i Can Develop Games

i can develop games for iPhone and so can you. No coding required

[dorond1]

Steampunk Goggles Game

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/steampunk-goggles-game/

Steampunk Goggles Game

I started drafting this post about a game I recently released to the App Store and realized toward the end that it is more about steampunk theme. It is a perfect example of how well a reskin can be. I was searching for a theme and one of my favorites is steampunk. Speaking with a graphic designer, he suggested goggles as one of steampunk’s most recognized item. From there I searched and stumbled upon this site steampunkgoggles.com . In it I was able to study goggles and see how many styles there are which indicated to me there is demand for steampunk in general. I was able to gather a lot of information off this site. Check my game Steampunk Goggles here to see all the elements I gathered while researching onlin. After releasing the game I realized how I liked steampunk and wanted to learn more about the subject. Went back to steampunkgoggles.com and discovered something neat. They started a kickstarter project, a nice project of steampunk theme card deck with amazing art! You got to check it out via this link.

Here is a video on their kickstarter:

Want to know if you are a fan of steampunk? If you like the costumes in the following movies, then you are a steampunk geek: The Prestige Van Helsing A Series of Unfortunate Events The Golden Compass

  Remember – check steampunkgoggles.com for great steampunk goggles, oh so many styles.

[dorond1]

New Beginnings

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/new-beginnings/

New Beginnings

It has been too long since I posted anything. Some of you even reached out to me asking if everything was ok. Everything is fine. Unfortunately, I had to stop any mobile development due to personal matter. However, things have improved in the last few months and I’m back on track. In the time since I ‘returned’ from the dead I examined the market and evaluated what was the right direction to proceed with educating about game development. if trends change, so should the teaching. Indeed, I have concluded there is a new and fresh trend that is replacing the way we develop games. I must add it is an easier, cheaper method to produce games and apps in general. If you have not figured it out by now, I’m talking about re-skinning of pre-existing games (also known as App Flipping). I’ll explain what this is shortly if this is new to you – this trend makes sense to follow and emulate since you still learn the process of developing a game as well as you get a better opportunity to monetize, simply because with re-skinning you can produce multiple games in a relatively short time. If you are not familiar with re-skinning of existing games, let me explain using an example. head over to view this game via this link. Now take a look at this game via this link. If you download both or at least examine the App Store screenshots you’ll notice similarity. These games are identical with the exception of different graphics and sounds. So, this is basically what re-skinning is – take an existing game, replace graphics and sounds, and release as a new game. If you were to hire a developer to code this game from scratch, it would have taken you maybe $2,000 to complete the job. Purchasing the game is less than $400. When i say purchasing the game, what it means is that the owner of the game sells you a license to use the game code, which he delivers to you once transaction is completed. Is this not a neat concept? Yes, it is.

There are few things going on now:

- Please do not send me any emails. Due to spam there is no control over incoming emails, sometimes a hundred per day (maybe I’m popular?). My sincere apology if you tried to reach me with no response. Until I implement a security measure, please head over to my Facebook Page and send me a message there – a ‘Like’ is also appreciated

- I’m restarting the adventure by doing a real re-skin project using an excellent source code that I highly recommend purchasing whether you are just starting with re-skinning a game or are an experienced one and have not used this code. comparing to other codes, this one is affordable, and combined with selection of a good trending theme can return the money you invested on the code purchase. Check it out here.

- Last week I was a guest on a Podcast dedicated specifically for the business of re-skinning apps. I’ll post about it as the episode is live. If you listen to it, I provide some goodies only to the Podcast listeners on the show. Trust me – you want to listen.

- I’m going to work on couple of big projects for the year 2014. All I’m going to say is that you WANT and SHOULD stick around. If you are not following my mailing list, please do so and stay informed. The fastest way is via the ‘Sign Up Now’ field on the right of this screen. I’ll announce one of the projects as early as January.

2014 is going to be a very exciting year for the development community.

Stay tuned!

[dorond1]

Anyone Can Develop an App - Take for Example... A Homeless Guy

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/homeless-can-develop-an-app/

Anyone Can Develop an App - Take for Example... A Homeless Guy

Leo Grand is an amazing person. If you think you had it hard, take a look at him. He is truly a special person. I can continue admiring the person, but I’ll get to the point. He completed developing his first mobile app. Sure, some of us can do that right? So what’s is so special in Leo’s case? In case you didn’t read the title of this post, he is homeless. Now, what kind of will power such being has to have. Given the opportunity of either take $100 or take a laptop with the condition that he will learn to code a mobile application. A very engaging story that should first make you thanking for having a roof over your head. And second, if this guy can do it, what excuse do YOU have? To be honest, aside from all the problems that come with being homeless, he did have the time when conditions allowed. Not all of us can find the time. Time is the most valuable element. But, time is not the issue. Time is always available to us. It is about prioretizing. I published a post about finding time. I’m not going to provide a link to that post though. I prefer you watch the video below. (wow – used the word ‘Time’ quite few times here!)

[dorond1]

Develop Games the Doron David Way – an Interview

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/iphone-app-experiment-podcast-interview/

Develop Games the Doron David Way – an Interview

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I was asked and had the honor to appear as a guest on the iPhone App Experiment podcast hosted by Dennis Bowles. Recorded the session this past weekend and amongst other things, I discussed the challenge of finding the right developer that you can trust and establish a long term relationship with – hence this was the reason I came up with the eBook How To Successfully Hire The Best Game Developers.

Listen to the podcast here.

I enjoyed speaking with Dennis on-air as well as off-air, finding that we both share a lot of our goals toward helping people produce their first game or app through its various development stages.

I recommend subscribing to Dennis’ podcast here.

To your app success,

Doron

I read all comments.

I reply, and answer every question!

I often click through to see commenter’s site.

I might invite you to guest post!

[dorond1]

Develop Games the Doron David Way – an Interview

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/iphone-app-experiment-podcast-interview/

Develop Games the Doron David Way – an Interview

I was asked and had the honor to appear as a guest on the iPhone App Experiment podcast hosted by Dennis Bowles. Recorded the session this past weekend and amongst other things, I discussed the challenge of finding the right developer that you can trust and establish a long term relationship with – hence this was the reason I came up with the eBook How To Successfully Hire The Best Game Developers.

Listen to the podcast here.

I enjoyed speaking with Dennis on-air as well as off-air, finding that we both share a lot of our goals toward helping people produce their first game or app through its various development stages.

I recommend subscribing to Dennis’ podcast here.

To your app success,

Doron

I read all comments.

I reply, and answer every question!

I often click through to see commenter’s site.

I might invite you to guest post!

[dorond1]

Develop Games the Doron David Way – an Interview

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/iphone-app-experiment-podcast-interview/

Develop Games the Doron David Way – an Interview

I was asked and had the honor to appear as a guest on the iPhone App Experiment podcast hosted by Dennis Bowles. Recorded the session this past weekend and amongst other things, I discussed the challenge of finding the right developer that you can trust and establish a long term relationship with – hence this was the reason I came up with the eBook How To Successfully Hire The Best Game Developers.

Listen to the podcast here.

I enjoyed speaking with Dennis on-air as well as off-air, finding that we both share a lot of our goals toward helping people produce their first game or app through its various development stages.

I recommend subscribing to Dennis’ podcast here.

To your app success,

Doron

I read all comments.

I reply, and answer every question!

I often click through to see commenter’s site.

I might invite you to guest post!

[dorond1]

How To Gauge The Cost and Time of Your Project

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/how-to-gauge-the-cost-and-time-of-your-project/

How To Gauge The Cost and Time of Your Project

So, by now I’ve given you quite a few tips on how and where to find contractors and the method I use to screen/filter them after I post a job. When I approach hiring people, I always post several jobs as test runs for 2 purposes PRO TIP: post a job as fixed price, especially for first project!:

Get an idea for pricing mainly coding and graphics. This is a starting point to understand how much it will cost us to develop.

See what’s out there in term of quality contractors. Any that apply for my jobs and I find as qualified, I add them to a portfolio folder on my computer so I can browse later at any time through the developers I liked.

Another thing I do is search myself for jobs on oDesk, and see how much employers have paid for a comparable project in scope, for example when emulating a live game (how many Angry Birds clone are out there?).

After I get a preliminary idea of development and graphic design cost I take into account the last element which is music and sound effects for the game, although you can get away without any soundtrack.

Here is an example breakdown for cost of producing a game:

Coding – $700.

Graphic Design – $250.

Sound – $50.

Total estimate – $1000.

Simple enough, right? Now when you post a job also request to know length of time it would take, although in most cases the applicant would like to receive more info on your project to get a better idea of what the project is and in turn how long it would take to complete. Let’s assume that coding would take 2 months and graphic design 1 month. Some developer would start coding your game while using place holders instead of actual graphics, which will produce the project for you in 2 month as they won’t need to wait on the graphic designer to complete his task first. This is good as you can have both developer and graphic designer work at the same time. if a coder clarifies he will not start or cannot begin coding until he received the graphics, then of course length of production is total of 3 months. PRO TIP: I always time my game release a month after the calculated length. 2 extra weeks for fixing errors, or any type of delay. Then, submit and wait a 1-2 weeks for Apple’s review.

For my first game, I spent $750 for coding, $40 for sound, and I did the graphics myself. Not bad for a first project and knowing how to use a graphic manipulation software can be useful. Remember that coding cost is relative to complexity of your project. Some game can cost as little as $300 to develop, or sometimes even less (Jumpbox was developed for a total of $160!). My first project was developed while having fun and no real set deadline, and I aimed to release it by Christmas that year and I made it. Considering I began development at the end of August of 2011, I had more than enough time to complete it. Both the developer and I anticipated completion of the game in less than 2 months, but because of many changes on my end, the project took longer than anticipated. I almost never take people advice as I’m stubborn, so I cannot blame you if you don’t listen to this: Even though your first project would be the best as you intend it to be, do not fall in love with it and keep changing during development process as this will increase the overall time and cost. If your drive is passion, then by all means go ahead and change as you please taking cost and time into consideration. One problem is that the developer may have scheduled to begin a different project with another client and not meeting the end date of your project can cause delays with the developer’s other clients, so you might end up with an unhappy developer who might not want to work with you in the future.

When I understand roughly how much a project would cost to develop, I then post a separate job and hire a contractor I liked through the process listed above. Odesk allows you to created a job, keeping it non-public, and directly invite contractors to it. Reason I do this is if I hire through the original post, all the candidates are notified and you end up with questions on why you didn’t hire them.

Remember the tips I gave you on how to hire a developer or graphic designer which will help screen the good from the bad applicats.

Even though this post was written with the intention of hiring each contractor separately, there are agencies that have both to offer. I have never worked with an agency and thus cannot recommend going this route. An advantage to working with an agency is that you do not need to coordinate between coder and graphics designer. However, I prefer to work with each separately as I try to establish a more personal working relationship. One negative aspect of working with individual contractors though is that if they get sick, they may not be able to commit to a deadline, as opposed to an agency that will always (or should) have backup staff to continue working on your project.

My Journey

Remember that I intend on emulating a game and I indicated the creative direction I’m going in my last post. I posted a job on oDesk and one applicant grabbed my attention – I copied and pasted his application below:

“MY ENGLISH IS GOOD

Hi Doron,

Thanks for the Job Posting.

I have done 9 games which are on apple store.

(here the applicant listed 5 games and direct links to app store)

My Experience: 5+ yrs

+ Past work samples - Below is the list of my completed apps

(listed here the apps he worked on – I omitted from text)

I can answer your questions via skype chat”

Short and to the point. He indicated the “MY ENGLISH IS GOOD” at the beginning of the post showing he read it through, and acknowledged my questions, even though he didn’t answer them in the application. I had a gut feeling that this guy might be good so I responded back, asking for his Skype name. He immediately appeared as available and we went on with the interview. Here is the transcript of the chat:

Developer Hi Doron

how are you ?

Doron David I’m good and you?

Developer I am also good..

is it right time to talk ?

Doron David Sure. I have few minutes

Developer okay, thanks.

I have 5 yrs of exp in iphone app/game dev

done more than 15 apps and

5 2d games

you have open project on odesk

Doron David ok

Give me a second

Developer sure please

Doron David ok. I’m back. I just wanted to look at the games you did.

Developer okay

Doron David So… you are confident you can do this game I want? emulating it with all its features?

Developer Yes, i am confident that i can do this game

I need graphics only

graphics i can’t do..

Doron David Now… you used testflight I assume?

Developer i have used

yes

Doron David ok.

Will you include sounds?

Developer no problem, i will send you builds through testflight

Yes, i can integrate sounds in the app

but can’t do that..

sound composer can do this kind of job..

or i think we can buy the sounds online..

Doron David ok. You mean I’ll provide you with sounds?

Developer yes

I will integrate and use it in the app

Doron David Can you please tell me about push notifications? (want to see how much he knows about push notifications)

Developer what feature you want there ?

Doron David I have not integrated push yet

I want to be able to push notifications, using a service like xtify…

Developer yes we can do push notification

Doron David What do I need to do on my end to provide you the developer for that?

Developer Yes, web developer i need

He will create third party service for notification

but we need it later..

once our app is say 90% done

Doron David no. no use for web developer. There are services like xtify

Developer third party service we can use..

xtify

okay, that’s fine then..

Doron David ok…

Developer we don’t need web  guy in that case..

Doron David right…

How does revmob sdk work?

Developer do you want to use revmob only ?

or also like admob

chartboost

Doron David all the sdk’s I listed in the job description.

Developer okay, got it

you just need to setup the accounts

Doron David ok. I’m familier with that.

Developer you have key

Doron David I have.

Developer okay, you know how to setup ads there..

Doron David I know on my end what to do.

Also…

Developer okay, i need key and sdk only

we can do that..

Doron David If you remember from job description I want in-app to remove ads which in our case would be adwhirl, revmob.

Is it easy to setup so when I do an in-app purchase the ads will not show again?

Developer yes

iap we can implement there

Doron David ok.

Developer showing ads is different thing

and in app purchase is different

once user buy

the full version

then code will check either product is purchase (means remove ads – full version)

then code will remove all the ads

Doron David Well…

Developer no problem we can do that..

Doron David ok

Developer but we need ios developer account for this

Doron David I have all info on that. no worries. I have done a few games before.

Developer and purchase license

Doron David What is a purchase license?

Developer $99/yr

you already have i think

Doron David I have that. You mean developer program?

Developer yeah

Doron David I have all we need on itunes end. no worries.

Developer okay great

Doron David ok.

Developer graphics and sounds all i need

Doron David I will have those done.

How long will it take to develop?

Developer 2 weeks

Doron David ok.

I will prepare also wireframes.

Developer that’s helpful, thanks.

Doron David I’ve done those multiple times and I’m very detailed.

I mean VERY detailed!

Developer great, thanks.

Doron David ok. I have a graphic designer who is finishing a project for me. I’ll have him start graphics for this game after that.

So expect starting the project in a week or two, ok?

Developer okay, no problem

whenever you want to start, just message me on odesk

Doron David ok. great – please bug me in about a week.

Developer i will get back to you..

Doron David ok, sure will. thx.

Developer okay, i will ping you after 1 week

no problem.

Doron David ok. thx.

talk later.

Developer you are from usa?

Doron David usa

yes

Developer i heard about sandy hurricane

Doron David yes. not too close to where I am

Developer very bad, take care please

Doron David We have strong winds though in my area because of it

Developer okay

Doron David will do. thx.

Developer okay doron, i will ping you after a week

Doron David ok. thx.

I wanted to share with you the conversation so you get the feel on how I manage a chat session. The developer indicated 2 weeks development time. I usually expect an additional week or so added in case something goes wrong, so let’s say we know development can be done in 3 weeks.

Next I had a conversation with a graphic designer. I wanted to work with a designer that I already establish a good relationship, so there was no application to review. Here is a transcript of chat with the graphic designer:

Doron David: I have an existing game called Roll the Ball and Jump. You can search it under my name ‘Doron David’ It is a free download – please download it and examine it. It could be we spoke about this already. I want to reskin this game. Looking to do a theme of a guy inside a bubble. The great thing is that I don’t need animation of the character. Please let me know price for one character, platform, and background. That is it. No need for icon or app store screen shots at the moment.

Graphic Designer: I know I watched the game trailer a couple weeks ago but I haven’t had a chance to download the game.

Doron David: Now… about the graphics…

Look at this: http://artmight.com/albums/2011-02-07/art-upload-2/v/Vinci-Leonardo-Da/Proportions-of-the-Human-Figure,-Leonardo-da-Vinci,-1485-149.jpg

The goal is to keep the game operating exactly the same just change the graphics. As such, I want to maintain the round character elements.

I was thinking of a human in position stretch similar to the image I just sent a link to…

But he should be with a kind of puzzled or confused, expression on his face that is.

I was thinking of a bubble type of these. but I am not sure.

The graphics in term of pixel size would match the way shown in the game, and I can give you exact size.

Graphic Designer: I didn’t expect you to go in the direction of the DaVinci Proportions of the Human Figure.

I was thinking more “Gerbil on an exercise wheel” from your original post.

Doron David: What I meant by the image is that the person is stretch in that position inside a round element.

Can you clarify maybe find an example image?

I’m open for ideas.

What we need in term of graphics is

1 background

1 round character

1 platform (it comes as 3 different length that are easily can be stretched)

1 menu button. (only 1 menu item I asked as I can manipulate on my end text for each menu button and save money that way)

I think that’s it.

Graphic Designer: Let me see if I can find something similar.

http://images.clipartof.com/small/215232-Royalty-Free-RF-Clipart-Illustration-Of-A-Sweaty-Gerbil-Wearing-A-Visor-Hat-And-Running-In-A-Wheel.jpg

you could obviously replace the gerbil with a cartoon guy or whatever else you wanted to

Doron David: I see… I was thinking of something similar, but the problem from development stand point is that this will require the character to be in several motion states as well as you create separate graphics for the wheel and the character as they both won’t rotate at the same speed. This will require extra development that I am avoiding. I hope I explain myself properly.

Graphic Designer: I understand completely

Doron David: The image I sent you is the direction I want to go with the character face staring at you.

One challange is…

That the overall size of the character is not large enough for details, so it needs to look clear when small size on the screen.

I will use the character also as the icon, so need it in high resolution to begin with, but with illustrator there is no issue…

Please tell me your direction when you can, and price for this. I think this is a simple job (?)

Graphic Designer: From a pricing/timing standpoint this is identical to our first doode jump project.  That one took me arround 6 hours between revisions and other miscellanea.

Given that $60 would seem appropriate.

Doron David: ok

No problem. $60 is fine. Wow me with the design please. Will you give me couple concepts?

Graphic Designer: Of course. I can come up with few concepts in a matter of 2 days and a week co complete all elements.

Doron David: Thanks. That’s great.

It seems as I can get graphics done in a week or so. Perfect!

Now, since I’m doing a reskin project. The new graphics will be the same size as the one replaced, so both the developer and graphics designers can work at the same time, meaning the graphics do not have to be completed before the developer starts coding.

So it seems as I can get a reskin done for one of my games for about $350, which includes additional functions I wanted to add to the game as I listed in this post. Not bad I think. Btw – did you know you can buy source codes of ready made games online? All you have to do is replace the graphics and you have a new game. Source codes can range from $200 to as much a $5000. Just google that. However, if you have not yet to produce your first game, you will still need guidance for finding a developer to help you change elements besides of graphics, submitting and app to Apple, etc…

You should have a lot of knowledge by now from this post and previous ones. It is your job now to post a job, screen and interview a contractor. If you have any specific questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best,

Doron

Next: Graphics… Graphics… Graphics…

I read all comments.

I reply, and answer every question!

I often click through to see commenter’s site.

I might invite you to guest post!

[dorond1]

The Three Most Important SDK's You Must Use - Video Walkthroughs

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/the-three-most-important-sdks-you-must-use-video-walkthroughs/

The Three Most Important SDK's You Must Use - Video Walkthroughs

After 2 years experience with development I refined and found the three SDK’s I make sure I incorporate in any of my game codes – Revmob, Adwhirl, and Flurry.

Here is why I like these SDK’s:

Revmob

Revmob is the ultimate in advertisement. With it you define placement in the code you want an ad to pop-up. It can be in the form of full screen ad, banner, link, pop up, and local notification. There are other ad networks that operate in a same manner, but I had the best experience using Revmob as they sometimes pay $1 per install.

Here is a walkthrough for Revmob:

Adwhirl

I already dedicated a post on Adwhirl. But, as it is one of the important SDK’s I mentioned it here. Basically I use Adwhirl banners in Free games to promote their Paid versions as well as promote other games.

Here is a walkthrough for Adwhirl:

Flurry

Analytics is the name and Flurry is the game. Need to know demographic of users? How about gender or age? How many times have users tap on a button or ad? How long have they played in your game (also called session)? Flurry gives you the info. Although gender and age is mostly an estimate, it gives you some idea of the user base.

Here is a walkthrough for Flurry:

Have you already developed games? Which SDK’s you HAVE to use?

To your success with games,

Doron

I read all comments.

I reply, and answer every question!

I often click through to see commenter’s site.

I might invite you to guest post!

Liked my post? Please subscribe. Get a free gift.

[dorond1]

The Three Most Important SDK's You Must Use - Video Walkthroughs

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/the-three-most-important-sdks-you-must-use-video-walkthroughs/

The Three Most Important SDK's You Must Use - Video Walkthroughs

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After 2 years experience with development I refined and found the three SDK’s I make sure I incorporate in any of my game codes – Revmob, Adwhirl, and Flurry.

Here is why I like these SDK’s:

Revmob

Revmob is the ultimate in advertisement. With it you define placement in the code you want an ad to pop-up. It can be in the form of full screen ad, banner, link, pop up, and local notification. There are other ad networks that operate in a same manner, but I had the best experience using Revmob as they sometimes pay $1 per install.

Here is a walkthrough for Revmob:

Adwhirl

I already dedicated a post on Adwhirl. But, as it is one of the important SDK’s I mentioned it here. Basically I use Adwhirl banners in Free games to promote their Paid versions as well as promote other games.

Here is a walkthrough for Adwhirl:

Flurry

Analytics is the name and Flurry is the game. Need to know demographic of users? How about gender or age? How many times have users tap on a button or ad? How long have they played in your game (also called session)? Flurry gives you the info. Although gender and age is mostly an estimate, it gives you some idea of the user base.

Here is a walkthrough for Flurry:

Have you already developed games? Which SDK’s you HAVE to use?

To your success with games,

Doron

I read all comments.

I reply, and answer every question!

I often click through to see commenter’s site.

I might invite you to guest post!

Liked my post? Please subscribe. Get a free gift.

[dorond1]

Tamagotchi Is Coming Back Using Your iPhone

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/tamagotchi-is-coming-back-using-your-iphone/

Tamagotchi Is Coming Back Using Your iPhone

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I remember as a kid, these were quite popular. Although you can find those as an iPhone app, one company, Techpet, has taken this a step further using the device as a pet’s ‘face’. The ‘pet’ can act as an mp3 player when sitting down. Voice and hand gestures also get into the mix of fun.

You can download the free app here.

You can get it for $59.99 on Amazon.

Seems cute, just cute. Would you buy one?

[dorond1]

Tamagotchi Is Coming Back Using Your iPhone

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/tamagotchi-is-coming-back-using-your-iphone/

Tamagotchi Is Coming Back Using Your iPhone

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I remember as a kid, these were quite popular. Although you can find those as an iPhone app, one company, Techpet, has taken this a step further using the device as a pet’s ‘face’. The ‘pet’ can act as an mp3 player when sitting down. Voice and hand gestures also get into the mix of fun.

You can download the free app here.

You can get it for $59.99 on Amazon.

Seems cute, just cute. Would you buy one?

[dorond1]

Tamagotchi Is Coming Back Using Your iPhone

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/tamagotchi-is-coming-back-using-your-iphone/

Tamagotchi Is Coming Back Using Your iPhone

I remember as a kid, these were quite popular. Although you can find those as an iPhone app, one company, Techpet, has taken this a step further using the device as a pet’s ‘face’. The ‘pet’ can act as an mp3 player when sitting down. Voice and hand gestures also get into the mix of fun.

You can download the free app here.

You can get it for $59.99 on Amazon.

Seems cute, just cute. Would you buy one?

[dorond1]

“I’m 9 years old and I know my keywords!”

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/im-9-years-old-and-i-know-my-keywords/

“I’m 9 years old and I know my keywords!”

This is SO worth a post even is it is the shortest I’ve publish to date.

This morning, during breakfast, I was casually speaking with my 11 year old son about the importance of keywords as he understands he needs to optimize something on his Minecraft Youtube Channel. Asking him “if you search for a specific term and only 2 videos show up, which one is shown first?”. Not giving him a chance to answer, his 9 year old sister interrupts “the one with most views!”.

Well, start early is what I say…

Do you have any kids? How do you prepare them for their online venture?

[dorond1]

The "LUCKY" hit - A guest post on IOS Apps by Dennis Bowles

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/the-lucky-hit-a-guest-post-on-ios-apps-by-dennis-bowles/

The "LUCKY" hit - A guest post on IOS Apps by Dennis Bowles

   Imagine this for a moment: The warm summer breeze blows softly past you carrying with it the scent of popcorn and hotdogs. A sea of fans chatter around you about how close the score is and that if your team doesn’t do something now… the game will be lost.

   A batter steps up to the plate and knocks the sand from his cleats. He adjusts his stance and holds the bat over his shoulder with perfect form as he eyes the pitcher and silences the sounds of the crowds from his mind. He focuses, blocking out any remaining distractions and sees nothing but the pitcher on the mound. He checks off each item in his mental checklist; elbow up, knees bent, feet shoulders width apart, follow through the swing.

   The pitcher winds up and throws a pitch that seems more like a missile than a baseball. Muscle memory kicks in and begins to fire the synapses in the batters body allowing him to produce a swing that is both accurate and powerful. Contact is made and the ball launches off the bat with a crack. Up and out it soars. It spins and flies through the air rocketing out of the field and into the stands to score the game winning run. The crowd erupts into a deafening roar of cheers as cameras flash and history is made.

  You may be asking yourself how the example story above could possibly pertain to developing mobile applications.. here’s the connection. In the story, as in business, people often credit another’s person success to luck or good timing. The simple truth of the matter is there is NO LUCK. There is only opportunity and if you are prepared for it, it manifests as what people call “luck”.  Is a rich Wall Street tycoon lucky? What about the baseball player in the story above? Absolutely not. He/she invested in their education or honed a specific skill to set themselves on the path to success. Through mental or physical preparedness they are able to take an opportunity that presents itself and turn it into a success. Luck just “appears” to be the byproduct of that person’s determination to be successful.

  In the baseball analogy, the batter was prepared and set himself up for the best chance to succeed. He practiced his hitting techniques, perfected his stance, formed muscle memory of the action through repetition, ran through his mental checklist to ensure his form was perfect and he remained focused on the challenge in front of him. When the opportunity to hit the game winning run presented itself, he was prepared to meet the challenge.

  When you are designing your App, you must consider many aspects of the process to ensure you are setting yourself up to take full advantage of the opportunities the ITunes App Store may provide you with. If you are “lucky” enough to be featured on the New and Noteworthy list and you haven’t made the best App possible, you can likely count on an initial spike in sales from that exposure but ultimately it will fade away. Of course I used the word “lucky” to drive home my point. Very rarely does an App reach enough download velocity on its own (though it occasionally happens) to reach any of the App Store lists. The apps you most often see featured on these lists were often created by developers that have leveraged their social contacts (friends, family, Facebook fans, etc) or performed pre-launch marketing to drive their downloads high enough to catch Apples eye and get placed on the list. Luck rarely plays a part in this process and is not a solid business model.

  What can we do to position ourselves for the best chance of success?

This is an issue that could potentially take up 10 blog posts but we can touch on a few of the basics to give you a solid starting point of some things to focus on.

  Start with keyword research

Utilize tools like the Google AdWords Keyword Tool to search for potentially lucrative keywords that you can target. There is a close correlation between Google searches and ITunes searches (though not exact). Use this information to make educated guesses an what people search for in the App Store and consider optimizing your App for those keywords to find organic traffic.

  Brainstorm ideas

Research techniques such as Backwards Brainstorming and Brain Dumping to help you get your ideas on paper and begin to figure out what your app will become. Here is an article on these techniques.

  Decide on free or paid app (or both)

Both FREE and PAID Apps can have advantages and disadvantages. Understanding how you will earn revenue through each option can impart the App you will be creating. Research which would work best for you and make a plan to execute it accordingly.

  Wireframe your App

Draw it out on paper or use a tool like Mindmeister or FreeMind to help you get your idea planes out in detail. Most communication issues between you and your developer will originate from a lack of planning your app out ahead of time. Taking the time to get this part correct in the beginning could save you time and money.

  Outsource your work

Consider leaving the professional aspects of the process to the seasoned professionals, unless you are currently a developer. Spending a year trying to learn the coding required is not an effective strategy. Use services such as Elance.com or ODesk.com

  Optimize the title and KW’s used to increase the searchability of your App

The very first, and potentially most important, barrier to overcome to having people find your App. Aside from an App being listed on a list, most people find and download Apps by search terms. By optimizing your keywords and title, you can effective increase how often your App is displayed for specific keywords.

  Icon design

After inputting in a search term in the App Store, the next most important aspect of your App design will be your logo. It is the first thing people will see as a representation of what your app is about and its quality. Investing extra time to get this right will pay off in the end.

To make your Icon stand out among the sea of other Icons consider use contrasting colors to set it apart from other apps that are currently available. Make it stand out with a 3D Icon image or use something like a glare effect to draw in the persons eye.

  Screen shots

Your first screen shot should be the best one. It will often be the first screen shot they see and may be your only chance to convince them that your App is worth downloading. Include text, arrows, etc to highlight features of your App. Consider adding a testimonial to give people social proof about your App.  Don’t rely on simple shots of the game, instead, utilize this space to really sell your App.

  Ratings and reviews 

Rating and reviews provide people with social proof surrounding your App. Leverage you friends and family to get those important first few ratings in the App Store to get the ball rolling. Also consider adding an in-app pop up window encouraging users to “rate your App”.

  Leveraging contacts and social media

Leveraging you friends and social contacts to download your App is a great way to drive the initial downloads. Use social outlets such as Facebook and Twitter to encourage others to check out your App.

People often overlook the importance of the 1st day download velocity. It appears that the App Store is a little more lenient with your very first day downloads as they do not have 3-5 days worth of data to look at. If you are able to get a solid amount of initial download out of the gate, you’ll increase your chances to get placed on the New and Noteworthy list and increase your exposure.

  Launch marketing 

The consensus is that launching on a Sunday is more effective than any other day of the week. Set your launch date to coincide with any launch marketing you have planned. Consider budgeting funds for Facebook ads or Google Ads to help drive your launch downloads. You can also consider using free reviews sites, press releases, etc. but many have found these outlets to be ineffective. Be creative here and try several different things in your marketing strategy.

  Stay active with your app. even if it isn’t an instant success

Stick with it, watch you ranking and use other strategies to increase your downloads. You can lower prices (of your Paid Apps) before major US holidays to boost downloads and boost your exposure. Read every review and update your app accordingly.

  Of course there is a considerable amount of additional information I could not touch on in this post but hopefully this overview it will give you an idea of exactly how important it is to have a plan in place for your App and to position yourself to be able to take advantage of any opportunity you are given to create the success you desire.

    If you take anything from this article remember this… there is NO LUCK in business. Luck is simply the term used to describe the successful outcome of when preparation meets opportunity. Be prepared and create your own luck!

  “Remember to remain positive, stay razor focused and keep kickin’ some ass!”

-Dennis Bowles

    About the author:

Dennis Bowles is the host of the IPhone App Experiment Podcast that can be found in ITunes and Stitcher radio.

You can see more information on creating your own Apps at www.IphoneAppExperiment.com

  Connect with Dennis Bowles:

Follow on twitter 

Connect on FB

[email protected]

[dorond1]

Twitter to Shut Down Android, iOS Versions Of Tweetdeck

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/twitter-to-shut-down-android-ios-versions-of-tweetdeck/

Twitter to Shut Down Android, iOS Versions Of Tweetdeck

Twitter announced via a blog post today that it’s discontinuing TweetDeck for these three platforms, effective as of May, 2013.

TweetDeck is the most powerful Twitter tool for tracking real-time conversations. Its flexibility and customizable layout let you keep up with what’s happening on Twitter, across multiple topics and accounts, in real time. To continue to offer a great product that addresses your unique needs, we’re going to focus our development efforts on our modern, web-based versions of TweetDeck. To that end, we are discontinuing support for our older apps: TweetDeck AIR, TweetDeck for Android and TweetDeck for iPhone. They will be removed from their respective app stores in early May and will stop functioning shortly thereafter. We’ll also discontinue support for our Facebook integration.

Read more here.

[dorond1]

Packaging Your Game and Finding The Best Graphic Designer

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/find-a-graphic-designer-for-my-game/

Packaging Your Game and Finding The Best Graphic Designer

How often do you see a game that is truly an awesome one, but graphics are horrible? I bet there are a few. Which tv would you chose from the following 2? Imagine them both have the same technology inside.

Unless you are all for old or retro, you will most likely chose the one on the left. Well, obviously the looks is what attracted you. Typically this is not far off with games. Some are great with good graphics, some are still great with not so great graphics. Let’s pretend for a moment that there is no video or review of a game to see anywhere - your first impression of a game is through the icon in the App Store and then the screenshots. PRO TIP: The way it works in the App Store especially for the impulse buyer is that you first analyze the icon, if you find it attractive, you click and scroll down to screenshots skipping the description. That is how important the icon and screenshots are. How awesome would it be to have a great game with unbelievable graphics? The problem is cost and one solution is to release a game with low quality graphics and then update which will cost you extra when updating, but hopefully by the time you update you gain some revenue you can put towards updating the game. However, you’ll see if there is potential to the game based on feedback given from users which will help decide wether updating with better graphics is justified or not (one way of getting feedback is checking user reviews in the App Store “I liked it”, “I hate it because…”, “Wish they added x, y, and z features”, etc…). You can also spend extra money from the start and produce a better looking game at initial release. Take for example spike dislike – graphics remind me of an 80′s game style, appeal to some, but not to all. Now, imagine that developer will release the same exact game with updated graphics, the game might attract a larger audience and/or appeal to a different type of gamers all together.

The call is yours whether you should pursue to create great graphics or not. Personally, for a first game if you have not developed yet, I recommend to stick with simple graphics and great game concept, mechanics and sounds. Fact: as gamers, most of us prefer games that offer exciting visual experience. If you are on a low budget, stick with the principal of creating an excellent game mechanics and update later when your budgets permits.

Whether you are after great graphics at the beginning of a project or after it has launched, where do you find a graphic designer, especially at an affordable price? One location is oDesk (mentioned in a previous post). You will be surprised at the quality of portfolios available there. Just like with a developer, a time well spent finding a good designer is worth and is actually a must! Don’t rush into hiring. If you hired someone faster than you would research and shop for a smart phone, chances are you rushed. Besides of searching for good portfolios on oDesk, there are other great sites showcasing unbelievable portfolios which after finding a graphic designer you can go back and hire them on oDesk or any other way, such as simply paying via Paypal. I strongly recommend hiring through oDesk which lets you review the designer’s feedback from previous work they had performed. Here are couple of sites that showcase some of the better portfolios I’ve seen:

Dribbble – a community of designers showing their work. You can find web designers, graphic designers, illustrators, icon artists and more, all showing screenshots of their work.

Devianart – showcasing more than 200 million original works of art. Surely you can find some work related to game development (“and don’t call me Surely“).

While the guideline on screening a graphic designer is the same as with a developer (see my previous post), evaluating a graphic designer’s quality of work is easier than with a developer, as the opportunity to test a developer’s quality is by trying out one of the games they had developed, downloading a game they claim they developed. Just takes longer than evaluating a graphic designer’s work.

Keep in mind that the more complicated looking graphics and quantity of graphic elements also affect pricing just like with a developer. I’m lucky to know how to use a graphic manipulation tool and basically have the graphic designer do a prototype to a level I’m comfortable manipulating on my end, thus saving money but spending more time I can use for marketing my games or brainstorm new ideas. If your goal is to avoid doing any work and don’t mind spending the extra dough, then a graphic designer can do it all for you.

Let’s assume you know nothing about graphics, and probably don’t want or don’t need to know – what do you do? Remember the wireframe post? The wireframe document is what you give a graphic designer for a price estimate. I suggest also researching in the App Store for a game with graphic style you think might fit the game you intend to develop as this will help a graphic designer understand better the style you are after. Find a free game, and in the job description include a link stating it is a FREE download so they can check the style and get a better sense of what’s involved. This is good especially if your intention is to emulate a game. If you assume the role of Project Manager, you need to dissect a little further and describe the graphics a bit better to both the developer and graphic designer. One example would be a character moving on the screen – if a person walks, you would see a movement that is made up from 3-4 images of different walking poses thus creating a walking cycle, just like with cartoon animation.

Don’t expect the developer or graphic designer to understand this is needed for your project. Fact: most of misunderstanding between you and the contractors are issues on your end for lack of good communication. However, this takes time to perfect and you’ll get a hang of it by the time you start your second project. My first game was a learning curve and as long as you learn from experience you will improve. In case you forget any details (and most likely you will during the first project), this is ok, if you establish a good relationship with a contractor they might not mind fixing, adjusting, or adding to your project within reason. It would probably be a good idea to allocate funds to cover for extra changes during the project development. Evaluating the first beta test version of your game will allow you to visually assess what’s missing. These will be obvious things making you go ‘Aha! I forgot about that’. Such elements can be after a car exploded, there will be fire, flames, and explosion sound effect – easy to ignore, but don’t expect your developer or graphic designer to figure this out for you. It is YOUR job to tell them this is needed. Ok – got sidetracked here… Let’s concentrate back on graphics.

Good Quality Portfolio

What makes portfolio a good one? I remember during my years in college I had to complete a task constructing a building model out of paper, and only paper, no glass or coloring. Some of the students constructed amazing structures but failed to stick to the simple yet limiting guideline. Not to brag, but although my model didn’t compare in quality, I still got great feedback from the instructor as I followed the construction rules. My project was evaluated and was found to be in great quality within the boundaries set. Now, I’ll try to explain how this applies to graphic design – if you have no idea what considered as good graphics, then leave it to the professional who will stick to certain principals while designing your project within the boundaries of graphic style you might set for him. having a sense of design can surely help to evaluate the quality of work produced by one designer or another. Search for graphic style you like, or better yet your target audience might like, such as younger brother, your kids, or neighbors. Knowing the style your game will shape into, try and find the graphic designer whose style is similar to the goal you are after. Use real graphics as examples for the style you want to achieve. More on how/where to find them shortly. After contracting with a graphic designer and receiving drafts, test it by printing and showcasing to prospect clients – As mentioned before – kids are the perfect target to test this on. Hate to use the word ‘target’ on kids, so I’ll try to avoid that from now on.

Now, what makes a graphic designer a good one? Consistency! If you intend on hiring one graphic designer to do the gameplay graphics, user interface, and icon, ask to see a complete portfolio showcasing all of these. Evaluate and think about it – does it attract you in any way? Better yet – the ideal graphic designer would be one that already has mobile iPhone game design in his portfolio. Ask for a game you can download which is probably the best way to evaluate good graphics after seeing a static image portfolio. Be aware that some graphic designers specialize in specific fields. One will be good with User Interface design of the game (where each button is placed is one element of the User Interface). Another graphic designer will excel with game icon design. And a third one might be best with App Store screenshots. However, I have always used one graphic designer per game developed. Only now, after 10 games developed, I begin to evaluate the use of different graphic designers for each element. Do your research, take your time and you won’t regret it.

I must share one example of work I received from a graphic designer I hired specifically to do only the App Store screenshots. Took the designer 2 weeks to come up with this (I blurred out their water mark to protect their identity):

To be honest… I have nothing to say – would this convince you to buy a game? Clearly I made a mistake hiring this graphic designer who didn’t have the slightest clue about app store screenshots design nor even the proper file size requirements. She probably more suitable for logo design. I definitely learned from this experience.

When posting a job on oDesk

In the job description ask questions to serve the purpose of making sure they pay attention to your text and not just blindly apply, and to see what answers they give you which will help screen the applicants before you even interview them. This is somewhat a repeat of what I already wrote about in a previous post but important to mention again. Don’t hesitate to tackle them with questions on sizes of app icon, etc… Ask the most stupid questions you can think of – testing their patience as well as educating yourself along the way. A lot of contractors look for a quick job, and this can be a sign for poor quality as a result, not because they are not talented, but because they will try to rush and complete a job as fast a they can – see example above with app store screenshots. If a contractor decides you are not for him as they might think you’re wasting their time, move on to finding another graphic designer.

Questions to ask when publishing a job online:

Have you designed a mobile game before, specifically iPhone?

Have you worked as part of a team with a developer before?

What would be your approach when designing my game?

Trick question: My game will run on both iPhone 3gs and iPhone 4. is it required to produce each image in different sizes? The answer is yes – if he says no, then he has no experience with mobile game design.

So, what is considered a good design style?

I’d like you to keep in mind before reading this part, that good design is subjective. What I find appealing, may not appeal to you and vice versa. Here is an example of good graphics:

Pretty cool graphics in my opinion. Not only are the main gameplay graphics great, but attention was given to rest of elements, such as the energy bar, pause menu, etc… You can check this game in the app store – A Quest Of Knights Onrush. A free download and a good example of attention to detail such as character movement. This game also is a good example for walking cycle mentioned above.

Here is an example with mixed thoughts:

This is a screenshot from a game called The Lords of Midnight. Originally, a game from the 80′s when graphics were limited by computer memory and maximum possible colors of 256 (at least on my Amstrad 464 computer if I’m not mistaken). Back then when we ‘accepted’ the limit of hardware we learned to adore games with such simple graphics (although as a kid back then I didn’t get that, nor most of us). Now, this game as surfaced and was brought back to life as a port on iPhone/iPad. You can argue graphics are bad, but reviews to date claim that the game is excellent retaining the graphics from back then. There was even one review of someone who never knew the original version, but still enjoyed playing this revived version of the game. This is an excellent example for a game with so-so graphics but great game mechanics. In my opinion this graphic style is good as it is consistent from screen to screen and doing a great job simplifying things with a limited palette for colors.

Here is another good example for ‘simple’ graphics that appeal to a large crowd of gamers:

Believe me – I played this game Sword of Fargoal and loved it.

If you noticed, I was not using as examples any 3D games as these are developed using specific platforms that would not fit the model of the journey I’m going through, but does not mean you cannot follow my journey as the principles remain the same. Also, developing a 3d game will most likely cost you a lot more than a 2d style game.

Now, I’m going to give you one example of bad graphics:

I checked this game Doodle Taxi in the App Store and the ratings are all negative proving this game has lack of good graphics (dah!), bad sound and gameplay. This game was released on 2010 (!) and was never updated since. Today, if a developer would submit this game to Apple, it will never get approved. In my opinion, this game was a test run by the developer, all signs lead to this assumption.

Doing the Work Yourself

If you have some knowledge of image manipulation software, save some money by doing some of the work yourself. Final image size  is mostly what you’ll have to do. Here is a check list of required various file sizes if you do decide to go that route:

Devices screen resolution:

iPhone 3GS screen resolution: 320×480.

iPhone 4/4S screen resolution: 640×960 (double the 3GS screen).

iPhone 5 screen resolution: 640×1136.

iPad 1/2: 768×1024.

iPad Retina: 1536×2048.

iPad mini: 768×1024.

Note that each app displays a splash screen while loading the game into the device memory. This is optional and its size is same as the type of device screen resolution it will run on. If you do not provide the optional splash screen a black blank screen will show.

Icon Sizes:

Following are icon sizes and their required file names:

Icon-72.png – icon at 72×72 size.

Icon-Small-50.png – icon at 50×50 size.

Iocn-Small.png – icon at 29×29 size.

[email protected] – icon at 58×58 size.

Icon.png – icon at 57×57 size.

[email protected] – icon at 114×114 size.

iTunesArtwork.png – icon at 1024×1024 size required for iTunes online (displayed large icon in the App Store when viewed on a computer). File name does not have to be this one but for reference this is what I name it.

All of the icons you will provide the developer, with exception for last one. See note below in ‘Appstore Screenshots Sizes’ for video on this.

Appstore Screenshots Sizes:

You can upload up to 5 screenshots and you should utilize all of 5.

640×960 (to display on iPhone 3GS/4/4S).

600×1136 (to display on iPhone 5).

748×1024 (to display on iPad).

Now, check my youtube video here as I’m giving you temporary screenshots to use when setting up the app on iTunes Connect online. This video gets into detail on how exactly and what you need to know when setting up the app on iTunes online. Hey – I appreciate if you subscribe to my Youtube channel.

What the Most Important Graphic Element Is?

The most important graphic element to attract a potential buyer is the icon. Think about it – if you are a smart phone user for sure you have downloaded a game or any kind of app to that matter. I’m not talking about a brand name app that you know you wanted and searched for, but something you searched for such as ‘fun game’. Which one of the game in the search result did you click on, and why? One reason might be a catchy name. The other and probably has more impact on your clicking decision is the game icon. Which one of the following icons would you click?

Enough said about the importance of the icon! No need to explain which icon is more attractive, right?

My Approach with Icon Design/Style

Understanding what a good icon should be, I look for popular games in the App Store, especially for games that are similar to the one I develop and see how they design the icon. Is it a character face filling the whole icon? Is the word ‘FREE’ anywhere on the icon? Is there any text to that matter on the icon? Remember, emulate what works, especially from the bigger development companies that invest a lot of money designing an icon. Rest assure you can find an affordable graphic designer to complete the task. Establishing a good relationship with a graphic designer is as important as the relationship you establish with a developer. It is possible to find a relatively cheap designer, but you will spend a lot of time searching for that person which is absolutely worth it, frustrating at times, but a must do. Sorry for not painting a nice picture here, but after you found the right person, established a good relationship, everything after that would be a breeze.

If you need a good quality icon for your game, contact me as I can probably get you one done for about $60.

I must say – I started writing this post with the intention of detailing on hiring the graphic designer and ended up with a lot more than that! This post is now about the majority of understanding the graphic elements of your game.

If you wonder how to post a well written job on oDesk or how to filter and find the best graphic designer, download my FREE guide and watch this video if you have not already.

My Journey

Since the game I’m emulating is one of mine I had access to a great analytic tool called Flurry. Flurry gives you an online access to its service giving you information on demographics, age, and even gender of users of your game. In order to get that enabled for your game, the developer will have to integrate into the code the Flurry SDK. More on that in a different post. Anyway, I analyzed the information Flurry presented and I understood that the most download volume come from the chinese user base, female, and at the age of 13-14. To be honest, I’m not 100% sure how this info is gathered by Flurry, and although I didn’t feel I can trust this information completely, I accepted it as part of this project and used that to analyze further to create this game aiming at that market. Next I conducted an online search what’s popular in China, hope to find something to attract the younger generation. I found that there is an animation cartoon popular in China that I decided to emulate the characters in it.

Here is material I gathered to forward to a graphic designer:

Watching the video gave me the sense that this animation has quite a few characters I can extract and use in my new game. My original game I’m emulating has a single ball character, nothing fancy. I want to re-use that game’s code and re-skin providing these additional characters that can be unlocked by collecting coins during gameplay. At least 10 characters. So I think I have an idea how to proceed and will get this validated after discussing this with both the graphic designer and developer. Gut feeling this will be relatively cheap to modify my game’s code to offer additional characters.

Hope you found this post a valuable one. I would love to hear feedback in the comments below.

Next: Working With a Graphic Designer.

I read all comments.

I reply, and answer every question!

I often click through to see commenter’s site.

I might invite you to guest post!

Liked my post? Please subscribe. Get a free gift.

[dorond1]

Will Mel Gibson Use Google Glass?

http://www.icandevelopgames.com/will-mel-gibson-use-google-glass/

Will Mel Gibson Use Google Glass?

Remember the movie ‘What Women Want’ starring Mel Gibson? After an incident he was able to read women’s mind which gave him the ultimate advantage. Can we have the same advantage? Can we read the opposite sex’s brains? More important – can we use this to our advantage? You most likely will… Here is how one’s experience with Google Glass during a blind date. now, what if this was real?

Cheers!