Unfortunately we don't have much more than a splash screen on this one, but Stuart Carnie sends word that he's used the Apple SDK to port a Commodore 64 emulator on to the iPhone. He has yet to put in a Save/Resume state mechanism, a way to browse for files and disks, or a virtual keyboard/joystiq to control it with, but the hard stuff is done, so by the time the App Store comes around, we may have a working C64 emu in there ready to go.
As long as it's ok with Apple. In point of fact, we have no idea how any emulators might work in the App Store -- actually, we have no idea how any apps will get in the App Store. Sure, it would be cool to play the original versions of Sim City or Maniac Mansion or Elite, but without Apple's OK to let any of those on the platform, we may not be able to do so without jailbreaking the thing anyway. We'll see -- if Carnie, once his work is done, can't get an official emulator in the App Store, maybe we'll be able to try it out and put it to use in some other, less official way.
The iPhone continues to impress in terms of gaming possibility. Raging Thunder isn't actually done yet on the iPhone (obviously -- judging by this video there are more glitches on this thing than a Matrix full of black cats), but once it gets rolling, the award-winning game, put together by Polarbit, looks like a pretty sweet racing experience. The accelerometer actually serves as a nice wheel (with a little help from the Wii wheel), and the graphics aren't too shabby, either.
We've already seen a few different games like this floating around at TUAW (including one from a big developer that we can't tell you about), but with a little bug fixing and optimization, the right tuning, and a horizontal mode, the iPhone could easily have a great accelerometer-controlled racing game available at launch. And that's just launch -- we can't wait to see what happens when a game like the Wii's latest Boom Blox (which lets you push and pull Jenga-type block structures around -- multitouch, anyone?) makes its way over to our little Apple handheld.
Racing Thunder is available right now on Installer.app, but this kind of stuff is what we're really looking for in the SDK when it comes out in June.
Despite getting punk'd on the Mortal Kombat for iPhone April Fool's joke, we're still innocent and trusting enough to buy into this video demo of Quake 3 running -- in multiplayer, accelerometer-enabled fragging glory -- on a pair of iPod touch handhelds. Is it real? Is it coming soon to a jailbroken device near you? Can you even stand the suspense until June when the SDK-based games start shipping? Yep, us neither.
OK, confession time, without a shadow of a doubt, Mortal Kombat/Mortal Kombat II is one of my favorite video games of all time. I don't really want to admit how much of 6th grade was wasted playing the SNES version of MK II.
TRMK.org is reporting that a port of Mortal Kombat is being developed by Midway for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Apparently Ed Boon (Mortal Kombat co-creator) posted coded message on his site, spelling out TOUCH. TRMK says that a source revealed to them that a Touch version IS in the works and was also able to provide a very, very convincing video demo.
The demo shows what looks to be motion controlled movements for the characters and the animations and actions looked pretty realistic to simply be pre-recorded (though I'm not ruling that out). From the characters in the Demo, it appears that this port is either of Mortal Kombat Trilogy or perhaps a new edition altogether.
Keep in mind that today is April 1 and that this could all be a hoax/joke. Mortal Kombat was one of (if not the first) fighting games to feature hidden characters and other Easter eggs ("Toasty!" and Noob Saibot anyone?), so this could all just be a really good prank. Still, the potential to see Mortal Kombat on an iPod Touch or iPhone is pretty exciting -- at least to a old skool gamer geek like myself. What about you? Would you play a 2-D platform fighting game on your iPhone or iPod Touch?
Unity's dynamic game development system (used by some fairlybignames), if it makes the leap to the iPhone and iPod touch successfully, will give game creators a spectactular platform for rapid development. Hopefully that will include the unique interaction modes (multitouch, accelerometer & maybe even location awareness) that we saw at the SDK announcement. Can't wait! Thanks fursund
As Brett noted in February, the long-in-development next installment of the classic Mac game Dark Castle has been expected "any day now" for years. Rent fans sing along with me: No Day But Today -- the release of Return To Dark Castle has finally happened, and you can buy the game at this moment from the SuperHappyFunFun site. Unfortunately, the planned level editor will not be included with this version of the game.
On the one hand, I'm very excited to revisit this diversion from my childhood; on the other, I wonder what my jaded offspring will make of the throwback fun of pitching rocks at bats and jumping off of ropes. $30 says they'll enjoy it as much as I did back in the day.
Gameloft announced that they will bring 15 of their games to the iPhone platform. Gameloft, as you may already know, has released some iPod games on iTunes already. Pocket Gamer has a mock up of what one of the games may look like.
Interestingly, this screenshot was shown off in Gameloft's keynote speech in the days leading up to the iPhone SDK announcement. Gameloft produces some big-name games for other mobile platforms, including: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Rayman, Might and Magic, and Prince of Persia.
While Apple did not release any games at today's event they did begin to show what's possible with several tech demos. Apparently the SDK has only been available for the last two weeks or so, even inside Apple, which makes what they showed that much more impressive. First up, a team inside of Apple cooked up "Touch Fighter," which appears to be a kind of space-based shooter that you steer by tilting and aim by pointing. The game is 3D and uses OpenGL graphics.
Next up was Travis Boatman from EA who showed an iPhone version of the eagerly-awaited game Spore (also shipping for Macs later this year). It's clearly cut down from the desktop version, but as Johnson said of the dog walking on his two hind legs: "it is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all!" Considering that EA had two weeks, this suggests the iPhone has the power to be a serious gaming platform.
Finally, Ethan Einhorn from Sega showed off a build of Super Monkey Ball, naturally also using tilt controls. What's interesting there is they actually underestimated what the iPhone could do, and ended up having to bring in another artist to upscale the art from what they had anticipated. Again, the take home message: the iPhone is a real platform for game development.
It's worth noting that these were all demos and there are no guarantees that any of them will be released. Nonetheless, it's an impressive showing for two-weeks with the SDK and we can only imagine what things will look like in June when firmware 2.0 is released to consumers.
Update: Engadget says that EA has confirmed Spore for iPhone; release in September.
Freeverse wrote today to tip us off about this webpage that describes their new Flick games for iPhone; the games are going to be written using the iPhone SDK as soon as soon can be.
These games will use the iPhone's accelerometer to create Wii-like interaction for baseball, motosports, bowling and so forth. The page shows a number of mockups of the games in progress, and Freeverse's PR folk assure us the games are going to be released as soon as possible. There's more details of the games in action over at Freeverse's site.
One more reason why we can't wait for the iPhone SDK to drop. GameSetWatch has a short interview up with developer Steve D of Demiforce about his new iPhone game, Trism. It's a Bejeweled-like gem matching puzzle game, but the twist is that after getting matched, the gems fall in the direction that the iPhone's accelerometer tells them to fall. It's wild stuff, and you can see it clearly in the video above.
He's playing the game on a jailbroken iPhone, but it's still a work in progress, so the game isn't available to the public yet. Depending on the terms of the iPhone SDK, he's looking at porting it over to that and releasing it via whatever distribution system Apple comes up with. And he cooked this thing up in about ten days (he wanted to rush it to show it off at GDC last week), so if Apple is able to include smaller developers like Steve in their SDK setup, we'll see some terrific software come off the line in no time at all.
iPod gamers (there's an odd phrase) have got something new to try out. Apple released Bubble Bash this week [iTunes link], a new game for iPod (5th generation) and iPod nano (3rd generation).
I played it on my nano and it's fun. Basically, you've got to toss bubbles into bunches of balloons, knocking out three or more of the same color. The graphics are nice for an iPod game and the music is only mildly annoying.
It doesn't beat my favorite iPod game, Mini Golf, but it's still fun. Check it out if you like puzzle games.
The original Dark Castle came out on the Macintosh that year, and immediately became a side-scrolling, rock-throwing, rope-swinging hit. In 1987 it was followed by Beyond Dark Castle, and a helicopter backpack and an excess of explosives kept things interesting, if not addictive. Various versions and ports came out in years following, extending the longevity of the classic game even further. 1994 even saw a Color Dark Castle, still playable in Classic under 10.0 and 10.1, and 2006 brought a mobile version.
Now, for all of us who get nostalgic at the mention of the Black Knight, Return To Dark Castle is almost ready for prime time after being announced 7 years ago. New levels, new secret rooms, and 5 times the orb collecting fun might just make me waste a little more time than I can afford.
Reported finished by Z Sculpt, the previously released beta has expired, but info on the upcoming release and some QuickTime trailers are available at publisher Super Happy Fun Fun's website. There were hopes for a release today, but it didn't happen. If you're anxious, you can join the waiting throngs at the Dark Castle Blog or express your fervent desire at the forum. It could, it seems, turn out to be a wait as cruel as the Black Knight himself.
Mike spoke to Ambrosia Software founder Andrew Welch about their newest app, WireTap Studio. Andrew gave us a few clues as to what to expect in the next version of Snapz Pro, and had a little criticism for Apple regarding games on the Mac.
Mike took a tour of some Mac game booths over in Moscone West. Check out a quick review of Tiger Woods Golf, Sims Pool and Sims Bowling for the iPod, making machinima using 'The Movies' (who'd a thunk it), a brief interlude with Aquaria, a true Guitar Hero (seriously, one of the world's best takes on the hardest song on the hardest setting), and a look at EVE Online, now available in PC, Linux and Mac. All this in less than 9 minutes.
Posted Jan 16th 2008 12:00PM by Mat Lu Filed under: Gaming
The eagerly awaited game Spore from Will Wright (of Simcity and Sims fame) is coming to the Mac later this year. CNET broke the news earlier in the day, and EA confirmed it in a press release later. Like the releases promised (but not delivered) last year, the Mac version of Spore will rely on TransGaming's Cider technology and is set to be released simultaneously with the PC version. Nonetheless, they're hoping to do better this time and even Wright himself expressed confidence, saying: "We couldn't be happier to bring Spore to the Mac at the same time as the PC version. Spore is a highly creative game and I look forward to seeing what the players come up with to fill the universe they design."
Here's hoping that Wright's right, because Spore has been looking like the hotness itself for quite some time now.
Unfortunately we don't have much more than a splash screen on this one, but Stuart Carnie sends word that he's used the Apple SDK to port a Commodore 64 emulator on to the iPhone. He has yet to put in a Save/Resume state mechanism, a way to browse for files and disks, or a virtual keyboard/joystiq to control it with, but the hard stuff is done, so by the time the App Store comes around, we may have a working C64 emu in there ready to go.
Update: yeah, it was a 
As 
Gameloft
While Apple did not release any games at today's event they did begin to show what's possible with several tech demos. Apparently the SDK has only been available for the last two weeks or so, even inside Apple, which makes what they showed that much more impressive. First up, a team inside of Apple cooked up "Touch Fighter," which appears to be a kind of space-based shooter that you steer by tilting and aim by pointing. The game is 3D and uses OpenGL graphics. 
Freeverse wrote today to tip us off about 
iPod gamers (there's an odd phrase) have got something new to try out. Apple released Bubble Bash this week [
The eagerly awaited game 
