September 2010
39 posts
Another Shot at In-App Purchase + Corona... →
Apparently, the solution I suggested previously doesn’t comply with section 11.2 of Apple’s guidelines.
My new idea is based on studying what the Kindle for iPhone app does.
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On Implementing In-App Purchase Using the Corona...
Anyone who’s been here before knows that I’m a huge Corona SDK fan, and that it’s the development tool I use to program our iOS (and in the future, Android) games, however, there is one important iOS feature that it doesn’t yet support: In-App Purchases.
It is currently on their roadmap, but there’s really no way of knowing when it will be implemented and I...
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Last night, I stayed up very late working on Corona + Facebook API code to create a friends Leaderboard (score board) and… it was a complete success! Biffy and I are both very excited about it.
If you’re unsure what I’m talking about, think of Doodle Jump and Bejeweled Blitz friends scoreboards. They find the friends from your Facebook profile who are also on the game, and...
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Concept: Facebook Friends Leaderboard With Corona
Biffy pushed me to find a way to incorporate some kind of “friends leaderboard” into our games, where players would only enter their Facebook information and are able to see their scores compared with their friends WITHOUT having to leave the game interface and go into OpenFeint.
OpenFeint allows you to incorporate their system into your game, but with Corona, that’s pretty...
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Positive Review of Doodle Dash! on Appolicious →
A very positive review of Doodle Dash! I just scraped up. It’s obviously covering the latest version (1.3), but all screenshots are from the dated, GameSalad-made version 1.0. Oh well. At least he had lots of good things to say about it :-)
The fact that Appolicious is owned by Yahoo! makes me feel good that a review of one of our games was posted there though.
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In the process of drafting up a press release for Dungeon Tap.
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Great Article on Indie Game Development →
My favorite part of the article, at the very end:
Create a portfolio of products. Any financial planner will tell you to create multiple streams of income. This industry is no different. Unless you are really lucky, one game will not bring you enough revenue to live. However, in a world with unlimited shelf space and a nearly unlimited customer base, your game can sell for a long time. Think...
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Bronson Lane, a reviewer from AppTapper.org, contacted me asking to do a preview/review of Dungeon Tap.
Of course, I agreed, and then sent him an Ad Hoc build so he can test it out. He said the preview should be up either tonight or sometime tomorrow. I can’t wait to see what he has to say.
In case you didn’t know, Dungeon Tap is currently Waiting for Review (2 days). All of our...
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More Corona SDK Suggestions
In my recent review of the Corona SDK, I expressed my features “wishlist”, or some things I hope to be added in the near future. Well, since then, I’ve thought of a few more:
In app purchases - This is HUGE, in my opinion. In fact, I’m surprised I forgot to include it in the review.
iSimulate or some other kind of accelerometer testing from the computer. At first, this...
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Unprofessional or not, I’ve decided, we need video. Therefore, I’m going the “home video” route until we can find a good way to record games directly from the iTouch screen. So far the only thing I’ve come across doesn’t allow for high enough frame rates to capture in-game footage.
I’m importing the video I took into iMovie now, gonna see what I can do...
So far no comments on the new Dungeon Tap screenshots. Personally, I don’t think the stills do it justice. I really want to be able to record a video from the actual device, not video-cam-of the device, I think that looks really unprofessional.
I think there should be a way to do so without the need to jailbreak.
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Great Explanation of iOS 4 Multi-Tasking →
I was wondering how exactly this worked. People were claiming it was inferior, but I didn’t exactly know why. Apparently, it’s not inferior at all :-)
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Robot Unicorn Attack Going Heavy Metal →
One of mine and Biffy’s favorites… getting a cool sequel with an awesome soundtrack.
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Sales for Doodle Dash! are surprisingly steady, so that’s good.
After releasing this next game, we will update our other games to include a “more games” section as well as update the app icons and other graphics for this amazing new retina screen.
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Posting this from my new iPod Touch 4 … I’ve never seen a display so clear, it’s amazing. I can’t wait to update all of our games graphics.
In other news, I got A LOT done with the new game today, and got more to do tonight.
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A Few Updates
Made a lot of progress on the new game between yesterday and this morning. I can’t wait to get it finished and submitted so I can start sharing screenshots and more info about it.
According to an Ansca staff member, the new version of Game Edition is most likely due within a few weeks. I’m pretty impatient so that sounds like a long time to me, but I’ll definitely be happy when...
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Corona SDK Goes Final Today & Pricing Announced →
Today, we remove the alpha and beta version numbers and bring you the
new, cross-platform Corona SDK and a Corona Game Edition pre-release to
the public!
Final pricing: $249/year for Standard, and $349/year for Game
Edtion—extremely generous pricing for all that you get. As a whole,
Corona is easier to use, does more, performs better, and even costs less
than most everything...
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Ansca Training Event on Saturday →
This week, not only are we launching new versions of Corona, but we’re also showing you how to use them!
On Saturday, September 18, we’ll be leading a “Beginning iPhone/iPad App Development with Corona” workshop at Northwestern Polytechnic University in Fremont.
This is what I was talking about when I said the Ansca staff are very “proactive”. Corona’s easier to use...
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Corona SDK Review
UPDATE January 12, 2011: I just published a more recent review, written after a full six months of using and publishing apps with the Corona SDK. After you read the following review (a lot of what you’ll read below is already outdated), please take a moment to read my updated review.
Since I’ve been using the Corona
SDK (quite extensively, as you’ll
find out) since...
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Doodle Dash!’s sales rose yesterday. I always thought Saturday was the peak day.
Anyway, people seem to like the new Halloween theme that came with the update, which is good because Biffy and I worked really hard on it.
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Tiny JavaScript Platform Game →
As a game programmer, I gotta admire something like this.
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Just Installed myTumblr →
So far I’m liking it. Very simple, minimalistic, and very Mac-like.
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I’m still very excited and relieved about Apple’s decision regarding their SDK agreement and how the Corona SDK is officially safe.
As for tonight, I’m planning on getting more work done on the game. Once it is sent in for approval, I’ll announce the title, provide screenshots, etc.
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Biffy and I pulled an all-nighter doing work for our next game, and we got A LOT done. It’s looking so amazing; I’m very excited.
Doodle Dash! 1.3 Approved Today →
This new version features a brand new (albeit early) Halloween theme, an options page, an option to play as “Ms. Dash” and quite a bit more. Biffy and I worked pretty hard on this update, and waited a full 9 days for it to be approved! Enjoy :)
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Apple Relaxes Developer SDK Agreement - Thank God →
The Corona SDK is safe :-) This is great news as Biffy and I were stressing about this earlier this week. Carlos, the CEO of Ansca Mobile sent me a reassuring email… but this statement from Apple themselves tops it off.
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Real Studio: RAD for Mac OS X →
Also able to output Windows and Linux apps. I think when I’m ready to start writing desktop Mac software (most likely after 10.7 ships), I’ll be trying out Real Studio.
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Engadget Previews Toshiba Netbook With Android →
Great idea, but Android’s not ready.
Again, the hardware is pretty great, a nice order of magnitude thinner and lighter than most Atom netbooks, and despite the razor thin build, Toshiba still managed to put a pretty great keyboard and trackpad in here. Unfortunately, the software just isn’t good. In fact, it isn’t even “alright,” since Toshiba has put a bunch of...
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Engadget Reviews iPod Touch 4 →
Can’t wait to get this in a few weeks :)
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iPod Touch (4g) vs. iPod Touch (3g) Specs →
I’ve been looking for something like this, glad I found it.
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Casual Game Design: Designing Play for the Gamer... →
I’m currently reading this book to help refine existing game design skills, because nobody is above improvement. I may post a review once I finish it.
I’ve been making some good progress with the next game (teaser shown yesterday), and Biffy’s working on graphics for a future title she’ll be directing… It’s looking great so far.
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Dragon's Keep Lite Scratched... For Now
We have decided to put Dragon’s Keep Lite on hold for now (indefinitely) so I will resume development on our next title soon. It’s coming together very nicely thanks to the Corona SDK, but we’re still settling on a name.
I’ll be directing this title, and Biffy the next. We like to take turns directing games because it keeps our creativity and motivation at high levels.
Got the site finished today so that means the next project is Dragon’s Keep Lite version, which shouldn’t take too long. THEN, I’ll resume work on an unnamed title that will hopefully be announced soon.
As for tonight… It’s time to have some pizza, nachos, and drinks with my wife (Biffy) and some other family that’s coming over tonight :-)
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History of the GUI: Microsoft vs. Apple →
Very interesting. It dates back to way before my time, but I know clearly where I came in at. Lots of nostalgia in there.
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Blog Designs Completed
Biffy and I both finished our blog headers and got everything looking the way we want. Afterwards, I noticed just how well both of our blogs really reflect our individual roles within Beebe Games.
Biffy’s blog uses very rich colors and is very graphically pleasing; it perfectly reflects her role as the lead graphics artist on our team. My header graphic sort of resembles binary code...
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First Post
This is my new web-space, where I’ll post development notes, news, updates, and… whatever I want. Welcome!
