So now the iPhone and iPod Touch are a sort-of new handheld console on the market, I figure it'd be a good idea to create a thread giving the lowdown on gaming on the device and games currently announced for it, leading up to June so we all know what'll be in store for us when it hits. I'll update the list as new shit becomes known and is announced.
Intro: iPhone as a handheld console
On March 6th, Apple announced that they would be releasing to developers the same APIs and Tools that they use to create iPhone apps.
Based on existing Mac OS X technologies, the SDK provides a robust package of tools for developers to use to develop iPhone native applications. The SDK is broken down into the following sets:
Cocoa Touch - Multi-touch events, Multi-touch controls, Acceleromter, View Hierarchy, Localization, Alerts, Web View, People Picker, Image Picker, Camera
Media - Core Audio, OpenAL, Audio Mixing, Audio Recording, Video Playback, JPG, PNG, TIFF, PDS Quartz, Core Animation, Embedded OpenGL
Core Services - Collections, Address Book, Networking, File access, SQLite, Core Location, Net Services Threading, Preferences, URL utilities
Core OS - OS X Kernel, BSD TCP/IP, Sockets, Power Management, Keychain, Certificates, File System, Lib System, Security, Bonjour
A software iPhone emulator for Mac OS X is provided to help with development.
Apple wrote a couple of quick demo apps, and also invited software developers to try to see what they could come up with in 2 weeks, these included developers from EA and SEGA.
The iPhone SDK requires an Intel Mac running Mac OS X 10.5.2 or later.
Apple's license agreement when installing the software, understandably contains specific restrictions on what kind of applications you can create. Most are expected:
- No unlocking or the ability to distribute applications in a method other than the iTunes Stores
- No obscene, pornographic content, or other materials that may be found objectionable
- Must not excessively use bandwidth or burden network capacity
- Specifically with regard to the carrier's network, you are not allowed to develop Voice over Internet (VOIP) functionality -- though Apple has specifically said that VOIP over Wifi will be allowed.
You can watch a live stream of the event here. There's a load of techy shit in there for any amateur devs on GAF that might be interested in writing for the iPhone - it looks like a good intro for you guys.
John Carmack of id Software posted some of his thoughts on the new iTunes App Store and Apple's distribution model:
Just based on the blurbs, it looks very good -- a simulator plus debugging on the native device is the best of both worlds, and a 70% royalty deal for apps over iTunes is quite good.
The iTunes distribution channel is really a more important aspect than a lot of people understand. The ability to distribute larger applications than the over-the-air limits and effectively market your title with more than a dozen character deck name, combined with the reasonable income split make this look like a very interesting market. This type of developer / customer interaction is probably the wave of the future for mobile devices, it will be interesting to see how quickly the other players can react. Based on our experiences with the carriers, I am betting not very quickly.
Carmack is a well known programmer who cofounded id Software and was the lead programmer of the popular Doom and Quake software titles.
As expected, Apple is exerting editorial control on applications that appear on the iTunes App Store. Explicit restrictions are quite reasonable with limitations on illegal, abusive and offensive applications. Some are concerned, however, that Apple may have other restrictions that are not as clear-cut. Still, that hasn't prevented some from predicting that this marks the beginning of an enormous opportunity for Apple with the belief that "what Microsoft and Windows was to the desktop, Apple and Touch will be to mobile."
As people delve into the details of Apple's iPhone SDK, a few interesting issues are emerging. One developer guideline that is generating some concern is from Apple's Human Interface Guidelines for iPhone:
Only one iPhone application can run at a time, and third-party applications never run in the background. This means that when users switch to another application, answer the phone, or check their email, the application they were using quits. Its important to make sure that users do not experience any negative effects because of this reality. In other words, users should not feel that leaving your iPhone application and returning to it later is any more difficult than switching among applications on a computer.
To be fair, for most applications, this would be preferred behavior. There is no reason for Super Monkey Ball (for example) to continue running in the background, using up CPU cycles and Memory. Instead, as Apple suggests, the current state should be saved and returned when the application is relaunched.
Specs
ARM1176JZF chip with TrustZone (enables trusted computing environment for media, apps, network, OS, etc. -- very bad for hackers)
Can vary in clock speed up to 700MHz or more, depending on implementation (thanks, Nigma)
ARM Intelligent Energy Manager (claimed to reduce power consumption 25-50% in portables)
16K / 16K cache
Features vector floating point coprocessor ("for embedded 3D-graphics")
ARM Jazelle enabled for embedded Java execution (hmm...)
SIMD, high perf integer CPU (8-stage pipeline, 675 Dhrystone, 2.1 MIPS)
0.45 mW/MHz power draw (with cache)
Ars thinks the actual memory bank size of the iPhone is 128MB of RAM and that 11MB of that total is most likely provided for integrated graphics
Screen size: 8.9 cm (3.5 in)
Screen resolution: 320×480 pixels at 163 ppi
Input method: Multi-touch screen interface plus a "Home" button
Operating System: Mac OS X
Storage: 8 or 16 GB flash memory (4 GB model discontinued)
Quad band GSM (GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900)
Wi-Fi (802.11g), EDGE and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
2 megapixel camera
Built-in rechargeable, non-removable battery with up to 8 hours of talk, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback, and up to 24 hours of audio playback, lasting over 250 hours on standby.
The Games
Spore - Electronic Arts:
YouTube vid of announcement + gameplay
Electronic Arts' (EA) demonstration of Spore running on the iPhone during Apple's introduction of the new iPhone SDK was more than just a technology demonstration. The company has confirmed plans to release Spore for the iPhone, along with other games.
During his presentation, Apple VP Scott Forstall introduced Travis Boatman, EAs executive producer of mobile studios. Boatman showed a development version of Spore running on the iPhone which he said they'd created in about two weeks using Apple's development tools.
Spore is the new game in development from SimCity and The Sims creator Will Wright. The game is expected to be released in September and is also coming to the Mac and Windows. EA has also confirmed that other iPhone games are in development.
An EA spokesman has confirmed with Macworld that the company does indeed have commercial plans for Spore, and said that EA has other games in early stages of development -- the company declined to specify what games those are, however.
"We are actively using the new iPhone SDK to develop games for the iPhone OS," said the spokesman.
Spore for the iPhone will be released for the iPhone in September, at the same time as it will be ready for the Mac and Windows. EA confirmed plans to release Spore for the Mac at Macworld Expo in San Francisco, Calif. this past January -- the company is using TransGaming's Cider technology, as it did with its six Mac game releases in 2007.
"The iPhone's touchscreen and tilt sensitivity is perfectly suited for SPORE," said EA.
Super Monkey Ball - SEGA:
YouTube vid of announcement + gameplay
Sega Mobile joined a cadre of iPhone developers yesterday, hinting at a number of games in development for the device. The first of these project is Super Monkey Ball, an extension of the long-running series exclusive to Apple's iPhone.
We chatted via phone with senior producer Ethan Einhorn, following his presentation yesterday about the game, as well as iPhone development in general.
"It's pretty amazing what we were able to come up with in only two weeks of development," began Einhorn. Development kits for the iPhone have only been made available since the middle of February, at which point Sega Mobile instigated work on Super Monkey Ball.
Two weeks isn't much time to pull together a demo but Einhorn insisted, "there's a surprising lack of challenges in developing for iPhone it's a powerful device."
Rather than approaching iPhone development from a mobile or handheld standpoint, Einhorn contended the philosophy behind Super Monkey Ball is more in line with a console game. "For the first time," he confessed, "we're able to create an authentic console experience in your pocket." Slides from the presentation show remarkably vivid graphics that back his claim of "console-like visual quality".
Beyond taking advantage of the iPhone's graphics processor, the game promises to give the accelerometer a good workout. Einhorn confirmed the game will be controlled exclusively by means of tilting the device, which is hardly surprising. "Super Monkey Ball is a perfect fit for the device," he reasoned of the game dynamic that invoves guiding your monkey-in-a-ball pal to the end of each treacherous stage. "It's cool to play, to be tilting the whole world in your hands."
When questioned about potential visibility problems related to moving the screen, Einhorn assured us "it hasn't been a problem."
Despite the game's loving embrace of the accelerometer, it won't be utilizing the touchscreen, though. "We want to create as robust an experience as possible and that means capitalizing on the accelerometer."
As for gameplay modes and features, Einhorn wouldn't divulge any specific details. The same applied to the question of connectivity to which he replied that it was something Sega Mobile was exploring, but would discuss at a later date.
No release date has been set for Super Monkey Ball.
Touch Fighter - Apple:
YouTube vid of announcement + gameplay
Touch Fighter is a 3D space shooter using OpenGL technology. You use the iPhone's accelerometer to steer (via moving the device around) and touch the screen to fire. Engadget also noted that an optimization screen showed it was running at an impressive 27 to 30 frames per second. Gameplay and graphics appear to be in early stages but is apparently going to materialise as a final product.
Flick Sports - Freeverse:
(prototypes)
Freeverse Software has already posted a page on its Web site showing off its idea for games on the iPhone.
These are more than just mock-ups -- the company says it already has code up and running (though it declined to say just how it's made that happen, since Apple's Software Development Kit, or SDK, was only published on Thursday).
Freeverse's first idea is for a line of "Flick Sports" products for the iPhone and iPod touch -- 3D games that utilize the device's unique input controls for immersive gameplay. Freeverse said it's working on golf, bowling, soccer and baseball games to start.
Using the iPhones unique flick/pinch feature, theyre working on Golf, Bowling, Soccer, and Baseball (to start). Fun, colorful and quick, these will be ideal games for a modern mobile platform.
Flick Sports: Moto Racing - Freeverse:
(prototype)
Moto Racing is also in the works. It uses the iPhone's accelerometer to let you steer a motorcycle down a race course.
"Ah, the wind in your hair, the bugs in your teeth and the open road stretching out in front of you! Using the iPhones cool accelerometer, (you know, that doohickey that knows when your iPhone is sideways or not), you can steer your motorcycle to victory in this wild racing game. Awesome characters and a touch of humor, its a Freeverse game after all, will add to the fun." ~ Freeverse
CrazyKart 2 - Int13:
Int13, a french mobile game developer, let us know that they had successfully started porting their Crazy Kart 2 game over to the iPhone.
Gameplay video here.
- 320 * 320 pixels playing area
- Touch controls with a virtual steering wheel
- 3 vehicle classes (karts, motorbikes, hovercrafts)
- 6 characters with different vehicles
- Downloadable content (new vehicles, new tracks)
- Wifi online multiplayer with match making and up to four simultaneous players
This game was originally created for Windows Mobile and Symbian Smartphone. They wrote:
Thanks to it's simplified controls and flexible camera system it was not too hard to adapt it's interface for the iPhone touch screen, but we're still evaluating alternatives (like tilt control and landscape display)
The game is perfectly smooth on the iPhone : constant 60 FPS with a pure software engine, we already plan to work on a sequel with a full 3D accelerated engine to exploit the full potential of the device.
A release date has not been set, but targeted for a July release based on the Youtube comments.
Unannounced Worms Game - Team 17:
Worms developer Team 17 is rather keen too. Studio director Martyn Brown described Apple's decision to open up iPhone development as "a fantastic and positive move", adding. "It is a potentially tremendous device for casual games."
Can you guess what Team 17's plans for the iPhone might be? "We'll certainly be looking at ways we can bring something like our own Worms titles to the device," Brown revealed.
Unannounced Freeverse Game - Freeverse:
No word on what this game consists of yet. Freeverse simply say "everyone at Freeverse is in love with their iPhones, and weve got some terrific ideas for new games and applications. Some ideas were keeping under wraps for a while, but a few we really just couldnt wait to share."
Unannounced Rhytmn Game + 14 others - GameLoft:
Gameloft on Friday said it would publish a full 15 titles for the devices by the end of the year.
The French company is considered one of the click wheel iPod's premier game developers and recently hinted at iPhone development through a mockup video just weeks before Apple's iPhone SDK presentation.
Whether or not the above presentation shows part of an actual project in progress in unknown, but it may well be, and given the "Pop" in its title and the GUI, it looks like it could be a rhythm game.
Unannounced THQ game/s - THQ:
Following yesterdays news from the iPhone press conference, in which Apple demonstrated a strong support for mobile gaming (or console gaming, as they would rather we referred to it), major mobile gaming publisher THQ wireless adds its support to the burgeoning platform.
THQ Wireless Vice President, Scott Zerby told TechRadar today: The iPhone is a great gaming platform, and as with all platforms the games that will do best are the games that make use of the features unique to it. At THQ Wireless, we are in the process of determining which our game brands will best fit the iPhone platform.
Discussing the three-way accelerometer motion-control, Zerby also noted that, some of the iPhone's features for games are similar to the Wii, in that it can make games more intuitive and therefore bring more traditional non-games to the market.
Zerby continued, I see the iPhone as a natural fit for our line-up of casual and family approachable games. For example, I think a version of deBlob that uses the tilt sensor in the phone would make the game a whole new experience.
I'm also thinking about our Pass-the-Pigs games where you roll the pigs by shaking the phone like you do real dice Zerby told us tantalisingly adding that THQ has a couple of new game concepts we invented just for the iPhone but he would give us no more details on those at this point in time.
Rest assured, we will be the first to bring you all the news on new iPhone games as soon as we get it.
Unannounced EA Games - Electronic Arts:
EA has other games in early stages of development -- the company declined to specify what games those are, however.
"We are actively using the new iPhone SDK to develop games for the iPhone OS," said the spokesman.
Future Pangea Games? - Pangea:
With giants like EA and Sega already staking claims to the iPhone ecosystem, Adams expects that the iPhone game market will quickly fill with titles. She anticipates it'll be a combination of original game development and ports or adaptations of existing intellectual property.
That sentiment was echoed by Brian Greenstone, president of Pangea Software. Pangea's best known for Mac games like Nanosaur and Bugdom.
"Everyone who I talk with wants to write iPhone applications right now," said Greenstone. "The market is going to be flooded with stuff."
The iPhone SDK introduction has revitalized Greenstone's interest in developing for Apple platforms. He said he'd put new Mac game development on the back burner for the past couple of years, partly because of what he perceived to be a lack of interest or support from Apple itself for original game developers.
"This is the best thing I've seen Apple do in recent history," said Greenstone. "I'm elated that they're actually doing it right."
Greenstone anticipates that developing for the iPhone should be a pretty smooth transition for developers already experienced with creating products for Mac OS X, which will give him and other Mac game developers a leg up on the competition.
"The SDK has most of the basic functionality that programming in Mac OS X does," he said.
Classics: Pac-Man, Galaga, Bejeweled, Zuma, Peggle - Unannounced developer/s
Apple confirmed the above games were in development whilst announcing the iPhone SDK had been downloaded 100,000 times within 4 days of it's launch.
What to expect from iPhone gaming
What to expect
Morrison, Adams and Greenstone all expect that at least initially, the market will be flooded with games, and many of these will probably be "me-too" copycats of each other, or retreads of tried-and-true genres that now work on iPhones. Still, everyone expects there to be a lot of innovation, too.
The iPhone's three-axis accelerometer and touch screen is earning the most comparisons to Nintendo's Wii and its remote. To that end, Adams suggests that game publishers -- and consumers -- may want to take note of what's happened in that market.
"There are a lot of fun, innovative games for the Wii," she said. "But if you go into a retail store and look at their Wii section, there's a lot of 'shovelware,' too."
"Shovelware" describes software that's just pushed into distribution with little thought as to its utility or quality. In this respect, Adams is referring to mediocre-quality ports of game titles that have made their way to the Wii.
"Some companies are probably going to license existing brands just to help get above the fray," said Adams.
Morrison, whose company produces original titles and has dabbled with porting, said that his mind isn't made up -- though it's perhaps worth noting that Freeverse's iPhone page shows original games, not ports.
"If you had asked me up until [Thursday], I only wanted original stuff," said Morrison. "But once the news dropped, that changed. This system appears to have a lot more power even than we thought."
EA's CEO, John Riccitiello, feels similarly. "The animation technology in the iPhone OS enables us to build awesome games," said Riccitiello in a prepared statement. "I think iPhone consumers are going to be blown away by the games we create for this platform."
Intro: iPhone as a handheld console
On March 6th, Apple announced that they would be releasing to developers the same APIs and Tools that they use to create iPhone apps.
Based on existing Mac OS X technologies, the SDK provides a robust package of tools for developers to use to develop iPhone native applications. The SDK is broken down into the following sets:
Cocoa Touch - Multi-touch events, Multi-touch controls, Acceleromter, View Hierarchy, Localization, Alerts, Web View, People Picker, Image Picker, Camera
Media - Core Audio, OpenAL, Audio Mixing, Audio Recording, Video Playback, JPG, PNG, TIFF, PDS Quartz, Core Animation, Embedded OpenGL
Core Services - Collections, Address Book, Networking, File access, SQLite, Core Location, Net Services Threading, Preferences, URL utilities
Core OS - OS X Kernel, BSD TCP/IP, Sockets, Power Management, Keychain, Certificates, File System, Lib System, Security, Bonjour
A software iPhone emulator for Mac OS X is provided to help with development.
Apple wrote a couple of quick demo apps, and also invited software developers to try to see what they could come up with in 2 weeks, these included developers from EA and SEGA.
The iPhone SDK requires an Intel Mac running Mac OS X 10.5.2 or later.
Apple's license agreement when installing the software, understandably contains specific restrictions on what kind of applications you can create. Most are expected:
- No unlocking or the ability to distribute applications in a method other than the iTunes Stores
- No obscene, pornographic content, or other materials that may be found objectionable
- Must not excessively use bandwidth or burden network capacity
- Specifically with regard to the carrier's network, you are not allowed to develop Voice over Internet (VOIP) functionality -- though Apple has specifically said that VOIP over Wifi will be allowed.
You can watch a live stream of the event here. There's a load of techy shit in there for any amateur devs on GAF that might be interested in writing for the iPhone - it looks like a good intro for you guys.
John Carmack of id Software posted some of his thoughts on the new iTunes App Store and Apple's distribution model:
Just based on the blurbs, it looks very good -- a simulator plus debugging on the native device is the best of both worlds, and a 70% royalty deal for apps over iTunes is quite good.
The iTunes distribution channel is really a more important aspect than a lot of people understand. The ability to distribute larger applications than the over-the-air limits and effectively market your title with more than a dozen character deck name, combined with the reasonable income split make this look like a very interesting market. This type of developer / customer interaction is probably the wave of the future for mobile devices, it will be interesting to see how quickly the other players can react. Based on our experiences with the carriers, I am betting not very quickly.
Carmack is a well known programmer who cofounded id Software and was the lead programmer of the popular Doom and Quake software titles.
As expected, Apple is exerting editorial control on applications that appear on the iTunes App Store. Explicit restrictions are quite reasonable with limitations on illegal, abusive and offensive applications. Some are concerned, however, that Apple may have other restrictions that are not as clear-cut. Still, that hasn't prevented some from predicting that this marks the beginning of an enormous opportunity for Apple with the belief that "what Microsoft and Windows was to the desktop, Apple and Touch will be to mobile."
As people delve into the details of Apple's iPhone SDK, a few interesting issues are emerging. One developer guideline that is generating some concern is from Apple's Human Interface Guidelines for iPhone:
Only one iPhone application can run at a time, and third-party applications never run in the background. This means that when users switch to another application, answer the phone, or check their email, the application they were using quits. Its important to make sure that users do not experience any negative effects because of this reality. In other words, users should not feel that leaving your iPhone application and returning to it later is any more difficult than switching among applications on a computer.
To be fair, for most applications, this would be preferred behavior. There is no reason for Super Monkey Ball (for example) to continue running in the background, using up CPU cycles and Memory. Instead, as Apple suggests, the current state should be saved and returned when the application is relaunched.
Specs
ARM1176JZF chip with TrustZone (enables trusted computing environment for media, apps, network, OS, etc. -- very bad for hackers)
Can vary in clock speed up to 700MHz or more, depending on implementation (thanks, Nigma)
ARM Intelligent Energy Manager (claimed to reduce power consumption 25-50% in portables)
16K / 16K cache
Features vector floating point coprocessor ("for embedded 3D-graphics")
ARM Jazelle enabled for embedded Java execution (hmm...)
SIMD, high perf integer CPU (8-stage pipeline, 675 Dhrystone, 2.1 MIPS)
0.45 mW/MHz power draw (with cache)
Ars thinks the actual memory bank size of the iPhone is 128MB of RAM and that 11MB of that total is most likely provided for integrated graphics
Screen size: 8.9 cm (3.5 in)
Screen resolution: 320×480 pixels at 163 ppi
Input method: Multi-touch screen interface plus a "Home" button
Operating System: Mac OS X
Storage: 8 or 16 GB flash memory (4 GB model discontinued)
Quad band GSM (GSM 850, GSM 900, GSM 1800, GSM 1900)
Wi-Fi (802.11g), EDGE and Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
2 megapixel camera
Built-in rechargeable, non-removable battery with up to 8 hours of talk, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback, and up to 24 hours of audio playback, lasting over 250 hours on standby.
The Games
Spore - Electronic Arts:
YouTube vid of announcement + gameplay
Electronic Arts' (EA) demonstration of Spore running on the iPhone during Apple's introduction of the new iPhone SDK was more than just a technology demonstration. The company has confirmed plans to release Spore for the iPhone, along with other games.
During his presentation, Apple VP Scott Forstall introduced Travis Boatman, EAs executive producer of mobile studios. Boatman showed a development version of Spore running on the iPhone which he said they'd created in about two weeks using Apple's development tools.
Spore is the new game in development from SimCity and The Sims creator Will Wright. The game is expected to be released in September and is also coming to the Mac and Windows. EA has also confirmed that other iPhone games are in development.
An EA spokesman has confirmed with Macworld that the company does indeed have commercial plans for Spore, and said that EA has other games in early stages of development -- the company declined to specify what games those are, however.
"We are actively using the new iPhone SDK to develop games for the iPhone OS," said the spokesman.
Spore for the iPhone will be released for the iPhone in September, at the same time as it will be ready for the Mac and Windows. EA confirmed plans to release Spore for the Mac at Macworld Expo in San Francisco, Calif. this past January -- the company is using TransGaming's Cider technology, as it did with its six Mac game releases in 2007.
"The iPhone's touchscreen and tilt sensitivity is perfectly suited for SPORE," said EA.
Super Monkey Ball - SEGA:
YouTube vid of announcement + gameplay
Sega Mobile joined a cadre of iPhone developers yesterday, hinting at a number of games in development for the device. The first of these project is Super Monkey Ball, an extension of the long-running series exclusive to Apple's iPhone.
We chatted via phone with senior producer Ethan Einhorn, following his presentation yesterday about the game, as well as iPhone development in general.
"It's pretty amazing what we were able to come up with in only two weeks of development," began Einhorn. Development kits for the iPhone have only been made available since the middle of February, at which point Sega Mobile instigated work on Super Monkey Ball.
Two weeks isn't much time to pull together a demo but Einhorn insisted, "there's a surprising lack of challenges in developing for iPhone it's a powerful device."
Rather than approaching iPhone development from a mobile or handheld standpoint, Einhorn contended the philosophy behind Super Monkey Ball is more in line with a console game. "For the first time," he confessed, "we're able to create an authentic console experience in your pocket." Slides from the presentation show remarkably vivid graphics that back his claim of "console-like visual quality".
Beyond taking advantage of the iPhone's graphics processor, the game promises to give the accelerometer a good workout. Einhorn confirmed the game will be controlled exclusively by means of tilting the device, which is hardly surprising. "Super Monkey Ball is a perfect fit for the device," he reasoned of the game dynamic that invoves guiding your monkey-in-a-ball pal to the end of each treacherous stage. "It's cool to play, to be tilting the whole world in your hands."
When questioned about potential visibility problems related to moving the screen, Einhorn assured us "it hasn't been a problem."
Despite the game's loving embrace of the accelerometer, it won't be utilizing the touchscreen, though. "We want to create as robust an experience as possible and that means capitalizing on the accelerometer."
As for gameplay modes and features, Einhorn wouldn't divulge any specific details. The same applied to the question of connectivity to which he replied that it was something Sega Mobile was exploring, but would discuss at a later date.
No release date has been set for Super Monkey Ball.
Touch Fighter - Apple:
YouTube vid of announcement + gameplay
Touch Fighter is a 3D space shooter using OpenGL technology. You use the iPhone's accelerometer to steer (via moving the device around) and touch the screen to fire. Engadget also noted that an optimization screen showed it was running at an impressive 27 to 30 frames per second. Gameplay and graphics appear to be in early stages but is apparently going to materialise as a final product.
Flick Sports - Freeverse:
Freeverse Software has already posted a page on its Web site showing off its idea for games on the iPhone.
These are more than just mock-ups -- the company says it already has code up and running (though it declined to say just how it's made that happen, since Apple's Software Development Kit, or SDK, was only published on Thursday).
Freeverse's first idea is for a line of "Flick Sports" products for the iPhone and iPod touch -- 3D games that utilize the device's unique input controls for immersive gameplay. Freeverse said it's working on golf, bowling, soccer and baseball games to start.
Using the iPhones unique flick/pinch feature, theyre working on Golf, Bowling, Soccer, and Baseball (to start). Fun, colorful and quick, these will be ideal games for a modern mobile platform.
Flick Sports: Moto Racing - Freeverse:
(prototype)
Moto Racing is also in the works. It uses the iPhone's accelerometer to let you steer a motorcycle down a race course.
"Ah, the wind in your hair, the bugs in your teeth and the open road stretching out in front of you! Using the iPhones cool accelerometer, (you know, that doohickey that knows when your iPhone is sideways or not), you can steer your motorcycle to victory in this wild racing game. Awesome characters and a touch of humor, its a Freeverse game after all, will add to the fun." ~ Freeverse
CrazyKart 2 - Int13:
Int13, a french mobile game developer, let us know that they had successfully started porting their Crazy Kart 2 game over to the iPhone.
Gameplay video here.
- 320 * 320 pixels playing area
- Touch controls with a virtual steering wheel
- 3 vehicle classes (karts, motorbikes, hovercrafts)
- 6 characters with different vehicles
- Downloadable content (new vehicles, new tracks)
- Wifi online multiplayer with match making and up to four simultaneous players
This game was originally created for Windows Mobile and Symbian Smartphone. They wrote:
Thanks to it's simplified controls and flexible camera system it was not too hard to adapt it's interface for the iPhone touch screen, but we're still evaluating alternatives (like tilt control and landscape display)
The game is perfectly smooth on the iPhone : constant 60 FPS with a pure software engine, we already plan to work on a sequel with a full 3D accelerated engine to exploit the full potential of the device.
A release date has not been set, but targeted for a July release based on the Youtube comments.
Unannounced Worms Game - Team 17:
Worms developer Team 17 is rather keen too. Studio director Martyn Brown described Apple's decision to open up iPhone development as "a fantastic and positive move", adding. "It is a potentially tremendous device for casual games."
Can you guess what Team 17's plans for the iPhone might be? "We'll certainly be looking at ways we can bring something like our own Worms titles to the device," Brown revealed.
Unannounced Freeverse Game - Freeverse:
No word on what this game consists of yet. Freeverse simply say "everyone at Freeverse is in love with their iPhones, and weve got some terrific ideas for new games and applications. Some ideas were keeping under wraps for a while, but a few we really just couldnt wait to share."
Unannounced Rhytmn Game + 14 others - GameLoft:
Gameloft on Friday said it would publish a full 15 titles for the devices by the end of the year.
The French company is considered one of the click wheel iPod's premier game developers and recently hinted at iPhone development through a mockup video just weeks before Apple's iPhone SDK presentation.
Whether or not the above presentation shows part of an actual project in progress in unknown, but it may well be, and given the "Pop" in its title and the GUI, it looks like it could be a rhythm game.
Unannounced THQ game/s - THQ:
Following yesterdays news from the iPhone press conference, in which Apple demonstrated a strong support for mobile gaming (or console gaming, as they would rather we referred to it), major mobile gaming publisher THQ wireless adds its support to the burgeoning platform.
THQ Wireless Vice President, Scott Zerby told TechRadar today: The iPhone is a great gaming platform, and as with all platforms the games that will do best are the games that make use of the features unique to it. At THQ Wireless, we are in the process of determining which our game brands will best fit the iPhone platform.
Discussing the three-way accelerometer motion-control, Zerby also noted that, some of the iPhone's features for games are similar to the Wii, in that it can make games more intuitive and therefore bring more traditional non-games to the market.
Zerby continued, I see the iPhone as a natural fit for our line-up of casual and family approachable games. For example, I think a version of deBlob that uses the tilt sensor in the phone would make the game a whole new experience.
I'm also thinking about our Pass-the-Pigs games where you roll the pigs by shaking the phone like you do real dice Zerby told us tantalisingly adding that THQ has a couple of new game concepts we invented just for the iPhone but he would give us no more details on those at this point in time.
Rest assured, we will be the first to bring you all the news on new iPhone games as soon as we get it.
Unannounced EA Games - Electronic Arts:
EA has other games in early stages of development -- the company declined to specify what games those are, however.
"We are actively using the new iPhone SDK to develop games for the iPhone OS," said the spokesman.
Future Pangea Games? - Pangea:
With giants like EA and Sega already staking claims to the iPhone ecosystem, Adams expects that the iPhone game market will quickly fill with titles. She anticipates it'll be a combination of original game development and ports or adaptations of existing intellectual property.
That sentiment was echoed by Brian Greenstone, president of Pangea Software. Pangea's best known for Mac games like Nanosaur and Bugdom.
"Everyone who I talk with wants to write iPhone applications right now," said Greenstone. "The market is going to be flooded with stuff."
The iPhone SDK introduction has revitalized Greenstone's interest in developing for Apple platforms. He said he'd put new Mac game development on the back burner for the past couple of years, partly because of what he perceived to be a lack of interest or support from Apple itself for original game developers.
"This is the best thing I've seen Apple do in recent history," said Greenstone. "I'm elated that they're actually doing it right."
Greenstone anticipates that developing for the iPhone should be a pretty smooth transition for developers already experienced with creating products for Mac OS X, which will give him and other Mac game developers a leg up on the competition.
"The SDK has most of the basic functionality that programming in Mac OS X does," he said.
Classics: Pac-Man, Galaga, Bejeweled, Zuma, Peggle - Unannounced developer/s
Apple confirmed the above games were in development whilst announcing the iPhone SDK had been downloaded 100,000 times within 4 days of it's launch.
What to expect from iPhone gaming
What to expect
Morrison, Adams and Greenstone all expect that at least initially, the market will be flooded with games, and many of these will probably be "me-too" copycats of each other, or retreads of tried-and-true genres that now work on iPhones. Still, everyone expects there to be a lot of innovation, too.
The iPhone's three-axis accelerometer and touch screen is earning the most comparisons to Nintendo's Wii and its remote. To that end, Adams suggests that game publishers -- and consumers -- may want to take note of what's happened in that market.
"There are a lot of fun, innovative games for the Wii," she said. "But if you go into a retail store and look at their Wii section, there's a lot of 'shovelware,' too."
"Shovelware" describes software that's just pushed into distribution with little thought as to its utility or quality. In this respect, Adams is referring to mediocre-quality ports of game titles that have made their way to the Wii.
"Some companies are probably going to license existing brands just to help get above the fray," said Adams.
Morrison, whose company produces original titles and has dabbled with porting, said that his mind isn't made up -- though it's perhaps worth noting that Freeverse's iPhone page shows original games, not ports.
"If you had asked me up until [Thursday], I only wanted original stuff," said Morrison. "But once the news dropped, that changed. This system appears to have a lot more power even than we thought."
EA's CEO, John Riccitiello, feels similarly. "The animation technology in the iPhone OS enables us to build awesome games," said Riccitiello in a prepared statement. "I think iPhone consumers are going to be blown away by the games we create for this platform."
