With WWDC 2008 underway and tons of information being released about the new 3G iPhone, I thought it was necessary for the community to put out ideas for games that should be ported to the iPhone. Here are 5 games that seem to be logical choices for the iPhone platform, some of which may already be underway. If you have any ideas of games that you think should be made for the iPhone, please let us all know in the comments, or write an article yourself. If you like it, please Digg it and "Approve" it on the right.
1) Spore
The news of Spore on the iPhone dropped during a conference at Apple's headquarters in which the company detailed the release of the iPhone software developer's kit. Speaking on the possibility of game development on the platform, Apple revealed that Spore is already in the works.
The title will make heavy use of the phone's touch screen and accelerometer capabilities. Apple also pointed out that the iPhone port of Spore is not a scaled-down version but that all 18 levels, from the microbial to cosmic, are represented in Spore's iPhone incarnation. Though the video demo of Spore at the SDK conference didn't show much, we are sure to see much more in the near future.
2) Super Monkey Ball
Super Monkey Ball was also showcased at the iPhone SDK conference. Gamers familiar with Super Monkey Ball know that the objective of the main game is to guide a monkey character encased in a ball (hence the name "Monkey Ball") across a suspended series of platforms and through a goal.
The control of the monkey ball has typically been through analog sticks, but the iPhone's accelerometers make it more intuitive by allowing players to control the ball by simply tilting the iPhone. From the video at the Apple SDK conference, gameplay and controls seem very intuitive and fun!
3) Portal
While there is no official word of a Portal-type game to be released for the iPhone, I think it would definitely suit the phone's capabilities. The touch screen would be perfect for placing portals in a 3D environment. The accelerometers would work great for moving a player around in a 3D level, in much the same way it was used in Quake 3.
There are quite a few 2D versions of Portal that have been floating around, but with the iPhone's 3D capabilities it wouldn't make sense not to go ahead and create a full 3D version.
4) Lunar Lander
Yes, I know this is totally old school, but I can't help but imagine how addictive a Lunar Lander game would be on the iPhone with its accelerometer capabilities. I image it as tilting the iPhone to control the direction of flight and tapping the screen to fire the thrusters. It would also be very neat if people could create their own levels and upload them for others to play. Unfortunately my office productivity would definitely decrease several fold if this were to become a reality. Give this Java version of the game a try and I'm sure you will agree that this one would be awesome on the iPhone.
5) Tie Fighter
A space flight shoot-em-up game called "Touch Fighter" was premiered at Apple's SDK conference that should serve as proof that an official Star Wars Tie Fighter game could and should be created. In the demo, firing was initiated with a screen touch and the player could steer the spacecraft by simply tilting the iPhone.
I don't see any reason why the same control scheme shouldn't be used, but I'm definitely all for a complete Star Wars themed Tie Fighter game on the iPhone, not just a knock-off.
Conclusion
I have heard some suggestions from various people which include a golf type game or a racing game such as Need for Speed. Both sound like viable options for great games to me. I know I have definitely not covered all the potentially outstanding ideas for games on the iPhone platform, so you guys help me out by thinking of some more! If there are any suggestions in the comments or at Digg that seem to be being voted up, I'll try to add the game to the list.
Digg.com User Suggestions
1) Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble - Branchex
2) AudioSurf - gio92
3) Loco Roco - fmello
4) Katamari - bbqsalad
5) Pata Pon - protogenxl
1) Spore
The news of Spore on the iPhone dropped during a conference at Apple's headquarters in which the company detailed the release of the iPhone software developer's kit. Speaking on the possibility of game development on the platform, Apple revealed that Spore is already in the works.
The title will make heavy use of the phone's touch screen and accelerometer capabilities. Apple also pointed out that the iPhone port of Spore is not a scaled-down version but that all 18 levels, from the microbial to cosmic, are represented in Spore's iPhone incarnation. Though the video demo of Spore at the SDK conference didn't show much, we are sure to see much more in the near future.
2) Super Monkey Ball
Super Monkey Ball was also showcased at the iPhone SDK conference. Gamers familiar with Super Monkey Ball know that the objective of the main game is to guide a monkey character encased in a ball (hence the name "Monkey Ball") across a suspended series of platforms and through a goal.
The control of the monkey ball has typically been through analog sticks, but the iPhone's accelerometers make it more intuitive by allowing players to control the ball by simply tilting the iPhone. From the video at the Apple SDK conference, gameplay and controls seem very intuitive and fun!
3) Portal
While there is no official word of a Portal-type game to be released for the iPhone, I think it would definitely suit the phone's capabilities. The touch screen would be perfect for placing portals in a 3D environment. The accelerometers would work great for moving a player around in a 3D level, in much the same way it was used in Quake 3.
There are quite a few 2D versions of Portal that have been floating around, but with the iPhone's 3D capabilities it wouldn't make sense not to go ahead and create a full 3D version.
4) Lunar Lander
Yes, I know this is totally old school, but I can't help but imagine how addictive a Lunar Lander game would be on the iPhone with its accelerometer capabilities. I image it as tilting the iPhone to control the direction of flight and tapping the screen to fire the thrusters. It would also be very neat if people could create their own levels and upload them for others to play. Unfortunately my office productivity would definitely decrease several fold if this were to become a reality. Give this Java version of the game a try and I'm sure you will agree that this one would be awesome on the iPhone.
5) Tie Fighter
A space flight shoot-em-up game called "Touch Fighter" was premiered at Apple's SDK conference that should serve as proof that an official Star Wars Tie Fighter game could and should be created. In the demo, firing was initiated with a screen touch and the player could steer the spacecraft by simply tilting the iPhone.
I don't see any reason why the same control scheme shouldn't be used, but I'm definitely all for a complete Star Wars themed Tie Fighter game on the iPhone, not just a knock-off.
Conclusion
I have heard some suggestions from various people which include a golf type game or a racing game such as Need for Speed. Both sound like viable options for great games to me. I know I have definitely not covered all the potentially outstanding ideas for games on the iPhone platform, so you guys help me out by thinking of some more! If there are any suggestions in the comments or at Digg that seem to be being voted up, I'll try to add the game to the list.
Digg.com User Suggestions
1) Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble - Branchex
2) AudioSurf - gio92
3) Loco Roco - fmello
4) Katamari - bbqsalad
5) Pata Pon - protogenxl
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