• The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!

Reference for RPG programing for iPad?

harpy

First Post
My history computer programing began and ended in the 80's with my Commodore 64 and a book on how to write text adventures using Basic.

I'd like to be able to do some programing again so that I can make some apps to go on my iPad so I can start getting the kind of use out of it at the game table that I really want to see.

I'd like an app that lets me have RPG tables on hand with the iPad, like a random treasure generator, NPC name generator, etc. I'd just pick the table from a tab, hit the roll icon and have a result spit out. Ideally, tables could be nested into tables, so one roll could cascade into a rather detailed output depending on what happens.

I assume all of this stuff is rather easy to do. My vague memory of "If Then" and "Goto" use seems like it's covering most of what needs to be done in coding, beyond having some tables to reference and a random number generator.

Now the thing is, whenever I pick up books on programming they seem eager to teach me about every other aspect of coding other than this basic stuff. So I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has suggestions on resources that jump right to this kind of material. I don't need to learn to be a programmer, rather I just need to know enough to do this. iPad apps are written in Objective-C from what I understand, but if this kind of programming is similar to other languages then that would be great to see.
 

log in or register to remove this ad

Stormonu

Legend
Heh, that 80's book wouldn't have been "Creating Adventure Games on Your Computer" by Tim Hartnell would it? I've got a copy sitting up on my shelf :)

Like you, I've been looking around for a book or other resource that would help me in programming something for the iPad. I did find a book, but it's a basic Objective-C book (Learning Objective-C 2.0: A Hands-On Guide by Robert Clair).

I've also got a few books from the "Game Programming for Teens" line (despite being about 25-30 years past my teens...), but at best they are written in general C++ and focus more on making a game that a tool. They might be worth checking deeper into, however.

Also, from what I understand, its practically impossible to do the programming without a Mac computer - I have not found an app that will let you code and assemble the program on a PC-compatible computer, and that has me flummoxxed as I can't afford a mac at the moment. Unless the Airplay SDK somehow lets you, which I haven't quite figured out yet.
 



MythosaAkira

Explorer
I didn't have the time to get into Objective-C (or the money for a Mac to get a native app onto my iPad), so I put together a web app to do what I wanted, similar to what you're talking about. It uses Javascript (which I wouldn't consider much harder to learn than BASIC) with some elements of HTML5, primarily its functionality that allows you to run the app even when you're not connected to the Internet.

The app I'm talking about is here:

http://mythosa.net/rpggen/

The only major obstacle would be to have a web server available that serves up the app in the first place. Though if you just want an app for yourself, you could just run a local web server like Mongoose or Abyss (both free).

This probably sounds more complicated than it is. If you're interested in more detail, let me know.
 

enrious

Registered User
In terms of using a website for random goodness, I tie-in my site with tables for Inspiration Pad (Inspiration Pad Pro v2.0) - a free, easy to use program that uses very simple but powerful language in its tables.

On my 'droid, I just browse to the site and run my tables. The only downside was setting up a webserver, but if you're not familiar with doing so, it's pretty simple these days.
 


Remove ads

Top