Carmack hopes Doom will kick off 'bigger' iPhone games in future
by Ben Gilbert 
{ Jun 30th 2009 at 4:40PM } 
He's not entirely without hope, however, as he looks at Resurrection as a value proposition, trading higher production values for higher costs. In fact, Carmack's hoping to set a precedent with DR that will allow for "bigger iPhone games" in the future -- something he says he'd like to see a lot more of. "There's only so much you can do with games that cost two or three dollars -- there's only so much production value you can put into that," he told us. The clear answer: Make Doom-based alien flatulence apps.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
NaeemTHM @ Jun 30th 2009 4:48PM
Does Carmack have an iPhone fetish or something? It's all he's been talking about for the past few months.
He's still working on RAGE right?
Captain Planet @ Jun 30th 2009 4:52PM
I think it's easier to see returns on games released for the iPhone and other wireless/mobile devices. I'm sure the small development costs don't hurt either.
Sly @ Jun 30th 2009 4:58PM
they're mostly just ports but with controls enhanced for the system. so i doubt it takes TOO much dev resources/time. they're probably just side projects to cater to fans and to make some extra money.
CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Jun 30th 2009 4:49PM
I think this game is overpriced, I'll buy it when it gets a price drop. $10 for an on rails shooter with reused graphics? This couldn't have taken much time to make.
Mr_Awesome @ Jun 30th 2009 4:53PM
Dang what App is that in the picture? That looks sweet!!
offday @ Jun 30th 2009 5:24PM
It looks like ifart. Look at It's sales is probably also a pretty good way to keep track of current obama supporters. oh snap. I went there. Voting down commence!
Saria the Cat @ Jun 30th 2009 6:33PM
@offday: I see what you did there.
...Wait, no I don't.
Sly @ Jun 30th 2009 4:56PM
i got peggle for $1, zenonia for $6, and knights onrush for $3, so i got 3 content-filled and fun games for $10. so assuming they charge $10 for a game, it had better have a ton of content, otherwise people would go for good games for much cheaper.
Captain Planet @ Jun 30th 2009 5:02PM
Yeah, $10 for a 3-4 hour game is a bit much. DLC in the future maybe?
NaeemTHM @ Jun 30th 2009 5:09PM
I said this earlier but I guess it applies here as well:
"Some people are complaining about the 10 price tag for a 4 hour game, but I think the quality of the game more than makes up for the price tag. I mean dozens of titles on XBLA and PSN are 2-3 hours and offer a short experience for 15 bucks. I mean games like Alien Hominid can be completed in an hour, but are endlessly enjoyable because of the level of polish."
Sly @ Jun 30th 2009 5:18PM
oh, well of course the app probably would still be fun after you beat everything. but when you consider that you could get 3 of the iphone's best games for the same price (well, if peggle was still on sale anyways), then most people would go for the 3. so if you make a higher priced game, you just need to make the value known. if it was a game on XBLA/PSN, then of course it's value would show better, because a lot of other games would be more expensive.
BunnySlapper @ Jun 30th 2009 5:01PM
Ugh, the iPhone is a game platform for CASUAL games - not feature length titles.
There's only so much production value you can put into $3 titles because that's all you SHOULD put into them. Who needs a iPhone game that needs $2 million to produce?
This is not next-gen hardware here...it's a CELL PHONE.
Sly @ Jun 30th 2009 5:20PM
"Ugh, the iPhone is a game platform for CASUAL games - not feature length titles."
there are a ton of non-casual games. you just have to look for them. the best example would be zenonia which is a full featured old school-style RPG. it's not all fart apps, you know.
BunnySlapper @ Jun 30th 2009 5:29PM
I know there are a ton of non-casual games on the iPhone, and I think they're misplaced on this platform - hence my irritation.
The bigger the titles get the bigger the prices are going to get because they take more money to produce...and if 9 out of 10 iPhone titles start becoming $10 or more, the base price is likely to go up out of relativity.
Mind you, we're a ways away from 9/10 titles being $10 or more, but iPhone developement is all the rage right now...I just think it should be scoped appropriately for the platform.
ill trooper @ Jun 30th 2009 6:58PM
"This is not next-gen hardware here...it's a CELL PHONE."
All that ALLCAPS rage... So misplaced. Take a look at the specs, grampa, you'll see that the term 'cell phone' is being redefined right before your spectacles.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/308995/iphone_3gs_chews_through_ps_game_boy_games?fp=39&fpid=32903
BunnySlapper @ Jun 30th 2009 7:38PM
Oh yes, the utter rage that consumes me :). I meant to emphasize, nothing more.
What is your point with the linked article? One of the new (hacked) iPhones 3GS can run Game Boy games? So what? I would wager that a GameBoy has better battery time.
Regardless, it's not whether or not the iPhone can be made to RUN better games, the question is: 'should it'? Convert Halo to be runnable on iPhone, now what do you have? An incredibly expensive port that drains your iPhone battery in what, 20-30 minutes, and that gives you The Claw from playing it on a tiny screen?
When battery life and interface limitations are solved then we have a really interesting platform here for extended play games...but playing anything for a prolonged period of time is just uncomfortable and unfeasible on the current tech...and EXPENSIVE.
That last caps was just for you :).
BunnySlapper @ Jun 30th 2009 5:10PM
Err, unless you have an iPod Touch. In which case it's an iPhone minus the phone component.
Gemini Ace @ Jun 30th 2009 5:02PM
Doesn't he realize that way more copies of his game will sell at a cheaper price point, therefore making more money in the long run? I thought this guy was smart.
Anthology @ Jun 30th 2009 5:36PM
You actually make much more money if you start at a high price point and gradually decrease it.
There is a reason products, especially technology, have such a high price when they're first introduced to a market.
Jim @ Jun 30th 2009 5:06PM
How about a demo or a lite version then? I'm not springing 10 bucks on an iphone game that I might hate.
aggrazel @ Jun 30th 2009 7:03PM
Exactly my thoughts. I bought the Wolfenstien for the phone only -after- they released the demo so I could tell if I liked the control scheme or not. Not paying $10 for a game with no demo.
I remember downloading the original Doom shareware over my 2400 baud modem to my 386. It took 2 days to download and I had to play in low rez with the screen size shrunk but by golly, those were some fun times.
Chris @ Jun 30th 2009 5:34PM
Is this even relevant news? Who is going to buy this crap? Tom who? Isn't he the guy who has been on a number of failed projects/companies in the past decade?
Must be a slow day for news. Back to reading Michael Jackson stories....
Leroy_Octopus @ Jun 30th 2009 6:04PM
Because that's news...
CaramelZappa @ Jul 1st 2009 12:28AM
I have an undying respect for Carmack but I think his love for the iphone as a dev platform is blinding him from it's actual use as a gaming platform. The fact is, the iphone doesn't have buttons, so you have to use either touchscreen buttons with no tactile feedback or tilt controls, where your angle of the screen shifts constantly. For a shooter, which is the only kind of game iD makes, this is horrible. Yes, you can get it to work but it will never match up to duel analog sticks or even a d-pad and touchscreen (like the DS)
Yes, the iphone is a great dev platform, and the touchscreen is more than perfect for some games, but for an FPS you can't do much worse.