New Interview Reveals More Details About Upcoming tvOS/iOS Social Adventure Game 'Sky'

[thisisnotmyname]

All I can see on any of these demos and examples is that bloody notch!

I'd expect app developers will start keeping the clock/provider/signal indicators visible in portrait mode all the time. That makes the notch appear as a unified banner and provides useful information while people are in an app.
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People aren't buying the controllers though. Apple needs to remove their Siri remote requirement restriction on games and include their own controller or the Steel Series.

I'm pretty sure they already removed the Siri remote requirement over a year ago.

 

[nutriousmitten]

With the hundreds or thousands of game developers and just the thousands and thousands developers in general, wonder how any specific company gets to wander on stage for 5 minutes on an Apple stage to show their product at a worldwide event like this.

This is the same stage where Apples execs (who costs hundreds of thousands of $ for a charity lunch) are actually stressed for days and weeks ahead to get their script down to be able to get all their product messages out in front of millions.

And then you have two groups of developers who fumble their way through the description of their own game and a AR game, which appeals to a very smaller percentage of people (and in my opinion, AR gaming falls well down the list of the usefulness of AR, so am surprised a game was the showcase for AR),and taking up time for some weak demos that don’t really impress anyone. But getting that stage time is invaluable and very precious for any developers it means sales no matter what by people who don’t do much more thena cursory browse of the App Store.

So is $ involved? A bigger cut from Apple of revenue for that game? A lottery amongst a bunch of game developers?

 

[Cougarcat]

I'd expect app developers will start keeping the clock/provider/signal indicators visible in portrait mode all the time. That makes the notch appear as a unified banner and provides useful information while people are in an app.

For apps this is fine, but in most games I’d find this horribly distracting. I’d prefer they take the same approach as video: turn the area into a black bar.

I'm pretty sure they already removed the Siri remote requirement over a year ago.

Yes: https://www.macrumors.com/2016/06/14/apple-drops-siri-remote-game-controller-demand/

 

[Vanilla35]

Controllers were supported at launch with the ATV4, and the requirement for TVOS games to be playable with the ATV remote was dropped in June of 2016. Non-issue...

Thanks for pointing this out. Do you have any controllers, if so how are games with them? Most games seem to be designed for the remote, therefore controllers don't add much functionality, or?

 

[EndersShadow]

'Journey' Rip-off

It's made by the creators of Journey...

 

[Cougarcat]

With the hundreds or thousands of game developers and just the thousands and thousands developers in general, wonder how any specific company gets to wander on stage for 5 minutes on an Apple stage to show their product at a worldwide event like this.

This is the same stage where Apples execs (who costs hundreds of thousands of $ for a charity lunch) are actually stressed for days and weeks ahead to get their script down to be able to get all their product messages out in front of millions.

And then you have two groups of developers who fumble their way through the description of their own game and a AR game, which appeals to a very smaller percentage of people (and in my opinion, AR gaming falls well down the list of the usefulness of AR, so am surprised a game was the showcase for AR),and taking up time for some weak demos that don’t really impress anyone. But getting that stage time is invaluable and very precious for any developers it means sales no matter what by people who don’t do much more thena cursory browse of the App Store.

So is $ involved? A bigger cut from Apple of revenue for that game? A lottery amongst a bunch of game developers?

Scoring thatgamecompany was huge for Apple. Journey is one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, and they did not need the publicity of the event. Personally, I thought their presentation was fine. Their games are better the less you know because they’re about discovery.

The AR game was indeed awful. I don’t get it either. But unfortunately bad third party presentations are almost a keynote tradition at this point.

 

[MrX8503]

I'm pretty sure they already removed the Siri remote requirement over a year ago.

Ok, now they need to include a controller

 

[gnipgnop]

Thanks for pointing this out. Do you have any controllers, if so how are games with them? Most games seem to be designed for the remote, therefore controllers don't add much functionality, or?

I have the SteelSeries Nimbus, and the experience is the same as using a wireless console controller with a Playstation or Xbox. Pretty much any developer that has supported controllers for their game in iOS and releases a TVOS version is going to provide a good experience. Oceanhorn, Galaxy on Fire, Minecraft, Real Racing 3, Asphalt 8, Geometry Wars, Rayman Adventures, all the various Sonic ports, Zen Pinball, Skyforce Reloaded, Transistor, Pixel Cup Soccer, Tennis Champs Returns/Season 2...there are some really good games available for the TV.

 

[Vanilla35]

I have the SteelSeries Nimbus, and the experience is the same as using a wireless console controller with a Playstation or Xbox. Pretty much any developer that has supported controllers for their game in iOS and releases a TVOS version is going to provide a good experience. Oceanhorn, Galaxy on Fire, Minecraft, Real Racing 3, Asphalt 8, Geometry Wars, Rayman Adventures, all the various Sonic ports, Zen Pinball, Skyforce Reloaded, Transistor, Pixel Cup Soccer, Tennis Champs Returns/Season 2...there are some really good games available for the TV.

Cool. I'll be in the market for an TV or Nvidia Shield in the next 6 months. Leaning heavily towards the Shield atm, but seeing that those games support the controller is good to know.

 

[witherwings]

I played journey on ps3 and it has an amazing graphics. Can’t wait to see Sky running on my iPad.

 

[petsounds]

Controllers were supported at launch with the ATV4, and the requirement for TVOS games to be playable with the ATV remote was dropped in June of 2016. Non-issue...

It's absolutely an issue. Game developers can't rely on people having a controller if it's not packed-in with the console; they're not going to make a game for a tiny subset of Apple TV owners who also have a third-party controller.

 

[gnipgnop]

It's absolutely an issue. Game developers can't rely on people having a controller if it's not packed-in with the console; they're not going to make a game for a tiny subset of Apple TV owners who also have a third-party controller.

The problem with what you're saying: the ATV is really closer to the PC side of things when it comes to game controllers, not the game console side. Reason being that the same stand-alone controller that you can use with various generations of iOS devices can also be used with the ATV4 and ATV5. It's not like a console where each new generation of hardware requires a specific new controller to be used with it.

Also, most TVOS games are originally developed for iOS first, which means that they'll typically have touch and/or gyro controls as a default + controller support for users that have one. That makes providing controller support for TVOS not that big of an issue.

 

[Porco]

Not fussed about 'social gaming', but flOw, Flower and Journey were all wonderful games IMHO, so I am looking forward to playing this.

 

[blackcrayon]

Ok, now they need to include a controller

If you mean "and not charge for it" you have a point, otherwise- the primary places to buy Apple TVs also sell MFI controllers.

 

[MrX8503]

I have the SteelSeries Nimbus, and the experience is the same as using a wireless console controller with a Playstation or Xbox. Pretty much any developer that has supported controllers for their game in iOS and releases a TVOS version is going to provide a good experience. Oceanhorn, Galaxy on Fire, Minecraft, Real Racing 3, Asphalt 8, Geometry Wars, Rayman Adventures, all the various Sonic ports, Zen Pinball, Skyforce Reloaded, Transistor, Pixel Cup Soccer, Tennis Champs Returns/Season 2...there are some really good games available for the TV.

I'm sure those games are fine and all, but I'd like to see AAA titles. Apple has the hardware. I feel like it's a missed opportunity for Apple to enter the gaming market.

 

[Aeolius]

I feel like it's a missed opportunity for Apple to enter the gaming market.

 

[gnipgnop]

I'm sure those games are fine and all, but I'd like to see AAA titles. Apple has the hardware. I feel like it's a missed opportunity for Apple to enter the gaming market.

tvOS gaming is basically a compliment to iOS gaming, so it's really more about what developers are interested in bringing to iOS initially, since that is the larger and more lucrative gaming market. The example I would give is NBA 2K17. That's a AAA console game and it's available on iOS (but with a lot of the extra features/modes removed). However, it's not available on tvOS. Why not? Probably because the developer doesn't want a TV playable version available at the same time they're selling the game on traditional consoles.

 

[0098386]

I’ll be waiting for this to come to Steam. I don’t like playing games like this with a touchscreen.
VERY good! It’d be a crying shame to have such a good display with such incredible standards behind it, be reduced to playing obscured videos. I don’t mind the option of zooming in (and have it stay fixed there until you zoom out) but the standard should hide the notch for sure.


OT, but according to Jason Snell on the latest Upgrade, videos go up to the notch. They don’t obscure content unless you “zoom in.” I was worried too after watching the marketing video.

 

[petsounds]

The problem with what you're saying: the ATV is really closer to the PC side of things when it comes to game controllers, not the game console side. Reason being that the same stand-alone controller that you can use with various generations of iOS devices can also be used with the ATV4 and ATV5. It's not like a console where each new generation of hardware requires a specific new controller to be used with it.

Also, most TVOS games are originally developed for iOS first, which means that they'll typically have touch and/or gyro controls as a default + controller support for users that have one. That makes providing controller support for TVOS not that big of an issue.

Again, the amount of iPhone owners who also have MFi controllers is very small. Developers want a guarantee that the majority of a console's base will have an input method before they base a whole game around its control scheme. And designing a game around supporting the Remote as the default control scheme really limits the complexity of the game. Touch controls don't map to the touch pad on the Remote.

Traditional console titles from big developers just won't be a reality with the Apple TV until Apple decides to pack-in a controller.

 

[gnipgnop]

Again, the amount of iPhone owners who also have MFi controllers is very small. Developers want a guarantee that the majority of a console's base will have an input method before they base a whole game around its control scheme.

Yeah, but the ATV is not actually a stand-alone console. It's an extension of iOS gaming. If you look at iOS games, there are some that might prove difficult to translate the touch controls to a controller, but it seems like most of them would be relatively routine. Take Real Racing 3 for example. In the iOS version, there are a variety of options that combine either gyro/touch or just touch for steering, accelerating, and braking. How difficult is that to translate to a controller? Not very. Steering translates easily to the analog sticks and the accelerating/braking to either buttons or triggers.

I understand what you're saying. There can be barriers for certain approaches, but it's not as daunting as you make it out to be. Sky is going to initially release on ATV and can be controlled with the ATV remote, but it will later be released on different platforms that don't necessarily have motion control support.

 

[Blackstick]

Loved Flower and Journey, hopefully this will be as awesome.

 

[GadgetBen]

When is this being released?