Zombie Karts Now Available for iPhone / iPod Touch!
by Chris Jorgensen · 10/23/2009 (6:56 am) · 13 comments
Whew! Less than one month ago, I blogged about the release of TGB Kart Kit version 1.1. In it I declared that I was putting my money where my mouth is and set out to prove that it takes only weeks to release a game with the kit. Today, four weeks later, I declare victory! Zombie Karts has been released to the App Store.
In the four weeks of development time, I got a firsthand experience with turning the kit into a game. Here's a quick list of how it went:
What Worked Without Change
Soon I will be releasing version 1.1 of Zombie Karts, which will add more tracks, improve the AI, and further polish a game that was produced rapidly for Halloween.
To end things, here's a blurry video of my iPod Touch.
Thanks for taking a look!
In the four weeks of development time, I got a firsthand experience with turning the kit into a game. Here's a quick list of how it went:
What Worked Without Change
- Track design was simple and quick in the editor
- Profiles allowed for rapid adding / changing of karts, powerups, and tracks
- The example game template got things moving quickly
- Tilt steering worked perfect
- Existing trigger templates fit for my needs
- The kart AI needed improvement... it was migrated to C++ for speed and given some logic for powerup use
- The background scaling was modified to fit the screen
- The script-based timer was slow and inaccurate on the iPhone. It was replaced with a more accurate C++ timer
- Better / faster kart ranking (1st-4th) that could handle up to 4 karts instead of 2 was needed
- (In version 1.1) The extraneous background files were removed
- Waypoints proved poor guides for the AI... "crumbs" were added for more precise driving paths
- A touch-steering option was added for the tilt-wary
- Different racing modes (Grand Prix, Time Trial, and Free Play) and the requisite GUI and logic needed
Soon I will be releasing version 1.1 of Zombie Karts, which will add more tracks, improve the AI, and further polish a game that was produced rapidly for Halloween.
To end things, here's a blurry video of my iPod Touch.
Thanks for taking a look!
About the author
Owner of Cascadia Games
#2
10/23/2009 (12:35 pm)
Impressive! 
#3
10/23/2009 (4:22 pm)
Cool! 
#4
10/23/2009 (5:28 pm)
The 3G can be a bear to squeeze FPS out of. Certainly better on the 3Gs and iPod 2G+ 
#5
10/23/2009 (6:02 pm)
Heck of a job! 
#6
Any ideas of a rough ETA? We're about to launch our iTGB Kart app but might hold off if it's likely in the next week or two.
10/23/2009 (7:36 pm)
Can't wait for the pack release!Any ideas of a rough ETA? We're about to launch our iTGB Kart app but might hold off if it's likely in the next week or two.
#7
@Johnny: I haven't tested on a 3G, but on an iPhone 2G it was hard to push up the Grand Prix performance. I'm working on a few things that should help though. :)
10/23/2009 (7:58 pm)
@Rob: I would say the kit update is more than two weeks out. Probably a late November type release date to be expected. Definitely let me know when your app is out... I'm excited to see what people do with the kit!@Johnny: I haven't tested on a 3G, but on an iPhone 2G it was hard to push up the Grand Prix performance. I'm working on a few things that should help though. :)
#10
10/24/2009 (8:12 pm)
I am looking forward to the update, thanks!
#11
10/28/2009 (8:15 pm)
Still working feverishly on update to this app. I've put in a lot of optimizations with a few more coming. I think folks will be pleasantly surprised by the performance improvements. :)
#12
Now THAT Would Be Fun!
10/31/2009 (7:27 pm)
I think you should try to go for multiplayer head-to-head style.Now THAT Would Be Fun!
Torque Owner Johnny Vo
Great game but performing slow on my iphone 3g. Maybe next update will fix it?