Photics.com

Wow, what speed. For about two years, the “Course Correction” project sat on the back-burner. But in a little over two weeks since I started using GameSalad, my game is on the App store. I’m impressed with the quality of this App. This is one of my best projects ever. The game has good graphics, great sound and the presentation is professional. Apple seems to have picked up their game too. I submitted my App on Friday. By Monday my game was available for sale. For only 99¢  you can download this game to your iPhone or iPod Touch. If you don’t have an iPhone or iPod Touch, a browser version should be available in the future. This is the start of a new era for this website and I’m really excited about it!

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Despite the grumpy feelings, I decided to give iPhone development another go. So far, I’m pleased that I did. While converting my Photics Forums app to the iPhone / iPod Touch, I learned some new tricks. For the longest time, I was struggling with getting my iPhone apps to match my Android apps. I was having problems with Reachability and Landscape mode. With the completion of my new app, that’s no longer an issue. While waiting for my app to be approved, I have some time for reflection on my progress.

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Ahh… my article starts out with a hedge… a single word that could negate the value of this tutorial… theory! Apple has built a walled garden. It is their happy little nirvana, filled with thousands of apps and billions of downloads. Your apps are invited to this party, if you can get past the checklist. If you have an online app, there is one pesky requirement that could instantly thwart your dreams – reachability. Your app needs to test for Internet connectivity. If it doesn’t, it risks rejection!

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Some of you might be wondering, “Hey Mike… where have you been? Where are the site updates?” My mind has been elsewhere, trapped in the iPhone SDK. A lot has happened during the last two weeks. After a decade of being grumpy with Apple, I bought a Mac. It was required for developing iPhone apps. After my success with Android, I decided to try iPhone development. Yet, owning a Mac was far from the most difficult requirement.

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I had read the legends of what it was like to develop for Apple’s iPhone / iPod touch. The word is that Apple’s program can be quite lucrative, but also quite strict. I wasn’t even in the program yet, but I already learning about how ridged the rules could be. I suppose it’s my fault. I did make the harder choice. I had the easy option of releasing programs as “Michael Garofalo” but I wanted “Photics” to be my developer name. Building a brand, especially with Apple, requires extra effort.

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