Best Game Design Practices for a Universal App for iOS.

We're currently refining the game play for our first 3D game 'Big Top Ballet' for the iPad and iPod touch. In considering the differences between the available screen real estate between the iPad and iPhone/ iPod touch, where appropriate we're leaning to provide for device specific game play to accomodate the smaller screen size of the iPhone within a universal app download.

When designing a game and working with a team, the vision becomes clearer as the game is developed. What makes the game fun on the iPad or Desk top, all of a sudden presents a subtle challenge on a different screen size or a non- mobile device.

Since we're taking advantage of the accelerometer for iOS and Android as part of the game play and we also have plans to release to the Desk Top, instead of trying to make the game exactly the same on each platform, we're tweaking the design so that the end result will have slight differences that enhance the game play based on the strengths of the platform it's being played upon. 

As a game artist and designer I find that these subtle differences lend to making the game more interesting and more likely to be explored on different devices or platforms as a process of discovery, so long as the device specific differences remain delightful. 

We'll be posting a video capture of the Paper Ballerinas level shortly on our site. We've been beta testing and even though this looks like a game for girls, it never fails to put a smile on the face of the men who play it!