Unity iPhone purchase minimum requirements

Unity Engine
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1

What are the minimum requirements to be able to build and test a Unity iPhone “demo”? (i.e. mucking around with a test build without intending to publish to the app store).

Am I correct in thinking that I would need all of the following in order to use Unity iPhone to build and test a game demo on an iPhone?:
i. A Unity License;
ii. A Unity iPhone license;
iii. Become a registered iPhone developer with Apple;
iv. Own an Pod Touch or iPhone;
v. A paid yearly membership in the Apple iPhone developer program;

What is the quickest / cheapest way to get started with Unity iPhone?:

  1. Is it possible to build a Unity iPhone game for testing on a Mac without first owning an iPhone or iPod Touch?
  2. Can I use the iPhone simulator that comes with XCode or the Unity dev environment to test a Unity iPhone game? How realistic is the simulator or running the game in the Unity iPhone dev environment?
  3. Is it possible to build a Unity iPhone game in XCode before being accepted into Apple’s Developer Program (the paid membership program)?
  4. Is it possible to build a Unity iPhone game in XCode without having an iPhone Bundle Identifier?
2

In a nutshell, you need a device and the apple iphone developer membership so you can code-sign for your device.
From the Unity docs, which hopefully it’s ok to quote here:

There is this cool thing called Unity Remote. Check out the demo video on the unity iphone page.

3

Kind of hovering around the same point right now, myself.

For the moment, I’d say at least buy an 8GB iPod Touch (2nd Gen) and browse the app store for games similar to what you might like to create. It’s a great and inexpensive way to get an idea of what the platform’s capabilities are and offers some valuable insight into interface design.

(Amazon currently carries them for $220, about the lowest price I’ve seen for one new.)

I’ve already found invaluable examples of how to improve some of my design concepts to make them more appealing to iPhone/iPod Touch users.

If you haven’t already purchased a Unity license, I definitely recommend an indie license ($199) to give yourself a chance to figure out the ins and outs of Unity itself.

From there, I’d start out by fleshing out my game idea further. Create some game-play and interface mock-ups, screen shot them and see whether or not they mesh well with the iPhone’s interface. It’d also be a good way of gauging how random users might react to your game concept based solely on what’s on the screen.

Once you’ve got a prototype, you’re probably ready to plunk down the cash for a Unity iPhone Standard license and an Apple iPhone developer license. (About $500 total.)

Overall, don’t feel pressured toward rushing into iPhone development right away just because the tools are now out. Take some time to organize your ideas first and then take the plunge when you’re ready.

4

You will need an Intel based Mac and Leopard also. Those are iPhone development requirements, not requirements at the fault of Unity.

Cheers,
-Jon

5

Do you mean you need to be a registered iPhone developer (which is free) or a developer program member (which is paid registration)?

6

@Proto: If I recall, you cannot test on your device until you are a paid member of the apple dev program, which gives you access to a certificate and provisioning profile. code signing stuff that xcode uses when uploading apps to the device. In the free dev program you can use the Apple iphone SDK and the simulator, but that won’t really help you a whole lot with Unity developing right now. HTH

7

Yup. To create a debug build and get it installed on your device you need to be a signed up, paid up Apple developer so that you can generate and install the necessary provisioning certificates etc on your device and into Xcode.

You might be able to test a Unity build in the simulator, I don’t know. But the simulator has limitations and I’m not sure it’ll run, I haven’t tried.

8

For my development I have a MacBook, a used 1st gen iPhone, the iPhone developer license, Unity Indie, and Unity iPhone Standard.

So all in all the cost has been:

MacBook: $1499 + $99 4 gig RAM upgrade (I got the black one with bigger harddrive)
Used iPhone: $300 (got it on ebay).
iPhone Dev License: $99
Unity Indie: $199
Unity iPhone: $399

Grand total: $2595

Now I didn’t buy these all at once, this was spent over the past 6 months. You could get a cheaper MacBook, I think the new ones are down to $999.

Works great for what I need.

iBrent

9

And yo reduce that down a tiny bit as iBrent said by buying even a Mac mini, or replacing the iPhone with a used touch instead.

10

And you could reduce that down even further by buying even a Mac mini and replacing the iPhone with a used touch instead.

11

Heck you can get a brand new iPod touch for cheaper now.