June 16, 2011
So I’m writing an iPhone game…

I don’t program as much as I used to. Even though I looked into Objective C a bit ago, I decided that iPhone development would be too much of an investment to learn properly and gave up. However, after dusting off Xcode and having a closer look at the brilliant Cocos2D framework, I’ve decided to go back to app development.

Yes, I’ve left this a bit late. The “app goldrush” was about three years ago and the market is pretty much saturated. But for something to do between projects, this at least has a chance of making some residual income.

The idea for the game came to me a few months ago and is a puzzle with a twist. I won’t reveal what until I have something to show and I can fully take people through how it works. “Puzzle with a twist” sounds like a billion other apps, but I reckon this will be an easy gameplay idea to sell so why not give it a go?

Interestingly, the market really seems to have moved on since I first looked at app development in 2009. From what I’ve read on forums, people appear to find less mileage in releasing a lite and full version next to each other. In the current market, it’s harder to get in the free charts due to the large amount of free apps, and it’s harder to upsell to the full version. What people report now is that they find it easier to release the paid version and make sure that’s got as much value attached to it as possible. It doesn’t look easy. However, it doesn’t seem impossible for a lone developer to make a few quid back so I’m willing to take a punt and see exactly how this thing works. I think the rule is to make your game as high quality and commercially appealing as possible, and then promote, promote, promote!

After a great start and a full gameplay prototype, I’ve slowed down completely this month as I haven’t figured out the game’s visual style yet. This will (to some extent) affect the reward structure of the game so I’d like to plan some of that as the next stage. If I was doing this for a client then I’d be busy doing market research, brainstorming and making some decisions. On a personal project it’s very easy to just wait until the idea pops into your head.

Time to lock myself away with a sketchbook I think.

6:49pm
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(Notes: 8)
  
Filed under: iphone objective c programming projects games 

August 28, 2010
Getting into Objective C for iPhone

Recently, I’ve started programming a bit of Objective C for iPhone. Historically, I’m an HTML, PHP and Actionscript kinda guy, so moving into a lower level, C-based language has been a bit of a challenge.

Other than the differences in syntax, one of the main hills Actionscript and web developers have to face is memory management. Although automatic garbage collection is used for some objects, anything you want to keep in memory you’ll have to manually get rid of later. It’s not as bad as it first looks though, and running the app with Leaks module of Instruments is a key to spotting errors here. In fact, it’s so easy to forget to release variables of forget to autorelease returns from functions that doing this regularly during build is invaluable. Don’t wait until the end of development to fix your memory leaks.

Another interesting thing you’ll have to eventually contend with is possibly the least helpful error message in the world: “Confused by earlier errors. Bailing out.” This can be easily got rid of when it appears alongside the said “earlier errors”. However it will occasionally appear on its own and can take a bit of detective work to fix. This is where you need to get the breakpoints and the debugger working for you!

When you’ve got used to the basics and the workflow in Xcode, you’ll find Interface Builder easy to pick up and have basic, working apps in no time.

It’s a satisfying language to program in. Quite verbose, but if you like object oriented programming and enjoy the level of detail required you’ll be fine.

Oh, then you’ll have to deal with code-signing and certficates to get your app on devices. This is a bit of a art but, usually, following the instructions on the Apple Dev site does the trick. Ironically, the process to upload the thing to the App store is involved but fairly painless. As long as it gets accepted in good time! Apple publish an estimate of review wait times in their developers portal, so while not a guarantee, you’ll at least get an idea on how long it will take for them to pass verdict.

I’ll try and post something more than just general ramble soon - especially when I start making proper apps!

12:00pm
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Filed under: iphone programming objective c apps 

August 22, 2010
Busy, busy, busy

I’m back on Twitter now (http://www.twitter.com/matthew_mella) which has been the limit of my exhibitionism this last week or so.

So what’s new? A lot of stuff! On the techy side of things, I’m trying to pick up a bit more Objective C, and I think I might tinker with some Java for Android. On the less techy side of things, just laid out some promotional stuff for a couple of folk bands (I will post those soon!) and I’m designing a tattoo for a friend. That’s not to mention the web design stuff I’ve got on the go too.

I’ve also got a couple of instructional books to work through. One is the Typography Workbook by Timothy Samara and the other is Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards. I will tell you how I get on! The latter is pretty interesting so will post more detail on that one.

Typography Workbook: A Real-world Guide to Using Type in Graphic Design on Amazon.co.uk

The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain on Amazon.co.uk

6:47pm
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Filed under: books iphone android twitter 

July 21, 2010
The wild side of geography with Mission:Explore

I work for The Workshop, a digital, design, communications and learning consultancy based in Sheffield. There’s excitement in the office today as we’ve just launched the iPhone app Mission:Explore.

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1:55pm
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Filed under: the workshop mission:explore iphone apps 

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