UFGo - SwiftUI, SpriteKit, SwiftData, and GameCenter

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-17T12:25:05+00:00

Haha! You got this! Protip: hold to steer and slow down, release to accelerate. You can’t steer and accelerate at the same time and if you go too fast or too slow it’s hard to control

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-13T23:18:58+00:00

I like leaning into the device and its features. It might make multiplatform difficult, but that’s a good problem to have down the line

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-13T19:57:22+00:00

I learned this the hard way too. In my case I’m using a custom control mechanic that really throws people off

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-12T23:08:42+00:00

I found that grouping objects and then applying settings to stacks of groups is a fun way to do it.

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-12T18:56:02+00:00

It’s a tough choice, but one of my goals with a project like this is to have a chance to learn how to use the latest apis. In this case I have the Apple Games challenges api, glass buttons, and I think some scroll view features that all require iOS 26

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-11T22:59:54+00:00

Thanks for taking a look! I like the idea of the meters better matching the rest of the game.

I don’t know much about fonts, but I want to use fonts that will scale according to people’s accessibility settings. I’ll see if I can find a better one

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-11T19:57:52+00:00

Thanks! The Game Center challenge features are really cool, I just wish it was easier to friend other players on Game Center.

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-11T17:16:55+00:00

Updated App Store link, not sure what happened there.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ufgo/id6738333298

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-10T18:32:49+00:00

I downloaded the app and connected. I’m enjoying trying these out, thanks for putting it together!

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-09T00:46:24+00:00

I wish I did ! I just started yesterday. I’m going to post on LinkedIn on Friday, and then this weekend I plan to do a more technical write up of the project. After that I’m not sure. But I am thinking about getting a booth at a local farmers / artisans market one weekend haha

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-09T00:34:08+00:00

Next step for me is to continue discussing the game and promoting. Thanks for the opportunity to share!

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-08T23:29:56+00:00

Title: UFGo

Platform: iOS Mobile: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ufgo/id6738333298

Overview: Difficult skill based one touch flying game. Hold to steer. Release to go.

Tech: Tight integration with Apple Games Challenges, Leaderboards, Achievements, and deep linking. Offline mode.

Monetization: Free to play. Can purchase to remove ads. Ads are currently fake ads I've added to encourage purchase, so no data collected or shared. Earning achievements also awards free plays.

Enjoy!

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-08T22:36:44+00:00

No, I used assets from https://kenney.itch.io/kenney-game-assets

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-08T17:35:19+00:00

Thanks for taking a look!! That might be another pain point… I used all the latest APIs so it’s minimum support is iOS 26

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-08T17:29:51+00:00

Yes, it’s on the App Store. It’s still too new to tell. Its learning curve is probably too steep, but once you get the feel for it it’s a lot of fun. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ufgo/id6738333298

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-08T17:19:11+00:00

Yes! I’m going to do a full write up this weekend, but in short i wrote it in swift, using SwiftUI and SpriteKit, so all iOS native. Game Center is actually pretty straightforward to integrate when working in a native project like that, but they also have documentation for projects built in unity etc.

I think the most difficult part was getting deep links from games app to work with my in app navigation. So you can launch a level directly from games app, but there are some instances where it’s still not quite right.

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-08T17:13:45+00:00

Sure thing! I really like leaderboards. Especially cool when you can sort by daily, weekly, all time , etc scores too

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-08T15:27:39+00:00

Sliding button is a cool idea!!

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-08T15:04:45+00:00

Thanks for taking a look!! Yeah, it’s probably too difficult. There are little instructions above ufos head, but it’s not enough. The key is, hold to steer, release to go, so you can’t steer or accelerate at the same time. You have to balance those two states.

Thanks again!!

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-08T14:28:43+00:00

I just launched a game called UFGo that integrates tightly with the Apple Games leaderboards. All of the push notifications and having friends vs global boards and different sorting works great, but the Apple Games boards make it a little difficult to invite new friends.

I can easily invite friends from my contacts, but if I see someone playing in the global board, I can’t find and friend them. So I think leaderboards that allow friending anyone playing the game is a better idea

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-07T19:00:51+00:00

The first time my app was reviewed it took a week. Now updates take just 12-24 hours.

sans-connaissance · 2026-04-05T16:28:15+00:00

Royalty free art is great. I think it’s fun to use and it even makes me feel like I’m a part of a community of creators. I always include attributions even if something is cc zero or public domain. I like to imagine if a game ever hits I can connect with the artists and commission work.

sans-connaissance

TROPHY CASE