Id Software’s John Carmack recently openly criticized Apple’s attitude toward supporting game developers, and said that he and Steve Jobs have had “a fairly heated argument” over the issue.
Carmack has some experience developing games for mobile platforms. The company, long-known for landmark games like “Doom” and “Quake,” created “Doom RPG” for mobile handsets, along with Orcs & Elves.
Recently GameDaily BIZ interviewed Carmack about those efforts, and the subject of Apple and gaming came up.
Carmack’s focus was specifically on mobile gaming, and when asked about iPhone and iPod game development, he said that he and Steve Jobs got into a “fairly heated argument” at Apple’s 2007 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).
“I have an iPhone right now and it’s a platform I would enjoy developing for but Apple is not taking progressing steps in regards to [gaming],” Carmack is quoted as saying.
Carmack confesses that Apple’s iPhone development strategy is working “from a business standpoint,” and said he’s not going to second-guess the company and tell them they’re “being fools or idiots” for not focusing on gaming for the device.
He went on to say that Apple is “not exactly hugely supportive” of gaming. The iPod, he says, is “in many ways … one of the worst environments to develop games for,” because game developers have to work on an emulator, among other drawbacks.
“… just all these horrible decisions,” said Carmack.
Carmack said that he’s expressed his concerns to Jobs, “so [Apple] are at least aware of all of them, but they’re not giving any spectacular signs that it’s going to be a big deal for them in the next year.”