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What kind of mobile game player are you? You've likely devoted plenty of time to games like Pokémon GO and Angry Birds, but have you ever wondered about mobile games from the not-so-distant past? Answer the questions in this quiz and it'll pair you with a retro mobile game from the Retro Mobile Gaming Database, a collection of mobile games from 1975 to 2008 created by the Mobile Games Research Lab at North Carolina State University. And after you do, feel free to take a look at the database to see what other kinds of retro mobile games you might be interested in (http://database.mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/). Be sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter (@mgrl_ncsu for both) and tag us when you share your results! Follow us on Facebook too (Mobile Gaming Research Lab).

A mobile phone from the early 2000's with pictures of cartoon people.

What Retro Mobile Game Are You?

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A game of a PacMan played in the streets of Tokyo. Players are on one of two teams, either the PacMan team or the Ghost team. The PacMan team has two players that serve as PacMan, plus two helpers who are located remotely. The Ghost team has two ghosts, plus two helpers who are also located remotely. The aim of the game for the PacMan players is to eat "cookies" by moving through the physical world (the cookies are visible through an augmented reality device). The Ghost players attempt to "capture" the PacMan players. 
Learn more at http://database.mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/game/Human+Pacman.
Be sure to tag us on Instagram and Twitter (@mgrl_ncsu) when you share your results!

Human Pacman (2003) by Mixed Reality Lab

Botfighters is considered the first location-based mobile game. It was designed as an urban, massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORGP) which "uses GSM Network Cell identification" to find nearby players. The objective of the game was to locate, in the city, other player-robots and to engage in a battle to destroy them by "shooting" them. A successful shot gave depended on the players' distance to one another and the characters' strength. Players gain points by battling, and points allows players to purchase defensive protections, such as armors and shields. The game is "always-on," which means that a player can be attacked at any time and in any place where other players convene. Attack and counter-attacks were carried out by SMS commands initially, but later the game upgraded to a Java-based application.
Learn more at http://database.mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/game/Botfighters. 
Be sure to tag us on Instagram and Twitter (@mgrl_ncsu) when you share your results!

Botfighters (2001)

Big Urban Game (B.U.G.) consisted of a 5-day event occurring across the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul in 2003 (Lantz, 2006); 200 square miles became a gameboard, transforming everyday spaces into a place for play. Three teams raced large, 25-foot-tall red, yellow, and blue inflatable game pieces through the cities orchestrated by public decisions registered on the B.U.G. Web site. The aim of B.U.G. is for teams to visit all the sites in the quickest time. It is up to the players to decide how they will move from site to site and, therefore, achieve the game’s goal.
Learn more at http://database.mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/game/Big+Urban+Game. 
Be sure to tag us on Instagram and Twitter (@mgrl_ncsu) when you share your results!

Big Urban Game (2003) by University of Minnesota's Design Institute

Lifestylers is a community-based mobile game that allows players to create their own character, or "Lifestyler," who will live life according to the player's desire. Each Lifestyler receives a certain classification in society, such as "Casanova" or "Geek." Lifestylers face a wide variety of situations, both exhilarating, like participating in a mystery experiment and mundane, like eating dinner. Players earn points based on how they react to these situations. The objective of the game is for the player to earn points towards becoming the best within their societal classification and, ultimately, to become a celebrity in their city.
Learn more at http://database.mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/game/Lifestylers. 
Be sure to tag us on Instagram and Twitter (@mgrl_ncsu) when you share your results!

Lifestylers (2000) by Picofun

REXplorer is a mobile, pervasive spell-casting game designed for tourists of Regensburg, Germany. The game creates player encounters with spirits (historical figures) that are associated with significant buildings in an urban setting. A novel mobile interaction mechanism of “casting a spell” (making a gesture by waving a mobile phone through the air) allows the player to awaken and communicate with a spirit to continue playing the game. The game is designed to inform visitors about history in a fun manner.
Learn more at http://database.mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/game/REXplorer. 
Be sure to tag us on Instagram and Twitter (@mgrl_ncsu) when you share your results!

REXplorer (2007) by Rafael Ballagas, Steffen P. Walz & Regensburg Experience Museum

Possibly the first mobile game and the first in the Mattel line of handheld mobile games. In this game, the player changes gears to race against red dots that represent cars. This game is often overshadowed by the more successful 'sequel' Mattel Football. The handheld was single player and required batteries.
Learn more at http://database.mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/game/Mattel+Auto+Race. 
Be sure to tag us on Instagram and Twitter (@mgrl_ncsu) when you share your results!

Mattel Auto Race (1976) by Mattel

Hybrid reality game, which requires access to a GPRS network and a cell phone. Alien Revolt tells the story of a group of alien creatures who try to take over the Earth. Players can decide to join the human forces or the alien army, and choose between three classes of characters: Magus, Hacker, or Warrior, each of which has different attributes and abilities. Gameplay involves dueling opponents (who are within the 3km of proximity); however, the closer the opponent, the more likely that "shots fired" will be accurate. The purpose of gameplay is to kill opponents to gain points and to steal their possessions. Alien Revolt is the first location-based mobile game in Brazil.
Learn more at http://database.mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/game/Alien+Revolt. 
Be sure to tag us on Instagram and Twitter (@mgrl_ncsu) when you share your results!

Alien Revolt (2005) by Mind Corporation

Handheld console with a monochrome screen which requires users to care for a virtual pet using 3 buttons for input. Various colors and editions have been released since the initial 1996 version.
Learn more at http://database.mglab.chass.ncsu.edu/game/Tamagotchi. 
Be sure to tag us on Instagram and Twitter (@mgrl_ncsu) when you share your results!

Tamagotchi (1996) by Bandai

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What Retro Mobile Game Are You?

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