iPhone dominates list of IGF Mobile 2009 finalists

by Ross Miller { Jan 26th 2009 at 4:29PM }

Whereas last year's entries seemed more diverse (with a heavy Java slant), the 2009 Independent Games Festival Mobile finalists are almost entirely composed of iPhone / iPod touch games -- 11 of the 14 contestants, to be exact. The remaining three entries are represented by a Nintendo DS, Java and Flash game.

A trio of games lead the pack with three nominations apiece: Wardive, Edge and Fieldrunners (pictured). We're not anywhere close to calling it "the future of gameplay," but the iPhone's App Store -- not to mention massive install base -- has proven to be a viable and tempting business model for aspiring developers.

Tags: apple, igf, igf-2009, igf-mobile, igf-mobile-2009, independent-games-festival, iphone, ipod-touch

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

gameplayFanBoy @ Jan 26th 2009 4:42PM

fieldrunners is the shiz

D_Average @ Jan 26th 2009 5:22PM

Damn straitz it is, my wife and I are both addicted. I'm pretty much convinced at this point the iphone can satisfy my portable gaming needs.

kinshadow @ Jan 26th 2009 5:42PM

BTW, the setup in that screenshot is horrible.

Patriks7 @ Jan 27th 2009 12:51PM

" I'm pretty much convinced at this point the iphone can satisfy my portable gaming needs."
Same here! I had a PSP, but the UMDs got annoying over time. Plus, carrying a phone, iPod AND PSP is not fun. Now I have it all in one package!

FFXIIIAngelVanille @ Jan 26th 2009 4:43PM

Interesting....

baby sea tuna @ Jan 26th 2009 4:44PM

Oh Fieldrunners, how I heart thee! Shame Rolando isn't on there though...

jynxycat @ Jan 26th 2009 7:32PM

Rolando is ftw.

MowDownJoe @ Jan 26th 2009 4:46PM

Now Apple needs to have the iPod Touch have a decent battery life while playing games, and I'll be able to take them seriously as trying to compete in the handheld gaming market.

Seriously, that battery life is abysmal.

ZeroCorpse @ Jan 27th 2009 12:12AM

Hmm. My 2nd Generation touch has decent battery life. Make sure you cycle it properly, and it lasts a while.

Of course, some games drain more than others.

laserboyjc @ Feb 24th 2009 12:31AM

I must agree on that...I have enjoyed the iPod touch I got recently, maybe a little too much as it appears that it is often getting low batt...I guess I was used to the DS having a super long battery time. I've enjoyed most of the game apps that I've tried, and I look forward to the innovation to come...

Marty @ Jan 26th 2009 4:54PM

I'm very interested in trying my hand at programming games for the iPhone... it's a shame you need a Mac to do use the official dev kit.

Kristof @ Jan 26th 2009 5:04PM

Do Wii/PS3/360 developers need to buy a dev kit? Just wondering what the difference would be.

You can buy a iMac/Mac mini for as little as $400 I'm sure.

Marty @ Jan 26th 2009 5:12PM

Thing is, I've already got two desktop machines, both of which are well-outfitted for game development. I shouldn't need to buy a Mac computer just to develop a game for their phone.

Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Jan 26th 2009 5:21PM

Then get Torque instead. I recently purchased Torque and Game Maker to start my own project.

Marty @ Jan 26th 2009 5:43PM

Haha, that's funny - I use Game Maker a lot. I'm a moderator at the official forum (FredFredrickson) if you ever want to drop me a line.

Ryan Henson Creighton @ Jan 26th 2009 6:58PM

@kristof -

The difference is tens of thousands of dollars. i believe that console kits clock in at $10-20k per kit. iPhone development is costing me $1200 (for my Boxing Day Macbook), $99 (for my developer fee), $1000 (for the costs associated with incorporating), and $?? for the time it'll take me to learn the very unfamiliar Xcode/Cocoa/Obj-C environment.

Victor Agreda, Jr. @ Jan 27th 2009 9:55AM

Actually, you can use Unity, and version 2.5 will be PC-compatible. Since you're a GameMaker power user I think you'll appreciate what Unity does. I don't work for them, but I do own the iPhone version + indie version of Unity and it rocks. The "pro" edition will export web-based games (Fusion Fall used Unity), Dashboard games (yeah, who plays games in their Dashboard?), Mac games AND PC games. Like Director, you just click a button and it publishes.

ill trooper @ Jan 26th 2009 5:25PM

I may have to go play Field Runners right now. It's just those damn helicopters on level 111 that get me. And I mean like EVERY TIME.

RobLink (Alex Kidd incarnate) @ Jan 26th 2009 5:38PM

Me too! I've managed to survive to level 129 once, but the difficulty ramps up exponentially once you're past 100. Though I was very please that time when I made it to 100 without letting one go.

Patriks7 @ Jan 27th 2009 12:54PM

Just make sure you have bunch of those electric things down the middle and some of those things that slow them down. I almost got to 150 once, but it gets brutal!

RobLink (Alex Kidd incarnate) @ Jan 26th 2009 5:39PM

Also, that plan up there would fail to even reach level 50. Whoever's playing that sucks.

john paul @ Jan 26th 2009 10:47PM

That's a screenshot from the developer :P

Patriks7 @ Jan 27th 2009 12:54PM

Well, the developer sucks at his own game :P

Bones3D @ Jan 26th 2009 7:44PM

Not sure about the iPhone SDK itself, but Unity is supposed to be going multi-platform soon as of the 2.5 release. It's possible the iPhone specific version will also support development outside of Mac OS X as well.

- http://unity3d.com/unity/coming-soon/unity-2.5

In the meanwhile, I have to say edge is a pretty interesting title, borrowing cues from both Marble Madness and Kororinpa, despite being all "boxy".

Anthony @ Jan 26th 2009 10:04PM

The iPhone is such a great platform to write for. It's a easily accessible machine that offers rapid deployment of software via the iTunes store. Whilst quality may be questionable, the competition is healthy and ensures we'll end up with some great applications.

iphoneauctions.com.au

ZeroCorpse @ Jan 27th 2009 12:10AM

iShoot is worth every penny, especially if you're an old-school Scorched Earth fan.

I've been very pleased with the iPod touch 2G. Having a built-in speaker makes all the difference for gaming. The App Store is getting interesting. Games are full of value and low in price. Apple found a back door into the gaming industry, and it won't be long before they start kicking some serious ass.

Will @ Jan 27th 2009 3:29AM

I just wish some developers would make games worth playing for the Windows Mobile device.

There's a lot of reasons that I can't carry an iPhone around as a phone and to me that comes before gaming capability.

That and I wish some people would release better freeware for it. I was looking at some of the things on my friend's iPhone and anything interesting costs like $5, it's nuts.