iPhone® Game Development

Chapter 3. Constructing Puzzle Apps

In this Chapter

Reviewing famous examples

Understanding game design: Presenting challenges

Embracing Multi-Touch

Envisioning animations

Programming: AmuckSlider

Analyzing business aspects

Now that you've gotten your feet wet, we are going to examine our first game. The games developed in this chapter can be found on the App Store and the source code downloaded from our Web site, http://appsamuck.com. Puzzle apps can be the least complex type of game to build, so they are a great place to start. However, do not underestimate the popularity of your app just because it is easy to build. A good puzzle app can have a longer life span than just about any other type of game. Puzzle apps can be fun, challenging, and addictive. Just think for a minute how many platforms you have seen Tetris ported to. Tetris has a staying power like no other application. Even in its simplest form, Tetris is still a fun game to play to pass the time.

In this chapter we'll review some of the classic examples of puzzle games, and hopefully they will inspire you to invent the next great puzzle app for the iPhone.

Reviewing Famous Examples

Successful games all share a few key features: They need to be easy to learn, increasingly challenging, and downright addictive. It is fairly straightforward to code a game that is easy to learn or one that challenges the players. However, creating a game that is fun and addictive is not so black and white. To accomplish this you have to mix the ingredients ...