iPhone App Blog

There are a huge number of games on the iPhone store at the moment, but there are still far fewer strategy games than I would have imagined. It seems to me that there is a trend for games developers on the iPhone to try and make the best graphics rather than focusing on game play.

I think a lot of gamers on the iPhone were originally impressed with the games because they were so different from modern console games. Instead of worrying about getting the most out of the graphics card, iPhone games had much less power to play with so focused on core game play. I’ve played a few games recently which now are able to produce fancy 3D graphics on the iPhone – and very well I might add – but lose a lot when it comes to actual game play.

In conclusion, it would be great (in my opinion) if iPhone developers started to remember what made the games so popular in the first place. Simple games with good ideas for game play are what work best on the iPhone, not shallow (and invariably more expensive) games with 3D engines and not a lot else.

For example, I was recently playing a 3D Rugby game (the exact name I’ve forgotten). It was a good game, but you could tell that there was a lot more potential but the developer had released it without putting the finishing touches. I felt that a lot more could be added to the game – and not a lot lost – if it were converted to a 2D game and wasn’t so focused on graphics.

This is a website about iPhone apps, but I thought I’d do a quick post on the state of the Android market. The good news is that the Android market is becoming much better. This isn’t just a bonus for Android users – it should also have a positive effect on the iPhone app store too. If there is real competition between the two stores then it can only benefit consumers.

The big shift in the Android store of late is that a lot of the “big” games from the iPhone are starting to be ported across. The best example is probably Angry Birds, which is even free on the Android (with ads). Over time, it’ll become more and more common for games to first be released on Android and then be moved across to the iPhone when they are a success, marking a big shift in the importance of both of the app stores.

The thing that’s held the android store back is that the developer needs to take into account many different phone configurations. This means that you don’t just develop for one or two models of the same phone, you need to make sure the app works on hundreds of different specifications. This isn’t an easy task, and makes the cost of developing an Android app considerably harder and consequently more expensive.

I still think that the iPhone store is way ahead of Android at the moment – mainly because it’s much more controlled and a lot of the rubbish doesn’t get through. But with over half of phones on Android by the end of next year any app developer would be foolish not to look at the Android store as an area of major growth in the coming months.

There is so much variety in the Apple app store that I just can’t get enough! I dread to think how much money I’ve spent over the last couple of years on apps that have only been used once and then discarded, but I’ve found some real gems too. This site is going to be about all my favourite apps – as well as the ones that I think you should avoid! There are definitely some overpriced, useless and poorly programmed apps out there, but as we all know there are some fantastic apps and games to be found.

So, what are my favourite games at the moment? I’m still playing Angry birds – I haven’t quite finished it yet. If I’m honest I didn’t really “get” the countries obsession with it until recently as I thought I’d played hundreds of games like it in the past. The reality is that it isn’t a ground breaking game but a definite triumph of level design and thoughtful production. Got to love the characters too!

I’ve also been using the old Guardian news app a lot. I know they’ve released a new version – the app seems to tell me repeatedly even though I’ve said that I don’t want to buy it – but the old version was relatively expensive for an app and I see no reason to upgrade. By the way iPhone app developers, it’s not a good idea to pester people who’ve bought your previous app into buying more! An occasional message is fine, but allow them to turn off the notifications if they want to.