Finally, I can update my blog! The reason I've been away was I was busy finishing off a brand new game called Fox Vs Duck! So far, the only thing revealed about it is a teaser trailer (see it here www.FoxVsDuck.com), although the game is now in submission at Apple so it will be revealed pretty soon what its all about. Currently also moshing a gameplay video together to show how to play it!
So one of the fun things we're messing around with is actually using ChatRoulette to "subversively" advertise the game with a silly video. I just wanted to try it for no reason except that it amuses me ^__^ hee! For those who don't know what ChatRoulette is, it isn't a gambling device with cats invented by the French (as cool as that may sound), but is in fact a video chat program on the web, which randomly pairs you up with people who also happen to be on at the same time as you. It is also well known how to feed a fake video into your webcam (using ManyCam on the Mac for example) so using this bit of knowledege, I decided to ask Artist Dave to make this video of a fox:
On top of that, Artist Dave then went on to write an automated script to type things into the text box - so it "chats" to random people about Foxes and Ducks. We then left this on and let it do its evil work!
I don't really think this is anything serious but it was fairly amusing to read some of the responses :D
So GDC is next week, I will be loitering around the entrance - better get some American Dollars...
Sunday 28 February 2010
Wednesday 3 February 2010
Listen To Me Wang On About The iPad!
Hi. So the iPad is out. Now that I have read everyone else's opinion I can now attempt to offer mine long after anyone has stopped caring. But I tell THE TRUTH and obviously my opinion is far more insightful than anyone elses (ahem).
I'm going to try and approach this in a backward approach and try and understand what the iPad is built for and what the audience is, before seeing if that means anything for what I personally do on the device.
I like the iPad. It's a "thing" that I would consider buying for my mum and dad. They are old people, and particularly my dad, are not very tech-savvy at all. They barely understand email and they definitely do not understand multi-tasking - that's right, they do not understand "more than one thing happening" on an electronic device, and even after you show and explain it to them, they will still not get it. But why will I buy it for them? What is this thing that I would recommend to people like mum and dad? The iPad is a device attacking the eBook market. Mum and Dad enjoy reading and watching movies. Everything else is a nice extra.
Apple are not creating a new market here - that would be an extraordinary move. It's one of the hardest things to do - to create a new market and convince people to buy something completely new. Much like the iPod is a very nice MP3 player, the iPhone is a very nice Cell Phone and the MacBook Air is a very nice laptop, the iPad is basically a very nice eBook. Taking the examples of the iPod, iPhone and the MacBook - they are high end, user friendly products in (at the time) quickly establishing markets with extremely steep trends for sales. Right now, if you look at Kindle, I've read somewhere (a business news site I can't remember) that basically the first and second year sales figures are beating first and second year sales for iPod. This is a *rapidly* growing market - or at least it appears to be, and it's one I think Apple would like to dominate in.
What does this mean then? This piece of information guides me in one concrete area - I know what the mindset and the type of the majority of people who would buy this thing. I also know how they will most likely use it. I can also form my own model of how to answer the often thrown about criticisms of it as "it's not that portable" and "it's not as powerful as a netbook" etc. It is AS PORTABLE as an eBook, and it is AS USEFUL as an eBook. And *that* is how the device will be used around the home, and when moving - such as being taken out in trains to read or on holiday lying on the beach. It will also guide me in what to expect of market size too. I think it will be very interesting tracking the iPad against Kindle and Sony's efforts.
Do you think I'm a complete crazy? Shove a comment and tell me what you think. And buy MiniSquadron - its an IGF Mobile Finalist baby so I actually have a *reason* to be at GDC now other than just loitering near the entrance as I was planning to do :oD
I'm going to try and approach this in a backward approach and try and understand what the iPad is built for and what the audience is, before seeing if that means anything for what I personally do on the device.
I like the iPad. It's a "thing" that I would consider buying for my mum and dad. They are old people, and particularly my dad, are not very tech-savvy at all. They barely understand email and they definitely do not understand multi-tasking - that's right, they do not understand "more than one thing happening" on an electronic device, and even after you show and explain it to them, they will still not get it. But why will I buy it for them? What is this thing that I would recommend to people like mum and dad? The iPad is a device attacking the eBook market. Mum and Dad enjoy reading and watching movies. Everything else is a nice extra.
Apple are not creating a new market here - that would be an extraordinary move. It's one of the hardest things to do - to create a new market and convince people to buy something completely new. Much like the iPod is a very nice MP3 player, the iPhone is a very nice Cell Phone and the MacBook Air is a very nice laptop, the iPad is basically a very nice eBook. Taking the examples of the iPod, iPhone and the MacBook - they are high end, user friendly products in (at the time) quickly establishing markets with extremely steep trends for sales. Right now, if you look at Kindle, I've read somewhere (a business news site I can't remember) that basically the first and second year sales figures are beating first and second year sales for iPod. This is a *rapidly* growing market - or at least it appears to be, and it's one I think Apple would like to dominate in.
What does this mean then? This piece of information guides me in one concrete area - I know what the mindset and the type of the majority of people who would buy this thing. I also know how they will most likely use it. I can also form my own model of how to answer the often thrown about criticisms of it as "it's not that portable" and "it's not as powerful as a netbook" etc. It is AS PORTABLE as an eBook, and it is AS USEFUL as an eBook. And *that* is how the device will be used around the home, and when moving - such as being taken out in trains to read or on holiday lying on the beach. It will also guide me in what to expect of market size too. I think it will be very interesting tracking the iPad against Kindle and Sony's efforts.
Do you think I'm a complete crazy? Shove a comment and tell me what you think. And buy MiniSquadron - its an IGF Mobile Finalist baby so I actually have a *reason* to be at GDC now other than just loitering near the entrance as I was planning to do :oD
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