Throughout my (short?) 25 years of gaming, whenever I hear a great developers name mentioned, before they even announce what new game they are working on, it tends to get me excited. There are certain names in Console and PC gaming that can ignite the kid in you; briefly scrolling a gaming website and having their name catch your eye can instill great amounts of nostalgia while also creating a massive amount of anticipation for whatever new polygonned and pixelated adventure they may come up with next. Developers, publishers and companies like Bethesda, SquareEnix, or Naughty Dog, for example, are usually names you can equate to quality games. While iOS and android gaming may be in its infancy, its rapid progression has shown that's its not only becoming more prevalent as time goes on, but more and more great developers are popping up and creating their own niche with amazing games we have come to enjoy. I, and I think many others, would love to know, which developers do think are really helping out the platform, pushing mobile gaming along further, or are just making really fun games you tend to enjoy? List some iOS devs you feel as though are becoming staples to the platform so they get a little bit of recognition, maybe so people just passing by can see their names and what games they've created, or as a way to show the devs a little appreciation for trudging along in the Wild West that the AppStore really is. (Might even encourage them to make more games )
Simogo, obviously. I'm still a sucker for Zeptolab. I'm always intrigued to see a new Jared Bailey game, too. Once upon a time, I'd have included Ravenous Games, but they've lost their magic for me lately. Edit: can't believe I missed Radiangames.
Michael Brough Telltale Games Crescent Moon Donut Games Simogo Blinkbat Games Panic Art Studios Playdek Jared Bailey Mountain Sheep Game Stew Kairosoft Rodeo One Man Left Ayopa Games NimbleBit Orangepixel Butterscotch Shenanigans Warner Bros (bizarrely) Forever Entertainment Grumpyface Marmalade Play/Valorware Kumobius Rocketcat Games Terry Cavanagh These are my main names that if I see have released a new game then I need to buy it! The list was much larger initially as well, there are a lot of devs I respect on the platform so thank you for making me think and realise that!
At this point, anything these devs/publishers crank something out, it's almost always instabuy (depending on budget lol) Radiangames Square Enix LCDemakes Orangepixel Kumobius Foursaken Media Simogo FDG Entertainment Telltale Games Rodeo Games Grumpyface Studios Bulkypix (they have bad games under their belt as publishers, but they have some of the best games i've played on iOS)
Beyond Slitherine and Shenandoah Studios I can't say that any other iOS developer exactly fills me with confidence. There are quite a few names that put me immediatly off, most of which have already been mentioned in this topic, but those two at least have a solid track record with me. I suppose I'd give an honorable mention to Tim Man, Playdeck and DotEmu and Fantasy Flight; if only because they seem more likely to put out something that interests me, even if it's flawed.