Hi guys i am brand new to game making, i would like to know a few things 1. do you have to buy the game development kit off apple.com to make an iphone game that can be on the app store 2.what is a good andd basic game maker to use to learn the basics 3. are there any good books, web articles about how to make a game 4. do i need a mac computer 5. can game making be costly, not including hiring designers etc.
Hi Liam, I think I may be a good person to answer your questions. My business partner and I are just wrapping up our first iOS game. It's sort of a dream come true, as I've been a developer for years and have always wanted to do this, but it has been a long, wild ride! 0) You don't need to buy a game development kit from Apple, but you do need to be apart of the developer program and that costs $100. You can get started for free, though, and develop on the iPhone simulator, so don't let that hold you back! 1) I would suggest not using a pre-packaged game maker and invest in learning to develop for an environment like cocos2d. You'll be glad you did, as you'll have a lot of flexibility and control to let your creative vision shine. 2) There are tons of resources out there, including many right here in the forums. I haven't posted a ton here, but people post really valuable information in here all the time. I personally believe there is no substitute for experience, so in my opinion, I think you should dive right in and give it your best shot! 3) Yep, you need a mac to develop for iOS. 4) Creating a game can be costly, but if you have the time and the talent, you can sometimes make up for skills that you're lacking. If you want to save time though, hiring a designer or a developer can certainly help get your game idea to market faster. Hope this helps!
I'm going to assume you developed before, that being said, a good book to get into iOS game development is 'Beginning iPhone Game Development' by APress (black and yellow book with an avocado on the front cover). The book assumes knowledge of Objective-C(so if you don't know that, check out Apples very well documented Objective-C tutorial online), and offers chapters on different ways you can develop an iOS game, from the basic (just using UIViews and Core Animation) to middle (Quartz) and advanced (OpenGL ES ...my cup of tea). Of course the more advanced you go, the more flexibility you have with your game. Cocos2d is also a great framework as mentioned above which allows you to utilize the power of OpenGL ES but code in Objective-C in a simpler fashion. Yes you need a Mac, but if you're like me and already enjoy the platform, it shouldn't be a big issue. I would also avoid a "game maker". I'm more of the type of person who likes to know what is going on behind the scenes and hate the idea of being tied to a specific piece of software. And a lot of them I've seen (Unity) can get quite expensive. Game development can indeed get costly, but that's just like any other piece of software (hell there are one-trick pony .coms that "need" a couple millions to get off the ground). For me the most expensive part is design, since i'm by no means a designer, and would not ever attempt at doing the graphics myself (to avoid a craptastic final product). But you may have a graphics background or know a close buddy who can do the art and maybe do some profit-sharing or something. It's also important to stick to simple games at first to keep your costs/time in check. There is a reason why games like Doodle Jump, Cut the Rope etc exist. Not everyone can get away with attempting to create a Call of Duty for their first few titles. And we are also very lucky that the popularity of smartphones expanded a new market of consumers who are willing and rather (in most cases) play simple casual games. Besides design, keeping your game simple avoids the need for multiple developers, advanced audio, among other things.
