At GDC, Touch Arcade had the opportunity to sit down with Yichel Chan and Kathy de Leon of mobile development house Glu, makers of Bonsai Blast [App Store], to discuss a number of the company's forthcoming iPhone game titles.

Glu's upcoming games offer a very diverse collection of genres so there will likely be something of interest for everyone.

Build-A-Lot

Originally a PC game, Build-A-Lot is a light simulation in which the player buys and sells land, develops blueprints, builds and expands houses, and creates a functioning community that–hopefully–makes the player a wealthy tycoon.

The game features a career mode, in which certain set goals per level must be met to move forward (though catastrophies and such can happen mid-level that must be dealt with), and a story mode in which the only goal is to make a certain amount of money.  The iPhone version of Build-A-Lot is an improvement over the PC original, adding enhanced graphics and various new gameplay elements.

Build-A-Lot will be priced at $4.99.

Cooking Star

Cooking Star is a food management game that is a collection of eight different mini-games, each one payable across five different levels of difficulty. 

Some examples are Tofu, where the player must properly slice a cube of tofu being dropped into a cooking pot into tiny pieces using finger gestures and Kabob, which involves cooking (and not burning) a series of kabobs on a grill by tapping to select, flipping (the iPhone) to rotate, and shaking to add salt.

Additional mini-games will be made available in future updates.

Wacky Worlds Mini Golf

Expected to debut in July, Wacky Worlds Mini Golf is a zany golf game set in a most bizarre world.

While lining up shots and putting true are the name of the game, things are made interesting by moles, gophers, ladybugs, and the like wandering the course and popping out of holes. This colorful title features non-traditional controls (line up a shot, set the desired swing strength, move the camera to achieve a preferred vantage, and tap to swing) and four (bizarre) worlds, each featuring 10 holes.

No price has been determined for Mini Golf.

Cops and Robbers

Forthcoming Cops and Robbers is a (foot) racing / acrobatic game in which you and your roommate are strapped for cash and can't pay the rent.  The solution?  Turning to a life of crime.

The game involves running through a series of city levels that have a Crash Bandicoot feel and involve parkour-like moves while collecting diamonds to pay the landlord. 

The game features a very interesting twist on the "ghost" re-play mechanic.  Once you've completed a level as one of the robbers, you can then replay it as a cop chasing your robber ghost. So you must best your previous time in order to "catch" yourself.  After that, you're back to a robber being chased your cop ghost.  A very clever mechanic that ensures replayability.

Cops and Robbers will retail for $4.99.

This video shows a bit of the gameplay, but due to the loud ambient noise we simply muted the audio. The final game, of course, has appropriate sound effects:

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

Glyder

Glyder, set for an early April release, is a flying exploration game in which the player is wearing a set of wings and most fly freely about various environments collecting floating  gems.  Achievements–50 in all–are unlocked for performing various feats such as visiting every area of a given world, achieving maximum possible velocity in a power-dive, and taking mini-trips.

There are no enemies and there's no way to die in Glyder.  It's just about the gliding.

Glyder will be priced at $1.99.

This video shows a bit of the gameplay, but due to the loud ambient noise we simply muted the audio. The final game, of course, has appropriate sound effects:

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

Chillingo announced two new upcoming titles at GDC today. One is a new 3D boxing title, while the other is a classic favorite.

Touch KO

This Fight Night inspired game is written by two U.S. based game designers Adam and Matt Mechtley.

Touch KO gives the gamer a chance to advance through a boxing career, starting from humble beginnings in a run-down gym, all the way to the glamorous grand arena for the title fight. The game allows for full 3D customization of the virtual fighter including facial and body, clothing and even tattoos. It features innovative game play making use of the unique multi-touch and accelerometer capabilities of the device.

The launch timing of the game is described as "imminent". We will be able to spend some time with this title later this week.

Boulder Dash

Chillingo has also managed to sign a deal to co-publish Boulder Dash for the iPhone alongside First Star Software, Inc. The iPhone version of the game will include all 80 levels of the original classic and 4 additional bonus levels.

Now celebrating its 25th year anniversary, this world-renowned tricky puzzle and dexterity game first made its debut in the early 80s across several personal computer platforms, including Atari, Commodore 64 and DOS. It is one of the few gaming titles to be ported from a personal computer game to a coin-operated arcade game, four different times in fact, and still enjoys a large loyal fan base today. The hit game’s principle remains: players have to collect sparkling diamonds whilst avoiding numerous traps and enemies, all the while watching out for falling boulders, in a race against time.

We were big fans of this early title and have been hoping for a suitable iPhone version. Some clones have come and gone but the control mechanism has always been at issue.

First Star Software seems confident in their iPhone port, however, and state that they have re-engineered Boulder Dash for the iPhone and iPod Touch to make use of "multi-touch; ‘pinch’ zoom; the ability to switch between portrait and landscape modes on the fly". The game is expected to be released in early Q2 2009.

At GDC, we had the pleasure of speaking with mobile game company Gamevil. This Korean-based gaming company has been around since 2000 and has focused only on mobile platforms since 2004.

Their first iPhone game was Baseball Superstars [$4.99, Lite], a well received sports game in an under-represented category on the iPhone.

Gamevil has been continuing to offer regular updates to the game and told us that they have been following our forums very closely to address concerns and criticisms. The latest Baseball Superstars update is due on April 1st and includes enhancements in the sprite graphics and eases up on the difficulty level of the game. New features include:

• Overall graphic upgrade
• Day/Night time backgrounds (depending on your local time)
• G-Points needed to unlock special characters have been significantly reduced.
• Coca Cola logo has been inserted in the background. (Coca Cola – Gamevil alliance)

Zenonia

Gamevil also revealed that they are bringing their Zenonia aciton-RPG to the iPhone. Zenonia is a successful existing Korean mobile title that has already sold over 600,000 copies. The game appears to be a very deep RPG with many nice details including day/night changes, slower movement when carrying many items, as well as the usual leveling up system, and skill upgrades.

Some features listed by the developer include:

Zenonia will offer over 40 hours of gameplay. We managed to get an early copy of the game which is still in development. The game is mostly complete, however, with the exception of language-localization.

Controls use a relatively standard virtual D-Pad for movement and an attack/action button. Additional attacks and skills can be mapped to other virtual buttons along the bottom of the screen.

We recorded this gameplay video showing basic attacking, leveling up and skills upgrades:

[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]

Zenonia will likely be released in the next couple of months.

Though there have been some discrepant reports, Macworld and Pocketgamer are reporting that EA is bringing a number of premium titles to the App Store this year.

The list provided include a number of EA's sports titles including:

• FIFA Soccer
• Madden NFL
• NBA Live
• SSX

Hasbro licenses:

• Connect Four
• Battleship
• Risk
• Clue

And other titles:

• Spore Creatures
• Mystery Mania
• American Idol
• Command & Conquer
• Monopoly – the original version
• Wolfenstein RPG

Of course, Tiger Woods PGA Tour and Need for Speed are still in the works.  No details about the various titles were given.

We had a chance to sit down with developers from Belgian software house Fishing Cactus at GDC to have a look at the latest build of their upcoming gravity-based maze game Equilibrio.

Set in a colorful world the challenge may look simple but Equilibrio tests not only your reflexes but the old gray matter and is in perfect synergy with your iPhone device.

The basic concept of getting your ball to the exit pod to finish the level is turned upside down, literally, as you use your iPhone to tilt the world in either direction. Players carefully, skillfully move the spinning ball through corridors, along ledges to complete levels that are fraught with dangers. Move the ball too fast and it can shatter, leaving you to pick up the pieces and restart the level. Go too slow and the ‘equilibrio’ of the ball will not be powerful enough to spring to the desired spot!

The game features balls made of various different materials, such as rubber, glass, steel, stone, and paper, that each have their own gameplay characteristics.  Across the game's 60 levels, new elements and traps are constantly being introduced, from cannons and trampolines to deadly spikes and acid pools.

Features:

• Six types of balls
• Trophy system, like Xbox Live Arcade
• Three play modes: Random level challenge, Replay ghost challenge, Conquest
• Play against the clock, pick up stars for points
• Outperforming "par" for a level unlocks achievements
• 60 levels
• Possible integration of Facebook Connect in a future release

Have a look at our brief video of the gameplay. The first level shows a "paper" ball which is affected by fans on the field. Tilting left/right provides you with direction of movement and spikes must be avoided.

The developers indicate that Equilibrio will be submitted to the App Store during GDC and should be available for download at a price of $4.99 in the next few weeks.  We'll be taking a closer look when the game goes live.

The Independent Games Festival Mobile awards ceremony has just drawn to a close at GDC 2009 and Touch Arcade was in attendance.

Back in January, IGF released its list of finalists competing for awards in seven categories and $30,000 in prize money.  This year's competition included two new award categories: Next Great Mobile Game, in which developers take the stage in an attempt to best pitch their upcoming titles, and Best iPhone Game.

This year's finalists were:

IGF Mobile Best Game:

• Cubic Republic (IKS Mobile) – Flash Lite
• Smiles (Sykhronics Entertainment) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Edge (Mobigame) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Wardive (And-or) – Nintendo DS

Innovation in Mobile Game Design:

• Wardive (And-or) – Nintendo DS
• Galcon (Hassey Enterprises) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Eliss (Steph Thirion) – iPhone/iPod touch

Achievement in Art:

• Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Dizzy Bee (Igloo Games) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Ruben & Lullaby (Song New Creative) – iPhone/iPod touch

Technical Achievement:

• Football Tycoon (Dynamo Games) – Java
• Real Racing (Firemint) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Wardive (And-or) – Nintendo DS

Audio Achievement:

• Radio Flare (Studio Radiolaris) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Zen Bound (Secret Exit) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Edge (Mobigame) – iPhone/iPod touch

Best iPhone Game — Presented by ngmoco:

• Edge (Mobigame) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Dizzy Bee (Igloo Games) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Zen Bound (Secret Exit) – iPhone/iPod touch
• Frenzic (The Iconfactory) – iPhone/iPod touch

Of those finalists, the following took home the prize:

• Next Great Mobile Game: Reflection (Team Reflection) – Nintendo DS
• Mobile Audio Achievement Award: Zen Bound (Secret Exit) – iPhone
• Technical Achievement: Real Racing (Firemint) – iPhone
• Art: Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) – iPhone
• Design: Galcon (Hassey Enterprises) – iPhone
• Best iPhone Game: Zen Bound (Secret Exit) – iPhone
• IGF Mobile Best Game: Fieldrunners (Subatomic Studios) – iPhone

Congratulations to the the winners!  It's hard to believe, looking at this impressive list, that iPhone gaming did not even exist at last year's Game Developers Conference.  It's exciting to picture what's in store for next year's event.

Best Mobile Game winners Jamie Gotch and Sergei Gourski

Secret Exit took the prize for Best iPhone Game

The IGF Mobile 2009 competition was supported by Platinum and Founding Sponsor NVidia as well as Gold Sponsor and Best iPhone Game prize sponsor ngmoco.

We had a chance to speak briefly with Cameron Tofer of Hermitworks on their upcoming iPhone trading game Space Trader. We previously previewed the game in March.

The game offers you the chance to seek out power and riches as you become increasingly proficient as an interstellar trader of highly sought after merchandise. Assume the role of a Space Trader trying to make a profit buying and selling commodities, everything from medical supplies to food and precious metals. The goal is to make as much money possible within the time limit. Visit various locations in search of the best deal and be sure to look for side quests to help you achieve the highest score.

The game resembles a much enhanced version of Dope Wars where you buy and sell items from individuals between locations in an effort to make a profit.

The values of these commodities can change from place to place and over time based on market events.

The goal of the game is to make as much money within a given amount of time ("180 days"). Traveling to the different planets (there are 3 in the initial version) can take anywhere from 8 to 25 days, so you need to plan ahead to maximize your profits. Tofer reports that an average gaming session may take about 30 minutes to complete, but could take up to 2 hours if you explore all the contacts and opportunities. The game's iPhone claim-to-fame, however, is that it may become the first official App Store game based on the Quake 3 engine.

At each location, you explore each station through a 1st person perspective interface. Quite telling is that the fact that both Hermitworks and Ngmoco independently settled on very similar control schemes for their 1st person games. Left side is a virtual control pad that controls movement, while the right side controls the view. We picked up the game and found the controls easy to use and quite natural. There is no combat, however, in this version, so your interactions are primarily walking and talking to people.

Space Trader has been submitted to the App Store for approval and is expected to be sold at an introductory price of $0.99. Tofer also let us know they had a lot of updates planned over time to further improve the iPhone experience.

Space Trader on the PC is a larger multi-player game, and the company expressed interest in this possibility for the iPhone version. Other planned enhancements include a combat system that will be used in solving specific missions as well as an extensive achievement system to enhance replayability.