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Open Source 2D iPhone and iPad Game Framework

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There are several iPhone game engines available, and of course Cocos2D is extremely popular in the development of 2D games on the iPhone and has a considerable community beside it.

That being said, if you’re just starting out, or you just don’t like how things are done with what’s out there I’ve found a great looking alternative.

While I’m not entirely sure of the direction this framework will take, I can tell you that it appears to be one very different from the Cocos2D philosophy to include everything that developers will ever want in a 2D game engine.

That alternative is the Sparrow Framework which is an open source game framework from Incognitek. From what I’ve seen from looking at the framework it is very lightweight, and easy to use with all the core features you’d need to be able to create a good 2D game.

You can find the framework here: Sparrow Framework
Read about the features here: Sparrow Framework Features
And the philosophy behind the engine here: Sparrow Framework Philosophy

If you’re not sure about the alternatives, check out the Open Source iPhone and iPad Game Engine Comparison.

[Via: Nick Vellios]

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Tags: game engine, ipad, iPhone, open source, opengl es

Tim Bell

Why bother with something like this when Cocos is already out there?

Code looks almost the same
Tim Bell

Why bother with something like this when Cocos is already out there?

Code looks almost the same
Tim Bell

Why bother with something like this when Cocos is already out there?

Code looks almost the same
John

Yes, much of the programming syntax is similar. However this is a completely different project, and much more lightweight.

While there are similarities, much is different. As they say this is more geared towards people with Flash/Flex, .Net and Java experience while Cocos2D iPhone is a port of the original Cocos2D project which was originally geared towards those who had used the original Cocos2D framework in Python.
John

Yes, much of the programming syntax is similar. However this is a completely different project, and much more lightweight.

While there are similarities, much is different. As they say this is more geared towards people with Flash/Flex, .Net and Java experience while Cocos2D iPhone is a port of the original Cocos2D project which was originally geared towards those who had used the original Cocos2D framework in Python.
John

Yes, much of the programming syntax is similar. However this is a completely different project, and much more lightweight.

While there are similarities, much is different. As they say this is more geared towards people with Flash/Flex, .Net and Java experience while Cocos2D iPhone is a port of the original Cocos2D project which was originally geared towards those who had used the original Cocos2D framework in Python.
John

I should add that I’m not one of the developers of this project. I just like what I’ve seen so far.. if you’re fine with Cocos2D no reason to switch.. it’s really for someone looking for something a little bit different.
John

I should add that I’m not one of the developers of this project. I just like what I’ve seen so far.. if you’re fine with Cocos2D no reason to switch.. it’s really for someone looking for something a little bit different.
John

I should add that I’m not one of the developers of this project. I just like what I’ve seen so far.. if you’re fine with Cocos2D no reason to switch.. it’s really for someone looking for something a little bit different.
http://www.sparrow-framework.org Daniel

Thanks a lot for adding Sparrow here, John! I’m Daniel, the main developer of Sparrow.

Tim, as John said, Cocos2D is a great framework, and if you like it, there’s of course no reason to switch. But IMHO, choice is always a good thing — and the philosophy behind Sparrow is a little different, which will make it a good choice for many developers.

Sparrow contains everything you need for most games. We will of course add more features like particle systems, etc., and work on performance enhancements — but the target will always be to keep it as lightweight and clean as possible. We’re with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry here:

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Thus, you will never find a physics engine being a part of Sparrow — there are other libraries that do that far better as we ever could. Instead, we will make it as easy as possible to have our users integrate those other libraries, and create tutorials and articles on our page that help our users get started.

I hope this answers your question =)
http://www.sparrow-framework.org Daniel

Thanks a lot for adding Sparrow here, John! I’m Daniel, the main developer of Sparrow.

Tim, as John said, Cocos2D is a great framework, and if you like it, there’s of course no reason to switch. But IMHO, choice is always a good thing — and the philosophy behind Sparrow is a little different, which will make it a good choice for many developers.

Sparrow contains everything you need for most games. We will of course add more features like particle systems, etc., and work on performance enhancements — but the target will always be to keep it as lightweight and clean as possible. We’re with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry here:

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Thus, you will never find a physics engine being a part of Sparrow — there are other libraries that do that far better as we ever could. Instead, we will make it as easy as possible to have our users integrate those other libraries, and create tutorials and articles on our page that help our users get started.

I hope this answers your question =)
http://www.sparrow-framework.org Daniel

Thanks a lot for adding Sparrow here, John! I’m Daniel, the main developer of Sparrow.

Tim, as John said, Cocos2D is a great framework, and if you like it, there’s of course no reason to switch. But IMHO, choice is always a good thing — and the philosophy behind Sparrow is a little different, which will make it a good choice for many developers.

Sparrow contains everything you need for most games. We will of course add more features like particle systems, etc., and work on performance enhancements — but the target will always be to keep it as lightweight and clean as possible. We’re with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry here:

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Thus, you will never find a physics engine being a part of Sparrow — there are other libraries that do that far better as we ever could. Instead, we will make it as easy as possible to have our users integrate those other libraries, and create tutorials and articles on our page that help our users get started.

I hope this answers your question =)
http://eddyl.com/blog EddyL

Hello, I am EddyL. In fact, I’ve spent some time to compare Cocos2D and Sparrow. Feel free to take a look at my article for further information: http://eddyl.com/blog/2010/08/ios_game_framework/

Open Source 2D iPhone and iPad Game Framework

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