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.

New Directions

Thinking about it, I wanted to make the directions clear but still leave
room for specifics revealed on the website and using Twitter.

1. Use your thumbs
2. Aim for the face
3. Smack him silly
4. Before time runs out!

Continuity between PAID and FREE versions

Part of the hassle of finishing is knowing when you are done. The reaction I have been getting when people first turn on the app is that they think it's stuck. They tap the screen almost instinctively. I don't want the first impression of the game to be negative.

To the programmer's demise I have changed the opening screen to include the text, "loading". I have also added "V1" and "Free" to the main screens. Now there is continuity between the two versions.

The free version is my main sales tool. At the end of the free play I have the Boss pitching to buy the paid version. If not play again. I believe the free game will be played 2-3 times then upgraded or deleted. The game is fun to play, I believe the upgrade percentage should be around 30 - 40%.

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.

The Office

I drove to go meet the people at Drizen-Dohs Corporate Communications. They have an office/printing facility in the San Fernando valley. They have been printing my cartoons for the past few years for Paragon Steel. They were familiar with my animations on the internet. This put me at a disadvantage, they knew before meeting me that I have a loose screw.

It was really nice to finally meet people I have e-mailed and spoken to for quite a while. Christina, Lauren & Julia are a good looking bunch with smarts and real world knowledge. They could be in the cast of "The Office". We also shared the thought of having a special Beat the Boss "The Office" version where you beat up Michael Scott. I think people would like it.

Drizen-Dohs has been in business for a number of years but are small enough to deal with me as an individual. They use print, press releases and digital media to spread corporate messages. We seem to see eye to eye on what needs to be done and who to impress. They asked a good question, how do I want to be promoted as an individual? Hmmmm. It reminded me of many years ago in a motivational seminar when I was in a session with a partner yelling at me "What do you want?" Back then I yelled back, "I want to be a cartoonist!" Today my answer was "I want to create and market off the wall interactive entertainment for mobile devices."

They are putting together a few different ways to manage the promotion of Beat the Boss. Some will require more work by me. Why stop now?

THEY a div. of US a subsidiary of THEM

Movies always start with multiple logos. My game is partially a show, I want people to get my gag. DeMann is the company that the Boss works for. Many years ago I had a T-Shirt line called "They" a div. of US a subsidiary of THEM. That logo will be the very start of the game. In the long run, Beat the Boss will be brought to you by THEM.

DeMann is merely a puppet company for a conglomerate with much loftier goals...world domination. THEY are in the process of creating a contact lens that is a mini satellite dish with a direct connection to the brain. Shows will be beamed directly to the cranium, making cable TV obsolete. iPods will also not be needed, THEYContact will use your brain as hard drive space.

Though the Boss character in the game acts like he owns the place, he doesn't. His job status could change at any moment. That stress is what drives him to be such an unreasonable taskmaster.

Apple "Magic Mouse"

Just when you think you have learned something like "patience", you rush...at least I did. Apple announced this new mouse on the internet that has features similar to a touchscreen on an iPhone called "The Magic Mouse". They also sent me an invitation to go to an iPhone developer conference in San Jose. Between the two, it got me Apple crazy for a minute. I drove straight to Best Buy where they had no idea what I was talking about. I drove to the Apple store where the told me I can order it online and get it in a week. Part of the rush was to actually use the thing now. I forgot that Apple does this all the time, announce but not stock immediately. I can't wait to get this thing. http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/

T-Shirt Design

My new icon design has been translated into a T-Shirt design. I think it will make a nice give-away. Here is a mock-up using my friend Scott as a winner.

I have known this guy my whole life and he has made many bonehead moves. One of his favorite jokes is to put his finger under his chin after doing something dumb. His question would be, "What's this?"...answer, "sh_t on a stick".

We would play with GI Joe, Lincoln Logs, wood blocks and Hot Wheels when we were kids. Twisting track through our creations testing gravity. That mindset continued through life as digital tools allow for artistic interpretation. Beat the Boss actually started many years ago, playing with little cars.

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.

More Time

It occurred to me while watching people play the game it gets kind of frantic. This is a good thing. The music loop combined with the game play makes you want to achieve each level before time runs out. My next move is to add a timer that records your overall time.

Recently at a street concert I heard someone say, "People will do anything for a free T-Shirt!" Sounds like a good idea to me. I will sign up with Cafe Press and send out a T-Shirt once a week based on the overall top score.

Another thought after watching people play is that I need to add a "sound off" button. After messing around with it, I changed my mind. If you play Beat the Boss, you have to listen to his bullshit. My goal is to get someone fired for playing my game.

Donald Trump would be proud

Looking back, my app is a good business lesson. I can't claim to have no experience or be surprised by any element involved with the creation. I started with an unwilling partner and proceeded on my own, so all decisions are on me. My previous app got me in all kinds of hot water with Apple, again I have to be smart or get rejected.

During the creation of the app I watched entrepreneur shows on Tivo like, The Apprentice, Shark Tank, Billy Mays and American Idol. Everybody is selling and I wanted to pick gems if I can find them. There are reasons products sell and reasons they don't. Apps shouldn't be different. I believe the Donald would approve. (Speaking of which, I did this Trump drawing with my left hand a few years ago. I had broken my right arm breaking wood during my black belt test in Japan)

Market is solved, the are millions of potential customers. My target is working people that are holding an iPhone that have disdain for their boss. For the cost of a side order of fries you can wail on your superior with 10 different weapons.

A free version will demonstrate a $1.99 paid version. First thing is to inform the public that my app is available for sale. My true interest is conversion from free to paid, I want a ton of free downloads. If the game is good and fun to play, people will upgrade.

Every developers question is how do you get noticed surrounded by 75,000 apps. An earlier post speaks of Tim Cascio's 50 tips. I am using about 25 of them.

Very few people have contributed to the app's story line. It is kind of like cartoon writing, after you finish you hope that people get the joke.

Tortoise and Hare

Having a free and paid version means your intro's need to be different. The free version will allow for 1st level play and end with a pitch to buy the paid version for $1.99. The full version will include 10 weapons, 12 levels, two speeds and the ability to save a game. You can opt to have the Boss send you e-mails insulting your intelligence while reminding you to buy the full version when you are in a WiFi area. The free version will be under 10 megs by design so people can try it on the fly. I will use the tortoise and hare as an international symbol of slow and fast.

Testing

Beat the Boss is getting closer to being playable. My goal is to make a game that is winnable but not too easy. Some games are technically on the money but not fun. The idea is to beat the living crap out of the Boss. The play is simple, throw enough punches to knock him out before time runs out. It does get a little stressful when you can't hit the guy. I am going level by level testing trying to make my phone blow up. One change I made is changing pencils to push pins, they are better to throw. What is cool is they build up on the screen. Things are moving on, soon will be time to divide between a free version and a paid version. All the little things need to be attended to including the ability to upgrade for $2.00. I also want to automatically ask for a rating after the second play. My YouTube commercials are ready to go, still too soon to start marketing.

App Store Genius

It's a little bit of a mystery when Apple does an update. As consumers we are not sure what is different. This one adds an App Store Genius. Apple's idea is to have iTunes recommend apps just like it recommends songs. What it doesn't do is make determinations based completely on your behavior. What you have deleted isn't counted, it's more about what you keep and what others buy that own that same app. Either way it's kind of a big brother approach. Songs are kind of like apps, there are a ton of them. It's tough to find a new song without a recommendation. I have Sirius radio in my car, I always know who plays what I am listening to, digital technology has made that an easier task. This Genius thing is cool, I just hope that the information stays with Apple. I was looking for an umbrella a while ago. Now every time I surf the web, umbrella ads show up post haste. I know I am trying to sell a product and I will appreciate sales. What is weird is this science of selling. Every move we are making is being analyzed. From that data you are bombarded every chance possible with an enticement to buy that umbrella. Apple is in the information game as well as Google and others. The world wants to sell you something and you are not going to hear the last of it till you do. My question now is if I buy the damn umbrella will they leave me alone. Here is an article on Cnet discussing it further. http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/09/iphone31/

Chia Obama

This has very little to do with my new app but it''s worth mentioning. This morning I saw a post on Facebook from my niece's husband Tony. He was floored by the fact that he saw a commercial for "Chia Obama". About 6 months ago I had pitched Chia to do an iPhone app. I had a virtual board meeting discussing the possibilities of taking their brand to the iPhone. The owner is not a young guy, he believes all the youngsters he hires who say "yes" so they can keep their jobs. He showed us Chia Obama. I almost hacked up a hair ball. Joe insisted that the African Americans he asked thought it was a great product. Hoogaduh! hoogaduh! (That is the sound of a cat coughing up that hair ball)

Who would buy this? If I walked into any one of my friend's house and saw that on the mantle I would fall out laughing...then leave. My friend's are smarter than that. I can see it on some racist liberal hating college student's toilet tank, that's about it. It is flat out a bad product. Walmart pulled it from the shelves, but amazingly they said yes to the original order in the first place.

Joe was excited about an upcoming TV interview to be filmed. It ended up a foot in mouth interview where he appeared to be a "Cracker". His minions were on vacation unable to help in damage control.

What we suggested was do a Chia app that demonstrates all their products. Virtual iPhone Chia's. Charge $1, then donate the money to charity to try and save face. They were concerned people would not buy real Chia's if they could get one on an iPhone. My question was, how many of your customer's own iPhones? The idea was to spread the word. Instead his bobble headed "Yes Men" helped him design a Chia Statue of Liberty. It looks absolutely ridiculous, the French are offended and want her back.

National Boss's Day

I was getting worried that the game will turn out to be glitchy. There is a lot of interaction. I tested the latest version today up to 8 weapons. It works. I think the game play is a success. You kind of almost throw the phone by swiping your thumbs. It gets kind of frantic. It does takes some skill to beat the clock, but the game does have addictive qualities. It is starting to get interesting, I hope the public likes it. Soon it will be time to start the marketing effort. Not quite yet, the app needs to be completed and submitted to the App Store first. Soon, YouTube and a T-Shirt contest. I am hoping to be able to promote the app for "National Boss's Day" October 16th.

Snow Leopard

I'm working on a Mac. Snow Leopard is the latest Apple software update. There are annoying glitches that are supposedly addressed and some new functionality. I draw using Adobe Illustrator. One hassle that I have always dealt with is not seeing a preview of those Illustrator files. Now, the icons show you a mini picture of the content of the file. Small thing but huge for me. I have been using Macs for 15 years. It has never been perfect, there is always a bug. It seems as though computing has moved into an era where the main focus is to take advantage of the processor and move packets of information effectively using the Intel Highway. I am really concerned about glitches in my program. People are getting used to things working well. If your game hangs up or crashes your audience will write bad reviews and vaporize.

Ideas vs.Programming

The hardest part about any project is waiting for it to bake. Creating a game takes logic as well as creativity. I am an artist not a programmer. It's kind of like Star Wars. In the mid-eighties digital effects geniuses and movie makers had to figure out how to get the results they wanted. Tron lead to Star Wars where the right and left brains met. On a small level I am in the same boat. I know what I want, but I need help getting there. Creating an interactive story requires teamwork. The programmers and I are not seeing the same picture at the moment. They promise I will be happy. We'll see. I have been studying to learn my craft. You have to know what the phone is capable of and what you want to create. My strength is character driven, I am specializing in more visual, tactile apps rather than technical.

Be Yourself

Most anyone that knows me personally for the long haul is aware that my right knee is a painful issue related to a football injury in the mid eighties. I have a scar a foot long. I have had 5 surgeries since to correct the hatchet job done to fix me 25 years ago. Of all things, I just went to a Beverly Hills function supporting a charity and sat next to a doctor who was in intern at County USC when I got hurt. It's been a long time, but I swear I remember him checking me in a huge evaluation room. How is this relevant to creating an iPhone app? Well, back then I was not focused. I spent a week in County Hospital in agony, Demerol every 3 hours for 7 days. I had been drawing since 5, I decided to sketch to keep my sanity. During that time I decided to make art my career. So what lesson did I learn from blowing out my knee?

Be yourself.

I had a teammate named Mike that was very quick. He could bob and weave and stop on a dime. I caught a pass and and ran for the sideline to turn the corner. I remember thinking, "Do Mike's move". I slammed on the breaks and threw a fake. I felt a level of pain that is hard to describe. Kind of like a planet landed on my knee. I got hurt because I was mimicking someone else. Create your own truth using the gifts God gave you.

"The Part-timer"

I had a comment that my art was "sick". Hmmm, first reaction is... does that mean good or bad? It made me think. I AM co-creator of an animated show called, "The Part-Timer". It is a show written by a truly "sick" (in a good way) writer named Justin Adams, who worked 50 part-time jobs. I animated episodes where he gets fired at the end of every episode. And actually, the shark scene does make me question my upbringing. It's funny when you look back at what you have created, collaborating with Justin was unique. We had fun making "The Part-timer". I may re-publish some of the short episodes and add a "bug" promoting my new business related app in the corner.