When to use OpenGl on the iPhone.

Question

When is it appropriate to use openGl-es on the iPhone versus other toolkits? I have been learning to use it and suddenly feel it might be overkill for what I have in mind. Is it a good choice for something like a blackjack game?

Answer 1

Probably overkill, given that a card game has a fixed and statically defined set of graphic elements (i.e., a set of iconic images will do.)

Answer 2

You should read this question:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/747672/are-most-games-on-the-iphone-done-with-opengl-es/747743#747743

In general OpenGL ES is highly optimized and won't have too much of an overhead, you should consider CoreAnimation as a simpler, more abstracted option.

Answer 3

Well if you want to have 3D animated cards smoothly flipping across your screen instead of a static moving card, then yeah, use OpenGL ES. Also use it if you want to learn something about 3D programming or vector mathematics. Of course a Blackjack game isn't the most advanced, but you probably want a flashier UI than Windows Solitaire.

Answer 4

Also consides the idea that if you build off a universal framework such as OpenGL ES you can also port the game to other cellphones that support OpenGL ES, and it will not be iphone dependent...