iPhone gaming heating up ...

I picked up X-Plane 9 for the iPhone. A full flight simulator on this puppy that matches the big boy version 95% according to the developers. Gameplay wise there are some more complete apps but as far as tech goes it doesn't get better.

We need a new Blitz 3D for the iPhone ... the combination would be a game developer's heaven!

Wow, it is better-looking graphically than I was expecting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO7CnNY3AK4

I hope the NHS isn't going to pick up the bill for all the corrective eye surgery people are going to need from endless hours staring at screens the size of a large postage stamp.

But yes, the IPhone is quite technically capable. I remember seeing a Quake port running on it quite early on.

I got Real Football 09 on my iPhone and it looks great.
I also got Spore.

The iPhone isn't an open platform like the PC. A lot of people think it is, but it's content retail pipeline is closer to XBox Live than traditional cellular phone retail portals.

i.e. it's highly controlled, and you only get in if Apple says it's ok...

So, in short, an iPhone version of Blitz3D is about as likely as an XBox360 or Wii version of Blitz3D.



http://www.tuaw.com/2008/03/14/iphone-developer-rejection-letter-mass-mailing/

http://macblips.com/story/apple_rejecting_apps_based_on_limited_utility/

http://almerica.blogspot.com/2008/09/podcaster-rejeceted-because-it.html


Android, on the other hand is another story. Open framework. Good SDK, and especially Java apps, are very portable. So, unfortunately, Blitz would probably have to compile to Java IL... something I've mentioned Blitz should have been doing for quite some time anyway....

Managed code is where all "end user" applications are going (whether it's .Net or Java depends on the platform you're targetting)...

It's going there. Like it or not. And games (not game engines, but games) qualify as end-user apps.

It's nothing like becoming an Xbox or Wii developer. I've been through all the processes and becoming an iPhone developer is cake. It's not completely open but it's easy enough. Mark could very easily develop a version of Blitz for the iPhone just as a bunch of Garage Gamers (not even official employees) and the Unity crew among others ported their work for it.

I would actually like a development tool for the phone ... something I could create prototypes "on the go" with. I may end up just creating something myself.

It's called XCode ;-)

Once you get used to the syntax, it's much like any other OOP language (eg. BlitzMax), so wrapping box2D with an Objective-C interface only took me a day and a half.

Not XCode but rather a development tool on the phone itself. I love XCode for Mac development but I want something mobile for quick brainstorming jams.

The game looks nice except for those giant fingers ands nails. Does the i-phone not have buttons? Otherwise you would be limited to games that don't suffer from giant fingers and nails being in front of everything.

I guess that for advertisements they should only let kids play, with small fingers. Just like those inflatable pools for in your garden. On the picture you see people diving into it and just sticking their heads out of the water and deep-sea diving etc. and then next to it it says the diameter is 1.5 meters, HAHAHAHA!!! :D

I thought this thread was going to be about exploding batteries and iPhones catching fire.

I really can't see myself trying to code on-screen...

However, you can debug a running app on the phone/ipod with XCode. Works very well, actually.

@ Floppy ... your fingers don't tend to really disturb things as much as you might think.

As far as developing goes. I used to carry around a TI-85 calculator and write code on it all the time. Using an iPhone to do the same would be amazing as the power of the tool would really let you do a lot. Being able to write programs on the go is important.

Porting and developing for it isn't an issue. Becoming a certified developer that can actually publish a binary for the phone is the issue. There are a lot of rules you have to follow. Certain types of middle-ware are not allowed. There's a size limitation at retail. A whole lot of things very similar to the limitations of developing for the consoles.

So.. it's almost EXACTLY like becoming an XBox developer. Both offer the SDK's for free, both decide if your game will appear in their retail portal.

One might argue that XBox is easier in some ways. At least if you're willing to pony up the dough, other Creator's club members can see your game (even if it's for free).

If your app is not approved by Apple, the only place others can see it run is through the emulator.

I've heard quite a few developers have already been burnt by this. Apple has given the impression that anyone can write to for their mobile platform and make money from it. (Sort of the same issue the Pickford's have recently had with Nintendo)

They got rejected after spending a ton of time, money and resources developing for a platform that has a fairly non-portable API. Even XNA/C# would allow you publish on Windows/Zune if you were rejected for the XBox Live Marketplace.

Look at the apps on the app store. Trust me when I say the requrements are not the same. There's no quality control. Sure there are special cases but by and large it's an easy development target.

Related story. I realize this is pretty much a best case scenario, and I do agree more or less with RocketGnome's assessment. For every success story you hear about, there's probably 99 catastrophic failure stories, you don't hear about.

Yes there is. Apple regularly remove software from the AppStore. As recently as 5 days ago, although in this particular case not so much a matter of quality control, so much as competition control.

Yes, Apple maintains the system. Don't develop stupid software such as the "I am rich" app or software that interferes with Apple or AT&T's business model (like the USB modem app) and you'll be fine. There's regulation but it's not subjective in the sense that someone will play your game and decide if it's marketable or not.

Also, for Xbox or Zune you will need XNA community approval which could be worse. Think about the old Blitz gallery wars. Would you want members of this community deciding if your software could be approved?

Your 99 to 1 ratio is ridiculous if anything it's the other way around as far a successfully publishing software on the platform. Not all apps will be get rich stories but there's certainly been a few of those already and it's only been 6 months.

Crapp I phone i never ever gona buy it..

sens my operator dosent have it :)

i cant belive how stupid a company like apple can be :D

The issue with all of the so-called indie game development paths for the various consoles and mobile platforms out there, is that "independent developer" from the eyes of these corporate giants means "self funded" ISV, not "garage operation/bedroom coder".

Meaning, you still need to be represented as a legitimate business ISV to get in the door, and more often than not, you have to have a proven track record or nearly complete prototype to be considered. Take Ste and John Pickford for instance. They have an amazing portfolio of games, and even have a past business relationship with Nintendo. But despite that, they aren't terribly optimistic about becoming a WiiWare developer because of a few technicalities in their business model...
( http://www.zee-3.com/pickfordbros/blog.php?post=5484&blogger=Ste )

I think that's where a lot of the rejections from Apple are coming from. Still, my point is, thats a lot of investment in a non-portable technology up front only to have the possibility of the door shut in your face at the end. For some people, that risk is very dire and large.


Their regulations are intentionally ambiguous. If you happen to be developing something similar to something they are already developing in secret, you will be rejected.

If you've developed the 10th game that looks similar to the 9 that have been submitted before you, there's a good chance they'll reject that too.

Yet, at the same time (as some developers here at Blitz have proven), the less risky and most profitable ventures are the ones that are established (insert your generic match-3 title here)

Like all the consoles, the early developers have the edge of coming to the market with little to no competition. Over time, the odds get lower and lower. This lifecycle pattern will be identical for the iPhone.

No the chance apple rejects the 10th game of something 9times there is about 0. See sudoku, mahjong, solitaire and so on :)

What will be rejected is basically anything that allows the usage of the iPhone as anything else than an OS to execute an application, in short if you try to make it to a different device like a VoiP phone, modem etc.
those things are not rejected due to apple, they are rejected due to the contract model apple has with the phone SPs who logically don't want that you bypass their income systems by not beeing forced to phone through the phone line anymore etc.
The phone SPs still have to pay apple monthly for the phone support and OS updates so its only fair that their own income is protected.
I would bet that google will have to introduce that at a point as well or allow the phone SPs to create blacklist of apps that are not allowed on their phones / with their SIMs

Developing for Nintendo requires and office as far as I know that's always been the case. Developing for iPhone requires previously published work through some other channel and also that you don't step on Apple or AT&T's toes. As Dreamora said, there are multiple duplicate game types up there and they don't care. If you're making a game and have previously published work then developing for iPhone is pretty to get approved for. It's not as open as the PC ... but it's not as locked down as the consoles.

We have ported our Blitz3D hidden object game to iPhone already:)
http://www.Stone-iPhone.com

My goodness @rtur - that just looks wonderful congratulations - how are sales going?

IPete2.

I guess my main point is (as Flameduck astutely comprehended), there are going to be a whole lot more failures than successes on something like this. It's more about being in the right place at the right time unless you have something truly special.

Right now is probably the best chance anyone has to get published. However, just like how the indie portals now are pretty quick to reject you if you've done "yet another match-3", Apple will too eventually. iTunes hosting overhead costs aren't free and over time they will put a finer grained filter on things at some point. Just watch.

But while I am obviously skeptical, there are apparently some success stories out there for this platform that hit close to home. Every success helps the cause. Congratulations @rtur. :)