Apple Hiring Gaming Engineer for iPhone Team
Apple is looking to hire an experienced multimedia engineer for the iPhone and iPod touch, who’s a passionate gamer and has shipped at least one “AAA” game in the last few years.
While first-party titles are a mainstay, and main point of attraction for dedicated gaming platforms like Nintendo (Mario), Microsoft (Halo), and Sony (Little Big Planet), so far all Apple has offered its “funnest iPod ever” is Texas Hold’em [$4.99 - iTunes link] back in 2007.
Just what could Apple be brewing now? Anyone imagine what a first-party Apple gaming franchise could be?
[via AppleInsider]
November 14th, 2009 at 10:17 am
LBP and Halo for iPhone would be sick
November 14th, 2009 at 10:57 am
I wouldn’t even want to begin to think what a first party franchise from Apple would bring…
It’d probably just get itself rejected from the app store.
November 14th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Sync the iPhone with Apple TV and do something like WiiMotion. Strap the iPhone or Touch to your hand, control with motion and touchscreen. I don’t know how far you can go with it though. The iPhone only has one button on the front and a touchscreen so it’s limited.
November 14th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Yes, totally limited by it’s display being able to mimic any control config you can imagine. Sucks…
. I am not 100% kidding, but mostly. It’ll never be as useful as a dedicated controller, but it’s definitely versatile in ways dedicated hardware controls aren’t.
November 14th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Maybe Carmack wants to take a year’s sabbatical to fix the platform
. I mean he could do it in probably three weeks, but he could probably use some leisurely research time after shipping Rage/idTech5.
November 14th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
I don’t get it…versatile in many ways dedicated consoles arent?
Analog…check D-Pad…check Buttons…check
how are dedicated hardware controls less versatile than on screen controls that take up half the screen?
November 14th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Hopefully some good fa-rt apps pre-installed for 4.0!!!
November 14th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
If it’s just acting as a controller for something being output to AppleTV then you can usetge entirety of the screen and the compass/accelerometer and not care- that’s the comment above that I was addressing. Do you have hardware controls that can turn into dfferent hardware controls as needed? No? Then by definition the device that can mimic any control setup is probably more versatile. As fun to use? Not in all cases, but definitely more versatile. Arnold Terminator vs. Liquid Metal T-1000.
November 14th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Thats intresting. Maybe nice Games come out for the iPhone.
November 14th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
Now that would be intersting!!! I hope they make a few beer games that come with 3.3
November 14th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
“Just what could Apple be BREWING now?” BEER GAMES!!!
November 14th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Um…the thing is…you don’t need it to “transform” and such because the actual controller can be made to do anything you want.
Who picks up a controller for a Wii/PS3/360 and go, “Dang, I can’t use analog if I wanted or digital” =|
And Wii even one ups it by having the option of full motion with most games. With PS3 and 360 of course trailing behind.
There’s nothing innovative that Apple can do in the game market. They set it afire with making the iPHone/iPod a good gaming device. But it won’t penetrate past that.
November 14th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Maybe they aren’t going to launch their own gaming titles.
Maybe they just realized they have nobody on staff who can even speak the same language as Carmack and the other big-name gamers, and wouldn’t know a triangle mesh if it bit them in buss.
If you read the blogs, those guys have been begging for Apple to beef up it’s API set so that really good games need not be so limited, or so slow and fugly.
November 14th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
“Um…the thing is…you don’t need it to “transform” and such because the actual controller can be made to do anything you want.”
Right, as long as “what you want” == havethe physical buttons that it already has. Look, I’m no saying it’s going to replae consoles – I love my console and even more I love my PC gaming. I’m also – and I’m repeating myself here – not saying thatbits ideal or every situation. But… as with mp3, the FLIP Mino and a million other things “good enough” can outsell ideal for a lot of uses and situaions. There was a recent WIRED article that wbt into great depth pnthe subject. I agree with Icebike, also – Apple met with Carmack a while back and realized they didn’t have anyone who could, as JC did, walk in and say immediately – “Well, this this and this are where we are going wrong.”.
November 14th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
And why would I need to know that. The Corp I work in is hiring two accountants. What do u guys think about that? At least 5 years of experience required.
November 15th, 2009 at 3:29 am
I agree with Icebike. Can a one man job be just for developing games or is it to help developers develop games.
We will probably see the result of his work in March when the 4.0 beta is revealed. Deffinately new game APIs are comming. Maybe some that will allow for a addon gamepad controler to work across all game apps
November 15th, 2009 at 8:47 am
@CJ – are they gaming accountants for the smartphone platform with most mindshare of any device on the market right now? If not, -1 point
.
November 15th, 2009 at 11:58 am
I hope icebike is right. A single public engineer from a public job posting on the iPod/iPhone team is not going to help them pump out quality first party game titles.
A dedicated engineer inside Apple working with game developers to improve game-related APIs and platform issues — now THAT could give the iPhone the sort of credibility and developer relations the Mac lacked and which banished the Mac to 15 years in a gaming wasteland.
Unfortunately, the job description does not read that way
November 29th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
It does make sense that This person will not be designing games but making api for the games. In order to make games that can compete with what is already in the app store such as doom and cod you would need a team of engineers and even experience. Apple doesnt have intentions on making a game, just making games on the iphone that much easier, This also leads to one more thing thought. Apple has plans to make their other products better at gaming, they wouldnt just do it on the iphone and nothing else.