The Indie Dev

Daily Independent App Development Blog

[theindiedev]

Going to bed with these figures in my mind...Whoa...

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rinky-dinky-rhyme-book/id550645283?mt=8

And this is BEFORE the AppsGoneFree feature for Rinky Dinky Rhyme Book that will be happening later today. ;) The numbers at the bottom are App Store rankings. The left side shows just the books category ranking and on the right is the overall app store ranking (as in: every single iPad app currently available). Rinky Dinky Co is ranking along side, and in some countries far above: Disney, Nickelodeon, Dr. Seuss, Sesame Street, Marvel, Barney, DC. This is a really big deal for an independent developer.  I wish I could stay up to watch the rankings shift, but I had a great and long night studying Unity. Every day I get more and more excited about working with this software. :)  Goodnight!

[theindiedev]

Still loving learning about Unity and Playmaker. As I stated before, I have also purchased 2d Toolkit to help handle sprite animations and texture atlases (sprite sheets), but I am now also looking at an awesome asset called SmoothMoves. SmoothMoves is a 2d bone animation asset that allows you to create your animations within Unity. There are also a lot of Playmaker actions available to support Smoothmoves, which to me at this point is vital.  Basically you can have each element of an animation, Simon for instance, and call to different animations that affect different parts of the character. So running and jumping and falling can look different each time you do so by setting up a few different animations for each section of the body and calling to them using random numbers. I can also replace individual sections of the body with different textures which would allow for including different clothes and such in the in-game store. The only issue is that SmoothMoves isn't nearly as optimized 2d Toolkit, but I am thinking I will likely only use it for character animations. The rest of the graphics will be handled with 2d Toolkit. Plus, Each of the separate sections of the body will be their own section of a texture atlas, and this will really help reduce the number of animation images I'll have to create and more importantly load during runtime.  So it would be a small hit in performance (I'll be working to make it unnoticeable to the user) for an incredibly powerful and adaptive dynamic animation tool. Now I just want it to go on sale during the Summer Daily Deals on the Unity Asset Store. It would be totally worth the full $75 they are asking for, but if I can get it for half off it would allow me some financial breathing room in case another asset pops up that may be just as useful. If it doesn't go on sale I'm still going to get it, but luckily I don't need it right away either.

[theindiedev]

I've made the decision. Unity with PlayMaker visual programming add-on. I'll be able to work in a semi-familiar environment and will also be able to implement new code as I learn more.  This is a major decision for Rinky Dinky Co. I'm so nervous and so excited! The learning begins tomorrow! 

[theindiedev]

I've been thinking about something for quite a while, but until recently I haven't put a lot of weight behind what the decision would mean to me and future projects until now. Now I need to think about it and what it may mean to this project... I am very seriously considering switching to Unity as a development platform. I have been using GameSalad for close to 3 years now, but the restrictions in place by sticking with them are now feeling more like shackles than just something I have to deal with.  If I decide to switch, then it would mean a major interruption in my current flow of work. I would still be working on graphic assets, but I would simultaneously be learning a totally new program. This is scary territory, and I'm going to take a couple of days on this. There would be a ton of positives about switching over to Unity, but time is definitely not one of them. It will likely take me longer to have the finished product even after I learn the software. The end result may be a lot smoother and easier to adapt to new technologies and platforms in the future. Gotta make my brain burn over this one.

[theindiedev]

Yesterday I worked on some small test builds to see how GameSalad would handle loading 30 different images in sequence as they move across the screen based on a call to a table. The answer is terribly. It works, but causes an unacceptable stutter when each new image is loaded. I can't wait for them to implement sprite sheets (multiple images contained in a single file and then a position on the image can be called to show up on screen). I am spending time today brainstorming a way to reduce load times while keeping a lot of variation in the buildings. I want hundreds, but I may have to settle with much less. Bleh! I'll get it figured out...I just need to think.

[theindiedev]

Please share if you really like it. Let other people know! Here is the (relatively) completed (iPad) game screen concept for Simon And Mojo. This is the look of the game presented in a way that appears to be a screenshot from a working game. I am using this to help organize my graphics by size as well as groupings for the parallax scrolling (fake 3d effect for 2d side scrollers).  Looking at this thing gets me even more excited about this project. Keep in mind this is still a concept picture, so things may change quite a bit from here, but in my head this is pretty darn close to what I see right now. What do you think?

[theindiedev]

Here is a visual and chronological representation of working on the art for a Rinky Dinky Rhyme Book update. This one was just submitted to Apple. You can find Rinky Dinky Rhyme Book for the iPad here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rinky-dinky-rhyme-book/id550645283?mt=8

Here is a direct link to the file so you can get a closer look: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/714211/RDRBUPDATEPROCESS.jpg

[theindiedev]

Everything is done except the audio for the updates. I'm already tired! haha. Going to take a break and finish things up. Expect a good post tomorrow!

[theindiedev]

Time to bring out the Monster Lo-Carb! Another late night ahead of me, but I'm making good headway on the update. I decided to do a few other things as well for the update, which is why it's taking me so long. I should have it ready to upload tomorrow though.

[theindiedev]

Sometimes when I'm working I get to a point where I really need some motivation to keep going with the minutia. I tell myself, "Every extra hour I put into this thing, it'll be that much better". Every action has its place in the gestalt.

[theindiedev]

Today is an important one for me. I'm finishing a write-up for something related to the business that I can't discuss publicly, and I'm also going to get some Nintendo Vidpro cards ready to be put up on eBay. These things shouldn't take all day, but they are both really important because they involve helping the growth of the company.  For those interested, Vidpro cards were used in game stores and Toys R Us back in the day to allow people to look through the store's stock of video games without actually touching the merchandise. It helped reduce theft and was also a pretty cool way of organizing products for perusal.  I actually have the world's largest collection of Nintendo Vidpro cards. My Mom used to work for Nintendo and instead of just throwing the old cards away when they were outdated, she decided to keep them in a box in her tunk. That box was then handed over to me when I was a kid. A small amount of the cards were destroyed by my child self (probably no more than 10 total), and the rest were then put into another box and left in my closet. 20 years later I decided to check them out and organize them to see what I had.  About 2,300 cards, with many cards that represent games that were never actually released. Kung Fu 2, The California Raisins: The Grape Escape, Sim City, U Force Power Games, Pyross, War On Wheels, Mike Ditka's Big Play Football, and maybe one or two more. These cards are like new without any fading of color since they were held in a dark closet for over 20 years. Pretty awesome, huh? I even scanned a few that had never been seen before and they are now preserved via online Video Game Museums.

[theindiedev]

I've been looking for some good alternatives (read: additions) to Dropbox so that I can keep my working files safe and backed up in multiple locations. Over the years I've gained quite a few GB's of free storage from Dropbox, but I like the idea of adding another service for redundancy. I found what seems like a pretty good service at Copy.com.  They start you out with 15 Gigs free and you can get an extra 2 if you post a tweet during the sign up process. They also give away 5 Gigs (!!!!!!!!!!) for each referral to the service you give as well as an extra 5 Gigs to the person you referred. I just downloaded it and have been playing with the interface a bit. Everything seems good. Do any of you have experience with their service? This really isn't and ad. I haven't starting dropping files to be stored online yet. I would love some feedback if it's out there. If you are interested then you should use this link:https://copy.com/?r=vM22sE It'll get us both an extra 5 Gigs, and whether or no I end up using the service long term, it would be nice to have the built up Gigage in case it works out! Btw, I've been working on the RDRB update today. I got some good rest and may even work into the late evening tonight. I've been toying with the idea of taking tomorrow off completely. I'll decide that when I finish up for today. I have a lot I need to get done! Have a great, productive day!

[theindiedev]

I thought Subway was supposed to make you lighter. One bite and he fell right through the chair! Another great day of painting. I am BEAT! Gonna sleep in tomorrow and get back to the RDRB update. :)

[theindiedev]

Yesterday was great. Lots of painting and sweating. I'm going to go back today and pull another 8 hour shift. Once again, this will delay the RDRB update, but I'm making a little cash for Rinky Dinky Co and helping out some good friends. I'm getting out of my own head for a couple of days, too, and it feels a bit like meditation. That is never a bad thing.

[theindiedev]

Ok, so there won't be a Rinky Dinky Rhyme Book update post today. I'm helping paint a house! That's what life is all about.

[theindiedev]

Welp, I'm liking this new schedule. The change is a bit refreshing and that's helping productivity. So far the urge to move out of my room to work hasn't kicked in, but looking around my room I can definitely see it coming. Luckily for me there are a few rooms in this house I can move to if need be. If I get desperate I can go to the nearest Starbucks and get myself a new environment for the day. Oh, going through the process of updating Rinky Dinky Rhyme Book I have decided that I will do one big post about the update process instead of breaking it up. Or, if I do break it up, one half will be about the drawing and the other half will be about the other things I have to deal with in updates. Expect something tomorrow, early. I am probably going to go help a friend paint some walls in his new house tomorrow, so I need to get back to work right now to be able to get done what I need to get done. I hope your day is going swell!

[theindiedev]

After a few days hiatus I am back! And back with a vengeance. 

First I’ll sum up the missing days:

I decided to remove myself from most online and phone communication for a couple days so I could enjoy the small amount of time I had left before my girlfriend left for tour with her band. It just so happened that my birthday fell on the same weekend, so it was a nice break for me.  I didn’t do anything related to App Development, but I did have some nice talks about Simon And Mojo.

My birthday was the example of relaxation. I woke up to French toast in bed and the day got even better from there. I went out to dinner with my girlfriend and when we got back there was a surprise party waiting for me to end the evening nicely. It felt so good to be around that many friends at one time...

That’s something I’ve had to sacrifice for this business. Since I am doing essentially everything for this project (except the music which will be commissioned from an old friend who did the Rinky Dinky Rhyme Book music), I don’t have much time away from work. The time that I do have ends up as quality time with my girlfriend or my family. 

When I stop working, the company stops working. One day that won’t be the case, but it’s what I have to deal with now.

Needless to say, this past weekend was exactly what I need to get back to productivity.

Also, I have started to change my sleep schedule so that I’m going to bed early and waking up early to get more work done as well as allow myself some time to work out each day (a healthy body helps make a healthy mind). I haven’t tried this before with app development since I consider myself much more of a night owl than not, but I believe it is definitely worth a shot. I imagine needing a break, going outside and feeling the sun rather than seeing the Moon with some stars that made it through the light bleed of San Benito, Texas.

So I’m back, from outer space. 

Time to get back to busy.

I’m going to work on the next Rinky Dinky Rhyme Book update. This will take me a few days, but I’ll share with you the process! That will be fun.