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I'm about to finish an app and now I wanted to add an animated splash screen with my company logo after the app finishes loading and launching. I can just use an animation with openGL for this, but I was wondering if it would be better to use a video..it's easier for me and the artist because he will only provide with an small video which i would reproduce after my app finish launching..less work. I wonder if it's a good idea to do so...can I reproduce a small short video with the logo of my company or should i stick to making an animation ?

Also, reproducing video is memory intensive ?, because I'm loading some texture after my app finishes launching, and im wrried about that.

If i end up reproducing an small video, can i make it non interactive ? ( no pause, play stop, ect) so it looks like just as another animation to the eyes of the user ?

My other preocupation is quality...the quality of the video will look dramatically different to my animations in openGL ?

Thanks !

Costique
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José Joel.
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3 Answers3

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I can't tell you about the technical stuff, but what I can tell you is: don't use a splash screen. Directly from the Human Interface Guidelines:

Supply a launch image to improve user experience; avoid using it as an opportunity to provide:

• An “application entry experience,” such as a splash screen

...

Because users are likely to switch among applications frequently, you should make every effort to cut launch time to a minimum, and you should design a launch image that downplays the experience rather than drawing attention to it.

fabian789
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Disclaimer: the following is an entirely subjective humble user opinion. Please, don't take it to heart.

I hate video splash screens on my iPhone/iPad, however beautiful and stylish. What I like is apps which launch instantaneously. On iOS 4 chances are, I will see the startup animation once a month when the OS decides to terminate your app when the device is low on memory. So, now I tap the app icon and see the animation, now I tap it and don't (because it's already launched). It's inconsistent, out of your (and my) control, and ultimately makes little sense.

From both quality and aesthetics points of view, I think GL animation would better fit (hopefully) intense addictive action which follows. I'm not sure, however, that you will be able to load any resources in the background, while the animation plays, without making the animation stutter.

Costique
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The HIG guidelines are intended (as far as I can tell) for Apps on the iPhone.

This is different from Games on the iPhone.

If your app provides some utility to the user, I agree completely with @Costique, @fabian789, and the HIG. The app should start instantly, with minimal loading and other distracting crap.

For a game, however, intros and the like are not only expected, but can also lead to a better user experience. My recommendation is to use a UIView Animation for only a small portion of the screen (the logo only). See Angry Birds as an example - their "animation" starts the same time the user's options do, so your animation (while quite pretty) doesn't block the user from using your app.

Stephen Furlani
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