Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2023 was held online from June 6 to 9, and it was packed with exciting announcements, updates, and insights for game developers. From the new macOS Sonoma to the improved Metal framework, Apple showcased how its platforms and technologies can help game developers create amazing games for Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. In this article, we will discover some of the key takeaways from the game development sessions at WWDC 2023.
Bring your game to Mac
This three-part series covered how to port your existing Windows game to Mac and iPad using the powerful features of Metal and Apple silicon. The first part introduced the game porting toolkit, a set of tools and resources that can help you evaluate your game for graphics feature compatibility and performance on Mac. The second part explained how to use the Metal Shader converter, a tool that can automatically translate your HLSL shaders to Metal shading language. The third part demonstrated how to render your game with Metal, using techniques such as dynamic resolution scaling, multisampling anti-aliasing, and ray tracing.
Explore EDR on iOS
This session showed how to use extended dynamic range (EDR) on iOS devices to create stunning visuals for your games. EDR is a technology that allows you to display a wider range of brightness and contrast on your screen, making your images more realistic and immersive. You can use EDR to enhance your game lighting, shadows, reflections, and effects. You can also use EDR to optimize your game performance and battery life by adjusting the brightness level based on the content and environment.
Tap Into Virtual and Physical Game Controllers
This session explored how to support various types of game controllers in your games, such as touch screen, keyboard and mouse, trackpad, Siri Remote, and external gamepads. You can use the Game Controller framework to detect and handle input events from different controllers and customize your game’s controller layout and behavior. You can also use the GameControllerUI framework to present a controller overlay on your screen that shows the current controller state and configuration.
MacOS Sonoma
macOS Sonoma is the latest operating system version that runs on the Mac. It was announced by Apple at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2023 in June. It is named after Sonoma, a city in California, USA, that is famous for its wine, history, and charm. macOS Sonoma has improved performance and compatibility for games. According to Apple, macOS Sonoma has faster app launch times, smoother animations, and better responsiveness than previous versions of macOS. It also supports more game controllers, such as the Xbox Series X|S Wireless Controller and the PlayStation 5 DualSense Wireless Controller. It also has better integration with Apple Arcade, the subscription service that offers over 180 games for Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV. This means that we can develop games that run faster, smoother, and more reliably on macOS Sonoma. It also means that we can offer you more options and flexibility for your game distribution and monetization.
These are just some of the highlights from the game development sessions at WWDC 2023. There were many more sessions that covered topics such as audio, physics, animation, networking, testing, debugging, and distribution.
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