SceneKit is currently only available for OSX, and Apple is slowly and slowly adding things to it each new iteration of the SDK. But it’s to the point now where XCode can actually open 3D files, allow you to interact with objects in 3D space and hook up code to 3D objects.
Apple has added spritekit to iOS, letting you deal with 2D assets, make particle effects and simulate physics on objects. Basically everything needed for a 2D game is now built right into iOS SDK. Apple is also clearly developing 3D oriented API’s and making XCode 3D capable, just thats it’s only on OSX right now.
I really think Apple is going to eventually roll their own 3D engine entirely in the iOS and OSX SDK’s. Unity’s biggest competitor is going to be Apple and XCode itself. Which if that happens Apple will probably pull whatever they can to make it apparent their SDK is the thing to be used, by allowing it special access to certain things in the hardware, or other.
We have been testing it quite a bit, (specifically spritekit, and the ios aspects). It is all very cool, and pretty feature rich. A lot of the things they are bringing in are similar to cocos2d. (Cocos2d-x is actually pretty exciting)
The biggest challenge though is that it is iOS specific. (We try to have parity with at least android and slowly doing the same for win). It makes it kind of impractical in that respect. It is neat and all though.
The multi platform thing I have mixed feelings about. Alot of people think it’s a given but, is it really? I think it could change.
We all know how android vs iOS game revenue goes iOS games earn 3.5 times the revenue of Android games in Q4 | GamesIndustry.biz We all know that iOS is the primary market. Android is just a nice minor side thing to maybe hook in a smaller bit of revenue, but really it’s long ways secondary. We still have yet to see how Windows 8 and Win 8 Phone does in this department. But I would be surprised if it gives iOS a run for it’s money. I bet it will come into place around Android.
May I dare go out on a limb and say, is multiplatform really that important?
I’m looking at two potential things. A successful game on iOS is the primary thing to seek, this is really what makes or breaks it. Apple appears to me to be very active at changing the entire feel of iOS to be much more unique. The blurred backgrounds, all the little effects here and there like parallax, the way the buttons move around, there adding physics onto the UIKit components to make them feel more interesting. This means in order to have an app that fits into the whole new iOS ‘feel’ your going to need to use the native libraries. Otherwise as soon as a user opens your app, everything will seam cheaper, and not in line with the rest. Apple will probably make there own 3D engine much more integrated and work fluently with all this iOS specific fancy stuff. It might turn out to make a game that truly feels like an iOS game you have to use native libraries. Apple has expressed disinterest in the past about third party frameworks being used like Unity or Flash, and a preference that everyone use their own libraries. They decided to not outright disallow them, but they might make efforts to make it seem silly to use them in comparison. If you’ve been a developer in the Apple ecosystem for a while, you know that Apple makes it very clear what frameworks are to be used, and how. Which frameworks they are going to invest the most into and make run and work the best on their devices. Usually it’s not a good idea to ignore this.
The other side of this is. I suspect a Scenekit / spritekit / 3dkit whatever kit Apple comes out with for 3D on iOS. I suspect developers of that will command a much higher hourly rate for what is essentially the same difficulty of work, potentially even less work because it’s only iOS. Meaning, adopting whatever native framework Apple comes out with will get you generally a better quality of life, this is generally case for all Apple only programmers, they command higher rates and are higher in demand. Which don’t get me wrong, I’d love to make a hit game and be a millionaire, but the backup plan is that my games and code is simply my portfolio and resume to get jobs. If going all native with whatever 3D framework apple creates ensures better pay and more work, for essentially doing the same thing. Then losing that extra 15% income form not being multi platform isn’t really a big deal. I mean lets say I make a game that pulls in 50k and I could of got another 10k from Android. But all the while if I do that in Unity, I can get an 80k job with ease using the game as portfolio piece, versus if I did it with scenekit I could get a 150k job with ease.
Its seeming to me like jumping to whatever Apple themselves provide would be the smarter thing to do.
You have a point regarding commanding a premium. I can see a lot of niche apps where an in-frame 3d display alongside a native iOS UI would be attractive. However, for games, most everybody else already throws away the existing UI, and they’re already too easily served by existing, free cross-platform solutions.