A comprehensive guide to iPhone firmware 2.0 Gaming (SDK)

16 06 2008

With 26 days until the launch of iPhone 2.0 , we have a whole extra month to check out what the future has in store. Below, we’ve compiled a guide to all of the games that are headed for the App Store.

EASpore

Spore on the iPhone

SimCity and The Sims creator Will Wright’s next big thing, with a development cycle rivaling that of the construction of the Great Pyramids. The full game has been heralded as the second coming of gaming, featuring a heavy emphasize on user created content, and procedural generation. It has been announced for the PC, Mac (via a Cider port) and a variety of console platforms, notably the Nintendo DS. Both the iPhone and DS versions appear to be a faithful recreation of nothing but the first stage of the game, in which the player controls a microscopic version of his future creature, that build that foundation for the rest of the players evolution.
Demo at Apple SDK announcement
Additional info

SEGASuper Monkey Ball

Super Monkey Ball on the iPhone

A puzzle platformer that made its debut as an arcade game, it’s wild success made it a good choice as a launch title on the GameCube, Super Monkey Ball and its sequels have become a staple of the child focused console game market. The game has featured multiplayer since it’s release on the GameCube, the existence of a multiplayer feature for the iPhone version of the game, has as of yet, been unconfirmed. However, the control scheme is very similar to that of the Wii title, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, in which the Wiimote is held parallel to the ground and tilted in the direction the player wishes to move.
Keynote Demo
Interview with SEGA’s Ethan Einhorn
Additional info

PangaeaEnigmo and Cro-Mag Rally

Enigmo on the iPhone

Long time Mac exclusive developer Pangaea has added two of its most popular games to the foray. Enigmo is a puzzle game, in which players must manipulate the movement of an unknown liquid into a tank, using items such as bumpers, sliders, accelerators, and sponges. Cro-Mag Rally is a third person racing game, not unlike Mario Kart, in which players race through different periods in ancient history. The Mac version features networked multi-player, though this feature is unconfirmed for the iPhone build.
Additional Info

Developer Website

GameLoft – Multiple

GameLoft Titles for iPhone

GameLoft is rapidly becoming the EA of the mobile phone gaming market. Based out of France, the company has over 4,000 employees and posted a revenue of $140 million in 2007. Though the company mainly develops games for the Java, BREW and Symbian platforms, the company has announced plans to publish no fewer than 15 titles for the iPhone. The details posted so far suggest that GameLoft will stick to its strengths and develop mostly casual titles.
Brain Challenge
Chess and Backmaggon
Solitaire
Bubble Bash

Int13Crazy Cart 2

int13 Crazy Cart 2

Another French mobile developer, Int13 has created a slick cart racing title for the iPhone. Rather than use tilt controls for movement like most developers, Int13 has opted for a multitouch steering wheel. A step in the right direction if you ask us; until the accuracy of the iPhone accelerometer is proven, our guess would be that it’s going to be fairly unreliable for accurate controls.
Announcment at MacRumors
Video Demo on YouTube

iDDoom 3, Doom Arena

A homebrewed copy of Doom for Jailbroken iPhones

John Carmack of iD game was one of the first game developers to openly declare his frustration with Apple’s 3rd party apps quarantine, back in the summer of ’07. The announcement of the SDK however seems to have filled his heart with warm fuzzy joy, and has hinted that he may be working on a title for the iPhone. In a post on Slashdot (http: SLASH SLASH www.Slashdot DOT com… hehe) Carmack wrote “…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.”
Re:Mr. Carmack are you still around?
Quake 3 Arena ported to iPhone/iPod Touch

Digital Legends EntertainmentKroll

Kroll by Digital Legends

This N-Gage developer gained loads of positive press at WWDC last week with their demonstration of third person sidescroller Kroll. Following in the footsteps of Ready At Dawn’s God of War, this title promises to bring a hardcore gaming flare to a market that so far has seen mostly casual titles. Thank the gods Jobs decided to let these guys on stage rather than yet another “casual” title like say…

PopCap Games Bejeweled, Zuma and Peggle


Surprising many, Peggle’s release in February of last year yielded a firestorm of critical acclaim and mainstream success. The addictive arcade title lets players choose one of ten playable characters as they try to clear 55 stages of peg destroying madness. The game received several awards, and was named one of the Top 5 most addictive computer games of all time by MSNBC. In an Apple press release, PopCap CEO confirmed that his company was developing multiple titles for the iPhone, including Peggle
Peggle for iPhone confirmed
Apple press release

NamcoPacMan

The arcade classic, pacman

Ah PacMan, where would we be without you? This arcade legend has defined the gaming industry for decades, and has been ported to almost every kind of electronic device ever made. It is fitting then, that Namco would jump at the chance to add yet another check on its list of platforms supported. Like PopCap, Namco pledged its support in Apple’s press release following its iPhone SDK announcement, confirming both PacMan and Galaga for the App Store.
Namco, PopCap, THQ Pledge iPhone Support

IG FunRe-Volt and BioShock

BioShock: 2007 Game of the Year

Nothing good can come of a developer most comfortable making crappy licensed games on the BREW platform, getting the rights to horribly rape publish the 2007 Game of the Year, BioShock. IG Fun has already revealed their plans to make a BREW version of the game, but revealed to Pocket Gamer that they had plans to develop an iPhone version. Though they have yet to show any footage of the game, the developer has demonstrated an internally developed game called Re-Volt on the iPhone that looks like an unintuitively controlled Unreal set game, with enemies that have animations uncomfortably similar to the spider Splicers from BioShock.
Latest on BioShock Mobile
Re-Volt first-person shooter for iPhone
IG Fun’s Official Website

This list was compiled through research on the internet. As we uncover more information, we will bring it to you. However, if you know of a developer or game we missed, or would like to tell us more about your game, please contact us!



WebKit Team Talks Safari 4

13 06 2008

The WebKit devs are at it again, announcing a flurry of information about a new JavaScript interpreter called SquirrelFish, and revealing a little over a week later that this would set the tone for development of WebKit 4 and Safari 4.

SquirrelFish is “a register-based, direct-threaded, high-level bytecode engine, with a sliding register window calling convention”, that promises vastly improved run times. The project is almost certainly the reason for the release of WebKit’s SunSpider JavaScript benchmarking tool late last year. So far, SquirrelFish promises speeds 1.6 times that of its predecessor.

Tuesday Apple provided a developer build of Safari 4 that will be in line with 10.6 Snow Leopards mission of improving speed and stability across the OS. In addition, the team has announced plans to allow for web applications to saved and executed offline, similar to Google’s Gears project and the third part application Fluid. In terms of expected features, the browser will likely improve upon its handling of CSS and DOM Level 3 standards, and possibly begin to incorporate features outlined in the draft for the new HTML spec.



WWDC 2008 Recap – Day 4 – 6/12/08

13 06 2008

Today was yet another great day. The WWDC Bash at Yerba Buena Gardens was lots of fun! With the fourth day now over, here is a summary of Thursday at WWDC 2008, some in pictures, some in videos and some in text. Tomorrow is your last chance- if you would like to meet up with us, please contact us!!

Articles:
Live from the 2008 WWDC Bash at Yerba Buena Gardens (theiLife)

More Pictures:
Sidney’s WWDC Flickr Set

Gallery after the jump! Read more…



2008 Stump the Experts – WWDC 08

12 06 2008

Stump the Experts is one of the highlights of a WWDC experience. Stump the Experts is the most popular session at WWDC- by far. TheiLife.com is bringing coverage from this years event in the form of transcribed text and photos. In the meantime, for those who aren’t familiar with how the game is played (via Wikipedia):

Stump the Experts is structured as a game show in which the audience acts as one team, and the experts on stage are another. The audience may ask the experts any question related to Apple in an attempt to “stump” them, hoping to earn a point for their team. Conversely, experts may ask the audience questions that any audience member may try to answer. Any and all resources are allowed including source code, the Internet (e.g., Wikipedia & Google) and cell phones. Host Fred Huxham describes it as an “open book test”.
Stump the Experts is chaotically hosted by Fred Huxham and Mark “The Red” Harlan.

There are three types of questions (via Wikipedia):

Songs – The 7-8 songs played before Stump the Experts begins are chosen by Fred, the leader of the show for the past 15 years. Audience members may come up to the microphones and guess the artist and name of the songs to win prizes and get points for their team.
Images – The experts create cryptic images that represent Apple-related phrases or information. The audience must decipher the image’s meaning. This innovation was introduced by Craig Marciniak in 2006.
Standard – Questions about arcane Apple knowledge.

Sidney San Martin from theiLife.com is attending the 2008 Stump the Experts and will be transcribing some of the questions as well as bringing back photos. Check back soon.



Live from the 2008 Apple Design Awards (Liveblog and Photos) – WWDC08

11 06 2008

Apple Design Award WWDC 2008

Since 1996, every year at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple has awarded the most innovative Macintosh software and related hardware produced by independent developers with a Design Award. Apple Design Awards are given away on a number of categories that vary from year to year. The physical awards have an Apple logo that glows when touched. This years Award Ceremony begins at 7:30 PST (10:30 EST). We will be bringing you live coverage with photos throughout the awards below.

The winners, in order of presentation:

Best Leopard Student Product Runner Up:
Flow 1.0.1 by Brian Amerige
Best Leopard Student Product Winner:
Squirrel by Axel Peju
Best Mac OS X Leopard Graphics and Media Application Runner Up:
FotoMagico by Boinx Software Ltd.
Best Mac OS X Leopard Graphics and Media Application Winner:
ScreenFlow by Vara Software Limited
Best Mac OS X Leopard User Experience Runner Up:
Checkout by Werk BV
Best Mac OS X Leopard User Experience Winner:
Macnification by Orbicule
Best Mac OS X Leopard Game Runner Up:
Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars by Electronic Arts Inc.
Best Mac OS X Leopard Game Winner:
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock by Aspyr Media, Inc.
Best Mac OS X Leopard Application Runner Up:
Bee Docs’ Timeline 3D Edition by Bee Documents
Best Mac OS X Leopard Application Winner:
ScreenFlow by Vara Software Limited
Best iPhone Web App Runner Up:
AP Mobile News Network by The Associated Press
Best iPhone Web App Winner:
Remember the Milk by Remember the Milk
Best iPhone Game Winner:
Enigmo by Pangea Software, Inc.
Best iPhone Entertainment Application Winner:
AOL Radio by AOL LLC
Best iPhone Social Networking Application Winner:
Twitterrific by The Iconfactory
Best iPhone Productivity Application Winner:
OmniFocus by The Omni Group
Best iPhone Healthcare & Fitness Application Winner:
MIM by MIMVista, Corp.

(If you want to see second by second updates, save our servers: please visit the liveblog!)

3:17 PM (PST) [Matt]: The Apple Design Awards post is live and Sidney will be lining up about an hour and a half in advance (about 6 o’clock PST).

4:56 PM (PST) [Sidney]: I’m in Presidio for another session. I might score a top seat while I’m here and just hold onto it.

4:56 PM (PST): I’ve taken my seat, this time slightly farther right, next to the left presenter display to better see acceptances. In my opinion it’s the best in the house.

7:49 PM (PST): Liveblog is up and running at live.theilife.com- check it out. Pictures to follow, on this post. Transcript of the event will be added later.

8:30 PM (PST): Event is over, everything from the liveblog has been transfered to this post, more pictures coming very soon (~15 minutes)!

9:18 PM (PST): All photos from the ADA are live, gallery is just after the jump!

Photos after the jump! Read more…



Windows to Mac: Ordering My First Mac

11 06 2008

This is a second part in the Windows to Mac series from writer Dan Spiers. You can read the first part, entitled Windows to Mac: Prologue here.

Now that WWDC has taken off and with the announcement that the iPhone/iPod Touch software 2.0 won’t be released until early July, I no longer have any reason to hold out on buying my first Macintosh computer. Just yesterday I ordered a 15″ Macbook Pro (with the 2.6 gHz processor boost, as well as a 16GB iPod Touch and a bluetooth Mighty Mouse) and is slated to arrive at the end of this week, possibly early next week.

Order Confirmation

This is my farewell to Windows as a primary operating system. It has tortured served me for many years, but its age has shown. I’m tired of all the compatibility issues, constant breakdowns and blue screens. I want an OS that is stable and that is more user-friendly.

I’ve been waiting for four years to upgrade to a new computer, and this week isn’t ending fast enough… I’ve already started to have dreams about my new MBP.



Apple to replace .Mac service with MobileMe application suite

9 06 2008

During todays WWDC keynote, Phil Schiller revealed the successor to Apple’s .Mac service, titled MobileMe. Speculation has been rampant in the past weeks concerning Apple’s aging web service, and many reports of trademark filings and software references had been made the term ‘MobileMe’.

Login to the MobileMe webclient

The new service is a three part suite, that is targeted at the mobile OS X platforms for the iPhone and iPod touch, natively coded calender and email clients, and a multi platform capable web based suite that contains an email client, iDisk, and media sharing. Information can be added to the iPhone and automatically synced with your MobileMe account, allowing you to access contacts, pictures and email from anywhere.

The web based client is notable for its extremely slick Ajax based interface, that is highly reminiscent of a native OS X application. The web app allows drag and drop objects, object animations, instantaneous spotlight style searching and photo album managing. Photos are also available onto the Apple TV’s photo viewing application, and can be managed and viewed in iPhoto, selected from a new MobileMe menu. Updates for Mail, Address Book, iPhoto and the Apple TV are likely pending in order to integrate the new features into these applications.

iDisk capacity has been doubled from 10GB to 20GB, and is available for access from within the web based client, OS X’s finder, and is mountable as a network drive in Windows Vista.

MobileMe will be launched in early July with a 60 day free trial, after which there will be a $99 subscription. A guided tour of MobileMe is available at Apple’s website.



Post Keynote 2008 Worldwide Developers Conference Coverage Continues at theiLife

9 06 2008

WWDC 2008 Crowd

With Sidney out of the keynote and currently eating lunch, the coverage of this years Worldwide Developers Conference is far from over. Sidney will be broadcasting occasionally for theDigitalLifestyle.tv from within WWDC. You can still follow our liveblog for the latest information. If you have any questions or requests for him, feel free to leave them in the comments below or contact us.



Apple Sends out Email to Current .Mac Customers regarding Mobile Me

9 06 2008

Apple .Mac Mobile Me Email Upgrade

Apple has just sent out an email to all existing .Mac customers regarding the MobileMe service introduced today at the WWDC 2008 Keynote. The email briefly describes changes with new service and new features. The email contents are as follows:

“Dear .Mac member:

Today Apple announced a new Internet service called MobileMe – taking the best of .Mac and adding a host of new features. As a current .Mac member, your account will be automatically upgraded to MobileMe in July. For a closer look, watch the MobileMe Guided Tour and read below for an overview of your new service.

Mac integration you know and love. With MobileMe, you’ll continue to enjoy features that take advantage of seamless integration with Mac OS X and iLife – Back to My Mac; access to your iDisk in the Finder; Mac-to-Mac syncing of Dock items, preferences, and more; iWeb site publishing; and photo and movie sharing directly from iPhoto ’08 and iMovie ’08.

New web applications for when you’re away from your Mac. MobileMe features a suite of web applications at www.me.com that have the familiar look and feel of the applications on your Mac. Because these web applications stay in sync with your Mac and other devices, you’ll have the same information wherever you go. Here’s what you’ll find at me.com:

Mail, the anchor of the new suite, is even better with a refined interface.

Contacts has a new three-pane interface, contact groups, maps integration, search, and photo support.

Calendar is a brand-new web application that feels just like iCal, featuring multiple calendars, click-and-drag event creation, and more.

Gallery lets you manage your collection of shared photos and movies from anywhere. You can now upload photos, rearrange their order, and set sharing preferences, all from a browser.

iDisk now has the familiar look of the Mac OS X Finder. It features drag-and-drop filing and an easy new way to share large documents, by sending an email with a link for downloading the file.

Account lets you manage settings such as storage allocation.

To use the new web applications, make sure you have one of these browsers: Safari 3, Internet Explorer 7, or Firefox 2 or later.

Push email. Push contacts. Push calendar. In addition to Mac-to-Mac syncing, MobileMe now keeps your iPhone, your iPod touch, and even a PC in sync. MobileMe pushes new contacts, calendar items, and bookmarks to your Mac or PC, and over the air to your iPhone or iPod touch. For example, if you add a calendar event on the web, the change will automatically be pushed to your Mac and iPhone. New email will be pushed to your iPhone in seconds, eliminating the need to check for messages manually.

As a MobileMe subscriber, you can continue to use your mac.com address for email. You will also be issued a me.com address with the same user name that you can use if you prefer. The choice is yours.

Double the online storage. To give you plenty of space for your email, photos, and other files, MobileMe doubles your storage from 10GB to 20GB for an individual subscription.

We’ll be sure to update you when the new service goes live. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the upcoming transition from .Mac to MobileMe, please visit the MobileMe FAQ.

Sincerely,

The MobileMe Team”

More information coming soon. For now, you can check out Apple’s online guided tour here.



Mysterious Unmarked iPhone Shipments? Last Minute iPhone Case Modification?

6 06 2008

It seems like the rumors are exponentially increasing at this point. With WWDC just hours away, the rumor mills are in full force.

Mysterious, Unmarked Boxes Lined Up Oustide

When Forbes editor Brian Caulfield made a visit to Quanta Computer distribution center Wednesday night, he was greeted with a host of shipping related activity. Outside the 168,000-square-foot facility; Brain was met with palettes of both white iMac boxes and curiously, unmarked, brown cardboard boxes. Depicted in images shown above, Brain believes that the unmarked boxes are in-fact the new iPhone Steve Jobs is rumored to announce at WWDC on Monday.

FedEx Trucks Moving These Mysterious Boxes

Based on intelligence uncovered by ImportGenius.com, 19 shipments weighing between 3,700 and 6,500 kilograms passed through the Port of Oakland to a Quanta distribution center in Fremont, Calif over the past few weeks. During his visit to the distribution center, Brain watched as employees “hustled to maneuver pallets of the brown boxes around trucks from FedEx and Advanced Logistics”. When asked about the new iPhone, one Quanta employee called the shipping supervisor who was “really busy right now”.

3G iPhone Griffin Size Changes

Meanwhile, iDealsChina believes that the new iPhone dimensions have changed. Apparently the new dimensions are thinner, by .50mm (~.02 inches) and shorter by 2.00mm (~.08 inches). iDealsChina was also the source behind the Griffin case leak last week, therefore it is hard to determine whether this new information is legitimate. iDealsChina claims that four other case manufacturers had access to the same specifications, so these companies will be forced to either sell the thousands of loose fitting cases or destroy them. It should be noted that Apple goes through great lengths to keep new product information very secretive.

3G iPhone Unmarked Box, From Apple

Finally, early this morning, MacRumors posted this image, originally from MacTalk.com.au. It is believed that this box contains a 3G iPhone demo unit. Clear markings on the outside clearly state: “SUBJECT TO TERMS OF NDA. DON NOT OPEN UNTIL TUESDAY JUNE 10th 2008.” June 10th is the day after the WWDC keynote, where Steve Jobs is rumored to introduce a new iPhone model. However, local time, the WWDC keynote falls about at that time for Australians (a few hours before, actually). Both Vodafone and SingTel announced they would be bringing the iPhone to Australia “later this year”. From MacTalk:

“the iPhone will go on display with a sign saying ‘look how cool I am – you can buy me on this date’.”

This years Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off with a keynote from Apple, Inc CEO Steve Jobs on Monday, June 9th. Steve Jobs is expected to release an updated iPhone with 3G capabilities. Stay with theiLife.com for continuing coverage of pre-WWDC rumors and hype; and during WWDC for our liveblog of the keynote. If you want to be updated with urgent news from the keynote, sign up for our SMS updater (expect about 10-20 messages)!