Video games that can be played by two or more people in the same room, also known as local multiplayer games, are going through a very popular phase. More and more independent developers are creating this sort of games specifically for smartphones and tablets, taking advantage of the new opportunities offered by touch screens – in this talk we're looking at some of the most successful and interesting examples. I gave this talk on July 20 2013 during Republika Fest in Rijeka, Croatia, as part of the A MAZE. Indie Pop-Up event, where I also curated a small exhibition of local multiplayer games for touch screen devices. For the occasion I launched www.localmultiplayer.com – a website with resources about this specific kind of games.

1. Two to four
is the magic
number.
Hello, good evening, thanks for still being here. This is the last talk for tonight and after 3
days of festival some of you might be a bit tired, I’m tired for sure, so I’m gonna try to keep
this short.
My name is Lorenzo and I’ve been living for five years in Berlin, a city with 3 and a half million
inhabitants.

2. 3.500.000
The place where I’m originally from though is a village in the Northern Eastern part of Italy, in
Friuli, not far from here. The number of inhabitants there is not 3 and half million...

3. 350.000
... it’s not 350 thousand

4. 35.000
... it’s not 35 thousand

5. 3.500
... it’s not 3 thousand 500

6. 350
... But it’s 350! Despite being such a small place, like most Italian villages there’s church in
the main square.

7. And most important, like most Italian villages, in front of it there’s...

12. ... A bar! A bar which during the 80s and 90s had a couple of arcade machines. This place
was like a parallel school for me, it’s where I had my first video game education as a small
boy, playing classics such as Bubble Bobble.

13. Thinking about the games I enjoyed the most back then and the newer ones that I enjoy the
most today, I realised that what they have in common is that you can play them with other
people, at the same time, one next to each other. The fun of this sort of games is all about
coordination, team psychology, and the dynamic that plays out there.
So the topic of my talk tonight is going to be “playing games together”.

14. Playing
games
together.
And I’m going to do my best to share this passion with you.

15. Playing
games
together.
On a
smartphone
or tablet.
More specifically, I will talk about playing games together using a smartphone, a tablet or any
other device with a touch screen.

16. Local
multiplayer
games.
Technically, these sort of games are called local multiplayer games and that’s how I’m going
to call them from now on.

17. The reason why I’d like to focus on touch screen devices is that I think this is still a relatively
new and largely unexplored territory for local multiplayer games.
When you think about it, a device with a large screen like the iPad is perfect for playing
games together with other people: you can just put it on the table and have everyone sit
around it, just like you would do with a traditional board game such as chess or Monopoly.
Touch screen controls are generally very intuitive, which is an extremely important aspect
when you want to causally play with other people that might not have the same level of
experience.
And yet, even though the iPad and other tablets have been on the market for more than 3
years now, the number of games of this kind is still incredibly small: I’ve been compiling a list
for some time now and on iOS there are no more than a couple hundred, out of 150 thousand
games.

18. 0,01%
Local multiplayer games
on the App Store (iOS)
in the Games category
That’s only 0,01% of all games on the App Store!
It’s an incredibly small quantity and I wish there were more out there. I’m now going to give
you an overview of some of the more interesting games available at the moment so next time
you’re meeting with your friends and want to have some fun and try something new, you can
maybe play one of these games.
And if you make games or are going to make games in the future, you might get inspired and
create a game of this kind. It’s also probably a good idea from a financial point of view, as
there’s not much competition.
Small note: all of the games I’m going to show are available for iPad and iPhone, some of
them for Android as well.

19. OLO
One of the most popular local multiplayer games for touch screen devices that maybe some
of you have played already is Olo, which was also selected by Apple as one of the best App
Store Games of the Year in 2012.
The game feels a lot like traditional board games, the aim is to get as many of your discs into
your target zone. It’s very simple but there are some techniques that more advanced players
can use, such as bouncing your discs against the others so that they come back on your side
and you can reuse them.

20. READY
STEADY
BANG
Another hit in the genre is Ready Steady Bang, a quick-fire dueling game between two
cowboys. Basically after you tap Start there’s a voice saying “Ready... steady...” and then
there’s some silence which you don’t know exactly how longs is going to be and then
suddenly it goes BANG! and the fastest player to tap the screen and fire the gun wins. It’s as
straightforward as it gets but fun and with a very cute illustration and animation style.

21. READY
STEADY
BANG
It’s interesting to point out that both Olo (the previous game I shown) and Ready Steady Bang
have been made by creative agencies, both based in London, and not by traditional game
developers.

22. TINY WINGS HD
This is a mobile game that I suppose some of you are already familiar with, it’s Tiny Wings,
which also has a 2 player mode when played on a tablet.

23. OMICRON
Also using this split-screen approach is Omicron by Canupa, an indie game design studio
based in Berlin.
You can play this game at our exhibition downstairs on one of the iPads. The game is
available for iPhone too and will be released on Android very soon. You should definitely
check it out.

24. GLITCH TANK
Moving away from the games with the screen split in two, we have games were both players
are sharing the same area, as in traditional board games. And Glitch Tank here is actually
described by his creator Michael Brough as a “digital board game in which two players control
tanks and try to destroy each other by playing randomised action cards”.
It looks a bit complicated and it actually is a bit complicated at the beginning, mostly because
you have to learn the rules on your own, but it’s worth the effort and time spent on it. You
can try this game at our exhibition downstairs as well, and if you like it, make sure you play
some of the other games by the same author, many of which are available for Windows and
Mac for free to download from his website.

25. GREEDY
BANKERS
VS THE WORLD
Greedy Bankers Vs The World looks at first like one of the many puzzle games where you
have to group gems of the same colour, but it features some nice variations, such as the
possibility to cheat and steal gems from your opponent and move them to your side of the
board.

26. TUG THE TABLE
Tug the Table is a game where you have to... tug, to pull the table to your side! Don’t ask me
why! I only know that it’s hilarious.

27. WRESTLE JUMP
Wrestle Jump is another game by the same author which is quite similar and equally absurd

28. FINGLE
Fingle is a cooperative game, which means you’re not competing against the other player, but
you have to collaborate instead to win together.
Two players drag buttons of one color onto their matching targets; their movement makes it
impossible to avoid contact, creating some intimate moments...

29. FINGLE
... I guess this image gives an idea of what I’m talking about ;)
It’s a bit like Twister, the old game from the 60s with the coloured circles that you have to
touch, but you’re using your hands instead of your entire body.

30. BAM FU
The games I shown so far are almost all for 2 players only, but there are some which allow 3
and 4 players as well – this talk is called “Two to four is the magic number” for that reason,
because a lot of local multiplayer games for touch screen are for 2 to 4 players.
By the same authors of the previous game, here’s Bam Fu, which we’re showing downstairs.

31. CENTRIFEUD
Often game which allow up to 4 players are controlled with each player tapping on one corner
of the screen. An example of this approach is Centrifeud.

32. KING OF OPERA
King of Opera is another...

33. RING FLING
Ring Fling...

34. CHICANERY
Chicanery by Anna Anthropy (which Lea also mentioned earlier) is the perfect game if you
want to destroy your tablet – the goal is to be the last player keeping a finger on your side of
the screen, and you are encouraged to use any available means to force the other players to
move away. Which basically means you’re going to push each other and it can get a bit
violent!

35. BADLAND
Here’s Badland – we’re showing this downstairs at the exhibition. Beautiful game, also
excellent when played in single mode.

36. SPACETEAM
Ok, so: all games we’ve seen so far are played on a single tablet or smarthphone, which is
shared between the different players.
Another approach which is less common, also because it’s technically more complicated to
implement for the developers, is to play in the same room with different devices, one for each
player, connected to each other via wi-fi or Bluetooth.
The greatest example of this is Spaceteam, a cooperative party game where you have to
control a space ship together with other people. Each player gets a random control panel with
buttons, switches, sliders, and needs to follow the instructions on the screen. The tricky part
is that the instructions you need to follow are being sent to your teammates, so you have to
shout the command to them and they have to shout them to you and you have to coordinate
because you can’t all shout at the same time!
Because the game involves verbal communication, there are some external factors that can
influence the gameplay, such as the accent of people, as documented by this tweet that my
friend Sjors wrote during a party some months ago...

37. ... it was a very confusing match! Most of the time we couldn’t really understand what
commands the others were shouting!
Spaceteam can be played at the exhibition downstairs, it’s available for iPhone and iPad, it
will be released for Android soon and it’s free to download so you should all try it.

38. localmultiplayer.com
Ok, Spaceteam was the last game I wanted to show you tonight. I hope I made you a bit
curious about playing some of these games, and if you’re making games maybe you will try
doing something similar.
As mentioned earlier I’m compiling a list of local multiplayer games for touch screen devices,
it can be found at this address: www.localmultiplayer.com – this list will regularly be updated
and I’m also planning to add more resources in the future. If you have any tips please send
them over!

39. @LorenzoPilia
I’m @LorenzoPilia on Twitter by the way.

40. Thank you.
Thank you.