Perhaps there weren't many surprises during Steve Jobs' WWDC 2010 keynote, but there's certainly a lot to think about, and some features will have significant implications.
So as developers are starting to digest the news about iPhone, as well as the forthcoming release of iOS 4, we've been catching up with key studios to get their views.
Tak Fung, the creator of MiniSquadron is next onto the soapbox.
Pocket Gamer: What do you think will be the impact of iPhone 4?
Tak Fung: I think the iPhone 4 will have a bigger impact than the 3GS in that it will make a purposeful step for improving the technology in all areas. It should definitely get the imagination of the public going once again.
Are you worried about fragmentation in terms of the high resolution screen, gyroscope etc?
Yes I am, especially since we can't ignore the current user base of first generation iPod touches which are still being used by a lot of people. It is difficult to take full advantage of features such as the gyroscope without removing 90 percent of the market you want to sell to.
How will you be dealing with iPhone 4 in terms of new games and will you be doing any retrospective work to already released games?
I will certainly try to put the improved power of the CPU/GPU to good use, but there is the danger of the deep asset pipelines requiring a magnitude of effort to maintain in order to service this.
It's always fun to show off though. If anything can get me closer to full on programmable GPU, the happier I am.
What do you think will be the impact of iOS 4?
I think iOS4 will have the most impact of the things Apple announced at WWDC. We knew it was coming, and it will be the thing that will actually change the way people use their iPhones.
Are you planning to use iAd?
No comment/plans as yet.
Were you surprised there was no mention of Game Center?
Not entirely. It's my opinion that games arent Apple's first priority, so it fits the perspective that it will keep Game Center news in the background and feed it through to developers and the gaming community to play with/shout about.
Do you think FaceTime will have any impact in terms of gaming?
I hope the iPhone continues to use features such as FaceTime to produce batshit insane apps, because I would hate to think that with the extra grunt of the iPhone 4 there will be another graphics arms race and all we'll see for a while are FPS clones and a normal mapping bonanza at the cost of innovative and different games.
Thanks to Tak for his time.
Interview
Contributing Editor
A Pocket Gamer co-founder, Jon is Contributing Editor at PG.biz which means he acts like a slightly confused uncle who's forgotten where he's left his glasses. As well as letters and cameras, he likes imaginary numbers and legumes.
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