Since the app store there have been many game implentations used based on the provided API's but even with these provided tools devs still either refuse, don't care to, or can't afford to add very few lines of code to their apps. Some feel that the device should provide these features others are up to the dev, but to think that some of the most standard functionality is still left out of the majority of the 200,000 apps 80% of which are games, well then maybe this platform would crush the portable competition. Here's a list of what every idevice game should have with every game (providing it's not a hinderance or a sacrificial addition & the functionality needs support): *accelerometer calibration This one was almost a first & devs slowly started adding it out of the gate instead of having to update for it. However it was an evolving option and grew with the app store and many different implementations have been developed, however some games still need it and it's safe to say that if we haven't seen it yet then the dev has abandoned the app. *screen orientation option: .....DUH!! Hmmm let's see call it apple or call it a lazy, unprioritised Dev but NewsFlash....people play games on both iTouch and iPhone & guess what the headphone jack is on the opposite side on either device. Almost every indie dev with a big title is always optimized for iTouch orientation. How the option to switch is not in almost every game is just beyond me. *iPod music accessibility This is the one that might be the most exempt from standard functionality because it does take a little more to implement & if your game has good music it's not that big of a missed option. However the point is functionality and the options to do so. Most games do better if you can listen to your own tunes while blasting away your buddy. *on the fly Saves: It's bound to happen on an iPhone, playing a game and you get a call. Now I get to decide to miss this phone call or answer it ruining my perfect run which would have put me at the top of the leaderboard. *Multitasking How long have they been able to developed with i OS 4? We've seen updates but for optimization for what? A retna display....you have seven multitasking API's and you come out with and update for retna?.....because all of us have been waiting for that and not the multitasking functionality that would increase the idevices already strong position. Some devs won't even bother because their app is selling just fine without it, they feel apple should have just included it in the hardware. Or again their just to lazy or don't care. I personally would like to see all of the above become industry standard upon submission provided it's a nessasary tool (like calibration isn't always in the app anyway)
Please include the price per feature you're willing to pay extra over $0.99 to have each of the listed requests implemented in your apps. I'm sure many developers will be happy to oblige a customer who understands that quality comes at a cost.
For one I've already paid the asking prices for each app that I would like these features, Secondly I wouldn't pay for an update that includes functionality that the hardware can provide so just like Apple said it's up to the dev. Your telling me some of these big companies can't add more functionality because it's over 99cents What a ridiculous comment. I'm not to cheap to buy the platform and their games so don't presume to tell me that some of these features wouldn't only take some recoding and submission. You must be one of those "I make apps to feed my family but my apps don't sell" devs
Your telling me 99 cent doodle jump that has made over millions of dollars needs more money over 99 cents to add some functionality? Whatever.
100% agree. It's just like when blu-ray came out and you had to pay more money just to see your same movies with HD support. U shud just get the blu ray version for free since you already bought it once since that is what my HDTV can supprt
If an app doesn't have the features that you require then maybe you shouldn't purchase the app. And if you do, maybe you shouldn't go bitching about it on an internet forum with an overbearing sense of entitlement. You may not be too cheap to pay more than a dollar, but read this forum for five minutes and you'll see 90% of the people here ARE too cheap to pay. Thus, the wasteland of shitty apps that populate the store. And Frand is a successful (multiplatform) developer, so show a little respect apple logo guy.
That's the worst analogy I've ever read....it's a stretch. Buying another device because of evolution is different. I want multitasking so it's time to upgrade from a first gem iPhone (DVD player) to an iPhone 3G S or 4 (blue ray) But that doesn't mean I have to pay for an update because the games in the AppStore are bought once & you get free updates it's not like I can update my DVD's. So since devs aren't gonna try and resell apps with more functions....because it costs a little bit which you'd get back and more if your app actually was congruent with the OS. But your right....devs shouldn't improve on their apps unless they get more money first. That's bullshit. You don't say give me more money & I'll make it better. You say my apps are optimized that's why I get sales.
This is overbearing entitlement. Pay me first & I'll make what you've already bought better. It not like I'm bringing you a car that I need restored. It's an app that should be taking advantage if the OS it's customers bought it on.
So I have to contact a dev, ask him for an update and tell him how much I'm willing to pay for it? Or else just wish for it. Hey that's cool, actual game companies will update & indie dev will always have old outdated crap to piddle So when I pass up your junk for something with more functionality don't tell me you need the app store to feed your family, update you crap get some sales& take them out to dinner.
As a user, I'll generally agree it would be nice to have some or all these features, but as a developer I know none of these things are as clear-cut as users may think, and they certainly don't apply to every game. Couple examples: *accelerometer calibration Any amount of calibration can (and will) reduce the precision of the controls. There can also be angles where you simply can't get any useful data out of the accelerometer. Some games that provide calibration will become unplayable at certain angles or use some crazy UI that disallows certain angles - which kinda defeats the purpose of calibrating. *Multitasking Games can use a lot of memory - some will easily use nearly all available memory. If you're in the middle of a level and suspend a game there's little it can do to free memory. When the OS decides it needs more memory it will silently quit the app using the most memory first (i.e. your game). So often you'll go back expecting a fast switch and the game will sit there and have to perform a full reload even if it fully supports "multitasking".
By all means, contact a dev, let them know what you'd like to see, and wish with all your heart. I'm just saying this stuff can take time/money/effort to add into an existing app, and if a dev is already forced into selling something for a dollar how much more effort will they want to put into that app if sales are lackluster. My Xbox 360 games don't come with free expansion packs (usually), I have to pay for them. But they do come with free updates addressing bugs or problems, and I'd expect devs of iPhone apps to do the same. But content updates cost money, period. Be happy with what you buy at the time you buy it, or don't buy it at all. Whoops, my mistake. I actually gave you a polite response but then when I read this edit it's clear to me that you don't deserve one. Enjoy fantasy land.
Enjoy whatever it is you enjoy, might point is make your existing customers happy while gaining new ones because you dev team keeps itself ahead of the pack by taking full advantage of the OS. Learn some sales techniques, & stay out of customer service, you suck at it And know dev is forced to sell anything for a dollar. (fantasy land huh?)
D you know the definition of Force? Cause lowering you games to 99cents because your not getting sales isn't force...it called shit development
Thanks for the PM! Yeah, I read your response. No need to PM it to me buddy. You obviously have no idea how the app store business model works. If I bought a car in 1996, should I expect that the dealer or the maker of the car would add an iPod dock, Bluetooth integration, GPS navigation into it for free just because updated technology allows for it? That would be ridiculous. If a developer adds these features in at no charge, then good on them. But to lambast a developer and belittle him publicly on a forum is insulting, and throwing around a list of demands like your thread is as well.
Plan B On topic: EA's Command and Conquer Red Alert app is laggy, buggy, comes with only two maps and a ridiculous price tag. Regardless, it has made much more money than countless well-made games put out by indie developers. Obviously the easiest solution to the OPs problem is for him to personally convince each Red Alert customer that they are better off spending money on great indie games. Once that insignificant task is out of the way, small-time developers will be able to afford to fill their games with tons of great features! No need to thank me for the brilliant plan. Just doing my job.
No I'm sure that Doodle Jump, possibly the most successful app on the app store, can add functionality because it is still selling well on the top paid apps. As for the other hundreds of thousands of apps that aren't as fortunate, it isn't feasible.
