Characteristics for the iPhone to keep in mind
Screen Size is Compact:
"The small, high-resolution screens of iOS-based devices make them powerful display devices that fit into users’ pockets. But that very advantage to users may be challenging to you, the developer, because it means that you must design a user interface that may be very different from those you’re accustomed to designing.
Use the compact screen size as a motivation to focus the user interface on the essentials. You don’t have the room to include design elements that aren’t absolutely necessary, and crowding user interface elements makes your application unattractive and difficult to use."
As I've mentioned previous, the size of the iPhone screen doesn't give you the space as say a computer would. That is where the iPad would benefit more if I wanted to create a more intricate game that needed more space for things on the screen.
Memory is Limited:
"Memory is a critical resource in iOS, so managing memory in your application is crucial. Because the iOS virtual memory model does not include disk swap space, you must take care to avoid allocating more memory than is available on the device.
When low-memory conditions occur, iOS warns the running application and may terminate the application if the problem persists. Be sure your application is responsive to memory usage warnings and cleans up memory in a timely manner.
As you design your application, strive to reduce the application’s memory footprint by, for example, eliminating memory leaks, making resource files as small as possible, and loading resources lazily."
Some of this is irrelevant to our project as we are only creating the concepts for the game but it applies in some cases; a heavy graphical interface wouldn't be acceptable for the iPhone, it wouldn't be able to take it. The same with complex gameplay, it's not suitable for the platform.
Onscreen User Help is Minimal:
"Mobile users don’t have the time to read through a lot of help content before they can use your application. What’s more, you don’t want to give up valuable space to display or store it. A hallmark of the design of iOS-based devices is ease of use, so it’s crucial that you meet users’ expectations and make the use of your application immediately obvious. There are a few things you can do to achieve this:
- Use standard controls correctly. Users are familiar with the standard controls they see in the built-in applications, so they already know how to use them in your application.
- Be sure the path through the information you present is logical and easy for users to predict. In addition, be sure to provide markers, such as back buttons, that users can use to find out where they are and how to retrace their steps."
Short, simple and sweet instructions and make use of control layouts used before.
Other links to help me;
Things around the game screen:
Application Styles:
Apple Icon and Image Sizes:
