Suggestions for black bars running on iPad - 16:9

hangred

Member
I've created my game to scale to 16:9. I use a 896x504 resolution. It works fine on PCs, Mac, iPhone (and screen mirroring to Apple TV). When I run this on my iPad it has the black bars on the bottom and top. I've tried just filling it in with a color but am not sure I like the look or if this is acceptable when releasing on iOS. Does anyone have experience with this?
 
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Bayesian

Guest
That would absolutely not be acceptable. You can use display_get_width() and display_get_height() to dynamical change the resolution. Be sure to read the Docs for stuff like this.
 

hangred

Member
Thank you for the reply. I've read up on the dynamic changes but don't want to zoom or scale at a non-whole number factor. It is a single screen game, like Pac-Man CEDX. I would rather dynamically draw something within the black boundaries. I was just wondering if someone had already done something similar. I wonder if Pac-Man CEDX was grandfathered in with their game because it doesn't do much with the black bars.

pcedx.jpg
 
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Guest

Guest
Also going to see how this plays out with my game, which is a single screen board game-esque setup with wrap-through sides. It's designed for portrait. I've filled in the top and bottom with colors to match the stage, and I use some of the extra bottom space to draw an additional line of a text scroll that I use, but I don't have any use for space on the sides of the screen. I do get side bars on the iPad.

I made it through beta approval for test flight, and my fingers are crossed for final approval. We'll see...
 
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Sam (Deleted User)

Guest
I've released a game on iPad with "black bars" and not a single person has complained yet. It gives the cinematic look, which is a good thing if you happen to use HD graphics. I've had nothing but positive feedback regarding the game thus far. And it's been on the App Store and Google Play for a solid 3 years now. Anyone who says "black bars are unacceptable" don't seem to understand gamers truly don't care about stuff like this if the game is any good.
 
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Guest

Guest
I've released a game on iPad with "black bars" and not a single person has complained yet. It gives the cinematic look, which is a good thing if you happen to use HD graphics. I've had nothing but positive feedback regarding the game thus far. And it's been on the App Store and Google Play for a solid 3 years now. Anyone who says "black bars are unacceptable" don't seem to understand gamers truly don't care about stuff like this if the game is any good.
To heck with the gamers, I just want on the store! (But yeah, I don't expect any pushback from players either, based on tester responses.) My worry has been Apple.
 
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Sam (Deleted User)

Guest
To heck with the gamers, I just want on the store! (But yeah, I don't expect any pushback from players either, based on tester responses.) My worry has been Apple.
Weird, I wonder how my game made it on the store then... I had no idea that was against their guidelines.
 
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Guest

Guest
It's a bit ambiguous. The Apple App Store Review Guidelines don't go into this; the primary concern is preventing low-effort apps, abuse of the app store system, or inappropriate subject matter. Those guidelines might be said to incorporate Apple's Human Interface Guidelines, because they tell you to "check whether your app follows guidance in other documentation," including the Human Interface Guidelines. Those guidelines simply say that "content typically fills the entire screen." It's also hard to imagine that those guidelines can be requirements because they're very high-level descriptions of design principles, e.g., "use metaphors." I doubt their reviewers really evaluate an app's adherence to best design principles in that manner, although they could certainly reject an app on that basis if they wanted to. The most direct guidance I've found is under the specific Human Interface Guidelines for adaptivity and layout, which tell you "Don't attempt to hide a device's rounded corners, sensor housing, or indicator for accessing the Home screen by placing black bars at the top and bottom of the screen."

I've updated my interface so there are no black bars and to use the extra vertical space, although my game simply has no use for some of the extra side space on squat (4:3) ratios. I wonder if @Bayesian has any basis for his or her "absolutely unacceptable" comment, although who knows, the internet hivemind says that Apple reviewers can be a bit unpredictable from one day to the next. Googling only finds one rejection for black bars, and that report is from 2014. It's unfortunate that the GMS community has little involvement by professional mobile developers. I think pricing the export initially at $400 pushed out most indies. Maybe we'll see an uptick now that the price is "only" $200 and GMS1 people are now forced to upgrade if they want to continue maintaining their games on the Play Store.
 
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Sam (Deleted User)

Guest
It would look like crap. Phone screens are small enough without wasting space. Is that enough basis for you?
Well, I'm just glad that most people who've played my app don't agree with you, otherwise they would've said "it looks like crap". On the contrary, I've had great feedback on the artwork and visuals, as they were done by Justin Garcia, who should be famous, he almost got hired by DreamWorks but he turned them down in favor of running his own company self-employed iirc. He also worked for Super Book and helped out with Veggie Tales for a while. His website - www.budgessman.com

As in - he does not make crap. lol

Edit:

I say "my" app but I'm just the programmer, he's the actual copyright holder, so I apologise for any confusion my previous words may have caused. I wasn't thinking.
 

hangred

Member
Thanks again for all the replies. I was going to try to use the display_get_width() and display_get_height() to dynamically draw a border on one of my tile layers. I'll put this effort on hold unless I hear something specific regarding a potential rejection on the Apple or Google stores.
 
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