John Carmack talks about Rage SD and HD, iOS, and what's next for iOS gaming
tuaw.com
tuaw.com
Haven't tried the iPhone version, but on the iPad, the classic mode has the 'drag to move cursor', but the Special Edition mode has updated controls that work really well on the touchscreen.
Carmack isn't a fanboy you can easily dismiss and in gaming he is a heavyweight.
This just goes to prove a point vie made several times: iOS's future is assured by virtue of gaming. This is something Android will have a much harder time with and Sony/Nintendo better watch out.
That isn't fragmentation. It's disturbing hearing it described as that. It's consumer choice.
Really Android needs a "gaming index", similar to the reality that some PCs -- just like some Macs -- are really shitty for gameplay, whereas others are high-end superstars, the devices in the Android market should have clear rankings. The Nexus One, for instance, has a terrible GPU. The Galaxy S is a good 3X faster or more.
As much as some chafe against the "Jobsian" world of Apple products, Steve makes many choices for you and most of those choices are right for most people most of the time. That's about the best you can do.
I'm reminded of a classic Joel post "Controlling your environment makes you happy" [1] (which, in my opinion, is one of the most important things ever written on UI/UX), particularly the section on "Choices" [2]:
"But wait!" you say. "It's important to have options for advanced users who want to tweak their environments!" In reality, it's not as important as you think ... Every time you provide an option, you're asking the user to make a decision.
Lots of comparisons are made between iOS and Android. It's important to understand that they're fundamentally different. iOS is a brand. Android is a commodity, arguably even a philosophy. Give someone who has used an iDevice any other iDevice and they know what to do. Give someone who has a Samsung Galaxy S an HTC Evo and they'll likely be somewhat lost.
I would go so far as to say as people buying an iPhone are buying an iPhone; people buying an Android phone are buying a phone (or, in some cases, they're not buying an iPhone).
Anyway, the fragmentation problem with Android isn't really about the UI. It's about the hardware. I've heard from multiple sources that OpenGL is just a nightmare on Android because of allt he different GPUs. Some have different strengths and weaknesses to others and different idiosyncrasies.
My personal belief is that Android handset manufacturers are participating in seppuku. Their interests are different to those of Google. Android handset makers (and carriers!) want to differentiate themselves somehow. That's a big part of your fragmentation problem right there. They don't want to be interchangeable (and, in the carrier's case, just dumb pipes).
Google wants to commoditize the mobile platform. And they're succeeding. But with ever-cheapning hardware costs, all the handset makers are doing is racing each other to the bottom.
[1]: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapters/fog0000000057....
[2]: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/uibook/chapters/fog0000000059....
Couldn't disagree more. I like keyboards on my smartphones, and GPUs fall low on the scale of needs: I use it mostly for productive or professional use. For a lot of smartphone buyers, Rage graphics just don't matter.
I would go so far as to say as people buying an iPhone are buying an iPhone; people buying an Android phone are buying a phone (or, in some cases, they're not buying an iPhone).
People buying an Android are buying a Smartphone. No they aren't buying a brand or some sort of ridiculous personal identity. As a smartphone the Android devices are a bang up option.
My personal belief is that Android handset manufacturers are participating in seppuku.
You mean the makers who have seen the platform's sales increase 1200%+ since January? I would say the metrics would say that you are completely off the mark.
Couldn't disagree more. I like keyboards on my smartphones, and GPUs fall low on the scale of needs
doesn't contradict
most of those choices are right for most people most of the time
at all.
The GP opines that the Jobsian "he'll choose what's right for you" model is, as you quoted, right for most people most of the time. I would say that is absolutely not correct, and the iPhone has succeeded despite that model, not because of it: Great integration, software, and branding has overcome an incredible lack of diversity and choice.
It isn't a good long-term strategy though.
I wonder if the former is about Android's lack of DRM.
Everybody is taking the HD version even when the difference is hardly noticeable except that the memory warnings appear (iPhone 3GS)(!) I guess these customers didn't know about that aspect. I believe it was a wrong marketing decision if 3GS people didn't get the information that HD performs worse (I'd name the versions "Rage for 3GS" and "Rage HD" whereas the current names are "RAGE for iPhone, iPod..." and "RAGE HD for iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4..."). Of course if people can select "nothing" or "HD" version they'll take HD (give me more!) the question is if they are going to be satisfied with the trade-offs.
A key generation using the iOS platform as a gaming device now is young - the under 25s. I suspect id has almost no penetration or brand recognition into that demographic. For id, the void between 1999 and 2009 merely contains Doom 3 (and Quake 4, sort of), a game that was not targeted at or appreciated by young gamers at all, who were all busy on their consoles.
id seriously needs to bring the younger generation on board and get known among that group, since the older gamers will naturally drop off over time (I'm 29 and was a huge id fan in the day but already have stopped buying and playing games on most platforms). Stocking it high and selling it cheap is a great way to do this, especially as many under 25s are living on gift iTunes store credit bought by parents.