Carmack on iPhone Gaming

id Software programming wizard John Carmack took some time off from his rocket science today to comment on the just-announced software development kit for Apple's iPhone.

"Just based on the blurbs, it looks very good--a simulator plus debugging on the native device is the best of both worlds, and a 70% royalty deal for apps over iTunes is quite good," said Carmack in a forum post on Slashdot.

Doom RPG (Mobile) and Orcs & Elves (Mobile, DS) were developed by Fountainhead Entertainment with help from Carmack. Fountainhead founder Anna Kang, John Carmack's wife, was brought on by id last year to head up the company's mobile division.

"We (Id) have put in our application like everyone else, so I don't have any inside information at this point," added Carmack. "I think [Apple CEO] Steve [Jobs] is still pissed at me over some negative comments I made about iPod development tools a while ago."

"The iTunes distribution channel is really a more important aspect than a lot of people understand," continued Carmack. "The ability to distribute larger applications than the over-the-air limits and effectively market your title with more than a dozen character deck name, combined with the reasonable income split make this look like a very interesting market.

"This type of developer / customer interaction is probably the wave of the future for mobile devices, it will be interesting to see how quickly the other players can react. Based on our experiences with the carriers, I am betting not very quickly."