MAGIC KIT Pro
It's been a while.
After over sixteen months in development, I'm very happy to introduce my new app, MAGIC KIT Pro.
The name may be familiar but that 'Pro' label represents fundamental change.
This project started life as a simple point update to Magic Kit and gradually grew into something entirely new.
Magic Tricks
Probably most important to you - this app is filled with new magic. There are two entirely new magic tricks but that's just the beginning. Every magic trick in MAGIC KIT Pro has been revisited, most have been completely redesigned. There's too much to cover here, and words don't do the visually powerful magic justice. That's why I've recorded new demo videos in glorious 4K. These are not carefully edited videos to hide the workings. These are full, mostly single-take, performances.
App Design
I was happy with the way Magic Kit looked but I wanted to refine the design. I spent a long time iterating on the UI and flow of the app. My goal was to reduce the steps needed to start performing. You now launch straight into the Effect Library. The Quick Access menu as been dramatically redesigned to be more compact allowing for more magic tricks to be usefully included.
I've also revamped the icons for many of the tricks.
Technology Powerhouse
Underlying the new magic and refined app design is a load of new technology.
I'm now using 'on demand resources' to ensure the tutorial videos are available (and using device storage) only when they're required. This makes the initial download much smaller.
All the tricks are now indexed for Spotlight search and state restoration is fully supported.
From a magic trick perspective, I'm now using SceneKit to render certain tricks as fully interactive 3D scenes. This dramatically increases the visual appeal of the magic.
I've also written a comprehensive customisation infrastructure to enable things like custom cards, or alternative force options where required. This mostly behind-the-scenes work means new tricks can be more fully featured more quickly.
New App
I wrestled with the decision to offer this release as a new app or free update to Magic Kit. In the end, I opted to create a new app and offer an update bundle for existing customers (coming soon) for a couple of reasons.
1. What is now called MAGIC KIT Pro represents a tonne of work. Almost every line of code and every visual element has been changed. Releasing over a year's worth of work for free is not sustainable. 2. While I think all the changes are a massive improvement, I felt uneasy making such dramatic changes on behalf of existing customers. If someone really likes the way Photo Escape works in Magic Kit and has built it into their routine, it's not great for me to completely change the trick in an irreversible way.
Magic Kit received 12 major updates over the course of five years. MAGIC KIT Pro is the foundation for the next five years.
Magic Kit will remain on the App Store but only so that I can offer an upgrade bundle.