You’ve probably seen particle systems used in many different iOS apps and games for explosions, fire effects, rain or snow falling, and more. However, you probably saw these types of effects most often in games, because UIKit didn’t provide a built-in capability to create particle systems – until iOS 5, that is!
Now with iOS 5, you can use particle systems directly in UIKit to bring a lot of exciting new eye-candy to your apps. Here are a few examples of where particle systems could be useful:
- UIKit games: Yes, you can make games with plain UIKit (and some types of games work really well there, particularly card games and the like). But now, you can make them even better with explosions, smoke, and other goodies!
- Slick UI effects: When your user moves around an object on the screen it can leave a trail of smoke, why not?
- Stunning screen transitions: How about presenting the next screen in your app while the previous one disappears in a ball of fire?
One of my chapters in the “iOS5 by Tutorials” book introduces you building Particle Systems with UIKit in iOS5 and this chapter was a part of the iOS Feast at Ray Wenderlich’s web site. So if you have missed this great tutorial, follow the link below and enjoy a quick and simple walk through to building a “Draw with fire” application for iOS and UIKit particle systems.
UIKit Particle Systems in iOS 5 Tutorial by Marin Todorov on raywenderlich.com
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