Yes, first impressions. I developed the game entirely in the simulator (and on Windows), but until today I had never played it on the actual hardware it was designed for.
I pre-ordered an iPad but missed the April 3rd window… I thought I was going to have to wait until April 12th or later. On a whim I decided to run by Best Buy and to see if they had any demo units. They did. They also had about 20 left in stock so I snagged one.
First thing I did (of course) was download and try out my game. Having never played the game on iPad before I was incredibly nervous.. “Could it handle the framerate?” “Would I get hit with some strange hardware-specific bug?”
Maria played the first while I watched. I was in no condition to play. But anxiety turned to elation almost immediately–it not only ran smooth, but it looked amazing, far better than I ever imagined. The color gamut POPS on the iPad screen.
After the first three holes I ripped the iPad from Maria’s hands and she made a video of me playing it for the very first time.
I couldn’t believe how fun it is on the big screen! I re-scaled all of the UI input
by just guessing what it might feel like on a larger device and I hit it
spot-on. I was completely shocked that I nailed it having never
touched the device before. (Oh and I birdied my first hole).
I’m just bouncing off the walls over here. This is a very proud moment for me.
iTunes App Store Link: Anytime Golf
I should probably take this opportunity to plug my game engine I developed that made this possible without an iPad. If you’re interested in iPhone, iPad, MacOS or Windows cross-platform game development, check out the Bork3D Game Engine. It’s $49 for an indy license. There are a lot more about it details on the website.