The idea of a joypad-free console seemed impossible 10 years ago, but rise of Wii, Kinetic and touchscreen devices now makes buttons and sticks seem old fashioned.

Still, it seems a little fair fetched to think that touchscreen devices could become universal controllers...

Not according to Joypad Inc's Todd Hamilton.

Its technology has been implemented in over 50 iOS games and also works with PC and Mac, offering new ways to interact with games. 

We spoke with Hamilton on how Joypad Inc. has fared in bringing its universal controller app to iOS devices, and how it hopes to change the way we view the iPad as a gaming device.Pocket Gamer: What's the company's background?

Todd Hamilton: Lou Zell and I created the first version of Joypad while working on an iPhone game concept.

We thought it would be fun to hack iPhone controller support into a Mac emulator, so we took a permanent break from building the game and prototyped what would eventually become Joypad.

We released the emulator controller and charged two bucks for it. This was back in 2010. At the end of 2010, we moved from New York City to San Francisco and began working full-time on the Joypad SDK, which is what developers use to add Joypad support directly into their games.

We launched the SDK in July 2011. As the SDK became more built out, maintaining the old emulator functionality became a hindrance.

We forked the Joypad into two new apps: one for playing iPad games with direct support (Joypad Game Controller), and one for playing emulator and other desktop games (Joypad Legacy).

Considering Apple already supports the use of iPhone/iPod as a controller for iPad games as part of iOS, why did you decide to come up with your own technology?

It is possible for developers to create their own game controller, but the duplication of effort is unnecessary.

Game developers already have a lot on their plates, and something like network programming, which may not be a core competency for many developers, should be offloaded to us. Controls are our specialty: we make sure the input works perfectly while the developer focuses on building a great game.



A single controller app that works across all games, instead of every developer releasing companion apps, also makes more sense from a gamer’s perspective.

How easy is it for developers to implement this tech into their games?

Right now it is varies depending on the depth of integration.

Basic integrations without menu support and without dynamic layouts (meaning the controller display changes throughout the game) can be done in two hours.

We encourage developers to at least go through this level of integration: they will benefit from shorter development times by being able to play through their games in the iOS simulator.

For released games, 4-8 hours are needed to make sure menus work with Joypad.

What has developer interest been like so far?

We have 50 live games in the App Store using Joypad Game Controller. 

Cramped controls and fingers in the way of gameplay are common complaints among iOS gamers, so developers are excited to provide their customers with a better alternative.

What technical issues did you have to overcome?

We focus on simply the best customer experience, both for developers implementing the SDK and gamers playing with Joypad.

The technical challenges all come from that. There are really too many to list, but one that comes to mind was removing lag in all input cases (accelerometer data, analog stick positions, multiple connected phones, etc).

What sort of games do you think it works best with, and are there any developers you're working with specifically?

One category that we would like to see more developers explore is multiplayer. Multiple phones running Joypad can connect to a single iPad.
Infinity Field has a head-to-head mode powered by Joypad. We'd like to see more of that.

Platformers and dual stick shooters work really well with Joypad. We’re also excited about games using the gyroscope and accelerometer for steering.

I think pretty soon we’ll start seeing developers take advantage other iPhone hardware to create new types of gaming experiences. Things like in-game voice and video chat come to mind.

We’re working with a few developers on something new, but its too early to announce partnerships.
Joypad is a free app, so how do you make money?

Our concern at this time is establishing dominance in the market, not extracting revenue. Joypad was a paid app at one point, but we made it free to remove all barriers preventing gamers from trying it.

The more gamers we have, the more leverage we gain for selling larger game makers, and the cycle fuels itself. With a large audience, there are revenue possibilities that we can explore.

What's next for Joypad Inc?

Our next product is going to change the way people view the iPad as a gaming device.

We’ve been working closely with several developers and building on top of our existing SDK to create a full console experience on the iPad. We’re launching the new app on 9 July.
Thanks to Todd for his time

Keep up to date with Joypad Inc via its website.

You can find Joypad Game Controller here [iTunes link] and Joypad Legacy here [iTunes link/weblink]. Both are free.

You can see how the two apps work in the videoes below.