Available Now! Our Platform Games tvOS and iOS Starter Kit with 2-Player and External Game Controllers Support!

As you can see from the video above our latest starter kit is ready! A brand new tvOS & iOS starter kit specifically for platform games. Every thing you’d expect from a great platformer is here, including 2 player co-op and versus modes (you can even play against the CPU in single player versus modes). And best of all, both the tvOS and iOS versions support up to two external controllers for a more classic gameplay feel!

We’ll be busy documenting the kit all week with setup guides, web pages and more. But if you’re just dying to find out the basic features, you can read them below…

• The starter kit is Swift 2 and Sprite Kit based, but no coding is necessary to work with the kit.
• The kit includes two Xcode projects, one for building apps for the new Apple TV, and one for building Universal iOS Apps (for the iPhone and iPad). Even though these are separate Xcode projects, apps made using them can be submitted to Apple under the same App title. In iTunes connect, you’ll see two options now for submitting apps (tvOS and iOS) under your app listing.
• Apps made using the kit automatically support up to 2 external Game Controllers (in particular the Nimbus which Apple sells for the new Apple TV).
• Game Controllers work for the Apple TV, iPhone and iPad (yes, you can play on your phone using the controller).
• You can alter the code if need be.
• Is there an app in the store using the kit? Yup, our tvOS version just got approved. Or search “Horde” on your Apple TV. The iOS version is in the review queue. 

Okay, so what’s possible??

• Levels are designed within Xcode, using the Scene editor (a snapshot of which is above). You can lay out platforms, poles, spawn locations for enemies, respawn locations for players, etc. You can also animate and define most physics all within the Scene editor. So for example, if you want to make a deathly shredding wheel to kill players, that can be set to rotate infinitely and move in a particular pattern all in the scene editor.
• You can create an unlimited number of levels and players can continue from the latest level they’ve reached.
• Levels can be passed by exiting through portals, enemies killed, or a certain score value.
• The scene camera can follow the player on the x axis (horizontally tracking the player), y axis (vertically), both axis, or none at all.
• Levels can reset the score, enemy kill count, hearts (essentially Lives lost), or ammo.
• Players can play with or against each other using separate controllers. The kit refers to these as Co-op and Versus modes.
• Player artwork can be changed from level to level, or simply reused every level. So “Player 1” on Level1 might be an peasant character and on Level 2, he’s been upgraded to a Knight.
• Player artwork can include animations idling, dying, shooting, jumping, climbing, walking, and running.
• Enemy artwork can include animations for walking, angry-walking (after they’ve been damaged once), attacking, angry-attacking, hurt, dying, and shooting.
• Enemies can shoot out other enemies (any enemy can be used as a spawn location for new enemies). So that could be as simple as shooting out a bullet (to use the term enemy loosely), or for example, a Vampire might shoot out a Bat, which is itself a new enemy.
• Player ammo can be dropped which awards only to Player 1 or only to Player 2, or for both players.
• The Home Menu can include buttons to jump to specific levels or change modes of play (for example, one player games, two player co-op games, two player versus games, etc). Buttons can also open Game Center, continue a game using the last level and settings played, or open other menu pages.
• Buttons can jump to specific levels, and be disabled if the player has not reached a particular level yet.
• Game Center can be enabled (your game will simply need to setup a Leaderboard in iTunes Connect named “HighScore”)

Currently the kit is only available for Yearly subscribers, so if you already are one, dig in! If not, drop by here to sign up! The kit will be available to purchase as a standalone product shortly.