We got a message from Apple today letting us know that In App Purchases are now available for free iPhone apps. That means it’s no longer necessary to create a “lite” version of a game — a developer can create an app, make it available for free, and then let people buy an upgrade to the full app, all from within the game.

We’re still nervous about the lure of nickel-and-dimery with in-app purchases, but if used properly the potential is huge to offer compelling add-ons for players and help drowning developers stay afloat.

Mobile Crunch posted an excerpt of the message, if you’re interested in Apple’s exact words.

Unless you’ve been living under a very large rock for the last 24 hours, you’re no doubt aware that Apple announced yesterday it’s latest iPhone update, including a new operating system and new handsets with faster hardware, more storage space, and a much better camera (with video capabilities). There’s a lot to be excited about and quite a few buzz-worthy features, including the ability to locate a lost or stolen phone, and then ping it or wipe it clean from a distance.

(I like to daydream about how I’ll call the cops about a stolen phone, they’ll laugh and tell me it’s gone for good, and then I’ll whip out my trusty locator and direct them to the exact spot where my phone is being held hostage. Then they’ll laugh again at how I saved the day and make me an honorary officer/mascot.)

Anyway, as a developer, I’m particularly excited about three new features in the latest iPhone:

• Peer to peer connectivity. With the new iPhone operating system, you’ll be able to connect directly via Bluetooth to nearby devices and interact with them. The potential for multiplayer gaming is obvious. Cornhole Pro, for example, could be played on two devices instead ofjust one.
• Open GL ES 2.0. The new iPhone will be using a new version of the OpenGL ES graphics language. I won’t attempt to explain the differences for fear of getting it all wrong, but this should provide a significant boost to graphics performance and provide for some useful new features. From what I’ve read, though, 2.0 is pretty different than 1.1 (which the old iPhone and iPod touch use), so I don’t know how that will affect backwards compatibility.
• In-app purchasing. With the new iPhone, it will be possible for developers to offer app updates and add-ons from within their apps. No more buying a separate app to get more content. No, I’m not happy about this because of the revenue potential. This feature should make it considerably easier for developers to keep their games fresh and growing. Greed will be rampant, no doubt, but if done right, everyone could love it. My head’s buzzing with ideas.

Even with all the new features, I have plenty of questions. As usual, the only way to get answers is to roll up my sleeves, hunker down, dig in, and get my feet wet … and my hands dirty …

Happy new year, everyone. It’s time to come back from vacation mode and get serious again. That means getting back to the day job, working more regularly on game development, and, of course, blogging. Yeah, maybe I’ll get in shape, too.

One thing is certain, though: I now have more money invested in my little venture. My lovely wife bought me an iPod touch for Christmas, and signed up for the Apple iPhone developer program. Plus, I bought a Unity iPhone Basic license, so I can use the coolest development environment to make games for the coolest gadget.

Yes, that’s right, I took the plunge — just like everybody else.

This is one of those times that I wish I were more of an early adopter. The iPhone development market is pretty well flooded now, and the bulk of new apps coming along are games. Every day that goes by will make it harder to score a big hit; there’s so much noise out there. Thankfully, thousands of people buy iPhones every day, and all of them no doubt will buy a few apps as they go. As the market matures, there will be less money around for silly or pointless games, and quality will become more important.

What am I working on? Well, a few things. The first goal is likely to be a simple, cheap (or free) game that lets me test the waters a bit. I’m working on something with my brother as well, which has been in the works for several months. We’ve started adapting our progress for the iPhone, and it’s going to be a challenge to get things running smoothly. I’ve also got another, grander idea in mind that could be really cool, if I can get something out there before someone beats me to it. So many possibilities…

Then, of course, there’s SPUDZOOKA. I fully intend to adapt it for the iPhone, but I have quite a bit of work to do there. I did a quick run today to see how well it could just be ported over. Alas, not very well. Running it promptly crashed my iPod.

There are a lot of sacrifices that have to be made for a mobile device, and I’m just beginning to get my head around them. More on that later. Stay tuned — this is going to be an interesting year. For now, back to dabbling.

This is the kind of article I don’t need to read. It puts crazy thoughts in my head. The article relates the stunning success of a young fellow who developed an iPhone game over the course of four months, put it on the App Store, and made $250,000 in the first two months. Now he’s quit is day job, started a company and employs several people. He’s living the dream.

The article does point out (a little slowly) that untold fortunes aren’t exactly guaranteed. I don’t have any serious notions about creating an overnight sensation–though it would be pretty cool. In fact, being the realist that I am, I can think of three big reasons why my path probably won’t match his:

• He designed a puzzle game. Puzzle games have very broad appeal and are great to play for five minutes at a time.
• He made a game that required minimal art assets (just a few triangles that can flip over). This fact alone probably saved him months of development time.
• His game was available at the launch of the App Store. This is the big one. The number of games available on the App Store has grown ridiculously fast over the last few months. The difficulty of cutting through the clutter increases with every game that gets added.

I’m not trying to say that puzzle games are easy to make. It’s a space that will get crowded really fast, and few have the right addictive qualities. I’m also not that interested in making them. For some reason that will probably doom my game development career before it begins, want to make games that have some element of character and space to them.

The real point probably is that, while there’s real money to be made in iPhone gaming, it’s going to get harder all the time to get people’s attention. But with a great idea and a lot of polish, it just might be possible to create something really special. Success might also take quite a few failures.

Saw this article about the fact that several game industry heavyweights are throwing their … weight … behind iPhone gaming. There’s one EA exec that has gotten quite a bit of press the last week or so for saying that Nintendo and Sony should be scared of the possibilities for Apple-based mobile gaming.

The fact that the iPhone isn’t a dedicated gaming device doesn’t seem to be a problem for these folks — nor should it be. In fact, the idea that you can carry one device around to occupy every odd minute of your life seems quite appealing to people.

I’ve been reading about some of the technical limitations of the iPhone, and it definitely seems possible to overcome them. I’m trying to think of it like a retro game development exercise. I’ll just pretend I’m developing for the original Playstation or N64.

In case you’re wondering, I’m not actively developing for the iPhone, yet. I’m hoping in the next couple of months I’ll be up and running. My brother and I are working on a game right now that we’re planning to port over, and I have another idea for a game that could be really cool, if I can pull it off. SPUDZOOKA is on the list, too. It might be a good one to practice on, since the game is pretty much done. I would want to add some new levels, though (how long have I been saying that?).