Waiting for iTGB

#1 Hi Ken, nice idea for a thread. Nice to meet you!

I'm fairly new to game development. My background is in video production and I currently run a small video production company in Denver (small meaning it's usually a one-man show with occasional hired crew). Most of my work is in corporate training, so it involves everything from shooting to editing to animation to DVD menu design.

On the creative side, I recently wrote and directed my first low budget film, WestAcre, which we distributed online as 29 "webisodes" as an experiment in indie distribution. We have a couple of other scripts in the outline stage and are looking at how can use our first effort to raise money for the next one. http://www.westacre.tv/WestAcreSeries1.html

I originally became interested in game development as a way to market an indie film - put out a free game with compelling gameplay to drive interest.

I built my first games demos with Unity, and enjoyed it so much I began thinking beyond simple marketing to the idea of making games for the sake of making games (what a concept!... I know).

My real world coding background is slim, basic php stuff, so I read as much as I could about various coding languages until I reached the point where things started to gel (I still have a lot to learn though). Right about that time Unity announced their iPhone license and I realized (like everyone else) that the App Store offers unprecedented opportunity for indie developers to compete alongside the majors. I figured if I was going to make games I'd be crazy not to make them for the iPhone.

Two problems though. Unity didn't have a projection date for the actual iPhone license, and building any kind of 2D game in Unity's 3D engine requires more trouble than it's worth (IMHO).

That's when I found TGB, which is 2D native and seems better for casual style game creation. Plus, GG actually had an iPhone announcement date on the horizon.

I used the demo for about a week, and as soon as the iPhone pricing was announced I bought TGB Pro and pre-ordered iTorque. I've paid the $99 to Apple and am now polishing up artwork and game assets until iTorque rolls next week.


Patrick

#2 Hey, I am an indie...one man show on the programming front, with a business partner and some people we call on for art and music.

My professional history is all in the IT field and the supply industry. All the experience has programming at its core. I also drive requirements gathering on an Air Force logistics software project now. I have most of my professional experience in Java and even much personal 2D game framework using it as well. Although, my first game was written in '94 and was written in C using Borland BGI for graphics.

I have a kick for physics-based games, but seeing as how T2D does not have a decent rigid-body response, I am using TGB (an iTGB when I can download it....less than a week now!) to create casual games that hopefully beat the competition I see on the App Store now.

I have not released a title anywhere. :( That will soon change! You know, I have all these different projects floating around, but nothing absolutely final. It is tough to do and I respect anyone who has delivered, no matter how the game is.

@Patrick Please tell me what you mean by "I've paid the $99 to Apple". I must have missed some fine print. I see that Ken mentioned something to that effect also. What am I doing over here!? ;-) To your best knowledge, is that $99 required for developers who will strictly use iTGB?

Thank you. Nice to see some people in this 'hood.

#3 Hi Shaun!

The $99 is an annual fee for all iPhone devs. It's required by Apple test your App on an actual iPhone and submit it to the store.

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/

At first they received 25,000 applications and only approved around 4,000 (if I remember correctly) for the initial App Store opening. Soon after they opened the floodgates and I believe approval is now automatic.

#4 Hi Patrick and Shaun,

Great to hear what other people are up to.

Patrick, I checked out your web series but didn't get a chance to watch anything. It looks pretty ambitious!

I'm also interested in physics based games. I wrote a Crayon Phyics like demo using the Popcap framework and found it pretty enjoyable just to sketch objects. While TGB may not have the most advanced physics engine, I intend to use the tool at what it's best at so that I can get something running quickly.

I'm totally new to the Apple world so I'm sure I have a lot to learn. I, at least, bought a 2nd generation iPod touch to get a feel for the other applications. I'm learning TGB on the PC until I buy my Mac laptop (Oct 14th hopefully!).

The appStore is just phenomenally easy to use. At the moment, there are just under 1000 games so it looks like it's hard to get any attention. It looks like some vendors use the free version to try and drive traffic to the paid versions. Not a bad idea but I'd love to see actual numbers on conversions. I won't hold my breath. People don't share those sorts of numbers.

I did notice that prices are falling on some of established titles in order to compete with the really low cost games. For example, Crash Bandicoot Racing went from 9.99 to 5 something to compete with Cromag racing. I wonder if this will eventually force the price down on everything.

One thing I don't like on the appStore is it looks like even people that haven't purchased a title can leave a feedback comment. That opens vendors up to some pretty juvenile remarks in applications listing.

Shaun, I'm in the Java world also in my day job. I worked for VISA for 6 1/2 years and now I work for a financial services company in Maine.

#5 Hi
can u guys help
im trying to set up itge
but cant

#6 @Kenneth I am new to Apple as well. I never really wanted to be a part of it frankly. I am with Apple for the iPhone. GarageGames, on the other hand....I have like them since I saw them first a few years back. I plan on picking up a used Macbook Pro for a damn good deal just after the time you get your new one....tech refresh! Although, how anal Apple is, I wonder if I re-install using the Leopard install disk, will I be able to register it in my name and have Apple recognize me as a legitimate owner of a Mac. I am concerned about breaking some EULA.

@Patrick I see. More $$$ to fork out. Not too bad. It should pay for itself.

#7 Nicholas

Start a new thread and describe what the problem is.

#8 Shaun,

Good plan! I'm sure there will be some great deals once the new stuff is announced.