Developers could soon have a new option for making games on an iPad, with a port of the game engine Godot getting close to an initial test release.
Apple’s Swift Playgrounds is an entryway to game and app development on iPad, which can also allow users to publish them to the App Store. However, while there is limited choice in terms of development avenues on the tablet, one viable option is on the way.
Godot is a free and open-source game engine that is available to use on macOS. While not as well known as Epic’s Unreal engine, it has been used for a number of major games, including Deponia, Sonic Colors: Ultimate, and Buckshot Roulette.
An ongoing project by the developers behind La Terminal aims to bring Godot to a new platform. Godot for iPad is, as the name indicates, a version of the game production tool intended for the iPad.
In an August 31 blog post, the developers explain some of the thinking behind Godot on iPad’s porting, including how the engine’s interface has to change to be more usable on an iPad screen. A lot of the summer changes to the project are apparently influenced by Apple’s design choices for Final Cut Pro on the iPad.
This included things like implementing a color scheme and font sizes for labels and values, “tasteful grouping and padding of elements,” and some much-needed changes to how data is organized to the user.
Alterations were also made to how windows are embedded, as well as the toolbars. Rather than massive rows of options, the iPad version adopts a more refined and simplified interface, while still providing access to the same data points and settings.
Godot for iPad is not yet available to download and use, but it is getting there. The next steps in its development include a scene switcher, activating and deactivating panels on a small screen, and “some fifty-nine other small bugs that need to be fixed.”
Currently, it is hoped that a TestFlight release of Godot for iPad will ship in September.
