Marmalade SDK was a cross-platform
software development kit
A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific ...
and
game engine from Marmalade Technologies Limited (previously known as
Ideaworks3D Limited) 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
Write once, run anywhere (WORA), or sometimes Write once, run everywhere (WORE), was a 1995 slogan created by Sun Microsystems to illustrate the cross-platform benefits of the Java language. Ideally, this meant that a Java program could be develope ...
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
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
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
BlackBerry 10 is a discontinued proprietary mobile operating system for the BlackBerry line of smartphones, both developed by BlackBerry Limited (formerly Research In Motion). BlackBerry 10 is based on QNX, a Unix-like operating system that was ...
,
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
,
LG Smart TV
LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest ''chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered as ...
,
Tizen,
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...
,
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
Desktop,
Roku 2,
Roku 3, and
Windows Phone 8
Windows Phone 8 is the second generation of the Windows Phone mobile operating system from Microsoft. It was released on October 29, 2012, and, like its predecessor, it features a flat user interface based on the Metro design language. It was s ...
, but not
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
.
The main Marmalade SDK consists of two main layers. 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 SDK is a
C++
C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...
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.
Marmalade SDK allows access to the graphics rendering capabilities of mobile devices either by using the
OpenGL ES
OpenGL for Embedded Systems (OpenGL ES or GLES) is a subset of the OpenGL computer graphics rendering application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D computer graphics such as those used by video games, typically hardware-accele ...
API directly (both OpenGL ES 1.x and 2.x are supported) or by using the functionality provided by the Marmalade SDK layer. Marmalade SDK 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 SDK provides exporter plug-ins for use with
Autodesk 3DS Max
Autodesk 3ds Max, formerly 3D Studio and 3D Studio Max, is a professional 3D computer graphics program for making 3D animations, models, games and images. It is developed and produced by Autodesk Media and Entertainment. It has modeling capab ...
and
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya, commonly shortened to just Maya ( ), is a 3D computer graphics application that runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, originally developed by Alias and currently owned and developed by Autodesk. It is used to create assets for interact ...
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. On 9 October 2015, Marmalade introduced its own 2D and 3D authoring tools.
Marmalade Technologies Limited formerly Ideaworks Ltd, the maker of the 2D/3D Marmalade SDK announced in September 2016 the ceasing of production and support of its Marmalade Game Platform, choosing instead to focus on the output of its own game studio known as Marmalade Game Studio Ltd. The company announced that after the final iteration in March 2017 the licence server will be turned off and support will cease.
In January 2017 GMO Cloud– based in Japan obtains the exclusive rights to use the Marmalade SDK which supports both native and hybrid browser-based apps, accelerating the development of new features and supporting game and app development.
In May 2018, GMO Cloud announced the discontinuation of Marmalade.
Reception
On November 12, 2015 the Marmalade Platform won at
The Independent Game Developers' Association
The Independent Game Developers' Association (TIGA) is a trade association representing the business and commercial interests of some video and computer game developers in the UK and Europe.
History
TIGA was launched in 2001 by Patricia Hewit ...
Awards 2015 in the category of "Best Engines & Middleware, Tools & Tech".
Games
This is a list of notable games which had been built using the Marmalade SDK.
* ''
Angry Birds POP!''
* ''
Backbreaker
Backbreaker refers to a kind of professional wrestling move which sees a wrestler dropping an opponent so that the opponent's back impacts or is bent backwards against a part of the wrestler's body, usually the knee. The standard version of the ...
''
* ''
Cut the Rope
Cut may refer to:
Common uses
* The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force
** A type of wound
** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past
** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment
** Cut ( ...
''
* ''
Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies''
* ''
Doodle Jump
''Doodle Jump'' is a platforming video game developed and published by Croatian studio Lima Sky, for Windows Phone, iPhone OS, BlackBerry, Android, Java Mobile (J2ME), Nokia Symbian, and Xbox 360 for the Kinect platform. It was released worldwid ...
''
* ''
Draw Something''
* ''
Godus
''Godus'' is a god video game developed by the independent company 22cans and published by DeNA. The company launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds and met their funding goal of () on 20 December 2012. ''Godus'' was designed by Peter M ...
''
* ''
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
''Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light'' is an action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix's Square Enix Europe, European subsidiary for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Android and iOS. It is part ...
''
* ''
Metal Gear Solid Mobile
''Metal Gear Solid Mobile'' is an Action-adventure game, action-adventure Stealth game, stealth video game developed by Ideaworks Game Studio and published by Konami for Mobile phone, mobile phones. A spin-off of the ''Metal Gear'' series, it was f ...
''
* ''
Need for Speed: Shift''
* ''
Peggle''
* ''
Plants vs. Zombies
''Plants vs. Zombies'' is a video game franchise developed by PopCap Games, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts (EA). The series follows the affiliates of David "Crazy Dave" Blazing as they use his plants to defend against a zombie invasion, led ...
''
* ''
Pro Evolution Soccer
''eFootball'', formerly known as ''Pro Evolution Soccer'' (''PES'') internationally and in Japan and North America, is a series of association football simulation video games developed and published by Konami since 1995.
The series consists ...
'' games
* ''
SimCity Build It''
* ''
Tetris
''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute over the appro ...
''
* ''
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany
Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
''
* ''
Vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
''
* ''Eternium''
* ''Creature Quest''
* ''Expendable:Rearmed''
Marmalade's in house game development is through Marmalade Game Studio Ltd. and publish the following games:
* ''
Cluedo
''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddin ...
''
* ''
The Game of Life
''The Game of Life'', also known simply as ''Life'', is a board game originally created in 1860 by Milton Bradley as ''The Checkered Game of Life'', the first ever board game for his own company, the Milton Bradley Company. ''The Game of Life'' ...
''
* ''Spinguins''
* ''RIZE: Zombies''
* Sudoku 4Two Multiplayer
References
External links
* SDK
* Games
Marmalade SDK Mobile Game Development Essentials- a book covering the usage of the Marmalade SDK from the perspective of a video game programmer
{{Video game engines
Application programming interfaces
Mobile software
Software development kits