Problems with location-based games
Location-based games are a relatively new genre in games brought on by the prolific use of GPS in mobile devices. In many ways, this genre is still cutting edge and developers are still finding their way with what works with players. Let's take a look at the main problems with location-based games and what options you may or may not have getting around them:
- GIS mapping services: Likely at the core of your game will be the requirement to display location on a map. The following is a list of options for how you could perform that:
- Use your own GIS servers: While this is an option and there are a few good open source GIS platforms out there, be aware that you will still need to support the servers and GIS platforms are notoriously CPU hungry.
- Use Google Static Maps: This is the option we used in this book with good success. However, be aware that using the Google Maps Static API is subject to limitations. The limitation is 2,500 requests per day per IP address...
