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. We

are now in the 21st century-the astounding world of the future! An era

of flying cars. Tele-transportation. Jet packs. The utopian existence

dismissed as a mere science fantasy conjured up in the minds of

novelists and dreamers has come about! . Well, perhaps not. . One

thing we do have that a few short decades ago was cutting-edge sci-fi

is the mobile phone. Just like the trusty communicator on Star Trek,

a device that fits in the palm of our hand can interact with people

thousands of miles away as we traverse the alien landscape of the

planet we call Earth. Now, I never saw Captain Kirk lose his connection

with the Enterprise when passing under a bridge, but hey, that's the 23rd century. We still have a little way to go. . Originally,

mobile phones were just that-phones. But the relentless pace of

computer technology has transformed the mobile phone into a complicated

computing device. Sure, it is not going to rival the power of your

desktop machine anytime soon, but the latest models coming out from

major manufacturers contain increasing amounts of computing power to

drive their personal digital assistant-like features. In fact, some

phones have merged the functionality of the Palm and PocketPC platforms

to become full-fledged phone-PDA hybrids. . These

newer devices include one major feature that we coders can truly

appreciate: They are programmable. Previously, when you purchased a

mobile phone, you got the features it came with and nothing more. This

usually included a simple phonebook utility, perhaps a clock with an

alarm function, and maybe even a primitive game or two. Newer phones

can actually download small programs that add to the phone's built-in

suite of applications. Among the various types of programs available,

games are proving to be very popular. There are not many available just

yet, but the mobile phone gaming industry is projected to grow rapidly

as we progress into the decade. The key to this potentially massive

industry is the wide audience. . It seems odd that

only a few short years ago a mobile phone was considered a luxury. Now

the technology is cheap enough that it is almost ubiquitous. Everyone

from grade-schoolers to my grandmother has a mobile phone. Millions of

people have adopted the technology and, in many cases, are replacing

their traditional land-line phones with a mobile. . This

makes the audience for games potentially huge. We have already seen the

global public's thirst for mobile data products with such services as

Japan's iMode or SMS messaging in Europe. The ability to download games

and entertainment applets to your phone could become just as common in

the years to come as downloading new ringtones. . Some

major companies are becoming interested in this growing market. There

are many new upstarts in the arena of mobile gaming, but even the old

guard of traditional game software publishers is starting to take

notice. left now, the money generated is insignificant to a corporate

giant such as Electronic Arts. The average revenue generated from a

mobile phone game is tantamount to a rounding error on the bar tab at

their last E3 party. However, once it is proven that a large paying

audience is ready for this content, mobile gaming development will be

in demand. . The great thing about these games

is that by the very nature of the device, the projects are limited in

scope. You are dealing with a miniscule amount of computing power and

very primitive display technology. It is not necessary to harness the

resources of massive teams, hundreds of thousands of dollars of

equipment, and licensed technology to create a mobile phone title. A

resourceful programmer in her basement could create the next big mobile

phone hit. With the limited resolution and color depth of most of these

devices, she could probably do the artwork herself too! Compare this to

the multi-million dollar half decade-long death marches at your average

major game company, and you may see this as a healthy alternative to

mainstream corporate game development. .

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