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Resembling a mail away coupon stuffed into the back of a silver age comic book, stereoscopic puzzler Diorama’s logo and catchphrase couldn’t be more appropriate:
“You Are Holding A Magic Box.
Look Into It From Above And Be Enchanted!â€
Combining the primitive, childlike futurism of 3D glasses with the physics capabilities of the iPhone, developer Drömsynt’s Marble Madness riff is as enjoyable to marvel at as it is to play – and it’s a lot of fun to play.
FingerGaming briefly chatted to developer Finn Ericson about the game’s development, and managed to wrangle some new details about what he calls Diorama “2.0â€.
Can you tell us a bit about how you got into iPhone development?
I’ve been developing games for mobile devices ever since I first started programming in 2002. I remember dreaming as a kid of Game & Watch machines that let me progress to new screens, actually I still dream of that sometimes at night. As a developer it is also very cool to carry what you’ve done with you everywhere and show it to people.
The iPhone is a spectacular opportunity for independent developers. Licensing is easy and cheap, tools are great and distribution is fantastic. Hopefully now that Apple is hiring graphics and game execs, 3D tools will be better integrated. I must say though, I do miss buttons sometimes!
Were you familiar with stereoscopics before you started work on Diorama? I’ve heard compiling stereoscopic images can be rather tedious.
No, I had never done any 3d programming or modeling before Diorama, let alone stereoscopy. Adjusting the rendering perspective to the angle of the screen is pretty basic trigonometry using an imaginary Cyclops eye.
Once I made that work, the stereoscope was easy. Just some parameter tweaking and sub-pixel tinkering. By the way, there is a new version out any day now which supports green/magenta glasses. These are getting popular with 3D DVDs.
What about your relationship with American Paper Optics, and what seems to be the first official peripheral for an iPhone game? How did this come about?
I had been searching for a way to distribute glasses since most online suppliers only sell in bulk. I contacted American Paper Optics about drop-shipping and they kindly suggested the current solution. Doing it this way, with self address return envelopes, we avoid the hassles of payment options and bookkeeping of such small transactions.
You’ve spoken about “2.0″ and creating traditional progression in the form of an adventure mode. Are you maintaining the aesthetic, or are you building off the physics engine to create something else entirely?
The look of the next Diorama will be very different. I have a fantastic back story for it and that will shape the aesthetics. Also, I’ve been toying with some new 3d software with fantastic modeling tools and shader editor.
I would love to be able to transfer some of that to the new programmable pipeline of OpenGL ES 2.0 and the added horsepower of the SGX. And I can’t wait to make the music. I have been a musician far longer that a programmer and I really miss composing.
What are your future plans for the device?
I have been tossing around a few cool multi touch puzzles and peer-to-peer games. I am always conflicted between doing stuff I think are commercially viable and things that interest me personally. Taking a prototype and wrapping it up for release is quite a bit of work when you do everything yourself.
Diorama has been bashed a lot for its difficulty, and that will certainly hurt its sales. To me the challenge is perfect. I guess I’ll have to do some more focus groups for the next one.
Great Blog!!!