I think I might just have had a great inspiration for the ultimate game for the iphone platform.
The iphone has many great features. Fast 3D rendering, GPS, full and very good motion sensors, internet access, and a camera. I would not share this idea except that I think it will always be beyond my capabilities.
Let's look at the history of video games really quick. It can be divided into four eras. First, you have 2D. Then there was fake 3D. Then there was real 3D. Then there was virtual reality using sensors, which is the current era. Games are taking advantage of location and motion sensors to make great applications.
As I see it virtual reality will always have one difficulty: If your user is to move around physically to move the in-game character, they will need a big open area. So far sensor games just avoid that. We still use joysticks or other equipment to control objects, or don't move any character at all. But I have a solution for the iphone.
To allow free movement, your game world should conform to the real world. I worked out a simple way to do that. When the user wants to create a world, they simply stand in front of each obstacle, holding their iphone, and press an "obstacle in front" button or something like that. The iphone will get it's location and facing, and place an object in front of the user. The user can proceed to add walls, and objects of various heights. Then they can use the iphone's camera to get "textures" for the game objects. After that, do whatever you want with the new world. The iphone's sensors are more than adequate to give the user a great experience. They will be able to move around fully in the 3D world, looking at their iphone to see what's in front of them.
This is just an idea to get someone started, getting over a big obstacle. After that, it's up to the developer. Thoughts? Anyone up for the challenge?
The iphone has many great features. Fast 3D rendering, GPS, full and very good motion sensors, internet access, and a camera. I would not share this idea except that I think it will always be beyond my capabilities.
Let's look at the history of video games really quick. It can be divided into four eras. First, you have 2D. Then there was fake 3D. Then there was real 3D. Then there was virtual reality using sensors, which is the current era. Games are taking advantage of location and motion sensors to make great applications.
As I see it virtual reality will always have one difficulty: If your user is to move around physically to move the in-game character, they will need a big open area. So far sensor games just avoid that. We still use joysticks or other equipment to control objects, or don't move any character at all. But I have a solution for the iphone.
To allow free movement, your game world should conform to the real world. I worked out a simple way to do that. When the user wants to create a world, they simply stand in front of each obstacle, holding their iphone, and press an "obstacle in front" button or something like that. The iphone will get it's location and facing, and place an object in front of the user. The user can proceed to add walls, and objects of various heights. Then they can use the iphone's camera to get "textures" for the game objects. After that, do whatever you want with the new world. The iphone's sensors are more than adequate to give the user a great experience. They will be able to move around fully in the 3D world, looking at their iphone to see what's in front of them.
This is just an idea to get someone started, getting over a big obstacle. After that, it's up to the developer. Thoughts? Anyone up for the challenge?