Epic offers glimpse of Unreal Engine 3 on iPhone 3GS / iPod Touch
By Lawrence Sonntag
Remember cassette tapes? They were little squares of plastic that used to hold an entire album. They were smaller and more convenient than records or 8-tracks. Now, fifteen years later, I have an MP3 player smaller than a cassette tape that holds my entire music collection at once – over 2,000 albums. Technology is getting retarded awesome, as evidenced by Epic’s demonstration of the Unreal Engine 3 – the engine behind games like Gears of War 2 and Batman: Arkham Asylum – on the iPhone.
AnandTech writer Anand Lal Shimpi got a chance to noodle around with the Unreal Engine 3 demo, reporting that it offered a fly-through and a bare bones one-on-one deathmatch with an AI opponent. The demo employs virtual touch screen analogue sticks, with the left to move and strafe and the right to look around, while tapping the screen fires. Epic Vice President Mark Rein stated that they’re still experimenting with control options. Despite the simple layout and the lack of a score or any real goal, Shimpi found the demo enjoyable.
Don’t expect an avalanche of mobile Unreal Engine 3 titles just yet, however. Since the engine requires OpenGL ES 2.0, it doesn’t support the iPhone 2G, 3G, or older iPod Touches. Since the engine is more of a technical curiosity at this point than focused business effort, that’s not such a big deal. Once the engine forms up, it will be offered to existing licencees, though Epic isn’t announcing mobile-specific licences or getting into the mobile market themselves just yet.
Still, it’s only a matter of time until we see games with home console-quality visuals on mobile platforms. Can you imagine carrying an Xbox 360 in your pocket? If not, remember there was once a time when one couldn’t conceive carrying around an entire music collection either.
