Marmalade (software)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2012) |
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| Developer(s) | Marmalade Technologies Limited. |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 7.9.0
/ September 15, 2015 |
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 8, Mac OS X, Windows, Tizen, LG TV |
| Type | Game engine |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | Official website |
Marmalade SDK is a cross-platform software development kit and game engine from Marmalade Technologies Limited (previously known as Ideaworks3D Limited)[1] that contains library files, samples, documentation and tools required to develop, test and deploy applications for mobile devices.
Overview
The underlying concept of the Marmalade SDK is write once, run anywhere so that a single codebase can be compiled and executed on all supported platforms rather than needing to be written in different programming languages using a different API for each platform. This is achieved by providing a C/C++ based API which acts as an abstraction layer for the core API of each platform.
Depending on the license purchased, Marmalade SDK supports deployment of applications to the following platforms: Android, BlackBerry 10,[2] iOS,[3] LG Smart TV, Tizen,[3] Mac OS X, Windows Desktop, Roku 2, Roku 3, and Windows Phone 8, but not Linux.
The main Marmalade SDK consists of two main layers.[4] A low level C API called Marmalade System provides an abstraction layer that allows a programmer access to device functionality such as memory management, file access, timers, networking, input methods (e.g. accelerometer, keyboard, touch screen) and sound and video output. Marmalade Studio is a C++ API that provides higher level functionality mostly focused on support for 2D (e.g. bitmap handling, fonts) and 3D graphics rendering (e.g. 3D mesh rendering, boned animation). It includes an extensible resource management system and HTTP networking. Marmalade SDK supports Objective C.[5]
Marmalade SDK allows access to the graphics rendering capabilities of mobile devices either by using the OpenGL ES API directly (both OpenGL ES 1.x and 2.x are supported) or by using the functionality provided by the Marmalade Studio layer. Marmalade Studio provides support for loading and rendering graphics resources such as bitmap images and 3D model data which would need to be implemented by the user if using OpenGL ES directly. Marmalade Studio provides exporter plug-ins for use with Autodesk 3DS Max and Autodesk Maya to allow 3D models and animations to be used in applications. For supporting older devices with no dedicated rendering hardware, a legacy software based rendering option is provided.[6] On 9 October 2015, Marmalade introduced its own 2D and 3D authoring tools.[7]
Reception
On November 12, 2015 the Marmalade Platform won at the TIGA Games Industry Awards 2015 in the category of Best Engines & Middleware, Tools & Tech.[8]
Games
This is a list of notable games which had been built using the Marmalade SDK.
References
- ^ "Marmalade, Our team". Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ^ Keith Andrew (August 31, 2011). "Marmalade adds native support for QNX OS and BlackBerry PlayBook". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ^ a b "Marmalade 6.4 is here". September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 23, 2013.
- ^ "The Two Sides of Marmalade". Marmalade SDK documentation. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
- ^ "Marmalade |". Madewithmarmalade.com. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
- ^ "Floating your boat - Marmalade's newly-optimised graphics pipeline". Marmalade SDK blog. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
- ^ https://www.madewithmarmalade.com/blog/introducing-2d-kit-and-3d-kit
- ^ https://www.madewithmarmalade.com/press-release/marmalade-wins-big-tiga-awards
External links
- Official website
- Marmalade SDK Mobile Game Development Essentials - a book covering the usage of the Marmalade SDK from the perspective of a video game programmer