I know its been done to death, but its still a question that puzzles me. I'm itching to get into iOS development and there are just so many routes available. My fear is the speed iOS updates with new APIs etc, that its a risk dedicating a load of time to learning the current iOS version of coding, only for it to be replaced. It almost feels like a barrier to entry, especially in terms of Obj-C/X-Code. I really just want to look at making 2D games for now, possibly 3D. I've dabbled with Unity (and from my web background, I know Javascript pretty well enough to get by). Is it going to be Unity for me? I'd love to buy into the real infrastructure of Apple and go the Obj-C route, but is that going to be worth it in the long run? Will going Unity only leave me safe with the knowledge that I could release iOS (and others) games for a long while without having to constantly re-learn new APIs? I see Unity has some pretty decent looking tutorials on its site and also found a course that I can do. Other than that, I guess its YouTube vids and books - but again, browsing Amazon shows an absolute wealth of Unity books - can anyone recommend any above others? Thanks!
don't learn native code unless you don't want to put your app out on other platforms. unity is great because it is cross platform. Personally i love unity but there are plenty of other viable options.
One of these options is Monkey X for instance especially when it comes to 2d. It's easier, it's faster and lightweight and has more target platforms compared to Unity.
Yea Unity consistsntly ticks all the boxes. Any good advice on where to start? Any good tutorial sites online etc? Hmmm those app examples don't exactly scream "quality".
Of course not because they are made by programmers, not by artists. Look at my page if you like, I hope these apps show more quality (see my blog in the sig)
There are official unity tutorials on the site which are pretty cool. However no matter which style you are interested in I am sure someone has done a tutorial. I would recommend starting small. On Monkey it isn't really mature in any way yet and we don't know what the future holds. For certain apps it certainly has its pluses but it isn't as complete toolset I don't think. I had a look and it doesn't appear to have rigidbodies (which I am sure I will be corrected by Xaron if I am wrong!) which too me would be something I would miss. Some other options are unreal, cocos and stencly. The last one is interesting but I have had mixed results teaching with it. Unreal I am learning now and pretty impressed with.
Go Objective C if you want to spend a hell of a lot more time developing your projects and only want to spit out to iOS or OS X devices. Unity/Unreal will be the way to go. They do all the hard stuff (physics, 3D rendering and lighting, etc etc) for you and leave you free to design. There's a reason that Unity is quickly becoming the industry standard... I haven't used Unreal but believe it is very good. As for Unity, it's easy to use, there is an incredible amount of support documentation and a huge community and almost unlimited tutorials (you won't find that with Monkey). And yeah, I checked out Monkey, too... those "made with Monkey" apps were hardly convincing. They looked worse than half the stuff being produced by the lower end of the GameSalad community. LOL. I figure use what the best teams are using... they use those tools for a reason
While objective-c is apple environment only for the most part I believe you have much better control knowing it. Also if you decide to do this fulltime "real" jobs hire a lot more for a real language rather than a scripting language. I have had quite a few offers just from ios programming companies just from having my linked-in page up (not even applying for jobs).
the new apple metal will be supported by unity and unreal. I don't know if monkey will support it lol (jokes )
Sooo... what exactly isn't really matured yet? Regarding the future: It's Monkey 2 which is on hold for now, not the current one. You can use box2d if you like:http://playniax.com/demos/box2d/MonkeyGame.html
The fact Monkey 2 is on hold doesn't look great from outside! It isn't mature in terms of a support from developers, community and tutorials. It certainly isn't like Unity in that sense. There also aren't really many noteable games made with it. New Star Soccer Mobile is listed as most noteable but I have never heard of it. I had a look at Monkey (partly because of you!) as something to maybe teach but I decided it was too hard and niche for my young audience. I am currently learning the unreal engine which I have to say I am a little surprised with (in a good way).
Well yes, it's a one man show unfortunately. I can't deny that UT has obviously a huge team behind. But as he does it for already three decades now makes me think that he won't stop it at anytime. So having Monkey 2 on hold doesn't mean he stops developing. Unreal looks pretty awesome indeed! I just hope the Unity guys adapt their ridiculous pricing soon!
the pricing is interesting. I actually think Unity has better model because the free part will get so many people to start while unreal has a barrier for entry. The number of people on unity forums who release an android game in the hope of making enough to get an apple dev licence is insane! I think Unity needs to answer but I am not sure how. If I didn't have my Unity licences for work unreal is so much more appealing. Being a 1 man show carries huge risk for a developer. He could stop at any time for a variety of reasons which might be beyond his control. He should be proud of himself for being so competitive. Hopefully he can use his success to grow.
