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Mastering iOS Game Development
Mastering iOS Game Development

Mastering iOS Game Development: Mastering iOS Game Development

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Profile Icon Peter Ahlgren Profile Icon DeQuadros
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Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5 (1 Ratings)
Paperback Dec 2015 228 pages 1st Edition
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Peter Ahlgren Profile Icon DeQuadros
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Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5 (1 Ratings)
Paperback Dec 2015 228 pages 1st Edition
eBook
NZ$39.99 NZ$57.99
Paperback
NZ$71.99
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eBook
NZ$39.99 NZ$57.99
Paperback
NZ$71.99
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Mastering iOS Game Development

Chapter 2. Creating the Stuff

Now that you have Xcode all set up, I know you are excited to get started on developing your awesome new game! However, as you know, we have to start slow! All games have assets, such as a 3D model, an image, or super awesome sound effects. If you don't know anything about stuff like this, then you've come to the right place! In this chapter we are going to discuss:

  • Creating or obtaining assets for your game
  • Creating an optimized asset
  • Designing your game

This is where you can start to get really creative! Once you start designing the building blocks of your awesome new project, the fun really begins.

Some assets will be easy to create, some will require a little more effort, some may involve paying people to create them for you, and some may require downloading free assets, as shown in the following image:

Creating the Stuff

Enough intro, let's roll!

Let's talk assets

Assets are the building blocks of your game. They will essentially make up 100 percent of your game, regardless of whether you are creating a 3D blockbuster, or a 2D platformer as we will in this book.

There are various assets you will either create, purchase, or have created for you for your project. Let's break them down.

Sprites

What?! Don't worry, not a watery sprite as in, say, Homer's The Odyssey. When it comes to video game assets, sprites are essentially images that are used in your game. See that Mario image in the intro of this chapter? That right there is a sprite. Sprites can also be used for special effects, such as 2D lens flares or particles. Sprites are usually created in sprite sheets containing characters and their animations, such as the following image, which is a ripped sprite sheet from one of the many Megaman titles:

Sprites

Sprites can be super easy to create, or they can be massively complex and take many hours to draw. Yes, draw. Sprites...

Creating optimized assets

Let's start with creating optimized sprites for the best performance. How will this affect performance? Think of a game as a video, and your device as the DVD player, or even your TV. The game plays frame by frame and your device displays each frame. However, it has to render each frame. This happens so fast you will never notice it, but now imagine your device has to render large images (let's think dialup internet loading a huge photo). It can take longer and because the device has to work harder, the battery will drain quicker.

This is only one reason that can slow performance; we will discuss other reasons further on.

In the following figure, I've drawn a character design from my last book, and I drew him in Photoshop:

Creating optimized assets

For your information, his name is Kevin. It doesn't look like much does it? Here are the details of the drawing:

  • Image size: 52px x 52px
  • Color space: RGB
  • Compression: None at the moment
  • File type: Unsaved

I went ahead and saved the...

How to design your game

Game design can be a lot of fun, especially when you get a really great idea and you just keep rolling with it and adding more bits and pieces to it. No doubt you already have an idea for your game, but it's always a great idea to put things down in writing. I tell people this all the time, write it down, or you'll either forget it completely, or certain critical details. I've done it myself, I've had a great idea for a new game when I awake at 2am, but I don't write it down and by the morning I've completely forgotten my great idea. Not only is it good for remembering things, but it's also good for planning and expediting the creation and development process. The game we are going to create in this book will be in the style of Contra in the aspect that it will be a platformer, and we will add the ability to allow playing with your friends! But that will come much later in the book. We are also going to go through the planning process...

Game design document

We will be using the following pattern when creating the game design document:

  • Title page
    • Game name: Adesa
  • Game overview
    • Game concept: A game such as Contra, 2D Platform shooter. The player is a cartoon Space Soldier who was launched into space after his ship exploded.
    • Genre: Platformer shoot 'em up.
    • Target audience: Young children to adults (the game will not contain any graphic violence).
    • Game flow summary: The game will be a side scroller and the player will be controlled via touch controls, both in the game and in the menu.
    • Look and feel: 8-bit 2D goodness.
  • Gameplay
    • Game progression: Level by level, no player upgrades
    • Mission/challenge structure: Locate lost equipment → find a way off the planet
    • Puzzle structure: NA
    • Objectives: What are the objectives of the game?

      Find lost equipment

      Hunt for food after finding destroyed rations

      Escape inhabitant captivity and reclaim stolen equipment

      Reach communications relay

      Fight communications officer

      Radio home to find out crash...

Summary

In this chapter we discussed asset creation, what programs to use, as well as the best formats to use. We then had a great comparison between file type rendering to show which file type is more efficient and easier on the system. We then discussed the design aspect of game development. We took a look at a game design document, as well as level design and storyboard documents. In the next chapter, we begin development!

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Key benefits

  • • Create a complete game with advanced techniques through the course of the book using in-depth, hands-on instructions
  • • Learn how to multi-task and improve performance optimization in your game playing experience
  • • The author, Miguel, has 11 years of iOS game development using xcode and has released over 10 games to the Apple AppStoreMaster player movement using touch controls as well as discuss motion controls

Description

iOS is an operating system for Apple manufactured phones and tablets. Mobile gaming is one of the fastest-growing industries, and compatibility with iOS is now becoming the norm for game developers. SpriteKit is part of the native SDK from Apple, and enables developers to make simple entry into game development without unnecessary overhead and a long learning process. SpriteKit also provides other functionality that is useful for games, including basic sound playback support and physics simulation. In addition, Xcode provides built-in support for SpriteKit so that you can create complex special effects and texture atlases directly in Xcode. This combination of framework and tools makes SpriteKit a good choice for games and other apps that require similar kinds of animation. Become a master in iOS game development through this fast and fun guide! In the beginning, we’ll tell you everything you need to plan and design your game. You’ll then start developing your game through step-by-step instructions using the various built-in technologies of Xcode. From there on, we discuss how to deploy your game to the iOS App Store, as well as monetizing it to make more revenue. You will also learn advanced techniques to improve your game playing experience, including better multi-tasking, improved performance optimization, battery management, and more. To end the book off, we’ll show you how to update your game with different features, then port the update to the App Store.

Who is this book for?

This book is for those who have created an iOS game already and want to hone their skills. A reasonable level of knowledge and an understanding of the core elements and applications would be helpful.

What you will learn

  • Blast off and start developing fun games
  • Optimize the assets for the best performance in the game app
  • Master player movement using touch controls as well as discuss motion controls
  • Perform bug Squashing by testing and debugging
  • Design interesting various characters and enemies for your game
  • Test your game on both, the simulator on the computer and on real devices
  • Tweak and fine tune the code and graphics before the release of your app
  • Uncover some awesome new gameplay by adding in multiplayer elements, to get more people playing together

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Dec 29, 2015
Length: 228 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783554355
Vendor :
Apple
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Product Details

Publication date : Dec 29, 2015
Length: 228 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783554355
Vendor :
Apple
Languages :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

9 Chapters
1. What to Expect in Xcode and Game Development Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Creating the Stuff Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Blast Off! Starting with Development Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Let's Keep Going! Adding More Functionality Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Bug Squashing – Testing and Debugging Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Making Our Game More Efficient Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Deploying and Monetizing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. It's Too Dangerous to Go Alone, Take a Friend! Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
(1 Ratings)
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Sladan Feb 01, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This is a book I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn or improve their game development skills on the iOS platform. The book is well written and the author does a great job at explaining the different concepts of game development, including all the steps needed for releasing the game on the App Store.I do believe that you should have some prior experience in order to get the most out of this book, readers without any programming knowledge might find it a bit tough to follow. So if you have some experience and want to learn more about iOS game development, this book could be a great starting point. It certainly was for me.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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