2D Game Engine

There isn't much at the moment. There's Unity, which is a commercial engine and is geared toward 3D, although 2D is possible.

There's cocos2d, which looks like it runs on Windows as well as the iPhone:

http://cocos2d.org/download.html

The caveat with cocos2d is that it is based on Python, and the Cocos2D iphone version is based on Objective-C. But the main concepts behind cocos2d would carry over to the iphone version.

 

If I understand correctly, you want an engine that will let you develop the game on Windows and then compile it to the iPhone, right? If that's the case, I don't think such a thing exists. The closest that I've heard of is something called Win Toolchain, which I believe is just a setup that will allow you to take gcc code and compile it to an iPhone Application. Unfortunately, these type of applications won't run on an actual iPhone unless it's jailbroken. As lithiastudios mentioned, your best bet is probably going to be the Unity Engine, though I don't know how compatible the Windows and iPhone versions are. Garage Games has a 2D development toolkit for the iPhone, but I believe it only runs on a Mac, and in that case I'm pretty sure the Windows and iPhone tools are not compatible. I've been itching to get into iPhone game development as well, but the sad reality is that it appears to be basically impossible unless you have a Mac. I hope someone will come along and prove this wrong, but I don't think it's going to happen.

 

You are trying to get him to try and learn Python, when he has no coding experience. Not a good idea. Danny, you may want to download some of these and the documentation and learn like that. You can write some sample code that you can carry over, but it isn't possible right now.

 

Are you looking to learn coding in general, or specific to the iPhone? If you just need to get your feet wet in the realm of programming as a whole, I agree with brewstermax: the express versions of Visual Studio are a good place to start. You could also try this: http://www.yoyogames.com/make. It's a program called Game Maker. It's free (or at least used to be) and lets you create games just visually or with code if you choose to do so. I'd suggest using the "with code" option, since drag and drop development won't do you any good when you get to the iPhone.

 

Just for kicks I decided to check out the Garage Games web site again (it's been a while), and I learned something quite interesting. Apparently their 2D product, Torque Game Builder (TGB), can create cross-platform output, including both Windows and iPhone! I'm sure there's a bit more to it than that, but you might want to check it out. They have a demo of TGB that you can play with as well.

 

Wow, do you give up on everything. You fail. At least try.

 

Personally, if he's willing to throw in the towel that quickly then it's probably best not to encourage him. He clearly doesn't really want to do this if he doesn't want to put in a little effort.

 

Save up some money and hire a developer to make your game. Helps if you have a background in project management or software, but not required.

 

Danny, if you're in school now, your best bet is to take some Computer Science or Programming classes. Don't feel bad that this is hard - pretty much nobody just picks up the SDK and has a game out immediately. This stuff really is hard. The vast majority of developers in the store have been programming for years. You hear that the iShoot developer didn't have previous Objective C experience, but he is a professional programmer. The language is not what matters here.

Bottom line - it's not about learning the SDK. It's about learning to program in general. Learning that does take time. Once you're proficient in C or C++, learning Objective C is easy. Take some classes at school or somewhere in your community, and be patient.

Good luck!

 

Well, then you will never learn. You have to learn basic concepts, then get the more complex parts. It's like a letter, point by point or block style. I have started to learn how to code. It isn't hard, but I have no intentions to make an iPhone game.

 

I'm not really sure what you mean by "code for life", but how long did you spend with Game Maker? Most people need to spend a little bit of time with something before they fully grasp it. Or, maybe you should take brewstermax's advice and download one of the free visual studio express IDEs. Then, you might even need to write a couple of small programs that aren't games just to get used to writing programs. It will probably take a little time though. If you really want to do it, then put the time into it and do it. I don't think there's a whole lot more anyone else can tell you right now.

As for suggesting books specific to Objective-C and / or the iPhone SDK, I really can't help you there at the moment. I have a couple such books, but since I don't have a Mac yet I haven't been able to put them to the test to see if they are good. The reality, though, is that if you start to get the gist of programming in any particular environment, you should be able to make the jump to another environment without too many hassles.

 

Well, you'll have to decide for yourself if it is worth it or not. I would say that, if you have no experience as a coder, you should focus on learning basic programming first. If you are a student, take a class. If not, maybe you can go to a local community college? I learned in a class setting, and it was useful to have a teacher who could answer question or fix some of my problems.

It is possible to learn from a book, maybe more difficult, and you would have to accept that it will take a while. You'll probably have to approach it with the mindset that, "Ok, this is going to take me months to do, and it might not feel like I'm making much progress at first."

But you can do it.

Furthermore, it is a great skill to have. Once you learn to program, it is easier to change from one language to another. A lot of the concepts are the same. And it is also something that is good to have for your resume.