iMoses iTablet

One thing about my long delay has been an expansion of the market. Looking at my positioning from a marketing point of view it is kind of interesting. My app has taken 8 months to get to market. During that time they came out with the 3GS phone, sold millions of iPod Touch devices, opened up in China, and finally made it available on the UK Orange Network. Believe it or not, over 6.5% of adults over 18 have an iPhone in the US. 85% of these people have jobs. 100% want to hit their boss in the face. So I will be coming out with a game where you can take out your anger on the corporate world during a time of double digit unemployment.

The next gold rush has not started yet. When Flash CS5 comes out and with other tools available there are going to be so many apps your head will spin.

Marketing apps is the next frontier, the App Store is going to have to expand their categories and find a way to warehouse the glut that is about to hit. My original goal was 100,000 downloads. I believe that is attainable in the above mentioned atmosphere. If I come out hot and continue to reinvest in advertising I could surpass that number.

Tomorrow Apple will announce their new iMoses device. It is supposed to be a great game player. A question it brings up for me is how will games designed for a mobile phone going to play on a 10" screen?

Will we have to create a tablet version? Will we play small games on a bigger screen?

This should be interesting.

FaceBook Promotion

It's almost time to submit. I am delayed because of the Indian regional festival of `Makar Sankranti'. It has taken almost 8 months to create this app, so what's another 5 days. Waiting is interesting, it really makes you think. What I have done in the past is rush to finish. I must say that is not the case this time. I have been forced to go slow and pay attention to all details. This is good.

I have assembled all the elements necessary for submission. My last mistake was exceeding 100 characters in my keyword list. The devil is in the details. The app, website and promotional materials are all together. A few more clicks and I'm in the system. I am hearing about one day approvals these days, so my day is coming.

Marketing is the next phase. There are two separate ends to the marketing that have to addressed. One has to do with app reviewers, the other consumers. The reviewers are the most important. Appalon will handle that aspect. I was researching FaceBook as a method to reach consumers but I am not a huge user. This leaves me short on everyday experience. Learning all the ropes in the next week is a stretch, so do I skip it?

While organizing my Linked-In presence I was contacted by Craig Dalton at mPlayit. They specialize in FaceBook promotion of iPhone apps. This is a better idea than me trying to figure it out on my own.

Completing the game has taken forever, but if it happened any sooner I would probably have crashed and burned. The app market is evolving by the day and the insights and contributions that happened in the last two months will be key to the games success.

Solar, Propane & Water

Christmas Eve dinner was a little different this year. Marianne and I went to Mexico to spend a few days by the beach in a house that runs on solar and propane. We were prepared, but not quite prepared for the condition of the house. We couldn't figure out most of the details. We had no water, electricity, toilet or gas. We had planned a feast, instead we ate soup and a bagel heated up over a Coleman lantern.

After driving over 400 miles we were not in the best of moods. We began to argue. "Beat the Boss" came up in our discussion. At this point I am over 7 months in development. I am 95% done and just about to submit, but the beginning of the game bothered me. It took too long to load and a still frame was necessary. I went to sleep angry and thinking. Sometimes I come up with good ideas when I'm ticked. I wasn't mad at Marianne, I was mad I haven't finished. While laying on a plank listening to waves it came to me. The directions take a few seconds to read. Why not start with the directions and learn how to play while you wait.

Pimp'in ain't easy!

Being that "Beat the Boss" is back in the shop for some tweaks I am involved in the marketing aspects like keywords and description. The biggest news of the moment is Tiger Woods infidelity. He has bowed out of golf for the moment to collect his thoughts and arrange his life. What sucks for him is that he is so famous that almost every conversation in the world starts with a Tiger joke. I am contributing as I always have. Sorry Tiger.

Headaches

An interesting phenomenon shows up just every now and then. This annoying occurrence makes me think my friend Mahesh has lost his mind. At the same time, he thinks I have lost mine.

Part of the difficulty about working long distance is understanding. I have contact with India, The Netherlands, Belarus and the US. I am getting used to working with people all around the world. There are some typical challenges including time coordination and the delay that I call "international art lag".

Today's discussion has relevance to my story about having a bad guitar wire. For three years I couldn't hear my guitar through my computer because of a bad cable. This is kind of happening again.

I just tested the final versions sent to me by Mahesh, both FREE and PAID versions. They were supposed to contain minor adjustments. The PAID reflected the changes, the FREE didn't. Interesting.

In normal procedure, I go to iTunes / iPhone / Applications and delete the present version of Beat the Boss, then I sync. After sync I add what Mahesh sends me and sync again. Then I test.

I loaded a FREE and a PAID version. The PAID looks great and reflects the changes I suggested for that current version. The FREE showed no changes at all. I sent a note saying great, but not quite there. I assume this is when Mahesh starts taking aspirin.

In the past we have run into times where I have to "Restore" my iPhone when it doesn't recognize the changes sent to me. That is what I did yesterday.

It ends up I have a bad cord again in a digital kind of way. It happens intermittently so you forget about the possibility.

Two headed cats

Having two cats has effected Beat the Boss during it's creation. Just when you have a great thought one of my little buddies kills something or wants a thorough petting. Today is no different. I got up in the middle of the night and stepped in a huge hair ball making a gross squishy noise. A few days ago it appeared that Yuuki had been in an altercation. His head had been in something's mouth but it didn't appear serious. This morning he jumped on the bed and it looked like he had Bell's palsy. The right side of his face was swollen to where his eye was almost shut. It looks like he has two heads. He's at the vet now, I think he'll live.

I mention this because the development of an app or any other creation is effected by outside influences. Just when you have a good thought, the phone rings or your kid needs a sandwich. It's part of life, I have learned to roll with the punches and use unplanned occurrences as a springboards. In the game, you throw cats at the Boss. I wonder where that idea came from?

This is a picture of Yuuki as a kitten before he messed up his head. He also has a crooked tail.

The vet just called, $400 for surgery... I need to sell some apps.

Chairman Meow

Most of my workday I am alone except for the phone, Skype, e-mail and occasional text messages. I do have two four legged characters that give me the sense of community without the drama. Unfortunately for the local wildlife, they do like to hunt. They bring in birds, mice, moths and lizards mainly. I am expecting them to drag the UPS guy through the cat door some day. I am glad they like me because they would just assume kill me if they had the chance. I always see them planning using a calculator and a tape measure. I found this logo online. I am ordering Chairman Meow T-Shirts for them to wear.

This is it

My good friend Jim Stavis recommended that we go see Michael Jackson's "This is it" at the movies. Jim is in his early fifties, not representative of the expected demographic. But now that I think about it, Jim did listen to Michael's music his whole life. Marianne and I caught the film in-between errands over the weekend. I must say, that was a great movie. I envisioned he was a shadow of his former self prior to his death. I was very wrong. His dancing and singing were vintage Michael.

My first concert that I ever went to was The Jackson 5 when I was 12. Michael and I were born days apart. I have measured fame for someone of my age by the Michael Jackson barometer, bigger than Elvis in my opinion.

After seeing the film I felt bad for all the dancers and musicians. This was an elite team gathered from talent around the globe that was about to perform 50 amazing shows. They had to be devastated about the death as well as the lost opportunity. Too bad, he was a great entertainer.

I have been trying to figure what I am going to follow up with after Beat the Boss. I have many ideas that I have been weighing. "This is it" represents a few things for me. Beat the Boss is a compilation of MY life's work. While Michael was dancing I was drawing. I wish I had a speck of his talent.

The dancing reminded me of one of my app ideas to animate interactive characters dancing to your chosen music from iTunes. At this moment, this would have me changing venues from business to music. When Adobe CS5 comes out and I can output to iPhone from Flash, this might make a whole bunch of sense.

Steve Jobs and tweet size headlines

I was sent an article discussing why Steve Jobs is a great speaker. He has been suggested as being "CEO of the decade". His secret has to do with simplicity and surprise. People were on their knees waving their arms in the air when he pulled a laptop out of a manila folder. Another thing he does is break down his message to visuals and simple quotes. He creates tweet size descriptions and people get it. Here is the list of tweets I plan to send out once the game is available.


A free iPhone app that really kicks butt - BeatTheBossGame.com
Beat the Boss on your iPhone for free - BeatTheBossGame.com
Kick Ass / Take Names! - BeatTheBossGame.com for the iPhone for free
Smack your boss in the chops with your iPhone! - BeatTheBossGame.com
Hit your boss without getting fired! - BeatTheBossGame.com for the iPhone
Suggest a weapon, win a free T-Shirt! - BeatTheBossGame.com
Take out your work frustrations on your iPhone! - BeatTheBossGame.com
Hate Your job? Have an iPhone? - BeatTheBossGame.com
Corporate anxiety therapy using your iPhone - BeatTheBossGame.com
Pink slip in your future? Have an iPhone? - BeatTheBossGame.com
Believe in executive punishment? - BeatTheBossGame.com
Ticked off at your boss?...hit it him with your iPhone! - BeatTheBossGame.com

Monetizing Mania

Digital media is a twin edged sword. It allows for unlimited creation, but it also allows the same freedom to other creators similar to yourself, there is a lot of competition out there. These days if you have an idea for a show you can make it and publish it all over the net, it's easy. This is a big win for people that have a project they want to get noticed. The problem is how do you make money? A chosen few are actually paid by YouTube for content, but the majority of folks are not in it for the money, they just want to share.

As a professional cartoonist I looked at 2010 back in 2005 and figured out something important. Everything in mobile is monetized. From the beginning mobile operators made sure that you pay for everything. Even if it's free you still pay for the service. I decided to follow the mobile path because people are willing to pay for communication. That is how I will monetize my mania.

My deal with mobile aggregators and phone companies left me a very small piece of the pie. I had two wallpapers surpass the 100,000 mark on T-Mobile. I would have made $70,000 each if that was an iPhone app. I made a fraction of that after agent fees and phone company splits. Apple takes 30% but offers a platform with over 50 million possible customers.

Though the app store is crowded, I still think it is a good place to be if you have a product worth buying. Being in the App store does not guarantee success, you have to promote. I am going to take advantage of all the methods available to shout these days. If the typical numbers happen 2-3% will buy. If I want to sell 100,000 apps I need to tell at least a few million folks.

Fuzz boxes and plugs

Overcoming computer difficulties is part of life these days. I have always had a problem that I could never figure out…how to connect a guitar to a Mac and jam. A number of years ago I bought a Monster cable that goes from guitar to computer but could never make it work. I borrowed guitars and pulled my hair out with no sound coming out of the speakers.

Recently I got iLife. It contains an upgraded GarageBand and has built-in guitar lessons. The electric guitar has all kinds of variations with fuzz boxes and amps. The next move I made was to go to YouTube and search for videos on the subject. A number of them showed you everything, a few said go to Radio Shack.

I got a Stereo Male (3.5mm) to 1/4" female adapter. $5. I looked online and went to 3 guitar stores. At Best Buy I bought a Squire (by Fender) $119 guitar and a wall hook. It looks like a Strat. The next thing I need are headphones or my neighbors are going to kill me.

What does this have to do with making iPhone apps?…curiosity and tenacity. What was between me and computer music was a bad cord. A five dollar adapter and a cheap guitar fixed the problem. Once I put my mind to it I was able to overcome a very large frustration. When you are building apps logic is a major factor. Does what you are making make sense to the public? Can a new user click the icon and figure out how to use your creation in a few short seconds? "Beat the Boss'" is pretty straight forward, I hope people like it.

Now I can grow hair again!

iPhone apps in Flash CS5

It is interesting how time moves on. The creation of the Beat the Boss was a cooperative effort between IndiaNic and Mike Browne. I created all the art and assembled it in Flash. Indianic took great efforts to interpret my thought and implement it in the iPhone SDK. They had to literally rip it apart and put it back together. Now that we are almost done, Adobe announces that Flash CS5 will include an output to create for the iPhone directly. It will be out later this year…it is now October.

When The Boss is done it will look like it was created in Flash and everyone will be wondering how we did it so fast. The reality is that it was put together piece by piece. One thing I know for sure is my next app will be created in Flash from the start. My guess the creation time of this same project would be a fraction of the 6 months it took to create The Boss.

As I write this, there are about 75,000 apps and 2 million downloads. A year from now it should be 5 times that amount. The tough part is going to be iTunes. How will people find your apps? It is hard standing out now amongst 75,000, imagine down the road. Another thought is the approval process. It takes minimum 2 weeks now to get approved by Apple now, with rejections this can be months. What will they do when the Flash crowd shows up?

The Boss will come out right on time. Just before the crowd hits after people figure out how to make Flash CS5 work for them. The game is changing, but I have the right skill set to work within the platform. I will adapt with everyone else. But there is more to it than tools. Beat the Boss is an idea that is well thought out and the game play is fun.

My good friend Terumi gave me this Flash action character a number of years ago. She was right, Flash is the answer.

Flying Cars

I attempted to learn to use the iPhone SDK like I have used other programs to animate in the past. I have experience using Flash, After Effects, Director, Media 100, I figured I could learn another discipline. Wrong. By the time I could program the game by myself, we will be driving flying cars. I am right brained, C+ is left brain. I bought a book, "iPhone in Action" and learned what was possible, then found help. Searching the Internet I chose Indianic.

This game has been in development for approximately 6 months. It has been a challenge working with developers in India. Not so much English, more distance and time. Actually, now that I think about it, I had men calling me "dear". I created "The First Dog" working with Indianic, so I knew the routine. Part of that routine is patience. If you have a good idea or adjustment, most probably no one will know about it for about 13 1/2 hours. These days we are used to instant answers, this is more like can and string.

In any creation, getting your thought into a programmer and out a device is a challenge. My technique has been the super storyboard. Being that I animate in Flash, the programmers just follow what I show them. I provide them a moving guide, art and a full written explanation. They apply their skill to my art, so it kind of looks like Flash. If the iPhone ever uses the Flash player floodgates will open.

Freebie, Upgrade, or "In App" purchase?

Beat the Boss is getting closer to finalizing, but there are so many details it may still be longer than I hoped till I hit the finish line. The timing of the game is good because the economy is bad, people will be pissed for a long time. The subject of hitting your Boss is nothing new, I am providing a 2010 delivery method. AT&T is running at 300 percent because of Smart Phone usage. The size of the app is an issue. I know for a fact that being under 10 megs will be essential for the free version. 10 megs is the limit for "over air" downloads. Previous apps I have made were too large and people gave up if they weren't at a Wi-Fi spot. My free version will have an option to remind yourself to buy the full version with an angrily written e-mail sent by the Boss. I have had thoughts of selling new levels as in "in app" purchase. From what I have read, people see a short sales spike right after you upgrade. Being my game is level dependent, I can keep adding levels indefinitely. Now my thought is, how often?

Lithotripsy

Exactly one year ago I was doubled over in pain suffering from my second bout of kidney stones. One of the reasons that this happens is because I don't drink enough water. Creative people are weird, kind of like baseball pitchers…head cases. The idea is to get into the groove and come up with some great ideas. Throw strikes. This can take hours or two days. Personally I forget to eat, much less drink. A kidney stone attack hurts in places you don't know you have. Twice this has happened in my life. Believe me, it's some major league pain. While you are creating your own app, don't forget to exercise and drink water. Man cannot live on Red Bull alone. I now know the meaning of a procedure called, "lithotripsy". I wish I didn't.

Crash Test Dummies

In the real world, game companies have the time and budget to test different versions of their products long before it is introduced. Try it on boys, try it on girls. When do you release? Should the character do this or do that? When my game is done, it is going to market. I don't have the luxury of corporate backing on this project. This one is on my dime. What's the other choice?...start over? I don't think so. I'll do the testing real time. I believe it will be a unique offering. Getting the word out will be key. If it's not fun to play, the word will stop. The reviews can be faked at first, but if you have thousands of downloads, people will speak the truth.

iPhone App - Flash demos

One thing I have found over the years is that people don't understand directions. Reading helps, but a visual drives the point home. Being that I animate in Flash it is great for demos. I am making interactive versions of the app at the same scale as the iPhone. In fact, everything I create is to scale with the objective of avoiding optical illusion. Having a demo helps in explaining actions to the client as well as describing what's needed to the programmer. I even throw in finger movements. Carpenters say, "measure twice, cut once". A moving storyboard helps you get to step two with a lot of information. SDK programming is not the place to experiment on look and feel. I have always made better digital art by drawing first in a sketchbook.

Bowling Balls, Hand Grenades and Donuts

My original plan called for 12 weapons to attack Hugh DeMann. From a gaming perspective I had to figure out the game play, scoring and consequences of each action. There are 16 contact points on each level, X 12 weapons. Uh oh...I have to figure out a bunch of possibilities. What I know now is that about 4 of the 12 levels need to change. I have designed elements that are difficult to program. So the flame thrower is out, so is the welding torch. Back is the grenade and I have added bowling balls and donuts. These are tough decisions to make, insults are tied to each weapon. I photographed the donuts to use in the game. After I shot them they were eaten with 2% milk.

Picking iPhone app marketing tips from the list of 50

I am using about half of the 50 tips

http://tinyurl.com/AppsMarketing

1) get noticed on the App Store
2) submit to review sites
3) Public Relations
4) AddThis
5) Q&A participation
6) create presentation walk-thru
7) tell-a-friend in-app feature
8) exclusive app content
9) leave a rating button
10) Twitter
11) search directory registration
12) Facebook fan page
13) create trial and paid app versions
14) content optimization for search engine rankings
15) showcase app in new website
16) e-mail campaign
17) Linked in promotion
18) word of mouth
19) blog
20) YouTube demo
21) YouTube Commercials
22) Digg promotion
23) Craigslist Ad

Hugh DeMann vs. Don King

I had mentioned in a previous post that Hugh DeMann was the object of affection in my new game. I actually designed him over 25 years ago. As a kid I played and coached little league. Hugh was a mix of all the asshole parents that I had to deal with while coaching. He had a bald head, Hawaiian shirt, plaid shorts, black socks, flip-flops and a huge mouth with a cigar. Later I just used his finger to portray the hand of authority. I have a job for Hugh. It's to get his ass kicked by a lot of different people. I guess this makes me a little like Don King.