With rumours of the iPad 2 growing daily, I thought it timely to reflect on the impact of the iPad almost a year after it was first announced.
Meeting the hype?:
In many ways, I feel the iPad has exceeded its hype in practice. It was introduced as a game changer, and the rush of copy cat devices already on the market and the flood of others expected in 2011 I think shows it really has introduced the tablet form factor to the mass market and stimulated demand for a form factor that had been tried many times before but always to luke warm reception.
Why has Apple found a way to make this form factor work when others before had failed? Well, I think it's because they approached it backwards. Rather than seeing it as a scaled down laptop or desktop, the iPad was created as a scaled up mobile device. Apple did well initially with the UI of the iPhone, but they also had a few years experience of refining the design before looking to scale the form factor up. I'm sure everyone remembers how they were criticised initially for "forgetting" about simple things such as copy and paste with the iPhone - well, such omissions would have been unforgivable with a device the size and utility of the iPad where as it was just about accepted with the iPhone as less was expected to be done with it.
By all accounts, that period of evolution and development of the UI had the iPad in mind all along. According to one blog I read, Steve Jobs had the iPad form factor in mind when the iPhone was designed and the iPhone was a deliberate step to get the design improved and wait for the technology to be ready before launching the iPad. True or not, I certainly feel the detour via the smart phone has served the iPad UI well and is really why Apple have delivered a device that has captured the imagination where others failed.
Only good for content consumption?:
Early after the launch, most (including me) expressed the view that the iPad was all about content consumption rather than creation. I have to admit that this hasn't proven the case though. Yes, the iPad is excellent for consuming content, but thanks to the plethora of excellent apps that have emerged to exploit its strengths, it is also now an excellent content creation tool. The fact that I'm writing this using the iPad Blogpress app is testament to that :)
For me, the unexpected area that the iPad has excelled at is photo editing. Sure, there is no substitute for Photoshop/Lightroom on a "real" computer on a big monitor, but the intuitive manipulation of images for scaling, cropping has made the iPad my weapon of choice for initial image viewing as it allows me to quickly and naturally manipulate images as if they were physical prints - even better in many ways. The addition of apps like TouchRetouch which performs a basic version of the content aware fill/deletion and colour manipulation apps like ColorSplash and CinemaFX provide for immediate and relatively competent editing on the device.
I also find the iPad an excellent device to show off my photos to other people. The natural interface allows it to be passed around a group of people without having to explain how to manipulate the interface. The excellent screen makes the images look good and the ability to plug it into the 50" flat screen TV to really show them off to family and friends all work well. OK, I may be guilty of inflicting my photos on people like going back to the old stereotype of projector slide shows of years past, but at least with this technology, you can quickly skip through to the best images and read your audience better than having to switch all the lights off and have them doze off in the dark ;)
With creative apps for audio/music, video editing, blogging, databases AND mind mapping among many others, I now find myself only rarely feeling "hmm, I need a real computer for this". Even then, the remote desktop app usually leads me to use the iPad as the interface while using apps on a PC.
Security:
OK, firstly, no computer connected to the Internet is ever going to be 100% secure, but the iPad (any iOS device) isn't doing badly at resisting exploits. From the ground up, Apple have employed just about every type of security best practice, and for the most part their efforts seem to be paying off. Famous last words perhaps :)
This emphasis on security isn't without its drawbacks however. Because each app lives in its own walled garden, its taken some time for apps to be able to interoperate on files. Apple have now introduced a mechanism to "open this file in another app" which has helped a lot, but for the most part, apps need to rely on off device storage in the cloud to be able to interact.
Which leads me to another point...
Do we need the 3G version?:
Early on, I hadn't intended to get the 3G version as the pattern of use I expected would have been in areas almost always with WiFi coverage. I opted for the 3G version in the end as a "just in case" decision, and I am so glad I did.
Within a few days, I found myself using the iPad in a cafe and needing the 3G to be able to access almost anything useful.
What I realised is that this device had forced a paradigm shift on me - embracing the cloud for almost everything. This requires of course an "always connected" device to be practical.
This could be achieved using a MiFi or other tethered 3G => wifi smartphone type solution, but I prefer the single device elegance possible with the 3G version of the iPad (although the single point of failure does concern me).
I now feel that without buying in to this shift to the cloud, it's almost impossible to get the best from the iPad and I suspect this will be the case for any similar form factor device. Perhaps the abundance and ubiquity of such services is another reason why the time was right for the iPad where other devices had failed before?
So what are the issues?:
While I'm certainly an advocate for the iPad having been won over to the UI by having an iPhone first, I'm not blinded to it's many remaining short falls.
The lack of a standard USB port to be able to transfer files (or extend the storage) is a real pain. I suspect this will be one shortfall that will remain unsolved with the iPad 2 though despite much speculation to the contrary. The reason I think this is because Apple apply a premium to the larger storage capacity devices they sell, and allowing users to buy the lower spec device and then increase the storage using someone else's hardware would be anathema to their marketing ethos. I hope I'm wrong though.
No camera. While I doubt I'd ever want to use a device the size of an iPad as a camera, there are lots of apps which would benefit from having a built in camera. Augmented reality apps, google goggles, video conference (facetime) and document capture/scanning are all applications I can see immediate benefits for but there are undoubtedly many other doors this addition could open. The low cost/impact of adding this hardware to the design means this is something I'm certain (ish) to be in the iPad v2.
Screen issues. The screen on the iPad v1 is already very good, but it could be better. The aliphatic (?) coating on the screen makes removing smudges fairly easy, but it does get a lot of smudges from finger grease in the first place. I understand from some rumours that Apple have improved this coating and this would certainly be welcome.
The screen is also very bright and clear, but the introduction of the retina display in the iPhone 4 has shown that it could be even better. I'm probably 50/50 on if a retina screen will be included in an iPad v2 as it comes down to cost. Its not a "must have" upgrade, but if the cost is manageable, it probably will be included as it would look great on marketing materials for when compared with the competition. Personally, I'd rather see an improvement to make the screen more readable in direct sunlight and/or a move to thinner and lighter OLED technology (even better would be to make the whole form factor flexible to make it more pocket friendly, but I suspect that is 3-4 years away at least still)
Summary:
The landscape for the future of mobile computing certainly looks very different at the start of 2011 compared to 2010 thanks largely to the success of the iPad.
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2011/01/11
Quick and dirty quiz tool
I just came across a nice simple little quiz creation/hosting site that offers a basic but useful tool that could be worth remembering.
It's called Quiz Revolution and below, I've knocked together a very simple test to show the sort of thing it can do. To really shine, it would need video or images creating rather than the plain text I've put in, but it gives a little flavour of what it's like:
I particularly like it's emphasis on a small little form factor, locked to 380x400 pixels (although with a choice of a couple of looks), suitable for embedding in other things, such as this blog post.
(I just hope it works posted here as I'm writing this on the iPad quickly and can't check it first)
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It's called Quiz Revolution and below, I've knocked together a very simple test to show the sort of thing it can do. To really shine, it would need video or images creating rather than the plain text I've put in, but it gives a little flavour of what it's like:
I particularly like it's emphasis on a small little form factor, locked to 380x400 pixels (although with a choice of a couple of looks), suitable for embedding in other things, such as this blog post.
(I just hope it works posted here as I'm writing this on the iPad quickly and can't check it first)
- Posted using BlogPress from mobile device
2010/12/25
3D TV - my perspective (pun intended)
Prompted by this article saying 3D TV is a flop http://is.gd/jp44u (via @Splodge360 on twitter), my thoughts on the future of this tech:
Personally, I'm not impressed with how things look on current 3D TVs, although I have only seen the demos in stores so far. However, I believe this time around, 3D will stick and slowly become the norm.
There are a few key reasons why I think this. First, the TV sets themselves need no special expensive additional hardware and the glasses themselves are relatively simple too (although many carry a high premium yet). This means when it comes to buying a new TV, there will soon be very little premium above buying a non-3D capable set. Thus the barrier to adoption of the tech in the home is removed (for new purchases at least).
Next, with the ever increasing use of CGI in film making, it becomes trivial to render the images in 3D. Related to this, the technology needed to record live action in 3D is hardly more expensive for film makers either. Also, unlike the older 3D red/green or film based polarised systems, the technology is in place to make the whole pipeline from film making to cinema to home movie set up trivial. Thus the barrier to creation of content is removed.
What is currently missing to drive consumer adoption is compelling content; content that really has to be seen in 3D. At present, 3D content is "enhanced" but is equally compelling in 2D (I'm thinking of Avatar in particular in this as I felt it worked as well as needed in 2D on bluray).
So, I believe movie content will be increasingly created "3D ready" even if it is down shifted to 2D because there is little reason for it not to be. I believe there will be a slow trickle down of 3D ready TV sets in the homes as all new model TVs will have the tech included even if it isn't being used.
But, while people have to pay a premium to access those 3D capabilities, it's unlikely to create a storm...except if/when the tech taps into the driving force behind the uptake of many new technologies - sex.
The connection between sex and tech uptake has been widely noted and documented previously. The most common cited case in recent history has been the take off of VHS players when porn started to become available.
I suspect therefore that if/when porn producers and distributors tap into 3D, we'll see it really take off.
Even if that doesn't tip things, I think 2012 with the Olympics might. Although, I have read that rapid motion of sports does not lend itself to active glasses 3D TVs due to the halving of the effective frame refresh rate.
There are a few reasons I think it may 'fail' though.
First, the need for glasses. Need I say more?
Second, the current tech could be a flash in the pan - a precursor to a much better tech just around the corner. There have been proof of concept demos of various other 3D tech already that would not require glasses - true holographic displays with colour for example.
Lastly, the TV is quickly being overtaken by the Internet as the entertainment focus for many families, with the TV demotes to background noise. Thus, the driver for the purchase of new screens generally is shrinking. However, with large cheap 3D capable screens becoming the entry level purchase, this probably won't be enough to prevent it in my view.
So what do you think? Have you seen 3D TVs yourself? Did they impress you enough to want one or just thought M'eh (or worse)? Will 2011/12 be the year 3D TV takes of or flops?
- Posted using BlogPress from my phone
Personally, I'm not impressed with how things look on current 3D TVs, although I have only seen the demos in stores so far. However, I believe this time around, 3D will stick and slowly become the norm.
There are a few key reasons why I think this. First, the TV sets themselves need no special expensive additional hardware and the glasses themselves are relatively simple too (although many carry a high premium yet). This means when it comes to buying a new TV, there will soon be very little premium above buying a non-3D capable set. Thus the barrier to adoption of the tech in the home is removed (for new purchases at least).
Next, with the ever increasing use of CGI in film making, it becomes trivial to render the images in 3D. Related to this, the technology needed to record live action in 3D is hardly more expensive for film makers either. Also, unlike the older 3D red/green or film based polarised systems, the technology is in place to make the whole pipeline from film making to cinema to home movie set up trivial. Thus the barrier to creation of content is removed.
What is currently missing to drive consumer adoption is compelling content; content that really has to be seen in 3D. At present, 3D content is "enhanced" but is equally compelling in 2D (I'm thinking of Avatar in particular in this as I felt it worked as well as needed in 2D on bluray).
So, I believe movie content will be increasingly created "3D ready" even if it is down shifted to 2D because there is little reason for it not to be. I believe there will be a slow trickle down of 3D ready TV sets in the homes as all new model TVs will have the tech included even if it isn't being used.
But, while people have to pay a premium to access those 3D capabilities, it's unlikely to create a storm...except if/when the tech taps into the driving force behind the uptake of many new technologies - sex.
The connection between sex and tech uptake has been widely noted and documented previously. The most common cited case in recent history has been the take off of VHS players when porn started to become available.
I suspect therefore that if/when porn producers and distributors tap into 3D, we'll see it really take off.
Even if that doesn't tip things, I think 2012 with the Olympics might. Although, I have read that rapid motion of sports does not lend itself to active glasses 3D TVs due to the halving of the effective frame refresh rate.
There are a few reasons I think it may 'fail' though.
First, the need for glasses. Need I say more?
Second, the current tech could be a flash in the pan - a precursor to a much better tech just around the corner. There have been proof of concept demos of various other 3D tech already that would not require glasses - true holographic displays with colour for example.
Lastly, the TV is quickly being overtaken by the Internet as the entertainment focus for many families, with the TV demotes to background noise. Thus, the driver for the purchase of new screens generally is shrinking. However, with large cheap 3D capable screens becoming the entry level purchase, this probably won't be enough to prevent it in my view.
So what do you think? Have you seen 3D TVs yourself? Did they impress you enough to want one or just thought M'eh (or worse)? Will 2011/12 be the year 3D TV takes of or flops?
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2010/08/11
National Fireworks Championship, Plymouth 2010
As usual, I was out taking firework photos for the National Championships held in Plymouth. I must have thousands of firework photos by now.
Anyhow, friends had decided on Queen Anne's Battery as the spot to be this year, which wasn't going to be my choice for taking photos this year, but it is a great spot to watch them from.
I don't think I managed any really "good" firework photos, but this one is the nearest I got to being happy with one as it includes some context with the fort on the left which is somewhat iconic of Plymouth, although not as much as the lighthouse I included in the pictures last year.
Anyhow, friends had decided on Queen Anne's Battery as the spot to be this year, which wasn't going to be my choice for taking photos this year, but it is a great spot to watch them from.
I don't think I managed any really "good" firework photos, but this one is the nearest I got to being happy with one as it includes some context with the fort on the left which is somewhat iconic of Plymouth, although not as much as the lighthouse I included in the pictures last year.
2010/06/23
Conference in Edinburgh - UCISA : Reducing Costs Through Technology and Infrastructure
Sitting in hotel room before the conference tomorrow and thought I'd make a few notes before attending.
The subject of saving money in HE is a hot topic at the moment obviously wi the cuts expected over the next few years likely to make the "tight budgets" of the last few years seem like we've all been wallowing in money. Figures like 25% cuts in government funding in HE have been banded about, and while government money is not the only source of income for (most?) HEIs, it is a very large part and cuts of that depth will not be possible with minor changes to working practice or even reorganisation/mergers.
From my point of view supporting the use of IT I know there is huge scope for IT to be used more effectively to streamline business processes - although translating such efficiencies to cost savings would be another matter that is much more complicated and not technical.
The keynote starting the day tomorrow is "How to save money - best practice in contract management, asset management and procurement" by Gartner UK Ltd. Since UoP is currently looking to renew it's fleet of leased PCs this should be interesting.
The next session "Smarter, cheaper, Greener" is perhaps a statement of the trinity looked for with IT, where each is follows from the former. Since UoP gained the top spot in the recent People an Planet green league table I clearly think we're doing pretty well on the green front already, but there is still huge scope for improvement (eg we have yet to master the power management of the fleet to allow us to realise the extra power/cost/environmental impact savings we had aimed for - with vPro being a little too new in the fleet we took on and needing a lot of kinks ironing out) and there is certainly much scope for working smarter.
Next is a session looking at outsourcing e-mail. I've seen presentations on this before at JISC/UCISA events over the last few years and I've been sold on it as probably the right solution for at least a year and I'm glad that this has now been approved to move ahead with in UoP recently - again, it should be interesting and timely.
"Printing your own money" looks to be about the savings possible by better printing management - which is another hot topic at UoP, and one that has historically caused much debate. I recently visited Cornwall College to see how they had implemented their lean print strategy (using Canon's Uniflow solution), and in particularly how they had "solved" the resistance from the grass roots to having small local printers removed. Unfortunately, the main answer to that question seemed to be that they started with a very flaky old unreliable fleet of small local devices such that users were generally happy to have larger consolidated devices as they worked! Since we're not in that position at UoP I'm not sure we can translate their experience usefully, but the product itself does look very useful. I look forward to seeing if this session introduces any new approaches we'll be able to learn from.
The final session is "Redefine your technology strategy" - I'm not sure of the details of this right now (I didn't copy the outline to the iPhone to check while writing this on the iPad), but I can see that an IT strategy needs to be focusing on delivering real business efficiencies and cost savings ahead of developments of new services.
Edit: checking the programme, it appears this last session has been dropped and the earlier sessions given more time - with one session less, the cost/benefit of attending this conference so far from Plymouth is looking even less clear! :(
(photo is taken from the hotel window as sun set over the city - "enhanced" using a few apps on the iPad...not very subtly :)
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2010/06/13
iPad apps review - RDP
This is another app I had already on the iPhone which added a "free" improved version for the iPad, RDP is very useful to be able to remotely access my work PC laptop when I need to do something that can only be done on a PC or where I only have the data on the laptop hard disk. As such, this app alone make it much more practical to use the iPad as my sole computing platform (OK, the only one I have to actually carry around with me!)
This app works very well, although I wish it had a way to automatically enable the VPN connection before trying to connect as that little detour into the iPad settings before launching the app is something I'm always forgetting until it fails to connect and then it dawns on me why.
I have also needed to install a little app from no-ip on the laptop to publish it's IP to whenever it changes as for some reason, the DNS entry for my machine on campus fails to work. I suspect this is due to my over zealous firewall on the laptop rather than any short fall of this app :)
What else do I need to say about this app? Oh, it has a bit of an odd way of dealing with keyboard entry and mouse events. The keyboard will work with the external Bluetooth keyboard with the iPad, but delete is always very slow on both the external and virtual keyboard. Normal typing is fine and keeps up, but delete takes almost a second to register and drops rather than buffers the key presses. The mouse foibles are dictated by having a touch screen with no mouse over or right click, so the app provides an icon to toggle the mouse behaviour accordingly. This also includes a "wheel mouse" mode for scrolling, but I've never actually used that to know if it works.
The pro version of this app allows keyboard macros to be set up and connection details for oodles of devices to be added and then chosen from a list. I can't actually remember how many as I've only ever needed 2, but it's a screen full of slots :)
The app only allows a choice of 8bit or 16bit graphics for the connection, and it would be nice to be able to tell windows to fall back to a simpler presentation without wallpaper etc as the RDP client in Windows allows, but with a decent wifi connection, or even 3G, the lag dealing with the better graphics isn't too bad so this isn't essential unless you needed to use GPRS - in which case, you probably need a terminal service instead. :)
If you need to access machines running different OS too, you probably also need to use VNC rather than RDP, in which case it would probably be best to install that on any PCs too, so again, this wouldn't be the app for you.
Summary - does what it says on the tin, but only right if you need what's in the tin :)
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iPad apps review - BlogPress
BlogPress was my preferred app for editing and posting blog posts on the iPhone and is one of those apps that includes the improved features for the iPad in a single app, which means I effectively get the better interface on the iPad "for free". I had expected more of the iPhone apps to work this way, but have been disappointed and now resigned to having to pay for the better versions in most cases.
The editor in BlogPress is very simple, providing very few tools to help composing posts (no bold, italic etc shortcuts) instead relying on the author to include any HTML mark up needed. The only concession it does make it to include a tool to add images which can be scaled to a thumbnail with a link to the original with both thumbnail and original uploaded and the link added.
So what features do I like? Well, mostly it's the number of different blog formats it supports which critically for me includes both Google's blogger and Wordpress. (if anyone knows a tool that works with Sharepoint blogs behind custom HTML authentication then that would allow me to post to my other work blog too).
Is that all it's good for I hear you ask? Well, no. It also allows the images to be uploaded to a whole range of services, uploading video to YouTube, Twitter and Facebook notification integration, local drafts for composing offline and easy access to meta data like tags as well as setting a publish date/time.
There are probably better wysiwyg editors for blog posts, but i haven't spotted another with this range of services supported so it keeps my vote so far.
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iPad apps review - iRepton
I loved Repton back in the 80's on the BBC micro, and the idea of playing it on the iPad appealed to me (see my earlier blog post about which retro games I'd like to see ported) so I was delighted to stumbled across this little gem with a search of
the app store for the word "retro". It's perhaps humbling to realise that ones teenage years are now seen as retro, but any how...
Anyone who's plays rubble trouble or any number of similar games will know the idea behind Repton. Move your character around a 2d map collecting gems with gravity acting on certain object such that they fall down the screen if nothing is supporting them. Repton includes eggs which break to hatch into monsters that chase you and can only be killed by either dropping a rock on them or pushing a rock into them horizontally. It also includes keys which turn safes into gems. Where safes have a flat top and rocks can rest on them, rocks will slide off the top of gems unless soil or something else is in the way. Thus, getting a key can trigger rocks or eggs elsewhere in the map to fall.
The other thing to know is that with a rock on your head, you can do the "Repton shuffle" to quickly step aside and back to allow the rock to fall AND push it to one side - vital for many of the puzzles in the maps.
This implementation of the game can use the same mode 5 graphics of the BBC micro as in the screen shot or updated 'better' graphics. The new graphics add nothing to the game play and defeat the retro object of the game for me so are rather wasted, but I guess might appeal to people for whom this is a new experience.
The game also includes the same old music and sounds or updated versions of these too. The music was good for it's time on a home computer in 1984 ish but even then, it quickly became irritating and thankfully there is the same option to disable it that I always used back then!
The first set of maps are included from the old game (Repton 3 maps I think it is rather than Repton 1, but I can't be sure of my memory on that), but also additional new levels and further additional levels are available as in app purchases.
It doesn't appear to include the level editor which made this game so compelling for my mother and I - creating levels to challenge each other, and I doubt it's likely to see me dreaming in Repton graphics which I often did back then, but it is a welcome addition to the casual games I can pick up and play for a few minutes on the iPad, and for that it's worth the asking price :)
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the app store for the word "retro". It's perhaps humbling to realise that ones teenage years are now seen as retro, but any how...
Anyone who's plays rubble trouble or any number of similar games will know the idea behind Repton. Move your character around a 2d map collecting gems with gravity acting on certain object such that they fall down the screen if nothing is supporting them. Repton includes eggs which break to hatch into monsters that chase you and can only be killed by either dropping a rock on them or pushing a rock into them horizontally. It also includes keys which turn safes into gems. Where safes have a flat top and rocks can rest on them, rocks will slide off the top of gems unless soil or something else is in the way. Thus, getting a key can trigger rocks or eggs elsewhere in the map to fall.
The other thing to know is that with a rock on your head, you can do the "Repton shuffle" to quickly step aside and back to allow the rock to fall AND push it to one side - vital for many of the puzzles in the maps.
This implementation of the game can use the same mode 5 graphics of the BBC micro as in the screen shot or updated 'better' graphics. The new graphics add nothing to the game play and defeat the retro object of the game for me so are rather wasted, but I guess might appeal to people for whom this is a new experience.
The game also includes the same old music and sounds or updated versions of these too. The music was good for it's time on a home computer in 1984 ish but even then, it quickly became irritating and thankfully there is the same option to disable it that I always used back then!
The first set of maps are included from the old game (Repton 3 maps I think it is rather than Repton 1, but I can't be sure of my memory on that), but also additional new levels and further additional levels are available as in app purchases.
It doesn't appear to include the level editor which made this game so compelling for my mother and I - creating levels to challenge each other, and I doubt it's likely to see me dreaming in Repton graphics which I often did back then, but it is a welcome addition to the casual games I can pick up and play for a few minutes on the iPad, and for that it's worth the asking price :)
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iPad apps review - Weather Pro HD
Weather pro was my preferred weather app on the iPhone and the new version for the iPad looked sumptuous from the screen shots so I decided to try it. Quick summary - it's OK but...
The source for the forecasts is vital for a weather app to be useful and MeteoGroup seems fine for this app and has certainly been pretty accurate in my experience. However, the things which made this app for me on the iPhone was simple access to both radar data and satellite images so I can make my own judgement on the forecasts, and this is where this app currently lags slightly behind the iPhone version.
On the iPhone, if you pay a little extra you get additional image frames for both the radar and satellite views and also some 'predicted' frames for the future for the radar. Although the premium account is transferable to the iPad, the app currently doesn't provide these additional features, although it does increase the resolution of the other forecast data (windspeed/temp/rainfall/humidity/sunshine) to be hourly instead of 3 hourly.The interface uses multiple pop over frames in line with most iPad apps compared to separate screens on the iPhone which works nicely (see screen shot).
Summary: nice, accurate, but just slightly disappoints.
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2010/06/04
Retro games I'd like to see on the iPad/iPhone
One of my more random blog posts, but inspired by a tweet from @andytuk:
These are games from the BBC micro, C64 and other retro machines I would like to see either emulated or re-coded into new versions to play on the iPad/iPhone - in no particular order:
C64 versions:
Impossible Mission
TrollyWally - for the music more than the game
Little Computer People
BBC versions:
Thrust
Sentinel
Arkanoid
Llamatron
Hampstead
HHG2TG
The Hobbit
Repton 1, 2, 3
Airlift
Arcadians
Starship commander
Elite (this was the game mentioned that started me thinking)
Exile
Thunderstruck
Citadel
Manic miner
Jet set willy
Castle Quest
Alien 8
Nightlore
Sabre wolf
Uncle Claude
Imogen
Chuckie Egg
Frak!
Cholo
Others:
Speedball
Gobbiins 1, 2
Barbarian
Tempest
I'm very aware (having played many of these recently on emulators) that they would really need sprucing up to stand up today, but they all had that "just one more game" element to their gameplay that many more visually polished modern games lack.
Ah, e by gum an' by 'eck, I remember when all this was fields...or Mode 2 graphics. :)
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These are games from the BBC micro, C64 and other retro machines I would like to see either emulated or re-coded into new versions to play on the iPad/iPhone - in no particular order:
C64 versions:
Impossible Mission
TrollyWally - for the music more than the game
Little Computer People
BBC versions:
Thrust
Sentinel
Arkanoid
Llamatron
Hampstead
HHG2TG
The Hobbit
Repton 1, 2, 3
Airlift
Arcadians
Starship commander
Elite (this was the game mentioned that started me thinking)
Exile
Thunderstruck
Citadel
Manic miner
Jet set willy
Castle Quest
Alien 8
Nightlore
Sabre wolf
Uncle Claude
Imogen
Chuckie Egg
Frak!
Cholo
Others:
Speedball
Gobbiins 1, 2
Barbarian
Tempest
I'm very aware (having played many of these recently on emulators) that they would really need sprucing up to stand up today, but they all had that "just one more game" element to their gameplay that many more visually polished modern games lack.
Ah, e by gum an' by 'eck, I remember when all this was fields...or Mode 2 graphics. :)
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