Apple Review Guidelines

http://stadium.weblogsinc.com

This link details Apple's review process, the system that all submitted Apps go through before being uploaded to the App Store for download.

Uploading an App to App Store

A link I stumbled across thats a really good guide to uploading your Apps to itunes, and how to get them through the review process without a hitch. I found it really helpful as a beginner.


www.adobe.com

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Apple

"The App Store provides a frictionless distribution network that levels the playing field for individual and large developers of mobile applications. We provide every developer with the same software that we use to create our own iPhone applications. The App Store offers an innovative business model that allows developers to set their own price and keep more (far more in most cases) of the revenue than traditional business models. In little more than a year, we have raised the bar for consumers’ rich mobile experience beyond what we or anyone else ever imagined in both scale and quality. Apple’s innovation has also fostered competition as other companies (e.g., Nokia, Microsoft, RIM, Palm and Verizon) seek to develop their own mobile platforms and launch their own application stores."

http://www.apple.com

This statement from Apple about the App store really highlights what its all about. For Apple it was a way of enriching their hardware experiences, however, at the same time they created a whole new market in the games industry, which for designers meant there was a fresh playing field. As well as this Apple allowed designers to use their own software for creating Apps meaning that the playing field was equal for new indies up to big development companies. For me this is a really important statement from Apple for a number of reasons, firstly it stirs me on to continue research into Apples entrance into the game market. As well as this, the statement also gives me hope for my own work. It makes me realise that I could become an indie developer and would have the same chance of being successful as any big company. Finally I want to also go on to look at the development tools for Apps that Apple offers and see if they would be of any use to me in developing  my demo.

I've constructed a list of all the things I need to design before I can move forward within the project, By doing this I will be able to set myself targets on my schedule so that the project stays on track. As well as this by making the list I can also begin to think about putting together the game design document and what images will be needed for it. Finally, I've also listed when I should seek peer interaction. I will do this through both comments on my blog and by getting people to annotate my designs. By doing this I will be able to improve my design and make it more user friendly.

Research so far

At this point I really think my research needs to split off into two separate areas. On a more contextual level, the first section will be continuing my research into the mobile game market alongside designing my own App. This research will then continue to evolve along side my App and begin to involve tutorials and detailing of my Apps progress allowing for peer interaction. The second area, on a more personal level will begin my research into the application of my work such as looking at life after uni and the possibility of becoming an indie developer. This research will then look into some of the indie success and continue to go on to look at companies that produce Apps and facebook games as their main products.

Online Game Market

http://www.theesa.com

This link is about the game industry in more general terms, it did have a few facts that interested me. Firstly 19% of the most frequent gamers pay to play online, and 13% of the games played most often were downloaded. This really shows how much the handheld and online game markets are expanding.

"Gaming is productive. It produces positive emotion, stronger social relationships, a sense of accomplishment, and for players who are a part of a game community, a chance to build a sense of purpose.” 

—Jane McGonigal, PhD, author of Reality is Broken: 

Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World 

Online Game Market

http://thegamebakers.com

This is a really interesting site. Created by a game designer who had just left Ubisoft to begin his own indie development career. He highlights on the fact that there isn't much information out there for new people coming into the industry and trying to start their own indie companies. The site also details the myths of Apples App store and the fact that its seen like a gold mine and a place to make quick money.


This site really interested me. I had begun to notice that there wasn't a lot of information to be found specifically on the indie game market and what you can expect to work in it. As a student hoping to one day work creating games that could well be sold on the App store it was shocking to see how few actually make good money from them. However, I also found it incredibly motivating and has given me a few tips not only on where I think my research should go but also the way it which I view my future.

Evolution of the Mobile Games Market

http://www.theesa.com

• 5.28 billion mobile phone contracts worldwide at the end of 2010, compared to 1 billion in 2002.

• 350 million, the estimated number of mobile phones that have offered the first mobile phone game, Snake, as a standard feature.

• 55% of gamers play games on their phone or handheld device.

• The estimated size of the wireless game market in 2015, according to PricewaterhouseCooper is $12.7 billion.

This link is a really good documentation of the history and evolution of the mobile games market highlighting key players such as Nokia for introducing Snake right up Apple for the App story. It also goes on to highlight the possibilities of the future of the mobile game market. Finding this information makes me want to continue this research into the mobile market but starting to focus on the App market and specifically Apples impact on it.

This inforgraphic really put into perspective how much the mobile market, in particular mobile internet, has grown over the recent years. As well as this it also highlights on how well the mobile game market is doing, stating that 61% of people use their mobile device for gaming. From these findings I am going to go on and look at the mobile app market focusing mainly on the App Store and Android Market. On a more personal level I want to also research into some of the big companies producing Apps as their main releases.

Summary of Facts

• Of the worlds 4 billion mobile phones in use, 1.08 billion are smart-phones and a massive 3.05 billion are SMS enabled.

• By 2014, mobile internet should take over desktop internet usage.

• 1/2 of all local searches are performed on mobile devices.

• Over a 1/3 of facebooks 600 million+ user base uses facebook mobile.

• What people use their mobile devices for; games 61% Maps / Search 50% Social Network 49% Music 42% News 36% Entertainment 32%

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Schedule For March

Having a Flexible and well organized schedule will allow me to keep on track and hit both my personal and professional targets. It will also help with the design process allowing me to work through my ideas and along side my blog and peer comments, allow me to critique and improve my work. Also by having a schedule I will be able to carefully plan my time in order to give myself time to learn new skills and watch tutorials.

Assessment Work

I intend to produce two main products. Firstly I will design an App and create an accompanying game design document. This will include all of the character design, environment design, enemies and asset design, menu design and level design artwork. By doing this the design process will allow me to focus my attention on the App industry and allow me to gain skills in Adobe illustrator that will be useful in industry and also help to focus on my specialization in 2D art focused on character design . As well as this, the design process will help me to meet the goals set out in my schedule.

Secondly I will also be creating a Demo of my App using Gamesalad. By doing this I will increase my industry skills as well as increase my knowledge of moving from the design process into the production process.

Finally, alongside this I will also be producing a PDP in Blog form, which will cover most of my contextual research into the App industry as well as research into publishing my App Demo. Also I plan to use my blog as a form of peer interaction, to get comments and feedback on my work.

Study Proposal

What I am proposing to do.

For BA6 – Project One, I plan to focus my study around the area of the mobile game market, focusing mainly on game Apps. Through this study and research I hope to go on to design an App, creating a games document to showcase the produced artwork and game design. I will then take this artwork to produce a demo of the game. To achieve this goal, I will also have to spend time learning to use a game engine such Gamesalad. Alongside this, on a more contextual level I would also like to do some research into publishing my App and compare this to industry.

Why I am proposing to do this.

There are a number of reasons why I propose this as my area of study. Firstly, I think that by designing a game and then taking it beyond the design process and actually beginning to make it will really help me hone my drawing skills as well as my artistic style. As well as this by taking the game into production I will increase my range of industry skills, as it will involve me learning whole new software’s, such as Gamesalad, as well as increasing my animation ability.

Another reason is that I think producing a game design document for an App that I had designed would look really good in my portfolio. This is why I also plan to do some contextual research into how to publish my App so that I could continue the project on and eventually publish alongside a later project.

Finally, I choose to focus my studies on the App market specifically as this is the area of the market that I would hope to work in as I think this is what my work would best suit. Also, on a more personal level I wanted to look at the App market and creating Apps as I have followed the markets evolution form the very beginning?

How I will achieve my goals.

I plan to achieve my goals through a number of different methods. Firstly, to keep the whole project on track I am going to create a schedule, setting deadlines for each section of work to be completed. As well as this, I will keep the schedule updated, changing it if I am ahead or behind schedule. Also I plan to achieve my goals by learning new software’s e.g. illustrator, Gamesalad. I plan to do this through the use of online tutorials and the help of my tutors, however I will need to make time for this in the schedule.