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Something I seem to be asked alot of on twitter is “What is the easiest way to make games for the iPhone?”. Usually from individuals who have developed games in Flash or using a program such as the windows Gamemaker. Game development using Objective-C and OpenGL ES is considerably more difficult.

In the past I’ve mentioned a few tools out there that allow you to create games visually which can speed up your game creation time considerably. The game engines I’ve mentioned are Unity 3d, Shiva, and iTGB. With Unity 3d and Shiva being both 3d game development tools. Now the problem most people have with these tools is the cost.

Well, I’ve found a game creation program that is even easier.. in fact much easier than those programs, and is free. While it only supports 2D game creation I’ve read that the ability to compile games for the iPhone and sell them in the app store using this program is imminent. This game creation program is known as Gamesalad. It has already been set up for the iPhone screen size so once the ability to compile games for the iPhone is added you won’t have to do any porting. There will apparently be a small cost for transferring the games to the iPhone, but I can’t imagine it being anywhere near the cost for the other aforementioned iPhone game engines.

Check out this video, and just see how easy it is (Please note that Cinammon is now known as Gamesalad, and has evolved considerably since this video was made).

Now performance is often an issue with these rapid game creation programs, but even though it’s still in beta and needs alot of polish (and of course the ability to compile for the iPhone) it could be worth learning especially if you’re new to programming as using these tools you can learn how to understand the logic of programming quickly.

So check out Gamesalad if you’re looking for a really easy way to create games.. coming soon for the iPhone.

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