iPhone interface and genre
Theres a number of interesting bits of homebrew that are being released at the moment, ranging from emulators and ports to bespoke games and music toys. I’ve been playing around with a few, trying to crystallize a few ideas into something that I might develop part-time (especially when the official SDK comes out). Its quite a peculiar device to design for, due to its unique abilities and shortcomings. Some things it does very well but others are a big no-no. The most significant absence I’d say is the lack of d-pad for tactile feedback when mashing buttons. This is interesting though, some developers have been experimenting with putting graphical interfaces on the screen (a virtual d-pad) but this really doesn’t work. The closest device to design for is probably the DS (with the d-pad buttons removed), so any titles like Zelda which uses the stylus so ingeniously are definitely a significant source of inspiration for future iPhone titles. Its proof that mechanics can be adapted to a different interface if well considered. The only difference between the DS and the iPhone is the use of the “hot dog stylus” that is your finger, which obscures the objects that you are trying to interact with as well as limiting the accuracy of your click. This can be countered to some degree by transposing a rollover or representation of the item you’ve selected above the click position to make it visible (much like apple do on the keyboard when you click). I’ve done this on Ducks (the current action puzzler I’m playing with) and moving up by around 40-50 pixels and it really improves the usability of drag and drop on the iPhone.
Heres a brief roundup of mechanics and genres that I think work well, some that dont, and some that havent really been tried out yet but that really deserve an outing on the new device.
The good
Interface - Gestural interfaces
eg Crayon Physics port (iPhysics)
These also work extremely well - direct manipulation of the objects on screen make the interface extremely learnable and highly suitable for the casual audience of the iPod owner. For games, toys and creation tools, gestural interfaces are applicable across the board.
Suitable ports: Loop, Sodaconstructor, Moovl
Interface - Tilt interfaces
eg Labyrinth
Very straightforward to use, these work very well with the iPhone’s 2D accelerometer. Great while sitting at home or train, perhaps less so when getting your elbow’s battered on the bus.
Suitable ports: Super Monkey Ball, Loco Roco, Wario Ware Tilted.
Genre - Turn based / solo puzzlers
eg Othello, Chess, iSolitaire, Sudoku
Already popular casual games with well-known rules, these are already plentiful on the iPhone’s existing roster (as well as abundant on the DS and PSP). Well suited to game-snacking sessions of seconds or minutes.
Genre - Point and click adventures
(example ScummVM - Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max)
These work *wonderfully*. The slow pace and direct interaction are ideally suited to the iPhones interface and nature of use. The only possible problem is that they are not always suited to 5 minute game-snacking but demand slightly more involvement to remember the storyline/setting and current options/objectives.
The bad
Interface - D-Pad/button input (exemplified by the large number of emulated games - NES, PSX etc). This means no platformers, shooters or arcade adventures unless modified to use the touchscreen properly. Ports will not be that straightforward.
The missing
Genre - Racing games. Tilt sensors or multitouch inputs could really work for both 2D and 3D views.
Genre - Virtual Pets. Multitouch Nintendogs? Hell yeah! Finally I can scratch BOTH the dogs ears at once.
Genre - Minigames - Wario Ware, where are you? Multitouch and tilt-sensitive mini-games are just dying to be added.
Genre - Music games - Mutlitouch, multiplayer Electroplankton that pulls tracks from your music library on the iPod/iPhone. That definitely works. Calling Toshio Iwai…
Any other ideas or thoughts? Put em below!
