extremepreneur

The Shawshank Redemption and Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T12:39:55-07:00

There are going to be 1000's of blog stories about Steve Jobs because there was so much to the man. He changed the world and in my case, made my career possible. From my first published game on the Apple II in 1980 to my current work on the iPhone.

But personally there's something in Mr. Jobs' life that has always resonated with me so very strongly.

Steve Jobs left Apple Computer in 1985. In fact he was fired from Apple. Here's what he had to say about that:

“I feel like somebody just punched me in the stomach and knocked all my wind out. I’m only 30 years old and I want to have a chance to continue creating things. I know I’ve got at least one more great computer in me. And Apple is not going to give me a chance to do that.” – Playboy, 1987

If you have ever felt wrongly judged, this has to resonate with you. Perhaps it was a company where you thought you were doing great work and were fired unjustly. Maybe it was a spouse who just lost faith in you. Or maybe you were wrongly accused of something you didn't do.

In "The Shawshank Redemption" Andy Dufresne is a young and successful banker who is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and her lover, a crime he did not do.

This is one of my favorite films. Why? Because in the end the good guys win. In fact I can't think of a single film with a more satisfying conclusion than Shawshank.

When things were especially difficult in my life, when it seemed the tables had turned against me, this quote always centered me:

"Get busy living, or get busy dying." - Andy Dufresne

That's what Steve did after he was kicked out of Apple, the company he had co-founded. He got busy living. First with NeXT Computer, which while not a huge business success, did change the world of computing ... the very World Wide Web you are reading this on was created by Tim Berners-Lee on a NeXT Computer in 1991. Then he went onto Pixar where the first fully 3D rendered feature film success, A Toy Story, was created.

But nothing, not in any film or novel, compares to the "I told you so" triumph of Jobs' return to Apple in 1997.

Apple was truly on the ropes in 1997. At the time Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Computers had this to say about Apple:

"What would I do?" Mr. Dell said to an audience of several thousand information technology managers. "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."

What happened next has been well documented. The iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad were wild successes. Jobs didn't just win product categories, he created entirely NEW product categories. Was there even any sort of tablet market before the iPad?

For me, a lifelong video game guy, the iPhone app store created the first 'meritocracy' for games ... a place where anyone could come up with the next cool app, and get rewarded for it.

So when I think of Steve, I think of how he proved everyone who wrote him off wrong. It has motivated me during the last decade to make great things happen.

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.” - Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Address

Thank you Mr. Jobs

MacWorld - Back To The Future!

2011-01-21T11:41:42-08:00

In 1985, Doc Brown invented time travel and the first MacWorld Expo was held in San Francisco.

I attended the show as a co-founder of Aegis Development, where we previewed the game "The Pyramid of Peril"

You can see it at the show at 36 seconds into this clip:

Good times indeed.

Twenty Six years later and I'm back with a new game, this time created by the team at PlayScreen, PlayScreen BOCCE-BALL:

I think iPhone games are exciting now, as those original Mac games 26 years ago.

Stop by at MacWorld from January 27th to the 30th and play a frame or two.

Go to MacWorld, Play Bocce with a Pretty Lady, Win Stuff

2011-01-20T16:21:54-08:00

This FREE game will be out in a few days. If you like "Paper Toss" or 'SKEE-BALL' ... you'll love PlayScreen BOCCE BALL.

PlayStation Phone is not a PSP - Why?

2010-10-27T08:05:43-07:00

Here's a story about a new "PlayStation Phone":

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Various/PlayStation+Phone+revealed/news.asp?c=0000024612

The PlayStation Phone, or PSPhone as I’ll call it, comes with Android as its OS – probably Gingerbread, although this wasn’t working very well on the prototype - a 1Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8655 CPU, half a gig of RAM, 1GB of ROM and a slide out physical ‘play area’.

So it doesn't appear to have a PSP display or run PSP Software.

Wow, can they really be that clueless?

Apple Rope-a-Dope's Adobe Flash

2010-09-09T15:11:59-07:00

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rope-a-dope

The rope-a-dope is performed by a boxer assuming a protected stance, in Ali's classic pose, lying against the ropes, and allowing his opponent to hit him, toward the end that the opponent will tire and make mistakes which the boxer can exploit in a counter-attack.

In competitive situations other than boxing, rope-a-dope is used to describe strategies in which one party purposely puts itself in what appears to be a losing position, attempting thereby to become the eventual victor.

So today Apple announced that you'll be able to use alternative tools to create iPhone/iPad/iPod touch apps:

"... In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need."

But here's the thing, that's NOT Flash running as a plug-in in Safari. That's an Adobe tool that converts Flash applications into Native iOS applications which are submitted into the iTunes App Store, which Adobe has shown in the past.

With all the review processes and controls etc...

And at the same time Apple clarifies its rules on approvals. No 'junk' apps. Apps have to use iOS controls.

Very clever.

There's an App for That ... Casino?

2010-06-03T14:46:25-07:00

First, some background on us. We've been building iPhone apps since the day the iPhone shipped (July 2nd, 2007) initially with web apps and then with native apps (20 in the store), including some of the most popular "Play for Fun" casino apps.

We've been watching some casinos release iPhone apps. Typically these free branded promotional apps consist of a "Play for Fun" game, usually slots, and some information about the Casino.

So here's what we are seeing. These casino apps have, to be frank, sub-par games. 3 wheel slots with so-so graphics as an example (and I'm being kind). Although we can't give exact figures, using available metrics we estimate downloads of a few 100 or even smaller numbers of these apps (we expect some may not even have 100 downloads).

OK, so for existing casino customers these apps may be useful to keep track of events, and sure ... some users are going to download them because they are free apps and maybe they want to find out about the casino.

BUT what a lost opportunity. Good (play for fun) casino games generate thousands of downloads, even at $5 a pop. Imagine what a free promotional app with one, two, or even three top notch "Play for Fun" games could do.

According to Pinch Media’s research, the average number of downloads for a paid app is 9,300, compared to about 71,000 for the average free application. So the poor performance of these Casino Promotional apps is a lost opportunity.

A quality promotional app could serve existing customers, with relevant casino information and promotions but more importantly bring new players into the casino. How much is a new player worth? How much are a 1000 new players worth?

In the app game you have to play to win or you might as well forget the idea and save your money.

As to the casinos who have released these promotional apps? I feel your pain.

2010-05-26T11:19:34-07:00

So, MTV is launching a new casual game to promote a TV series:

http://mashable.com/2010/05/25/mtv-game-promotes-tv-show/

"MTV is using a novel approach to generate buzz for their upcoming new television series The Hard Times of RJ Berger: the company is launching a casual game that will tie into the show via episodic content."

Very nice.

But here's my disconnect. Why aren't they launching this as a Facebook app? That sounds like a no-brainer with friend invites and the feeds.

I don't get it.

Gameloft: The Reaction Time of a Two Toed Sloth?

2009-11-21T12:06:20-08:00

So Gameloft decides to abandon Android:

Gameloft to cut back on Android development

Gameloft's finance director Alexandre de Rochefort states that the problem is that “[the Android's application store] is not as neatly done as on the iPhone,” resulting in a market that doesn't encourage Android customers to buy applications for their phone. Rochefort further goes on to explain that “on Android, nobody is making significant revenue” because Google hasn't done a very good job of promoting software on the Android....

iPhone games alone have made for a very generous 13 percent of Gameloft's revenue in the last quarter. By comparison, Android games only make for about 0.0325 percent of that revenue

Gee, it took them this long to figure that out?

Mountain View, We Have A Problem ... Google's Android Phone Disappoints Developers.
(April 22nd, 2009)

... So what's the problem? Simply this. To buy an application for your Android phone, you have to opt into Google Checkout. Most users have not done this. Apple uses iTunes to bill consumers for iPhone apps, and 93% of iPhone users have purchased an application. iTunes is widely accepted.

Anyway GREAT TIMING THERE folks. Because now it gets interesting:

1. Google is adding "bill to your phone's charges":

T-Mobile Confirms Carrier Billing for Android Market"
(I'm pretty sure Verizon will follow suit).

2. The MOTO DROID is a really REALLY nice phone.

FCC, All Your Apps Are Belong To Us

2009-09-21T14:32:59-07:00

From: telecom TV

Genachowski has reaffirmed the long-standing (since 2005) broadband principles that will now be formalised by the FCC.

* That consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice.

* That they are also entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement.

* That they are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network.

* And that they are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers.

Genachowski has added two extra principles. Internet access providers can't discriminate against particular Internet content or applications: and they must ensure that Internet access providers are transparent about the network management practises they implement.

By Request: In Praise of Paper

2009-08-28T16:26:36-07:00

NOTE: This article originally appeared in Interactivity Magazine, June 1998. I am posting it in honor of http://www.mobilesketchbook.com ... a very useful tool for iPhone designers.

In Praise of Paper - William Volk

Let me tell you a little secret. The best way to build a great "high tech" interactive title is to start with paper. I know it sounds "retro", but in designing for a visual medium paper works best. A room filled with your creative, technical, and yes ... marketing types ... with at least one person who can draw blazingly fast ... is the best way to come up with great designs.

It doesn't matter if it's a video game, educational title, or corporate presentation. The ability to view what the thing is going to look like, right then and there, can make the difference between success and failure. Rapid visualization allows you to explore the possibilities, come to consensus, and most importantly have a actual clue as to what the product is going to look like. All the verbiage and flow diagrams in the world can't take the place of a talented artist's quick sketch at what you're talking about.

At this recent Interactivity Roundtable, I bought this concept up for discussion. Unfortunately it degraded into a debate on why a computer based input system can’t be as good as paper. I suppose I could have called this article “In Praise of Ultra High Resolution Flat Panel Displays Mounted Horizontally with Pressure Sensitive Drawing Surfaces”, as this advanced technology is slowly becoming available (Disney is rumored to be using it as a replacement for traditional paper and pencil animation stands). However for most of us the computer display and drawing technology (monitors and mouse) isn’t as immediate as paper or a white board. I’ll concede that the “paper-less office” is a possibility, as I suppose the “paper-less bathroom” is also a possibility …. but for most of us … I doubt it.

The main point is that rapid (within seconds) visualization of design concepts is a necessary first step in creating great designs. I also think the nature of the initial design meeting needs to be open and inclusive. Having representatives from all areas of product development from the “get-go” allows for a consensus on what the title will look like. All ideas in this “creative room” need to be considered. There will be plenty of time to whittle the design down to the practical and producible.

Drawing can and should play a role as the design is refined. To start with the drawing serves to center discussion on what a particular section or game will look like. In educational software (see dCamera) there is often a question of the fit of the on-screen elements. Text must be readable and the images should be identifiable. Drawing is a fast and inexpensive way to look at several possibilities and to arrive at the ever important design consensus.

I view the process of starting off with a general concept and a few sketches and finishing with a complete description of the title in a design document/database as “turning the wheel.” You review ever smaller sections of the title in ever greater detail, refining at every turn. Drawings eliminate much of the “how did we end up with this?” nonsense that can lead to re-work and blown budgets. In the example (dCharge) notations are made about the use of the screen and the placement of text and numbers.

I’m not against the use of computer based tools. In fact I believe that the final design should be reflected in a production database. This can be a relational database that contains the description of all production elements and their use in the product. I think the next step will be to have this information available to the entire development team in the from of a browser accessible intra-net database. Programmers, managers, artists, and testers should be able to access a common design “document” that details the operation of the title.

Just as drawings representing the appearance of the title enable the visualization of the various “interactive scenes”, other styles of drawings can be used to convey operation of a title. Flow diagrams can be used to link the earlier sketches into a diagram of how a user will navigate the title (see dPKMain). Action can be represented in a series of drawings, otherwise known as a storyboard.

One justification for this visual emphasis is the mere fact that part of the audience for a design document are “visual learners.” It may be a generalization to say that the programmers tend to be more comfortable with written descriptions than your art staff, but it’s not far off the mark. I learned this by trial and error. At Lightspan we started with a very detailed text document that described our titles in detail. What we found was that we needed the text description … and we also needed visualization.

Having reams of written description of the title and it’s production elements was not sufficient to insure production of a design in a timely and accurate manner. The visualizations of the scenes and of the flow of action provided the “forest” that helped to provide a context to the “trees” of the individual production elements. You can see how the final game screens (Charge and Camera) reflect the design intent.

This may all sound obvious, but it easy to get caught up in the world of “high technology” and forget just how natural the processes of drawing on paper and design can work together. Find some who can quickly come up with rough visualizations (the best do it in mere seconds) and your design meetings will have a focus that mere words cannot provide.