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[minasss]

Hi all,

I'd like to start to develop mac games but I'm really short on cash...which is in your opinion the least entry level mac machin one could buy to develop (2D games) games?

[increpare]

You can make 2d games on any mac, pretty much.  They'll all be more than powerful enough to make 2d stuff (as, for instance, my several year-old macbook is).

Is there any reason in particular why you want to develop mac games?

[Glaiel-Gamer]

Xcode is free but it has some weird quirks


Plusses to developing on a mac:

- You can make iphone games

- If you don't use the cocoa framework, it's rather easy to port your stuff to windows.

[minasss]

Well I think the Mac will be (maybe it is now) a good platform for indipendent game market

Also I'm always fascinated by new (new for me) platforms to develop for ( I've done a couple of homebrews for gba and ds in the past)

there are a couple of other reasons but I don't want to bore you

talking about hardware, a (portable) G4 with 1GB of ram could do the job?

[Glaiel-Gamer]

talking about hardware, a (portable) G4 with 1GB of ram could do the job?

I really wouldn't go with a G4 for development, it isn't kept up to date anymore. Plus it's a powerpc chip, and everything uses intel/amd stuff nowadays (and there are some differences when it comes to coding on them when dealing with files).

[increpare]

I really wouldn't go with a G4 for development, it isn't kept up to date anymore. Plus it's a powerpc chip, and everything uses intel/amd stuff nowadays (and there are some differences when it comes to coding on them when dealing with files).

Seconded.

there are a couple of other reasons but I don't want to bore you

Please, share them all.  I did ask.

[mildmojo]

Also, iPhone development requires XCode running in OSX 10.5 (Leopard) or newer. That also means a rough minimum of a 700MHz+ G4, but preferably an Intel setup. 

If you buy an older, used mac (probably the cheapest route), and you plan to do iPhone development, either make sure it has 10.5 installed or figure that cost into your purchase.

This was a stumbling block when I was thinking about digging up a dirt cheap mac.

[Reiss]

To second what everyone else said, anything with Intel, to save yourself headaches.

I guess the cheapest would be any of the Macbooks (non-Pro versions, to save that cash).  The Macbooks were introduced alongside the Intel switch, so they all definitely have Intel processors, and they're the cheapest Macs around.  Definitely fast enough for 2d.

If you want to run Leopard, load up on RAM btdubs.

[c-foo peng]

I hear the cheapest way to start iphone dev is to buy a $600 Mac Mini? Comes with Leopard installed and such, no need to worry about used hardware.

[minasss]

thank you for the reply

I think I will go with a used macbook that here in italy you can find on ebay for 500-550 euro

I will have to cut some costs (...like beer) and in one month or to I should have the money to go

I'm really excited about the idea to develop in and for a new platform (like in the days when I touched the gba and nds dev kit ahhh those times...)

[Reiss]

Oh whoa, totally forgot minis existed.  Yeah those would be good too (although if you've already decided on a Macbook,  don't let me persuade you), although you do have to provide your own screen, keyboard and mouse.  Seeing as how you're using the internet to post on a forum, though, I'm guessing you've got that covered - dunno how you feel about having to unplug everything from your main computer when you want to use your Mac.

But yeah Macbooks are nice.

Anyway, congrats on starting developing for a new platform!

[minasss]

a used Macbook is on its way to my hands...next week I will start exploring this new world!!! :D

Can someone point me to some article or resources with a list of common development tools for mac?

[increpare]

Can someone point me to some article or resources with a list of common development tools for mac?

xcode is the main tool.  eclipse/codeblocks exist, but yeah: xcode.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

http://stencyl.com/about/

[minasss]

seems interesting but  do like programming

[increpare]

Oh!  And be sure to check out Unity.  It's pretty delicious, whatever your programming inclinations.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

All I know about Unity was that The Graveyard was made in it.

[Reiss]

On the webgame front, Minotaur China Shop and Velociraptor Safari were also done in Unity...  It can do iPhone stuff too, apparently.  And it's only $199 for an indie license, last I checked?

Their Avert Fate demo was pretty sweet as a tech showcase.

But yeah, XCode for C/C++/Obj-C is definitely the way to go on the programming front.  Just taking a look at it now says it can do Java, Python, and Ruby, too...  Haven't tried Java on XCode (I used Netbeans back in the day), and dunno Python or Ruby so.

Another plus is that since pretty much everyone uses XCode, many libraries that support Mac development will have XCode templates available to help get you started.

[minasss]

yeah Unity seems interesting, I'll give it a try

[eeenmachine]

Also, iPhone development requires XCode running in OSX 10.5 (Leopard) or newer. That also means a rough minimum of a 700MHz+ G4, but preferably an Intel setup. 

If you buy an older, used mac (probably the cheapest route), and you plan to do iPhone development, either make sure it has 10.5 installed or figure that cost into your purchase.

This was a stumbling block when I was thinking about digging up a dirt cheap mac.

Just to be absolutely clear to anyone thinking of jumping into iPhone Dev, the iPhone SDK REQUIRES an intel mac.  So steer clear of the PPC machines!