Adobe AIR iOS Success Stories

“Really! That was done in Flash?” I’m hearing this quite frequently these days. It’s an extremely positive sign and it validates our own evaluation at WeeWorld that Adobe AIR is a more than viable tool for the creation of mobile games. If you’re still in any doubt then here’s a list of games you should download straight to your iPhone.

SongPop

Take part in music challenges between friends in this hugely popular music trivia game. At SongPop’s heart is an excellently crafted social gaming element allowing players to connect with friends via Facebook or simply find new friends who love the same music. It employs a turn-based battle mechanic, where games are won by identifying a collection of songs faster than your opponent. You can choose from over 35 playlists with samples from thousands of popular artists across multiple genres.

SongPop is available from the App Store free of charge, and has a five-star rating with over eleven thousand votes.

Wonderputt

Wonderputt is a quite beautiful isometric crazy golf game that started life on browsers and was recently ported to iPad. As soon as you launch this app you’ll understand why it was a Visual Arts Finalist at both the Develop Awards 2012 and IGF 2012. Wonderputt’s 18 holes are full of delightful little details that are unravelled as you work your way through its world of geographic delights. With Game Center leaderboards, achievements, and a triple length soundtrack, there’s plenty here to keep you occupied.

Wonderputt is available from the App Store and it’s also worth visiting the game’s development diary where you can find out all sorts of detail about its creation.

Match Mee

Easy to pick up but extremely difficult to put down, Match Mee is a simple matching game with many hidden layers. It’s incredibly addictive and if you start chasing high scores or going after its many achievements then you could easily lose hours to this one (I know people who have). Also, if you’re a developer looking for an example of an iOS game that makes great use of Flash’s vector renderer then Match Mee is definitely worth taking a look at.

Match Mee is available for free from the App Store and runs on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Super Hexagon

If someone had told me a few years back that my favourite iOS game would be developed using Flash I’d have immediately suggested they visit a psychiatrists and get themselves checked out. But here I am now with Super Hexagon, a slice of gaming genius that I can’t get enough of. Marrying both retro and casual gaming elements, Super Hexagon will have you coming back for more time and again. Its hardcore nature ensures that most games last only a handful of seconds, but when beating your previous best by milliseconds feels like serious progress you’ll soon find yourself losing hours as you convince yourself that all you need is one more try.

Smart Aliens

If you’re looking for an example of what can be done with the Starling framework then look no further than Smart Aliens. Running at a super smooth 60 frames per second, it shows the performance benefits you can get from working on top of Adobe’s Stage 3D. Smart Aliens is another perfect example of social gaming. Whereas many iOS games employ turn-based mechanics, Smart Alien goes for real-time battles with friends in what can only be described as a modern take on hangman.

Smart Aliens is available for free from the App Store. Check it out.

Ruby Blast

Last but certainly not least is Zynga’s Ruby Blast, which is a direct port of their excellent Facebook game. The fact that social gaming experts Zynga are now developing cross-platform mobile apps with AIR is a shining endorsement for the Flash platform. It’s also another great example of the power of Stage 3D and the Starling Framework. It has only been available for a few weeks but Ruby Blast has already gathered nearly seven thousand positive reviews. Pop on over to the App Store and give it a try.