Distant Shore and the comfort of strangers

The seeming omnipotence of social networking sites coupled with the rise of casual online gaming has recently given rise to a strange new type of interactive experience that floats imperceptibly between a communication tool and an actual game

How to become an iPhone developer in eight easy steps

You've probably heard all about iShoot. Written by a programmer at Sun Microsystems in his spare time, this Worms-style artillery shooter blasted to the top of the App Store charts last year and stayed there for weeks earning its creator enough money to pack in his day job and become a professional developer. You may also have seen the news this week about nine-year-old programming prodigy Lim Ding Wen who has developed his own simple painting app for the iPhone. Doodle Kids is doing reasonable business, attracting 4,000 downloads in less than a fortnight and gaining its author international news coverage

Orions: Legend of Wizards

Greg Howson: This turn-based fantasy card game is not only pretty but has huge depth – a rarity for most iPhone/iPodTouch games

Rolando

Steve Boxer: If you're interested in finding out what the fuss is all about regarding iPhone/iPod Touch games, Rolando provides a decent starting point

Tag Games and the wonder of iPhone

Somehow, Seabraes House, a squat glass-fronted office building on the bank of the river Tay, has become the epicenter of Dundee's considerable development community. Here, you'll find Proper Games and Cohort, two small studios that sprouted from veteran developer Visual Science when it crashed two years ago. And down the corridor is Tag Games, currently with a staff of eleven, but seemingly working on enough projects to suit a company twice its size. Over the road, a newcomer, Ruffian, has just set up shop; rumour has it they're working on Crackdown 2; co-founder Billy Thomson and other employees are fresh from Real-Time Worlds. They're not talking

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