Next Steps Once You Have Your Killer App Idea

I have noticed on a few developer forums like this one that there are a decent amount of people who are looking for guidance as to how best execute their ideas. Most often these “idea people” are berated by the hardcore developers in the forums, written off as little more than a symptom of the iPhone app store hype. While no doubt there are a decent amount of Trism or iShoot wannabes who give the rest of us a bad name, I am writing this post for those of you who think you have something good and are actually serious about getting your product developed and following through. While I am still working on my 1st app, and have no idea how it will do in the App Store, I can tell you that I sat on my idea for a good 6 months so I have a pretty good idea of how hard it is to get started and what the pitfalls are.

Testing on the iPhone!

I have gotten the first couple of updates from the team and am now testing the application on my iPhone.  It is really cool to have it up and running so I can begin to see the project taking shape.  It feels like progress is slow until I get the new updates and then it looks like only a matter of weeks.  A few bugs with the movement and firing but all in all a great start!

Even with this basic buggy simplified version I find myself wanting to pick it up and play it.  Either I am obsessed with the idea or it does have some interesting game play already.  I have started to fiddle with the tank, turret and missile speeds amongst other variables and am hoping that upon testing I will just know the ideal setting for optimal game play once I see it.

Tips for Managing Outsourced Development

When I started working with the development team abroad, they suggested we use Basecamp to stay in synch.  I had heard of the company 37 Signals but had never used any of their products so I was really blown away once we got the project up an running.  The service includes a message board, shared task calendar, To Do List, a writeboard, and file sharing service and an easily to manage contacts list.

Basecamp screenshot

The team put all of our milestones into the system so now I can go to Basecamp, review the list of upcoming milestones and leave files and comments that I think are useful for the team.   Once you upload or insert a new comment you have the option of notifying specific group members which is great because it avoids spamming those people who are not relevant to the update.

I think this software is really a brilliant way to manage a geographically separated group of people where transparency can obviously be difficult and it is hard to get clarity around what each person is doing.  I seriously recommend Basecamp for anyone collaborating on not just software development, but anything that could require getting a group of people on to the same page.

Laying out the Levels

It’s 6am and I just spent the last 14 hours mocking up my 20 levels so that the developers can have a foundation on which to build the game.  I did the entire set of levels in Powerpoint, it was surprisingly easy I guess I got one decent skill out of Investment Banking (still wasn’t worth it).  For anyone who has never cared to or ever tried to lay out a game, even a simple one like mine, let me tell you it is pretty impossible to have any sort of intuition around what will play well.

Level mock-ups

Of course you have to consider user habits, the quality of the enemy AI and so on, and even knowing that and expecting future revisions it is still frustrating how much of a shot in the dark it all is

The question I grappled with most was how will the accelerometer steering affect game play…impossible to really know until we start fiddling with different filters to find the right blend of speed and control.  I definitely want to avoid making a Labyrinth style experience, where the low friction coefficient makes steering so difficult.  Another thing I didn’t really appreciate beforehand was how little real estate an iPhone screen actually has -  you do have to be efficient in your design when it comes to games.

Taking Care of the Legal Stuff – 10 Things to Look Out For

If you are considering outsourcing some or all of your project then you should definitely think about having a Non Disclosure Agreement signed by everyone that will see your specifications or idea.   You can find some decent NDAs on Docstoc and then simply put your name or Company name in the document or have a lawyer help adapt it for your needs.  Especially with outsourcing the project abroad, it is just too difficult to know whether you can trust all of the developers you will speak with.  While I am sure most NDAs won’t hold up internationally anyways, even the fact that someone is willing to go through the trouble of printing, signing, and scanning says something in my mind.

Once you have a signed NDA and you have sent out your specs and chosen someone to your liking the next step is drafting a contract.  What worked well for me was to create a contract between the developer and myself outlining, via milestones and detailed specs, what was going to be done at each stage.  While it takes a lot more up front work on your end to know exactly what you are looking for, it pays off in the end by having everything out on the table for everyone involved.

Things to consider in terms of a contract with a developer for an iPhone application:

Contract Signed!

Although I had already done quite a bit of work with the guys, it did take us a few days to finalize the contract with all of the milestones and specs completely hashed out.  It was making me anxious because I just wanted to get cranking on the project, but I knew it was worth it to predefine as much as possible so both sides expectations would be met.  Thankfully the team shared my desire to clearly layout the terms of our contract and begin working in the meantime so there wasn’t any issue there.  All in all I am happy with the terms and feel confident in the team’s ability to execute on my vision.  I finally feel that the project is underway and can’t wait to start seeing progress soon.  The first milestone is a week away so pretty excited to see the application begin to take shape.

If you want some tips on the contract details and other legal stuff see the Taking Care of the Legal Stuff entry.

Choosing a Developer: How to Get it Right the 1st Time!

I started by posting a local (Philadelphia) advertisement to Craigslist and also by going to oDesk and posting an advertisement looking for an iPhone developer.  My ad on Craigslist was straightforward and I offered both a salary while in development but also a portion of the returns.  I got some good feedback and received inquiries from individuals, local iPhone development companies but also many international development firms.  Initially I was interested in finding something more like a partner with technical skills to work with and share the return. This quickly proved to not be an option.

I still don’t think it is a bad deal to offer a developer: 1) an application idea, 2) a salary, 3) a flexible schedule, and 4) a portion of the returns.  I wasn’t able to find anyone experienced, however, with enough interest to really dive in to the project.  While I am sure this is a symptom of the high demand for iPhone developers and my lack of being able to find / convince anyone locally (I only posted on Craigslist so wasn’t exactly scouring the city), it was still surprising how few serious inquiries I received.  Let me just add, as someone who is learning the iPhone SDK, I was amazed at how little most developers who reached out to me knew about developing with the iPhone SDK.

Why Outsourced iPhone App Development?

When I decided to create my application idea by going with international development it took me quite some time to figure out the best way to do it.  I’m pretty resourceful at finding what I need on the web so when I couldn’t find any advice on the topic I decided to document my process for others thinking about outsourced development.

Being new to programming and having just started to learn the iPhone SDK I felt time pressure to get my app idea out to market before someone else beat me to the punch.  I thought about the trade off between time, money and certainty of getting a launchable product and decided that I should invest the money necessary to get a working version into the App Store as quickly as possible.  That way I could also put more time on designing the game as well as the marketing.