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Show HN: Learned Objective C as a high schooler and made this iPhone game
- jjb123 14y agoJust downloaded it. Curious - from start to app store, how long did it take?
- Firecracker 14y agoRoughly 3-4 months. I was taking classes at the same time, so I worked about an hour a day.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- biot 14y agoNicely done! I noticed it was sold by http://makegameswith.us/ http://makegameswith.us/ -- can you elaborate on why you chose them? I notice that they take 30% after Apple takes its 30%, leaving you with just under half of the selling cost as your gross revenue in exchange for help and promotion. How widely have they promoted the game? Your game is also translated into tons of languages; did you need to arrange this yourself, or is that something they helped out with?
- DesaiAshu 14y agoMGWU co-founder here, to clarify we take 20c of 99c (30% of the 70c post Apple) so the developer keeps majority :). The localization on iTunes showed up by accident due to the Appirater library (https://github.com/arashpayan/appirater https://github.com/arashpayan/appirater) being localized, will be fixed in an update
- biot 14y agoRight, that was my understanding. 70% of 99c is ~70c. 70% of 70c is ~49c. 70% of 70% nets the developer 49% of the 99c selling price; just under half.
- jvrossb 14y agoWe'll definitely explain this in a clearer way as we move out of beta. Out of 99c Apple takes 29c and we take 20c leaving the developer with 50c, so slightly over half :)
- connortomas 14y agoThe game looks fantastic, and I'd just like to say: I love the idea of MGWU. Coming out of an iOS game development course (aware that you don't offer traditional "courses", but still) with a polished iOS app seems like a great deal - even better when your profit is tied to the success of the apps themselves. Love it.
- Firecracker 14y agoBoth the founders are alumni from my high school, so that's the connection that started us working together. I was one of their alpha testers, so I got 100%. Even so, I would say that 30% is more than reasonable considering that they provide the art and promotion. It would be easy to get lost in the sea of apps already out there, and their promotion really helped my game get noticed.
- Bitwse 14y agoHow did you learn?
- archgoon 14y agoDid you create the sprites yourself, or did you contract an artist?
- Firecracker 14y agoI got help with the art and with learning Objective C from makegameswith.us They were awesome in making the whole thing possible.
- jvrossb 14y agoMakeGamesWithUs (http://makegameswith.us http://makegameswith.us) co-founder here - to clarify, Chris wrote the entire game himself. We just taught him Objective C and did the art (that's what we do). Chris is a rockstar.
- dysoco 14y agoI like the idea of MakeGameWithUs, but I don't have any Apple products... do you have any plans to include Android Development, or Desktop Development into it ?
- jvrossb 14y agoWe'd love nothing more than to make iOS development available to non-Mac users and/or have our games be cross-platform. We're working on ways to achieve this but we probably won't be going there for at least a year. In the mean time where there's a will there's a way to get OS X running on your machine.
- zura 14y agoI'm interested in the case where you provide all the artwork for 30%. I guess it shouldn't matter it is for Android or even the Desktop app, right? Also, please make signing up available for people without facebook or any other soc.network website account.
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- orangethirty 14y agoWell done. What are your next plans?
- Firecracker 14y agoWith regards to this project, I'm considering making a sequel and an iPad version. Otherwise, I'm pretty busy at the moment, but I have an idea for a bigger mobile project that I'm not ready to unveil just yet...
- MartinCron 14y agoAn old guy here: I too was making video games in high school, but mine never nearly looked as good as this, nor did they ever get this kind of an audience. You don't know how good you've got it :) Good work and good luck with whatever you decide to make next!
- Firecracker 14y agoThanks! The app store really is an awesome marketplace for creations that might otherwise go unnoticed.
- sumukh1 14y agoAs someone who learned iOS development by myself in high school, I wish I had something like makegameswithus to help me along the way. There were plenty of resources available to learn Objective-C, but I found that one of the major pain-points was getting through the stuff that's not related to code (managing certificates, publishing, managing artwork/copy). Those are still valuable skills to have, but something mgwu seems like it would help a lot for someone who is starting out. Games are a powerful tool to inspire students to create something really cool. Good job!
- zura 14y agoAgree. While the title emphasizes Objective-C/programming, in this particular example/game, I think the visual/art side is more significant. Good job, indeed!
- jvrossb 14y agoI'd like to think that the visual/art side is significant in all the games we've helped produce! Check out the one we released right before The Deeps: http://itunes.apple.com/en/app/killah-killah-whale/id532042459?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/en/app/killah-killah-whale/id5320424... The thing is so far, none the developers of the 20+ games that we are currently producing knew Objective-C before they started, so the learning side of what we do is important too for many developers.
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- trishume 14y agoFellow high school IOS programmer here. This is pretty cool, It's nice that you get help with the art, that is the main thing that keeps me from making games. Instead I just make apps for psychological researchers: http://hume.ca/ix http://hume.ca/ix
- jvrossb 14y agoHey, we'll make art for your games too! Drop me a line at jeremy@makegameswith.us if you're interested.
- oatmealsnap 14y agoA friend of mine, who happens to be a psychological researcher, wanted me to make an app for her team that would allow them to get real-time survey results. Her manager refused to talk to me directly and insisted my friend act as a surrogate, so I called it off. At least one research group saw a need for this sort of product, and it would be stupid easy to make. Have at it!
- finkin1 14y agoDid you learn Objective C as part of your high school curriculum or by yourself in your spare time? I think all high schoolers should at least have an introduction to programming in high school, if not middle school.
- Firecracker 14y agoI connected with makegameswith.us through high school. I first learned to program in a class freshman year.
- SG- 14y agohow much have you made off this game and how long has it been in the app store?
- Firecracker 14y agoIt has actually only been out for a few days. It was free for the first couple, and the app made it into the top 50 puzzle games in the US and onto charts in some other countries. Following that, I decided to make it paid. The numbers for paid downloads are still rolling in, but it looks promising.
- jvrossb 14y agoThe App has been out for a couple of days. Apple's sales reports are delayed for yesterday so we're not sure how much Chris has made yet. While it was free it made top 25 puzzle and arcade games in 3 stores and top 100 puzzle and arcade in a couple more including the US!
- mrdmnd 14y agoCongratulations, Chris! I'm sure Mr. T and Mr. S are very proud, too. The work looks fantastic; Jeremy and Ashu have done a great job getting art assets into place for you guys. -- A friendly HS alum
- Firecracker 14y agoThanks Matt! I'd like to think that I'm putting what they taught me to good use.
- saxamaphone69 14y agoI've always wanted to learn a language and make a game out of it, but procrastination always gets the better of me (5 years later, I still haven't learnt anything). Congratulations, good luck and keep it up!
- anonymoushn 14y agoDo you have any gameplay videos or promotional videos?
- drizzzle 14y agoMGWU art/marketing dude here...Thanks for asking. Gameplay videos will most certainly be part of our promotions package in the very near future (read: probably a YouTube channel). In the meantime, I can assure you that this game is legit and future updates will make it well worth your investment.
- GoofyGewber 14y agoI've been trying to learn Objective C and make iOS Apps, where did you learn? Everything I've tried so far has been really, really boring or outdated.
- Firecracker 14y agoTry going to makegameswith.us! That's where I learned.