SuaveApps.com is the home of developing iOS developer Jonathan Hirz. Check the links above to seen his dev blog, his apps currently available in the App Store, and other useful information that has been collected here over the years. To the right is the archive of old blog posts.
Been messing around today with VectorDesigner, trying to figure out all its quirks and make a decent icon. Here's what I have so far:
Not bad, eh? I'm sure I'll change it a few more times before I launch, but I think this looks pretty cool, and very "Apple" for now. It was a nice break today to work on graphics instead of code, but honestly most of my time was trying different vector programs out. I think I went through five different "free trials" before deciding to stick with VectorDesigner (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vectordesigner/id402376701?mt=12). It had all the features I need for now, and didn't have the poor reviews that all the others seemed to have. It's no Illustrator, but it will do for now.
I found a cheap vector graphics program called DrawIt that I've been testing out (still in the 30 day trial). I was always struggling to draw something like sprites in Pixelmator (which I love), and needed something else. I did some searching and found that vector based editors are better for creating shapes and designs, while raster based editors are better for touching up photos, creating textures/layers, and creating more traditional 'art', like digital paintings. So, here are the results of a few hours of playing with DrawIt:
I also tried to draw a cat face:
Not sure how that one will come to fruition, but we will see.
Feels like I made a ton of progress yesterday and today, but watching that video I realize I still have a LONG way to go before I'm ready to actually launch an app. I have the basic framework down for the game, but I have a lot of ideas that will actually make this somewhat attractive in the iOS market. Obviously graphics and music are going to change, I made these in about five minutes (ok more like 30, I'm REALLY bad at graphics...) just as placeholders.
My idea/plan for this game is to release it completely free. Ad free and no up front cost. I know this sounds crazy, because obviously people will pay good money for this high quality and necessary game, riiight? :) I'm looking at this game as a learning experience for me, and release it for free will greatly increase my exposure, my audience, and my feedback. The more people that play with this code, the better I think. I have some ideas for monetizing after release, possibly with additional themes or different gameplay modes. I'm not sure about how to implement this smartly, plus it's way to early to be thinking about this stuff, but I am. I like to have an end goal to work towards, but tend to forget about all the steps it will take to get there. All in due time, I guess.
I'd also like to take this chance to say THANK YOU for reading this blog. It's fun to watch the stats grow each month as I post more, and get a few more readers to the site with each post. Knowing that someone out there is watching my progress, asking questions IRL, and commenting (...) is a huge motivation for me. Stay tuned, more to come as always!
Here's another site that breaks down Obj-C in an easy to understand manner: http://designthencode.com/scratch/
Helpful if you are starting and feel overwhelmed, or need a refresher. I'm currently freshening up on subclasses.
So in case it isn't obvious, or you didn't check out the link to ticalc.org I posted earlier, quadropong is a simple, single player pong game where the player tried to keep the ball from hitting any edge of the screen. There are four paddles, one for each side, and the player controls all of them. To make it less annoying, two paddles can be controlled at once. Check the video:
I don't have the ball in there yet, and the graphics are sadly very basic, but the framework is there. Obviously I'm using cocos2d to speed up the process of building this app, and it has been an amazing help. There are tons of tutorials and resources available for beginners and experts alike. Two notable websites that have helped me in the last few days are Ray Wenderlich's blog (http://www.raywenderlich.com/) and Mohammad Azam's article (http://www.devproconnections.com/article/mobile-development/create-iphone-game-cocos2d-framework-136107). Both sites are a great starting point for cocos2d.
Lately, no matter what I'm doing, I'm constantly thinking about this app. Frustrations and road blocks in coding that cause me to stop and move on to another activity (like replaying Final Fantasy X) stay in the back of my mind. Sometimes a solution will suddenly pop into my head in one of those slap-on-the-forehead kind of moments, and I'm glad to have a piece of paper and a pencil nearby to jot down the idea. I don't always have time to jump into the code at that moment, but having a place to log ideas and possible solutions is crucial.
Also, I haven't found a good way to take the kind of notes I take on the computer. I love the free open space of a piece of paper, and the ability to draw pictures with annotations and full sentences, without worrying about formatting. I highly recommend a good 'programming notebook' for everyone.
Since the ads on this page were doing absolutely nothing ($1.35 since I started it...as the BONSAI blog), I decided to remove them. No point in wasting space with ads if they aren't generating any revenue. I was hoping that eventually I would be able to make a decent side income from app sales and ad revenue, but for now I'm just going to focus on learning this stuff and getting one app published, and worry about the money later. Or not at all. =]
