PRESENTATION 1: 05-SEP-2012 DUNGEONBARD (IOS GAME) Mobile Application Development

The Game Dungeonbard. iOS mobile game for iPhone. Classic turn based fantasy 2D RPG Game. Designed specifically for the iPhone, designed from the bottom up. Button based interface designed to use a use small device. Simple button based animation. Merging of two great components of the iPhone – Music and Game play. The game has a strong focus on music and how the Bard plays instruments to unlock achievements and levels in the game. Plan is to create a small free 5 level game for the iPhone on the appstore. Paid version 20 level game for a small paid amount.

The Game (continued) The player moves around the dungeon attempting to get to level 5 to defeat the boss monster (vampire) and win the game. Along the way they have to defeat other monsters (including skeletons, zombies, ghouls etc..), collect items and musical items that unlocks the opening to lower levels of the dungeon. Will use simple web service for high score management.

About iOS Platform Apple iOS. Significant support for the iOS platform as suitable platform for small development teams : “Our Applications typically have rapid time to market, and the barriers to entry are extremely low… The iPhone platform is an unprecedented opportunity for one- or two- person teams to make apps that can compete against apps from giant, well funded countries.” Wooldridge 2010 (p 39) Simple to deploy to known devices (i.e. iPods and iPads) Will use a simple button based approach appropriate for mobile devices

Platform that I used in detail Who will use your apps? The target audience is the adult game iPhone/iPad player interested in music as the game merges the two elements of gaming and music. Is there a future for the platform? Very strong growth markets in apple iPhone devices and apple apps Apple iPhone Sales growth (source: Wikipedia)

Platform that I used in detail What are your app’s technical requirements?  Background MultiTasking for music  Button based interface supporting simple animation  Good Screen real estate for game graphics What are the platform’s development tools?  Xcode 4 (includes Interface builder)  Objective C  Iterative development (small iterative releases)  Strong use of OO techniques (see Use case)  Git source control

Can you make money developing for the platform? Although there are a lot of RPG games on the appstore – controls are the most significant restriction to game play. Dungeonbard uses a simple button based interface that is designed for the iPhone and is suited to its interface. Looking to sell the game on the AppStore for a small fee for the 20 level version. A Free version will be made to entice buyers. Marketing based on a strong social media approach using: Facebook Twitter Google+ Linked In

Min device capability requirement for you application Processing Power: The game should use minimal processing power as it is not using any graphic engine – should be compatible with iPhone 3g phones and later models. Memory: As the game uses procedural generation – this should minimise Display and peripherals: Nil Camera: Nil GPS: Nil

Min device capability requirement for you application Battery Life: The game may require significant battery as it is possible it could become a long game (around 2+ hours). This is well supported by the iPhone 4s battery life. Size: around 10mb (free 5 level version) Network Speed: Web service will be used for loading and saving. This is a low priority service that will use very little network bandwidth. Synchronisation: Nil Voice Features: Nil

The IOS architecture iOS architecture Major focus on the first two layers for game functionality (Cocoa Touch) and Music (Media) No Major use of Core Services or Core OS

Dungeonbard Use Case diagram Dungeonbard System Boundary Player Start Game Select Game Select Bard Move Bard Quit game Attack Monster Play Instrume nt Pickup/Dr op

Dungeonbard class diagram DungeonLevelsSkeletonGhostVampireBardMonsterCreatureDBObjectItemSong

Project/Development Methodology Simple Agile approach to build iteratively and based on small app iterative approach Amy Nelson and Meena Tharmarajah (ABC) Swipe Conference 2012

Current Featureset (10/9/2012) FeatureSetDescriptionState Basic MovementCardinal movementDone Basic Monster MovementMonster to follow bards movementDone Levels/Rooms As player completes the quest for each level the opening to the next level must appearPartial MonsterBase class for all monstersDone SkeletonSubclass of MonsterPartial GhostSubclass of Monster ZombieSubclass of Monster VampireSubclass of Monster Game Feature XTBAPartial ItemsVarious loot to collectPartial Pickup and Drop Fearure to pickup and drop items - includes backbackPartial Game OverGame over functionality Select Bard Bard Selection screen displaying the different capabilities of bardsPartial Scoring SystemGame completion includes final score CombatCreature vs Bard combatPartial WeaponsBoth for Creature and Bard MusicBackground and in game musicPartial Save GameLoad and Save screen High Score Webservice

Dungeonbard Prototype Screenshot

dungeonbard online The following are the current online sites for dungeonbard Dungeonbard.com Twitter.com/dungeonbard Facebook.com/dungeonbard Oh yes and I need your help so if you have a chance check me out online and follow me on twitter.

References Wooldridge D. (2010) Business of iPhone App Development – Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed. Apress, New York USA Wikipedia vg vg Amy Nelson and Meena Tharmajah (ABC) Reiners Tilesets (Free Images)