Paul Zirkle - IPhone Game Development: Developing 2D & 3D Games in Objective-C

Copyright 2009 Paul Zirkle and Joe Hogue

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Were two programmers who have been buddies in the Los Angeles area for a long time and have been making mobile games since 2003. Between the two of us we have developed and ported close to a hundred titles for cell phones, including Ninja Gaiden , Castlevania: Order of Shadows , Dance Dance Revolution: Mobius , and Contra 4 , among many, many others. Paul currently works for Konami, and occasionally gives lectures about game programming at USC. Joe works at EA and recently published a game for the iPhone. Paul wrote most of the theory, while Joe cooked up some great example projects.

We expect there isscratch thatwe know there is a lot of interest in the iPhone as a new game platform. The high-end hardware promises plenty of power and memory for graphics and content, while the unique touch screen and gyroscope interface pose an interesting challenge that encourages innovative game designs. Add to that the open market of the iTunes App Store, which promises easy entry for independent developers as well as accurate revenue tracking for serious publishers, and its no surprise that the iPhone is making a huge splash in the mobile space.

Our goal was to write a book that can put iPhone game development in the reach of any programmer out there, in a format that suits both beginning and advanced game programmers.

This book is not a course on Objective-C, though it will contain a primer. This book is not an exhaustive study of the iPhone SDK, as we will use only the functionality needed to make our games. This book is not a five-year course on game programming technology. However, this book is the source for all you need to know not only to build the example games we have provided but also to build your own.

By the end of the book, you will have learned all of the core concepts of creating a game engine, and how to apply it to the iPhone. You will learn enough Objective-C to utilize the iPhone SDK to make a 2D game. You will have been introduced to OpenGL ES on the iPhone for making 3D games. And finally, you will be familiar with the certification process so that making the last plunge into the App Store is much less scary.