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The Official iPhone/iPod Touch Gaming Thread

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SuperPac said:
Yeah this thread and the one on Touch Arcade where I mentioned we were thinking of doing Open Feint in Robot Unicorn Attack was the first i'd heard anyone object. :)
To be fair they're morons. A lot of them are just invested into OF (friend list, achievements/gamerscore) and just want to keep that, without regard to whether OF sucks or not. It'd be fine if it weren't for the performance issues, I've seen that shit stutter on my iPad running an iPhone game!
 
Yeah, I've had the odd frustrating moment with OF during Fruit Ninja... that stutter in the middle of a swipe can really fuck with you.
 
Carcassone is out. :D

$4.99, will reportedly go up when the iPad version comes out.

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Oh man, why are so many good games coming out at once?
An iphone version of the XBLA game Poker Smash just came out, so good. If you're into the Tetris Attack or Planet Puzzle League sort of game then you'd probably dig this, it's the first one of it's kind on the iphone that actually nails the way those games should feel and sound. This, along with Robot Unicorn Attack and Super QuickHook, I think I'm set for a while.
 
There are too many FREE games coming out. I've been playing Slay lately, ignoring like six other free games I've downloaded in the past couple weeks that seem pretty good. They're usually short games, but there's so many of them.
 
cjelly said:
OpenFeint sucks because it kills performance. You end up with a micro-stutter-infested game. Any game that was OpenFeint-free, and then added it in an update, has performed noticeably worse, post-update.
I implemented OpenFeint in Dungeon Solitaire, and I've never seen OpenFeint kill performance in that or any other game, even on first-gen iPod Touch. I've seen it pause a game for a split second once when it first connects when you first turn on the game, and *maybe* again for a shorter time when you earn an achievement, but the rest of the time it doesn't affect game performance one bit. And it's not like you're gonna be getting achievements every 5 seconds. If you are seeing any other performance issues than that, then it's completely unrelated to OpenFeint, just a bug in the game.

wmat said:
Well, now with upcoming OS 4 and all, OpenFeint has to compete with whatever Apple's come up with. So whether or not you _could_ hypothetically integrate it well, the guys most likely will have to step up their game to stay competitive because often enough, it _isn't_ integrated well, and I suspect that that won't be one of Apple's thing's problems.
Apple's GameCenter won't be available when OS4 launches - Apple hasn't given a release date for it. But even when it does launch, nobody'll use it, since that would limit their audience. GC requires at least OS4, which will not only cost iPod Touch owners to upgrade to, but Apple has stated it will never be released on first-gen iPhone/iPod Touch. And certain bits of OS4 won't ever work on any device older than the 3GS, maybe that'll include GameCenter.
 
mrkgoo said:
I don't know about other people, but since getting the iPad, I've drastically reduced my iPhone app purchases. It either now has to be universal, or really compelling, as I've switched to using the iPad where I can for actual entertainment.

this is very interesting to hear actually, and it is one of the things I am wondering about as there's kind of a new breed of customer out there, now. iPad has had a pretty heavy adoption rate, relative to the short time it's been out - and I assume a fair amount of folks will share this perspective.

I still would prefer to design/play games that are more iPhone-centic personally - I haven't got an iPad and don't plan to get one anytime soon, the reason the iPhone has always been so appealing to me is it's ultimate portability which the iPad lacks. I'm not saying iPad's not got it's strengths, mind you.. but it definitely requires some thought to lug around, as opposed to your phone which is always with you. This has been discussed to death already, anyway.

OpenFeint.. yeah, it stutters for a second when you boot up our game as well, but otherwise it's completely "in-the-background" fulltime and therefore it won't ruin your experience. I hate that, when developers will let it interrupt mid-gameplay with that kind of stuff, in such a way that it disturbs the rhythm of the user's experience. Still, OF is still fairly new and rough around the edges, but I'll place the blame on individual programming/design when they fail to integrate it properly. Every engine has plenty of limitations, and needs to be worked around..

and here's a little plug for the latest promotion of our game, I'll leave it quietly at that-
 
wondermega said:
this is very interesting to hear actually, and it is one of the things I am wondering about as there's kind of a new breed of customer out there, now. iPad has had a pretty heavy adoption rate, relative to the short time it's been out - and I assume a fair amount of folks will share this perspective.

I still would prefer to design/play games that are more iPhone-centic personally - I haven't got an iPad and don't plan to get one anytime soon, the reason the iPhone has always been so appealing to me is it's ultimate portability which the iPad lacks. I'm not saying iPad's not got it's strengths, mind you.. but it definitely requires some thought to lug around, as opposed to your phone which is always with you. This has been discussed to death already, anyway.

OpenFeint.. yeah, it stutters for a second when you boot up our game as well, but otherwise it's completely "in-the-background" fulltime and therefore it won't ruin your experience. I hate that, when developers will let it interrupt mid-gameplay with that kind of stuff, in such a way that it disturbs the rhythm of the user's experience. Still, OF is still fairly new and rough around the edges, but I'll place the blame on individual programming/design when they fail to integrate it properly. Every engine has plenty of limitations, and needs to be worked around..

and here's a little plug for the latest promotion of our game, I'll leave it quietly at that-


It could be due to the honeymoon period, as in the iPad for me is still the shiny, shiny. I'd say I'm thankful for curbing my iPhone spending somewhat, but I can tell you the iPad store may be less abundant, but I'm probably spending just as much :p

In other ways, I appreciate the iPhone even more. I look at it and it really is a marvel. It does what the iPad does, but in my pocket. I'm trying to think of the last iPhone game I actually bought, and it was Sword and Poker 2. Everything else in the past couple months that I can remember is iPad.
 
Dreamwriter said:
Apple's GameCenter won't be available when OS4 launches - Apple hasn't given a release date for it. But even when it does launch, nobody'll use it, since that would limit their audience. GC requires at least OS4
On the other hand, it didn't take that long for many games and software to require OS 3. If the uptake on OS 4 is similar, I can easily see that not being an issue. Whether Game Center will work on the iPhone 3G (or, let's dream, Apple updates the OS 3 to support at least Game Center) bothers me much
 
So what's the word on Tiger Woods 11 and NCAA Football 11? Since their announcement, I haven't seen anything on them. I assume EA games released on iDevices don't tend to have a lot of PR until they actually release to the store?

Shaneus said:
Yes. Pinball Dreams and Pinball Fantasies are the only pinball games you need.

Thanks for the recommendations. I added Pinball Fantasies to the ole' wishlist in iTunes.
 
mrkgoo said:
I don't know about other people, but since getting the iPad, I've drastically reduced my iPhone app purchases. It either now has to be universal, or really compelling, as I've switched to using the iPad where I can for actual entertainment.

EXACTLY the same. My impulse iPhone purchases have completely stopped, and bigger games, I won't even bother with for the phone. For that, now, I just want great distraction games; for the iPad I'll try anything. Universal apps are also a must; it's just cheeky if devs release two versions at wildly different price points. Chape price point for iPhone only, slightly more expensive for a universal one? YES PLEASE.
 
Peronthious said:
Carcassone is out. :D

$4.99, will reportedly go up when the iPad version comes out.

mzl.pmlvjybz.320x480-75.jpg

It looks surprisingly good with 2x mode on the iPad already. And the design looks better than the XBLA version imo.

A bit disappointed the play with friends option is connecting via email only. Though perhaps they are just waiting for game centre so they did not waste time with OpenFeint or Plus+.
 
I haven't posted a game in a while (iPad universal or bust), but Spinzizzle is a cool take on a match-3 game, really great presentation and currently free! I normally don't even like match3s unless they really stand out, so give this a whirl (ha!).

Appshopper:

Spinzzle (free for the weekend, usually $1.99)

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In short, you rotate the platform (by touch not accelerometer), such that the coloured balls fall into empty slots and form 3s. The trick is that if you keep rotating, they won't disappear until you actually hold it in a position, allowing you to 'catch' a lot of colours. I haven't played it much, so don't know how the story mode pans out, but I have seen different shaped boards and a wild-ball.

Currently free this weekend, so no excuse.
 
Hey guys, I've been buying a lot of awesome games lately, trying to catch up with the great library of apps the iPhone/iPod has. Am I missing any really awesome ones that I should know about? So far, I've got:
-EspGaluda 2
-Peggle
-PvZ
-CritterCrunch
-Angry Birds
-Doodle Jump
-Canabalt
-Edge
-Tumbledrop
-Fruit ninja
-Dark Void Zero
-Rolando 2
-Ace Attorney
-Space Miner
-Monkey Island SE
-Hook Champ (my favorite game so far!)
-Spider
-Flight Control

Any others?
 
Peronthious said:
Carcassone is out. :D

$4.99, will reportedly go up when the iPad version comes out.

mzl.pmlvjybz.320x480-75.jpg

Does it have any of the expansions or is it vanilla?

I can't play without inns and cathedrals and trader and builders.
 
Aaron said:
No expansions yet, so it does feel kind of plain.
I commented in the BG thread it is vanilla but I think it's a very good implementation nonetheless. Up there with Catan too in terms of being able to bang out a really quick, fun game vs. the varied AI.
 
StoOgE said:
Does it have any of the expansions or is it vanilla?

I can't play without inns and cathedrals and trader and builders.

It's vanilla right now, I believe they've said expansions are in the works as DLC.

I will also add that the solitaire mode is pretty entertaining on its own, so the lack of expansions aren't that big of a deal for me.
 
Peronthious said:
Carcassone is out. :D

Oh shit. Bought'd

No one talking about the iPhone 4? I'm thinking Apple is going to be pretty secure in the portable gaming business if they keep putting out hardware like this. 960x640 screen, new A4 cpu, new gyroscope in addition to the existing accelerometers, longer battery life, etc. - that thing is going to scream. I may have to retire my old 1st gen phone :D
 
Xater said:
Any GAF impressions of Highborn? "HoMM-type" got me interested.

I'm not very impressed with it. The map view is really nice looking but battles look like shit. The supposedly humorous writing is, for the most part, anything but. It may be my lack of understanding of the mechanics, but when taking over the towers/monasteries/etc. there seems to be no way to judge how many units are guarding it and how much damage you are going to do to the structure itself which makes the mage tower ability (its kinda like the way battleship support bombing works in civ rev) really frustrating. Lastly, multiplayer requires a facebook account which I have no intention of creating.
 
Xater said:
Any GAF impressions of Highborn? "HoMM-type" got me interested.

I've been enjoying it quite a bit. Gameplay is solid, writing is humorous and quirky, and it was quick and easy to get into. It could use an undo button and ability to zoom, but past that I'm pretty happy with it. Never played any of the HoMM games so I can't compare. Haven't done anything multiplayer either so no comments there, but overall it's accessible and fun, and would consider it $3 well spent.
 
19Kilo said:
Oh shit. Bought'd

No one talking about the iPhone 4? I'm thinking Apple is going to be pretty secure in the portable gaming business if they keep putting out hardware like this. 960x640 screen, new A4 cpu, new gyroscope in addition to the existing accelerometers, longer battery life, etc. - that thing is going to scream. I may have to retire my old 1st gen phone :D
I'm thinking if there will be games made exclusively for the Iphone 4, taking advantage of the extra horsepower and gyroscope.

I'm betting no though. Why would anyone ignore millions of Iphones and Touchs out there? Just look at Motion Plus...

One question though, what's the current pricepoint of 3GS (before the pricedrop that is)? $199?
 
finally a worthy sucessor to my original iphone (that $500 went a long way), the 3g/s were way to plasticity for my tastes.

larger battery, better processor, more pixels, & more ram = mmmh! :D
 
heringer said:
I'm thinking if there will be games made exclusively for the Iphone 4, taking advantage of the extra horsepower and gyroscope.

I'm betting no though. Why would anyone ignore millions of Iphones and Touchs out there? Just look at Motion Plus...

One question though, what's the current pricepoint of 3GS (before the pricedrop that is)? $199?
I just read up about the iPhone 4, holy shit the A4 is in it, I thought so! Also the 3Gs dropping to $99 entry level price is amazing, now we should start to see great looking portable games... sorry older owners but it's time for a generation leap, and I say that about myself too as my 2g touch is starting to slug with some of the latest 3D games, that 133mhz extra isn't cutting it anymore, most games must run real slow now on an old iphone.
 
Diablohead said:
I just read up about the iPhone 4, holy shit the A4 is in it, I thought so! Also the 3Gs dropping to $99 entry level price is amazing, now we should start to see great looking portable games... sorry older owners but it's time for a generation leap, and I say that about myself too as my 2g touch is starting to slug with some of the latest 3D games, that 133mhz extra isn't cutting it anymore, most games must run real slow now on an old iphone.
I mostly play puzzle games and stuff but yea that 128mb of ram in the original really kills for anything memory intensive like we rule.

This is actually the first generation that I would consider upgrade worthy for the iPhone, looks real solid build wise and has great hardware inside.
 
heringer said:
I'm thinking if there will be games made exclusively for the Iphone 4, taking advantage of the extra horsepower and gyroscope.

I'm betting no though. Why would anyone ignore millions of Iphones and Touchs out there? Just look at Motion Plus...

One question though, what's the current pricepoint of 3GS (before the pricedrop that is)? $199?
exactly. i'm comfortable with my itouch3g for a long while.
 
*Now* free? I had no idea it was even out! Would've paid for it, too.

Edit: No, I wouldn't. Controls are crap and framerate is very choppy, even on a 3GS.
 
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