Uh huh! The Impact-JS game engine was released today! It is a game-framework, that allows you to make games in JavaScript, that basically should run in every modern JavaScript-enables browser. The funky-detail is, that you can even code games, that run on the iPhone, iPod Touch and the iPad. Still there are some minor quirks to solve, as the creator Dominic Szablewski writes in his blog:
All those platforms still have their problems with sound and the iPhone 4 has a hard time filling all its pixels, but the games remain to be playable even on the 1st gen iPod Touch.
For me this looks like a project, somehow between an awesome proof-of-concept and some serious stuff to build upon. And it seems, that I am not the only one, who is a little surprised, that Impact should now be at sale for 99 Dollars, instead of making this stuff free and open source. Hm… really, nothing against making some bucks from the own hard work… but this project here smells more like a BSD-licence with some serious business work wrapped around it. I think this would be a better fit. Or like someone, who wrote at Dominics blog: “I wish you luck making some sales… but you could have the next jQuery on your hands if you released this for free.”
On the other side, maybe there will be impact with Impact. At least the way to make games, that are playable at the iDevice-range, could be a great opportunity. Still wondering, what Apple will have to say to this.
Anyway, no matter, which way he will choose! Good luck and thanks for making this real!