Six of the hottest iPhone developers to watch out for

Sorry male gamers, but we don’t mean “hot” in the Jade Raymond sense. The programmers we pay homage to below come from companies large and small (some are completely independent), but they all have one thing in common. Each of the teams featured here have taken on the challenge of bringing exciting entertainment content to the iPhone/iPod Touch. Given the amount of buzz that was created by the public release of the Apple SDK last month, we decided to showcase some of the lesser-known developers who have shown their commitment to the iPhone by announcing games using these new software development tools. Anyone with an Apple PC, and iPhone (or iPod Touch) and $100 can sign up to develop and release applications and games on the iPhone Application Store, which will open its virtual doors in June. Some of these projects are still in the early beta or prototype phase, but what we have seen so far leaves us impatient for more. Make no mistake, these indie programmers are hot!

What? Off-road Velociraptor Safari / Unity Engine
Who? Flashbang Studios / Unity Technologies

In what might possibly be the most fun to be had online, the designers of Off-road Velociraptor Safari brag that their game gives players the chance to “Hit Raptors” and pull off “Sick Stunts” while driving around in a presumably dystopian dino-ridden landscape of death. Perhaps the nicest thing about the game is its vivid 3D graphical polish, provided by the use of the Unity 3D engine. The developers of this middleware have promised that they are bringing their powerful 3D authoring tools over to the iPhone, and there is no reason why Flashbang Studios won’t follow there with Raptor Safari and their upcoming game, Jetpack Brontosaurus, as well

What? Multi-player Quake 3
Who? A collaboration of awesome hackers

We have already reported on this working demo of Quake 3 multiplayer that HermitWorks bodged together using code from an earlier project by icculus, and you can follow this link to our earlier story to view a video of the ensuing one-handed deathmatch in action. Of course, there is little chance that Apple or whoever currently owns the rights to the Quake franchise will allow an official release, but the fact that these guys got multiplayer FPS working so flawlessly opens the door to all kinds of amazing possibilities in the FPS genre.

What? Eye Phone
Who? Two mad professors from Germany

Eye phone is not technically a game, but it is one of the cooler and most unexpected applications currently in development for the Apple platform. This software is capable of recognizing earth features and famous landmarks in a two-dimensional image, and then interfacing with a database of tagged satellite images to identify the feature in near real-time. This means that if you find yourself wandering around in a city you don’t know, all you have to do is point your phone at a building or monument to find out the story behind it. Nifty!

What? Touch Fighter
Who? Apple In-house

Sure, the graphics looked a little bit janky during the live presentation at the SDK event last month, but keep in mind that the developers behind this 3D shooter only had two weeks to polish their “game”. The real thrill — drawing ooohs and aahhhs from the crowd — came when the presenter moved the iPhone around to demonstrate how the player’s ship would be controlled by the accelerometer. In one quick 5-minute presentation, millions of pairs of underwear all over the nerd-o-sphere were soiled, and a whole new generation of portable games was born. The possibilities for third-party games are endless, but we really hope that Apple puts in some additional effort to polish up this proto-space-shooter.

What? 3D Mesh Animator
Who? Dan Labriet

Dan Labriet is quickly shaping up become the Johnny Lee of iPhone development. This one-man force has a bunch of cool projects on the go, including a fully featured 3D mesh renderer, which showcases the real power of the iPhone hardware. He has also developed a litany of successful indie titles for Mac and PC, so there is little doubt that Dan can come up with some great ideas and execute them successfully on the handheld platform.

What? Trism
Who? Demiforce

The idea behind this trippy indie puzzle game is to match up differently colored blocks in a similar fashion to Bejewelled or Puzzle Quest. What makes this version particularly awesome, however, is the introduction of accelerometer controls to change the direction in which blocks fall. Players can literally tilt the device in any direction they please to cause blocks to land strategically and make matching sets. This innovative take on the puzzle genre shows what can be accomplished by one person with a good idea and some serious programming chops. Check out a video below, where the designer explains how the game works in his own words.

Do you have a cool iPhone project and want us to know about it? Leave a comment below!