Out of my head

K loves music in the car. The confusing thing is that he makes up names for all the songs he likes, but I dont know which name goes to which song. For example, he will demand to hear "mommys song" when in fact, I had no idea I have my own song!! Apparently, "mommys song" is actually M.I.A.s "Galang", which is a pretty fun song from the Live at KEXP Volume 2 CD - if I werent driving, I would dance too! Anyways, I need to make notes on these things, really!
This video was taken a few months ago when J was driving, and Kades song of the day, "out of my head," (Tegan and Saras "Back in Your Head") played on repeat at least 5 times, but the cuteness was worth it!

Available link for download

Our First Game Is Out For the iPad Hooray!

Last week, Avadon: The Black Fortress HD for the iPad went live in the iTunes App Store. The reaction to it so far has left us stunned. Literally. Like, jaws dropped, walking around in a daze.

The genesis of the iPad version was a few months ago, when I said, "Hmmm. I have a few weeks free on my schedule. I think Ill port Avadon to the iPad. Thatll be good for a laugh!" Ive long known that there was a demand on the device for old school gaming, free of ads, in-game purchases, cute animals, zombies, and farming.

But, it turns out, the demand was far greater than Id ever guessed. My fan mail since the release has been very instructive. Gamers werent just disappointed by the lack of deeper games on the device. They were downright irked.

But that is the Magic Power of the Indie developer. Find an underserved market and serve it.

Writing and releasing my first device for iOS has been very instructive. In case anyone is interested, heres a few comments on Spiderweb Softwares first game for portables.

Learning To Code For a New Platform.

Apple has done an amazing job of making developing for iPhones and iPads accessible. The sets of commands to program the device (i.e. the API, called Cocoa) are very clear and not too trying to learn. The development environment, XCode, is free. There are several good, free game engines for the devices. (I used a heavily modified version of the open source engine iPTK.)

There are also excellent books available on the topic. I leaned most heavily on Beginning iPhone 4 Development. I found iPad Application Development For Dummies to be unusually poor for a Dummies book, but its chapter on Provisioning (a tricky, vital, and neglected topic) is easily worth the cost of the book.

A Decent Port. But Just Decent.

Avadon originally came out for Windows and Mac. I was really determined not to half-ass the port to the iPad. I put a lot of thought into how to best adapt an old school, Western-style RPG to a touch screen. Its not something people have spent a lot of time doing. I think I came up with good answers to a lot of the questions, and the game overall plays really well.

However, there are a number of places where the UI could be better. This isnt because I was lazy or wanted to dump shoddy work on the market, but simply because this was my first iOS application. So have mercy. Our next game for the iPad (out, lets say, next April) will be better. Itll take some doing to modify the engine, but itll get done.

Avadon HD is also a fairly demanding app. All of those icons eat up RAM, and the first generation iPad doesnt have a lot. Its playable, but it will be pokey from time to time. It runs great on the iPad 2, but I dont take a lot of satisfaction in that. The inconsistent performance on the iPad 1 is, simply, a failing on my part.

The Apple Approval Process.

Took a week to get my app approved. No rejections. No hassles. No complaints.

The Eternal Pain of Pricing.

It hasnt all been love and group hugs. Some of my fans have been seriously furious that we sell Avadon for Mac and Windows for $25 and the iPad version is $10. Like, "I will never be your customer again. Die in a fire." furious. I dont normally explain my decisions about pricing, but this merits a few words.

The same game is almost always priced differently on different devices. If you look at the prices charged for, say, Peggle, Plants vs. Zombies, or Angry Birds on different platforms, youll find a huge variety. Angry Birds on the iPhone? One dollar. On the Macintosh? Five dollars. Thats a five times difference!

There are a variety of reasons, all of them out of my control, for why I feel it is appropriate to charge less for the iPad version:

1. It has fewer features, due to the limitations of the device. Most notably, it is stuck at 1024x768 resolution and there are no keyboard shortcuts.
2. Since it is being sold by Apple, it is subject to the rules of their system. Most notably, there is DRM, and we cant give refunds through iTunes. Games bought directly from Spiderweb have no DRM and a Money Back Guarantee.
3. When you buy Mac/PC Avadon from us, you get a registration key that can be used to unlock an unlimited number of copies, over both Mac and Windows. A registration over iTunes isnt quite so liberal.
4. There is no ability to mod the game. This matters to more people than you might think.

But the main reason Avadon HD is $10 is, to be honest, that is the only possible price. Any more expensive, and it will cost way too much for an app. Any cheaper, and were charging too little for what is still an old school niche product with a limited audience. If you try to look at it from our perspective, I think you will see that we didnt have a lot of options here.

One More Disappointment.

We are going to release all of our new games on the iPad. No question.

However, we currently have no plans to write games for the iPhone. After long thought, I came to realize that we just cant figure out how to write the sort of in-depth games we like to do on that screen size. Again, this is a failing on our part. Im sure some intrepid developer will find a way to make it work. (Hear that, young Indies? That is the siren song of a market for you, all wrapped up with a big, red bow.)

Also, since most Android devices dont have a screen big enough to support our games, we are very unsure how soon well be supporting that platform. We are in wait-and-see mode.

Thank You.

And finally, many thanks to everyone who reads this who has supported our games. At the end of the day, Im just a guy in a basement trying to earn a living and feed the kids. I am grateful for every sale. Plus, they make it possible for me to write more games. Lord knows, by this point, Im too old and cranky to learn how to do real work.

Soon, we will release the first screenshots and information for Avernum: Escape From the Pit. For Windows and Macintosh. And the iPad!

Available link for download

OUT WITH A BANG

My last day/outfit for coachella, I do apologise for this one being a little delayed on the blog. This was probably my favourite look, just because I dont tend to wear much colour in the UK but because it was such a fun festival and the last day I just thought, Sod it!
I adore this swimsuit from Topshop, It looks like a body and you can easily get away with wearing it as one. I was so comfortable in it all day too, The pattern is just to die for!
Sammi x

Available link for download

Out of Print But Still Fighting

I had a picture book published in 2006 which is now out of print and the rights have been returned to me. Is it okay to submit this to other publishers, and if yes, then when is it okay to do this? And if I can submit this do I mention its previous publication? Thanks for your help.

Yes, you mention its previous publication. The editor will find out anyway when she does her acquisition research, and she will be pissed if youve failed to tell her this yourself.

Heres the thing about books that have gone out of print: most of them are out of print for a very, very good reason. It may be a painful reason, and it may be a reason that makes no sense to you, but it is still a GOOD reason: NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE WERE WILLING TO BUY IT.

If this is the reason that your book is out of print, then no publisher is going to bring it back into print within a couple of decades of its original publication. If this is not the reason your book is out of print, then be very clear in your submission to other publishers about what you think the real reason is. Be clear, and be convincing, because youre fighting a counter argument from the market, and publishers listen to the market.

Available link for download

Out of Town for a Few

Glam Gals, I have to do a quickie trip to D.C., so no posts for a few days — Blogger is a bear to update via iPhone and I dont wanna lug my laptop. Until next week!

xoxo, GG

Available link for download