Flick Ninjas Dev Part 3: Why iOS is Better for Games than Android

With 4 days remaining until submission, I decided that now would be a good time to discuss a topic that I feel is essential for indie developers on mobile platforms.  Why pick iOS over the competition?

In Part 2 of this series I discussed the idea of a Tile Based Game Engine that would allow for a completely arbitrary level design.  In that article I mentioned that I have never actually owned an iPhone.  So why would a developer who was writing software for a platform that was, until recently, called "iPhone OS" when he doesn't even own the phone? At first is was because of cost.  But as I proceeded, I found a new friend when it comes to game development, and a great reason to stick with what is now called iOS.

For starters, let's look at the Android platform.  As an open platform, the SDK and all the software necessary for development are absolutely free.  Some would call this quite the low barrier for entry, and a boon for developers.  While it's great that I don't have to pay $100 per year to develop for them, there are other concerns that game developers particularly have to take into account.  Testing on an emulator can only take you so far.  It can get you there when it comes to raw functionality, but when it comes to feel and performance, you really need to invest in a device to install your game on.

When in the prototyping stage, I really couldn't go any further in development with the provided Simulator, because I couldn't tell how my games would actually feel on an actual piece of hardware.  There always comes a time in development when you just need a piece of hardware to test on.  With Android, this currently means a couple of things.  One, you have to buy a phone.  Two, unless you want to pay nearly $1000 dollars for said phone, you are going to have to tie yourself to a two year contract. Three, hardware and software fragmentation will mean that you have to either purchase at minimum 2-3 devices for testing, or have that many friends willing to lend you their phones.  This barrier will prevent innovation on the platform, because often games will be developed without the actual feel of a device until much later in the dev cycle.

And now for Apples solution.  Enter the iPod Touch.  When I first heard the announcement of the iPod Touch, I was a bit confused.  It's an iPhone without the phone.  How could that be useful?  Then a few months later Apple announced the App Store, and the native SDK for iPhone development.  It finally clicked when games started to hit the App Store.  The iPod Touch is a game platform.  Low cost of entry, means that the potential audience is huge. What parent is going to buy their kid an iPhone with a contract of $30 a month for data.  Most parents would have no qualms with spending a couple hundred dollars on what is both an MP3 player, and a decent portable games device as well.

The iPod is also a great answer for developers.  If you follow Apple's design cycle carefully you'll notice a few patterns.  Apple will release a new hardware revision each year.  This could mean you have to buy a new device each year, pegging iPhone development at around $300 total each year.  However, another pattern has also been fairly evident.  Major features seem to only be introduced every two to three years.  I was able to stick with my Second Generation iPod Touch for two years until the iPod 4 came out.  I only bought a new one because I really needed to test drive the Retina Display to make sure it wasn't detrimental to performance.  That put iOS development at only around $200 a year average, which is even better.  Compare that with the possibility of having to spend nearly $2000 a year just to keep up with Android and I can see exactly why developers flock to iOS for games.

Of course the requirement to use Apple computers for iOS definitely doesn't help the cost situation any, but I think that most developers would buy a computer to work with anyway.  Then you just have to factor in the "Apple Tax" as it is sometimes called.

Finally, this iPod can keep us as developers focused on a few things when it comes to game design.  I've seen a lot of cool tech demos and interesting apps developed with the iPhone's capabilities in mind.  The GPS and 3G connection alone offer some great possibilities.  However, you're going to be limiting your potential audience.  Just think of all the kids out there with iTunes gift cards that want nothing more than to buy more games for their shiny new Birthday/Christmas present.  If we keep focused on the core tenets of the platform, we won't be tempted to leave a majority of our audience in the cold.  Developing on the iPod Touch is a great way to keep that perspective very clear.

Well that's it for today.  Stay tuned for another feature each day, and keep your eyes open for my game Flick Ninjas to be released in mid-February.  Feel free to visit my personal development blog for more information, and to view my official gameplay trailer.  Also feel free to click the "Like" button on my blog to follow Flick Ninjas on Facebook.