G-rated rejection #1

When the flood hit the other day I found myself running in place like Barney Rubble. I was even making the skidaddle coconut noise. Minor brain lock, panic decisions were made, I was lucky. Today, I was caught by surprise a little bit.

I just received an e-mail that my app had been rejected by Apple for having obscene material or excessive violence. They also included a few screenshots that I submitted. That's it, no other directions. They give you a wide variety of reasons, so you have to play detective. E-mail is your only communication.

Really looking at it, it is my own fault. Not paying attention to detail. One of the things you have to do is rate your app. I had it rated 4+? That is a G rating. This is probably the reason the screenshots were rejected too. They show fighting...my bad.

I did a minor skidaddle and called Lenny at Apalon. Olga tweaked the descriptions, we changed a few screenshots and Mahesh uploaded the new binary. My mistake was rating the game too low. A more adult rating and a few tweaks may get it through. We'll see.

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.

Touchdown

I have been involved with sports my whole life. I played a lot of ballgames in my day which shapes how you approach projects. In football, you play four quarters. Drives lead to touchdowns. You don't celebrate till you cross the line. Beat the Boss is finished both FREE and PAID and is ready for submission. I can finally raise my hands in the end zone signifying a score. The game isn't over but I have reached a plateau. Physically finishing the app itself is quite an accomplishment. Next up is submission and marketing. In football terms that would be kicking the extra point and continuing the game. The original of this picture was done in airbrush many years ago about 18"X24". It is not a photograph.

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%.

New Icon

Reading up on what to do to make your app more successful, the icon is mentioned often. If your icon is weak, they game is probably weak. My logo for Beat the Boss is a boxing glove. It is the first weapon used to hit the boss in the game. That's great, but the glove in the game isn't exactly the right image for an iPhone icon. It needs to be square and shown up against a black background. You really don't know what it looks like till you see it on the phone. After two adjustments I think it worked out well. I will also use this glove on T-Shirts as well. If your logo looks good on a T-Shirt it will look good on the phone.

MotoRokr S9-HD

Sound is also part of a an interactive experience. One of the worst things as a mobile designer is to watch someone hold a phone to their ear while playing a game. It takes their eye off the screen. I am hoping that the audio is understandable when the phone is a foot away from your face avoiding such activity. I just bought the Motorola Rokr S9-HD bluetooth stereo headphones to work with my iPhone. My goodness, the sound is way better than my old plug-in head set I wear while riding my road bike. When I get a call I can pick it up immediately rather than fumble for the phone. I just tested, if you wear the headset while playing the game you can hear the audio just fine. Bad news is I can't seem to get it to skip the the next song. I hope there is a fix.