Hi!
I'm thinking of writing a game for iPhone/android and I have some questions:
I read that there are a few game engines that help develop games quickly. Shoud I use them or try to develop a game from scretch?
Is there an engine that you would recommend?
I'm thinking of a game in which the user "looks down" on the characters like in "Fallout", "Red Alert", "Dune" etc. Is it considered a 3D or a 2D game?
thanks :)
A forum exists for mobile content: http://www.gamedev.net/forum/39-mobile-and-console-development/
For the rest, it depends on what you are making compared to your previous experiences vs. what you need to learn to accomplish the new objective.
For example, I had my own engine on the side but my first game for iOS was a Pac-Man clone (I was the lead artist too!) which I felt was simple enough to just make from scratch.
At first, you may find it easier to rely on your previous knowledge of C++ or Java to make games from scratch, rather than to learn a new engine.
But usually in the long run it pays off to learn the engine, if you plan to make more than a few titles.
L. Spiro
I would recommend Unity engine. It has a reasonable learning curve and it´s cross platform features are adequate to what you need (iPhone/android).
A lot of games need server side components these days to do things like support cross platform multiplayer game play or to give you more control over virtual goods and currencies. If you do need server side components for your game then excuse the blatent self promotion of our platform GameSparks (http://www.gamesparks.com) which is compatible with some of the other device-side game engines mentioned here (Unity, Marmalade, Game Maker etc)
Moving to Mobile and Console forum.
Many people and groups have been writing their own cross-platform mobile libraries.
Very few of them are both mature and inexpensive.
The forum FAQ lists the major cross-platform iOS/Android libraries that I'm aware of, as well as their cost.
As for deciding to roll your own or reuse technology, that is up to you. Note that some of engines like Unity represent millions of work-hours, and you would have a difficult time doing that on your own.
