FEATURE: Games studios reveal first secrets of iPhone development

Five pioneering iPhone games developers will spill the beans during the Casual Games Forum’s ‘Getting in Touch with the iPhone Games Market’ panel, which will be moderated by Develop deputy editor, Ed Fear.

The panellists have a wide range of experiences and approaches, and already include Top 10 iPhone games among their output. To hear much more of what they’ve got to say, pop over to the Casual Games Forum to book your place spot for October 30th.


Paul Farley
Managing Director, Tag Games
www.tag-games.com

“Right now we are treating the iPhone market on equal terms with the single largest mobile networks. In the short term, we’re creating iPhone builds of our existing games, but further out as the market evolves and grows this will mean games designed and built specifically for iPhone, with a scale and budget similar to Nintendo DS projects.

“Despite its technical performance, great screen and touch interface, the iPhone is still a phone. Users may have purchased an iPhone for a variety of reasons, but it is unlikely the primary use is to play games! Therefore games must be designed for mobile play, and no one knows how to do that as well as the experienced mobile developers who have spent years understanding mobile gamers.

“Casual games are easy to pick up and understand, offer immediate success and gratification to the player and can be consumed in small ‘snacks’ of entertainment; the iPhone is no different in this regard and if you look at the App Store it’s clear to see the popularity of these game types.

“The most important point to remember is that the iPhone is a phone, not a DS or a PSP, therefore the game should be designed around the expected behaviour of a mobile gamer and the environment they are likely to be playing the game in. Secondly, if you are developing a game from scratch you really must work with the motion and touch control systems and build your game around this functionality. Lastly, analyse consumer behaviour and feedback on the App Store to ensure you get your product and price point right from launch.

“I think we have already seen the accelerometer and touch screen used in a variety of interesting manners - some more successfully than others - and I’m sure we’ll see plenty more in future. Most of all, I’m convinced that the developer who manages to tie location based functionality to a casual game will have a hit on their hands!

“At Tag we have a variety of iPhone projects in development from simple casual games that will only take a month to complete to Astro Farm, our AAA flagship title, with a development schedule of nine months and a budget in six figures. We believe that iPhone gamers will fall into one of two categories in the next 12 months - light and the heavy users. Light users will consume a huge number of simple, cheap, one-dollar casual games, while heavy users will download a large number of free trials and a small number of AAA premium games.”

John Chasey
President, FinBlade
www.finblade.com

“iPhone is possibly the most hyped mobile handset ever launched, but it does appear to be living up to that hype in terms of content sales. At least for now, that is - the rate of new titles appearing on the App Store continues to accelerate. While Apple have very healthy iPhone sales bringing in new users (and so purchasers of content) the big question is: When there are thousands more applications available, will the pie still be large enough to go around and provide a profitable ecosystem for content providers?

“We have seen a very broad spectrum of iPhone users, and browsing reviews of titles on the App Store can provide an illuminating perspective on their tastes. Casual users rave about how cool iPhone 'toys' such as Koi Pond are, while the hardcore gamers complain that racing title Raging Thunder is too much like high-end mobile and DS titles, and better textures are required.

“Whatever the genre and focus of your title - casual or hardcore - the one consistent message is that it's essential to design your title with the iPhone user interface in mind. The philosophy of our studio is that, whether you are working with an original concept or an established DS or console property, getting the UI right is single biggest thing you can do to make your iPhone title successful.”

Mark Ettle
CEO, Cobra Mobile
www.cobramobile.com

“The App Store launched with 30 days of fanfare. Now it’s settling down and we’re seeing real opportunities emerging.

“The iPhone is an amazing platform and the creative boundaries have only just been explored - there is much more to come. Much like the mobile space was a few years back, the App Store is currently overflowing with content. The cream will rise to the top, and quality brands will take a hold. The iPhone platform has caught a lot of people off guard, but as a portable games machine it effortlessly bridges the gap between the mobile and console space with one all-purpose device.

“User feedback on our iPhone titles has allowed us to engage with the consumer and get crucial feedback and discussion so we can add and upgrade game features that are relevant to those playing the games. This in turn makes our games better, and allows us to build up a loyal game following.

“We’ve already produced five iPhone games – including the critically and commercially acclaimed Numba and Mouse About – and having another seven in production.”

John Cook
Senior Partner, Bad Management
www.stainlessgames.com

“For Stainless [John’s major iPhone game development client] the major attractions of the iPhone are twofold. Firstly, iPhone has now been integrated with the company’s in-house cross platform technology, so Stainless can offer iPhone development as part of a multi-platform package to publishers. This has obvious economy-of-scale benefits to publishing partners who are looking to exploit their own IP was widely as possible.

“Secondly, as an exceptionally entrepreneurial operation, Stainless find the open access to market and the simple iTunes business model refreshing, compared to their other experiences in the mobile sector.”

James Brooksby,
Studio Head, doublesix games
www.doublesixgames.com

"The opportunities on iPhone and iTouch for the casual gamer market are clear: The audience is huge and growing all the time and the users are savvy, purchasing online through iTunes. They are largely not the gaming hardcore but at the same time are appreciative of quality and the features that make their device so cool.

"doublesix is focusing on only making games that will sit at the top of the ranking for their target platform and this strategy also applies to how we are approaching iPhone and iTouch. In the months to come there are going to be games that push the platform far harder than we have seen so far in terms of technical capabilities, though this does not necessarily mean increased use of the touch screen or accelerometers, as in fact they can be hard to use sensibly in many popular game genres.

"I think we are also going to see games being marketed 'properly', pushing them high on the most wanted and best-selling lists, setting them apart for the many, many also-ran titles that are filling up the service but selling only hundreds of copies rather than the potential market of millions. I suspect it will be licences and very familiar IP
leading the way."

All five contributors will be speaking about iPhone at the Casual Games Forum held in London on October 30th. To hear more, head to the conference’s website to book your seat.