

Select iOS\Application\Window-based Application, and click Next. Start up Xcode, and go to File\New\New Project. I think it’s easier if you write all the code from scratch, so you can understand how everything fits together – so that’s what we’re going to do here! But the percentage of people with these devices is in the majority now, so that’s what we’re going to focus on in this tutorial! Getting StartedĪlthough Xcode comes with an OpenGL ES project template, I think that’s confusing for beginners because you have to go through a lot of code you didn’t write yourself and try to understand how it works. OpenGL ES 2.0 is only available on the iPhone 3GS+, iPod Touch 3G+, and all iPads. Or even these amazing lighting and shadow effects (via Fabien Sanglard):

“OMG!” you may think, “well why would I ever want to use OpenGL ES 2.0 then, if it’s just extra work?!” Although it does add some extra work, with OpenGL ES 2.0 you make some really cool effects that wouldn’t be possible in OpenGL ES 1.0, such as this toon shader (via Imagination Technologies): OpenGL ES 2.0 uses a programmable pipeline, which is a fancy way of saying all those built-in functions go away, and you have to write everything yourself. OpenGL ES 1.0 uses a fixed pipeline, which is a fancy way of saying you use built-in functions to set lights, vertexes, colors, cameras, and more. Without further ado, let’s start learning OpenGL ES!įirst things first – you should know that there are two different versions of OpenGL ES (1.0 and 2.0), and they are very different. If I make any boneheaded mistakes, feel free to chime in with corrections or insights! :]

OpenGL ES is the lowest-level API that you use to program 2D and 3D graphics on the iPhone. Learn how to use OpenGL ES 2.0 from the ground up!
