Since the announcement at WWDC 2008, the iPhone is now suddenly on the gaming map. Having a  multi-touch screen and a accelerometer for input, the iPhone seems very suited to two of Blizzard's most popular games, Diablo and Starcraft. I picked these two games because of their popularity, ease of use, and that the iPhone's hardware is powerful enough to support these games. These are just my thoughts on how these two games can be implemented on the iPhone, as they are not news or actual ports to the game.

*all images here are just renders and are not real

Real Time Strategy - Starcraft

  Having the multi-touch screen lends well with RTS games as most of the unit commands can be executed on the screen. Selecting units is as easy as touching units on the screen, and then touching the appropriate action. Since Starcraft is runs in a 4:3 aspect ratio and the iPhone goes around 16:10 aspect ratio there would be black block around the game. This space does not need to go to waste as it can serve as extra icons that can be used in absence of the keyboard. This can also be fully configurable to have different icons represented as icons to increase available functionality. Sub-menus also allow more functional icons in view by touching a list icon that will display a translucent drop down menu right next to it.

Zooming in and out should also be implemented to help the player precision actions. This can be done by the standard pinch and reverse pinch that users are already accustomed to. Another feature important in RTS games is the group select and this can be accomplished by keeping two fingers on the screen without movement for 1.5 seconds, this will activate the selection box and then it can be resized and moved to wherever you want it to be. Releasing the finger will select the units, while de-selecting units can be accomplished by shaking the iPhone.

Action Role Playing Game - Diablo II

The simple point and click gameplay can easily be adopted to the iPhone.  The two mouse buttons can be represented as the green and red buttons on the left of the screen. The user uses the left thumb to touch the buttons while the right thumb is used to drag around the screen to select monsters or move. In order to see what is underneath the thumb, a magnifying display is shown right above the contact point, very similar to what the iPhone already implements in the native applications. The user can also use standard touches to use the potions on the bottom of the screen. Selecting the different powers just involves touching the skill icon below to expand the list of skills available. The user can toggle running and walking by shaking the iPhone.

The iPhone's interface is suited for almost all types of games imaginable. It will just need creative thinking to implement these new types of input to suit the game.