundamentals are wrong, then the game won't perform as expected and porting will be a nightmare," he says. "This is true in 2D, but even more so in 3D, where asset creation and code algorithms can be very complex and where new handsets with new features are arriving almost every day."

"It's also important to remember that 3D is a rendering technology and can sit alongside other methods of drawing the game," Paul points out, "3D allows a more natural viewpoint for many game genres, but 2D representations, such as sprites, can be substituted where the elements of the scene are less visible, or where you need to have detail but can't raise polygon counts. You can also mix MIDP 2D as well, and draw M3G 3D over the top for scenes with fixed camera viewpoints, such as in fight games."

"Working with Sony Ericsson has shown that they have a real understanding for these kinds of issues. They have great developer support and documentation. We also get early device access, and device families are clearly defined thanks to Sony Ericsson's Java Platform approach which makes game tuning much more straightforward. Finally, and probably most importantly, the Sony Ericsson emulators are really representative of their mobile phones and the on-device debugging is invaluable."

Know your platform
Understanding the target platform is vital to any good 3D game. Developers coming from the console space often start with the most powerful device on the market for the demo to publishers and then struggle to make the game work acceptably on mass-market devices.

"We have pretty strict design guidelines for developers that insist that early proof of concept demos are done on realistic, mass-market handsets. It's a good wake-up call for anyone who hasn't considered Java heap size, or download capabilities of the network or a myriad of other restrictions that 2D developers have been living with for years," continues Paul.

"All the tricks and smart coding techniques that worked well in 2D are still needed for 3D, probably more so because the expectation is so much higher."

Ducati 3D Extreme, Capone Casino 3D and 3D Scuba Solitare for Sony Ericsson mobile phones.

Top five 3D tips
So here are Paul Beardow's top five tips for building a great Mobile Java 3D game.

1. Remember to reward the player
   Game play and fun for the end user are still the priority, no matter how you draw the game. All of the aspects of the game are important, the sounds, the responsiveness of the controls, how it uses the network and most of all does it reward the player for having purchased your game?
2. Start with mass-market phones
   Get the design as right as you can from the start and consider what a mass-market handset can achieve, not the latest and greatest high-end phone. Also, remember that it's a phone and not a console, so don't try to bend a console game to fit, but try to come up with something original that addresses the mobile market.
3. Consider scalability and portability
   Think about scalability and portability from day one. Stick to the obvious things, like not hard-coding screen sizes or key codes, and also consider how to substitute parts of the scene if the frame rate is chugging on a slower handset.
4. Think outside the 2D and 3D box
   Don't be afraid to mix 2D and 3D. It's what the end user sees that counts, not how you achieved it. Also think outside of the box when constructing your 3D scene; accuracy of modelling may not be the right answer if a simple cheat looks just as good.
5. Test and check quality early on
   Don't let the testing and quality slip when you're under pressure. If you do, you'll pay for it in extended porting times and probable failures at carrier testing. Remember, it's cheaper to fix things the earlier you do it!

About Superscape:
Superscape is a world leading publisher of 3D mobile games. The company combines highly creative teams of games developers with in-depth technical knowledge of game creation and a dedicated R&D team specializing in 3D graphics tools and technology.

Superscape Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and has offices in Hook, Hampshire (UK), San Clemente, California (USA), Moscow (Russia) and Tokyo (Japan).

More information:

• Visit Superscape's website>>
• Read more Mobile Java 3D case studies>>