8 elements to a successful game android 4.2 - App Developer ...

8 ELEMENTS TO A SUCCESSFUL GAME 

APP DEVELOPERS 

IN 2013, THE BIG 

THREE, AND 

SAFTEY BELTS 

ANDROID 4.2 

JELLY BEAN SDK 

AVAILABLE 

JUST PEACHY: PEACH 

PELLEN’S MUSINGS 

ON WINDOWS 8 DEV 

DEV INTERVIEW: 

ABOUT GLITCH 

GAMES 

$5.95 

OUTSIDE US 

$15.95 

A Sneak Peak 

WINDOWS PHONE STORE 

IS GROWING, ADDS 42 

NEW MARKETS 

iOS 6.1 BETA 3 OUT 

FOR DEVELOPERS 

APP STATS SNAPSHOT 

EASIER TO DO: 

FIND BIGFOOT OR DEV A 

MILLION DOLLAR APP? 

WWW.APPDEVELOPERMAGAZINE.COM

IMAGINE • DEVELOP • LAUNCH 

w w w. a p p d e v e l o p e r m a g a z i n e . c o m 

INTRODUCING 

App Developer Magazine 

Successful app development is a lot more than 

writing code. A whole lot more. Now you have a 

resource that provides in-depth, relevant, and 

knowledgeable information on what you really 

need to know to be successful. 

• App Developer Magazine provides a snapshot 

of that months highlights within the industry 

as well as big picture analysis that you just 

won’t find anywhere else. 

• Available in print, digital, and mobile the 

magazine is a serious publication dealing with 

serious issues affecting App developers 

• Of course the industry changes every day and 

AppDeveloperMagazine.com provides the most 

comprehensive daily roundup of news, blogs, 

and more. The format is smartly and logically 

formatted so that you can quickly review the 

content that you are interested in reading.

EDITOR’S NOTE 

App Developers in 2013, The Big 

Three, and Safety Belts 

By Richard Harris 

Isn't it amazing that most people 

can't remember the color of the shirt they 

put on that morning? It seems like a simple 

question but because we do it so routinely 

we rarely think about it past the 

moment we did it. You just looked down 

to see what color your shirt was didn't 

you? Why did you do that, because you 

wanted to make sure you knew what shirt 

you had on. The funny thing is now that 

you've done that you'll likely remember it 

the rest of the day. 

Being an app developer working day 

in and day out to bring apps to the masses 

isn't all that different than trying to 

remember what color of shirt you put on. 

We get deluged each day with all sorts of 

things and it's hard to remember them all, 

even though some of them are important 

when you read them in ‘that moment’ – 

they get lost in the shuffle of doing what 

you do. Things like new app store rules for 

developers, the changing monetization 

landscape, privacy policies, new devices 

to support, marketing your apps, and what 

are the new developer tools to use are just 

a few of the things that can pass through 

our email or web browsing on a daily 

basis. 

I am an app developer and I know 

how difficult it is to keep up with everything 

going on around you. Time seems to 

stand still when you put your head down 

at 8 am, slave away at the keyboard for 

while, then look up to see that it's 2 

o'clock in the afternoon! You can miss a 

lot going on outside of your 'world' in the 

span of just a few hours, but when you 

multiply that by an entire month you 

could be missing mission-critical news 

that as a mobile app developer you need 

to know. 

App Developer Magazine was born 

out of a vision I saw to bring a snapshot 

view of everything that happened that 

month in mobile development into focus 

for the app developer. That way you can 

focus on what you do best – developing 

apps and we will do what we do best – 

bringing you the information you need. 

We will compile each issue with only the 

most important information and topics 

that affect you as a mobile programmer 

and entrepreneur. As the industry 

changes, so will we – but we will always 

be an advocate for only the best information 

to provide to you. 

There will be monthly snapshots of 

who's on top in the app stores, one of a 

kind interviews, secrets from the pros, 

monetization tips, articles to help you as a 

developer, and so much more. The best 

part is it's all going to be compiled in a 

monthly magazine that you can hold in 

your hands and take time away from all of 

the electronic distractions that surround 

you daily. Also, our website is going to 

provide up to the minute news and information 

as well, and is a place where you 

can read all of our issues online. 

One of my favorite all-time quotes 

comes from the famous NBA basketball 

player Michael Jordan, “Never be afraid to 

fail.” I know as our magazine grows and 

many talented mobile developers get their 

hands on our publication there might be 

some mistakes pointed out, and errors 

that need corrected. That is part of our 

maturing process and my personal goal 

for you the reader, is that we will always 

be here to take your criticisms and your 

praises, and pour them into making App 

Developer Magazine the best publication 

that a mobile developer can have. 

2013 is already looking to be a huge 

year in the mobile industry. I think it will 

be the year iOS, Android, and Windows 

phone square off, perhaps the year we will 

finally see the “Gold Rush” stabilize, and 

possibly even the year that mobile piracy 

finally gets squashed. Whatever happens 

you can bet that will be right there in the 

middle of it, with our pen and paper ready 

to report back anything we find. 

On a final note, I want to extend a 

warm thank you to all of the developers 

who have already shown an overwhelming 

response of support to our announcement 

of bringing this magazine to fruition. 

And to our publisher for seeing our vision 

and recognizing the importance of the 

information we provide to the mobile 

developer community. 

Yours Truly, 

Richard Harris 

Executive Editor 

Sneak Peak • Volume 1 

Get More Online! 

AppDeveloperMagazine.com 

Daily News 

The most complete outlet for news 

affecting app developers with breaking 

news updated daily. 

Mobile Tech 

Find out emerging trends and new introductions 

of smart phones, tablets, and 

other technology utilizing apps. 

App Markets 

Coverage of top app development markets 

including Apple, Android, Windows as 

well as coverage of HTML5, Amazon and 

emerging third party markets. 

Monetization 

Find tips, tricks and other strategies to 

maximize the revenue potential for your 

apps. 

And Much More! 

App Developer Magazine is published monthly by App Developer 

Magazine, LLC. Bulk rate postage paid at Dallas, Texas, and additional 

mailing offices. ©App Developer Magazine, LLC, all rights reserved. No 

part of this publication or its Website may be reproduced without written 

permission of App Developer Magazine, LLC. App Developer 

Magazine assumes no responsibility for the content of the articles, 

advertisements, or messages reproduced therein, and makes no representation 

or warranty whatsoever as to the completeness, accuracy, 

currency, or adequacy of any facts, views, opinions, statements, and 

recommendations it reproduces. Reference to any product, process, 

publication, or service of any third party by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, 

or otherwise does not constitute or imply the endorsement or 

recommendation of App Developer Magazine. The publication welcomes 

and encourages contributions; however is not responsible for the 

return of manuscripts and photographs. The publication, at the sole discretion 

of the publisher, reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising 

or contributions. For more information contact the publisher at 

App Developer Magazine, 2754 East Division Street, Springfield, 

Missouri, 65757 or e-mail at info@appdevelopermagazine.com. 

Imagine • Develop • Launch App Developer Magazine | 3

APP STORE 

NEWS, NOTES, AND MORE 

APPLE REQUIRES SOME DEVELOPERS 

TO RENAME THEIR APPS 

Apple has asked developers to be 

careful how they are titling their apps as 

copyrights can and will be enforced 

throughout the app store. In a recent 

example, a game company in Germany 

who owns the copyright on a kids memory 

board game titled “Memory” worked 

with Apple have iOS developers abroad to 

Closer To New iOS 6.1 

Attention apple developers, Apple 

is getting closer to the full version of 

the new iOS 6.1 operating system 

with the announcement that 6.1 Beta 

3 is available for registered developers 

to download. 

The iDevices that are compatible 

with iOS 6.1 Beta 3 include the iPad 4, 

iPad mini, iPad 3, iPad 2, iPhone 5, 

iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and 

the fourth and fifth generation iPod 

touch models. So far digging through 

the 6.1 release notes we don't see 

anything that has changed since the 

last beta announcement to developers 

but there are a number of changes in 

the 6.1 OS release overall set to come. 

The release notes are available on the 

Apple developer website. 

OUR TAKE 

In the Google Play store 

apps can be named 

exactly the same thing 

even if from different 

developers because they 

use the package name to 

distinguish the app. It’s 

interesting that a simple 

word like “memory” can 

be restricted from being 

used because it’s so 

common and describes 

more of a function than 

a title. But developers 

always need to be careful 

of infringing on copy 

written material. 

change any app name with the word 

“memory” in it to something else, and 

developers are no longer allowed to use 

the term in any app title. The owners of 

the copyright do not have own the rights 

in the US but this comes as a stark 

reminder that the app store is becoming 

more competitive as it matures. 

BETA 3 

PUSH 

NOTIFICATIONS 

FROM AZURE 

SERVICES FOR IOS 

Apple developers now have 

another choice for push 

notification services from 

within their app via a new 

Microsoft offering called 

Azure. The service uses a 

Microsoft cloud server in 

the back-end to communicate 

with iOS apps for 

authentication, notification, 

and saving data to the 

cloud. The service is free 

for the first 10 services registered. 

Microsoft says 

Azure is the easiest way to 

fire notification to your 

users. Get more info at 

windowsazure.com 

HOT ON THE WEB! 

www.appdevelopermagazine.com 

Angry Birds The Movie? 

Developers bring the characters 

to the big screen. 

Windows 8 Hacks 

New exploits can 

jeopardize developer 

revenue streams. 

Android In-App Billing 3.0 

Google has released the 

latest billing API version 

3.0. 

FTC Hitting Developers 

Mobile Privacy is a 

Concern. 

Android Getting Too 

Complex? 

Updates to OS Too Much? 

Amazon App Store 

Downloads Grow 

More devices and more 

users to thank. 

Windows Phone Market 

Grows 

Microsoft added 42 new 

markets. 

4 | App Developer Magazine Imagine • Develop • Launch

It takes more than a bright idea. 

So you launched your app and so far you’re not a millionaire or even a thousandaire. So 

what went wrong or maybe the better question is what didn’t you do? Find the answers 

in each monthly issue of App Develper Magazine and at AppDeveloperMagazine.com 

Imagine • Develop • Launch

ANDROID 


ANDROID 4.2 JELLY 

BEAN SDK AVAILABLE 

Google has officially 

released Android 4.2 

“Jellybean.” It has performanceoptimizations, 

a refreshed system 

UI, and new features 

for users and 

developers. Here is a 

glimpse of what's new 

for developers. 

There are some OS 

behavior changes that 

could affect how your 

app functions. 

Developers can also 

use the new Daydream 

API, which lets you create 

interactive 

“dreams” on the 

Android screen when 

in screensaver mode. 

Secondary screens 

can be used from within 

your app, which 

allows users to display 

different content on 

external screens while 

using an app. You can 

now create lock screen 

widgets which appear 

on a users’ device 

when their Android 

screen in locked. 

Also available is 

multiple user support, 

which allows separate 

accounts on any 

Jellybean device. The 

system settings have 

been updated to support 

multiple users as 

well. 

RTL (right-to-left) 

allows you to build user 

interfaces that gracefully 

transform layout orientation 

to support languages 

that use rightto-left 

(RTL) UIs and 

reading direction, such 

as Arabic and Hebrew. 

You can now 

embed fragments 

inside fragments. This 

is useful for a variety of 

situations in which you 

want to place dynamic 

and re-usable UI components 

into a UI component 

that is itself 

dynamic and re-usable. 

Renderscript computation 

functionality has 

also been enhanced. 

Android App Revenue 

Gaining Ground 

The revenue from apps in the Google 

play store is growing. As a matter of fact 

an official android report from App Annie 

states that it grew by 311% between 

October 2011 and October 2012. 

Despite that growth, in October 2012 

global revenue from the iOS App Store 

was four times larger than Google Play’s. 

App Annie was unable to disclose any 

actual financial number in the report. 

Amazon Appstore 

Comes to Japan 

Japan welcomes the arrival of Amazon 

as a new choice for an Android tablet portal. 

The giant online retailer announced 

that customers in Japan can now access 

content for their Android devices and 

Kindle Fire products. 

Google has updates it’s maps 

API and the Android developer 

community applauds it’s approval. 

The maps API update includes a 

number of enhancements that will 

help developers bring map based 

apps to life. Included is the ability 

to create multiple layers on top of 

screen, including satellite, hybrid, 



Android Wins in Australia 

Study shows more Android 

smartphones being used 

down under. 

AnDevCon Talks Monetization 

Amazon tells developers 

how to earn more money. 

Private Play Stores 

Businesses can now distribute 

apps among 

employees. 

Amazon A/B Testing for 

Android Developers 

The service is built on 

Amazon Web Services 

Google Wants Tablet App 

Focus 

Encourages developers to 

create apps for large screen 

Androids. 

OUR TAKE 

This API update 

has been a long 

time coming but it 

looks to be worth 

the wait, with the 

multi-layering 

feature and inside 

maps I'm sure 

developers will find 

creative ways to 

utilize. 

AN UPDATE TO THE GOOGLE MAPS 

API IS HERE 

terrain, and even traffic data. 

As if that wasn’t enough there 

are indoor maps available for many 

major airports and shopping centers 

across the globe. The apps 

Trulia, Expedia Hotels and 

FlightTrack are already using the 

new maps API if you want a sneak 

peek of what it’s capable of. 


Imagine • Develop • Launch 

www.appdevelopermagazine.com

WINDOWS 


WINDOWS PHONE STORE IS GROWING, 

ADDS 42 NEW MARKETS 

Despite the late arrival into the mobile 

World, Windows phone is not going down 

without a fight! Microsoft just put the 

Windows phone market in front of a 

whole lot more people adding 42 new 

markets. 

Now, any one the following countries 

can get to the Windows phone app store: 

Angola, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, 

Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Burundi, 

Cameroon, Chad,Congo (DRC), Dominican 

Republic, El Salvador, Guinea, Haiti, 

Windows Phone SDK 

Version 8.0 Arrives 

If you want to develop apps for the 

new Windows 8 platform you’ll need the 

latest SDK from Microsoft now available 

for developers. It includes everything you’ll 

need to develop apps and games for 

Windows 8. It’s a vast improvement over 

their older 7.1 SDK including “Windows 

Store Apps”, Integrated DirectX, and a 

smaller file size of roughly 300 MB 

Honduras, Kenya, Liechtenstein, 

Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, 

Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, 

Paraguay, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, 

Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tajikistan, 

Tanzania, Togo, Turkmenistan, United Arab 

Emirates, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, and 

Zimbabwe. 

The added exposure is great news for 

developers outside of the US especially 

because developing for just a few markets 

didn't have nearly the appeal. 

Microsoft Says App 

Downloads and 

Revenue is Climbing 

Microsoft recently announced that app 

downloads and revenue all together have 

more than doubled since the release of 

Windows Version 8 which is mobile ready 

and is designed to be universal across desktops 

and tablet style devices. Specific numbers 

were not provided as of press time. 



Windows 8 Hacks 

Could jeopardize developer 

revenue streams. 

Visual Studio 2012 

Microsoft has released 

Visual Studio 2012 

Update 1. 

Surface App Development 

Microsoft should encourage 

app development. 

Rubicon Mobile 

Shares dev tips for 

Windows app store 

SURFACE PHONES 

BY MICROSOFT 

RUMORED 

It looks like Microsoft is 

out to extend its Surface 

brand 

into 

mobiles 

and start 

selling 

handsets 

under its 

own 

brand. 

Rumor has it that the 

software giant has signed 

a contract with Chinese 

manufacturer Foxconn, 

which is also the manufacturer 

of iPhone. The making 

of the new Microsoft 

Surface handsets is set for 

next year. 

Also rumored is 

information that ‘upstream 

suppliers’ are also going 

to provide part of a new 

Amazon phone, which 

could mean that next year 

could be really interesting 

for mobile tech. 


You Wouldn’t Search For Treasure 

Without a Map Would You? 

App Developer Magazine and AppDeveloperMagazine.com 

are your roadmap to success. You’ll be lost without us! 


APP STATS 

TOP TEN U.S. APP STATS 

TOP FREE GOOGLE PLAY APPS BY DOWNLOADS 

Rank App 

1 Facebook 

2 Pandora 

3 Instagram 

4 Angry Birds 

5 Skype 

6 Facebook Messenger 

7 Zedge 

8 Netflix 

9 Twitter 

10 Hill Climb Racing 

TOP FREE IPHONE APPS BY DOWNLOADS 


1 YouTube 

2 SnapChat 

3 Flick Golf! 

4 Gangnam DanceBooth 

5 Hill Climb Racing 

6 Fun Run 

7 Ski Safari 

8 Gmail 

9 Doors&Rooms 

10 Instagram 

TOP FREE WINDOWS APPS 

RANK APP 

1 Facebook 

2 Youtube 

3 Skype 

4 Flashlght-X 

5 AE Skee Ball 

6 Skydrive 

7 Flixter 

8 Tunin Radio 

9 Facebook Touch 

10 Free Ringtones 

AMAZON'S TOP FREE APPS 

RANK APP 

1 Slots Journey 

2 Mind Games 

3 Farkle Live 

4 Skyburger 

5 Netflix 

6 Temple Run 

7 Angry Birds Free 

8 Rocket Space: Universe Adventure 

9 Facebook 

10 Family Fued & Friends 

SOURCE: Includes App Annie Store Stats • Date as of press time. 

OP GOOGLE PLAY APPS BY REVENUE 


1 Rage of Bahamut 

2 Dark Summoner 

3 Blood Brothers 

4 Slotomania 

5 Slot City 

6 Zynga Poker 

7 MARVEL War of Heroes 

8 Live Hold’em Poker Pro 

9 Shipwrecked 

10 FoxFi 

TOP iPHONE APPS BY REVENUE 


1 Clash of Clans 

2 The Simpsons:Tapped Out 

3 Kindoms of Camelet: Battle.. 

4 Pandora Radio 

5 Hay Day 

6 Legend of Cryptids 

7 Slotomania 

8 Angry Birds Star Wars 

9 Poker By Zynga 

10 Candy Crush Saga 

TOP PAID WINDOWS APPS 

RANK APP 

1 Stop the Music 

2 Mens Health 

3 Human Japanese 

4 Battery Level for Windows 8 

5 Baconit - Donate 

6 Grapher Calculator 

7 Catholic's Campanion 

8 Now Playing 

9 Alpha Memory 

10 Outsider 

AMAZON'S TOP PAID APPS 

RANK APP 

1 Angry Birds Star Wars Premium 

2 Minecraft Pocket Edition 

3 HD Camera 

4 Cut the Rope 

5 Skylanders Cloud Patrol 

6 Where's my Water? 

7 The Game of Life 

8 Santa Salon 

9 Where's my Perry? 

10 Plants vs. Zombies 

TOP APP 

MOVERS AND 

SHAKERS 

Each issue we will to provide a 

snapshot of the top apps in each 

market. While rankings change 

daily it’s nice to see something that 

stamps out a “who’s who” in the 

app stores that you will be able to 

compare month to month. 

What surprises us most this 

month is that we don’t see more 

Holiday themed apps in the top 

rankings, usually developers can 

ride the wave of the season, but I 

think developers are starting to 

think more long-term success 

rather than bursts of seasonal 

revenue. 

In the iOS store for this issue 

we’ve seen little movement in the 

paid realm with the giants like 

Facebook, Pandora, and Angry 

Birds ruling there. It’s no surprise to 

see Gmail is in the top 10 free 

apps, with the release of their new 

client for iOS (partially HTML5 

based). 

Google Play top 10 paid is 

dominated mostly by games, as is 

the top Free. But apps like Foxfi 

that turn your Android into a 

Bluetooth or Wifi hotspot have also 

made their mark this month. 

The Amazon app store is a 

mixed bag ranging from utility apps 

to games – all of which play nicely 

on the Kindle Fire of course, we’ll 

keep our eye on movers for our 

premier issue that use the new 

Amazon map API. 

And in the Windows market it’s 

no surprise to see Facebook, 

YouTube, and Skype in the top free 

because they were missing on the 

initial release of Windows 8. In the 

top paid it’s interesting to see more 

utility apps than games being 

downloaded. 


“Everything that 

can be invented 

has been invented.” 

Charles H. Duell, U.S. Commissioner of Patents, 1899 

Yeah Right! 

Yes there are now over half a million apps, yes 1% of 

apps make 90% of the revenues, so what’s the use right? 

Wrong! Yes, it’s not easy and yes, there is still money to 

be made. Work smart with real world information at App 

Developer Magazine and AppDeveloperMagazine.com. 



JUST | PEACHY 

My Thoughts on the 

Windows Phone 8 

Marketplace 

By Peach Pellen 

With the recent launch of 

Windows Phone 8 I've had developers 

start asking me whether or 

not I think it's worth trying to port 

some of their more 

successful 

apps to the 

mar- 

ketplace,questioning 

whether 

or not they 

might benefit from 

the added visibility 

that goes with having a fraction of 

the apps to compete with compared 

to the App Store or Google 

Play. 

Honestly, it's a tough call. On 

the one hand Microsoft just doesn't 

have the audience Apple or Google 

do. Gartner Inc. reported back in 

November that Microsoft's current 

(global smartphone) market share 

was only 2.4% - ouch. 

There's also the fact that with 

120,000 apps in the store as of 

October increased visibility for your 

app isn't a sure thing. Statistically it 

may be around 7 times less crowded 

the iOS or Android marketplaces 

but bloated / 7 doesn't exactly 

equate to empty. 

On the plus side a developer's 

license is only $99, (the same as 

Apple charges,) and you get to 

keep 100% of your revenue until 

you hit the $25,000 mark, at which 

point Microsoft will start taking 

20% instead of the 30% 

which has become industry 

standard. 

At the unveiling of the first 

Nokia Windows 8 phone, (the 

Lumia,) Steve Ballmer said "The 

next app developer to hit it really, 

really big will be a developer on 

Windows." and to be honest I'm 

pretty skeptical about 

that; I think the next 

app developer to hit 

it big will be, as we 

so often see, someone 

developing 

cross-platform for 

iOS and Android. 

Like RIM, 

Microsoft seems to 

be trying to sell 

developers the same gold rush 

dream but without the same history 

of huge payday stories we see 

coming from iOS and Android. It's 

a nice gesture but without the market 

share to really back it up. 

On a personal level I'd like to 

see Windows Phone 8 take off; not 

because I'm a Microsoft fan, (I'm 

I'm a firm 

believer in 

giving every 

marketplace 

a fair go 

not,) but because I'm a Nokia fan. I 

haven't tried a Lumia yet, I'm reluctant 

to spend money on it knowing 

I won't be developing anything for 

it until Appcelerator supports it, 

however I admit my soft spot for 

Nokia does give me an urge to see 

an app of mine running on there. 

(Although to be fair this could just 

be me being somewhat nostalgic 

for Symbian, a mobile OS I must 

have spent upwards of 10,000 

hours using in my teen years.) 

Of course, there's always the 

fear that using a Nokia running 

Windows may scar the name forever 

for me - although 

maybe that would be a 

good thing, my hands 

are pretty full dealing 

with Android fragmentation 

as it is! 

Seriously though, if 

you're already using an 

SDK that supports or 

will soon support the 

platform I'd say go for it; if it's not 

a huge time sink I'm a firm believer 

in giving every marketplace a fair 

go, if only to be able to blast it as 

an informed individual at a later 

date and not be called a "hater". 

Maybe you'll be that first Windows 

Phone 8 developer to "hit it really, 

really big." 

Peach Pellen has been involved in mobile app development for iOS and Android devices since 

2009 and has over 60 published apps in the mobile market. She is also a support engineer for 

Ansca Mobile, and operates PeachPellen.com and Techority.com in her spare time. 



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DEV | INTERVIEW 

“We have a simple 

system implemented. We 

work on one large app, 

which at the moment is the 

episodic adventure game 

Forever Lost, and during 

this process we take 

temporary breaks to work 

on smaller projects 

which take around one 

week to create. 

Ideas come to you at 

the strangest of times and 

it is important, especially 

with the increasing number 

of apps available now, to be 

as innovative and creative 

as possible. It is not simply 

a case of sitting down and 

thinking of an app idea. 

During the development 

process of the larger game 

our minds are constantly 

flowing and creating new 

ideas for apps. As soon as 

we think of an idea, no 

matter how basic, we write 

it down and when we feel 

like a break we put together 

prototypes of the ideas 

we like the most.” 

About 

Glitch Games 

We recently sat down with Graham Ranson, co-founder of Glitch 

Games based in the United Kingdom. They are the developers of 

“Forever Lost” an app for iOS and Android that has been gaining 

popularity 

Tell us about 

Glitch Games 

Glitch 

Games consists 

of one artist, Simon, and one 

coder, Graham (shown above), 

and we have been developing 

together as a company since 

January 2012. We currently have 

eight released apps but have 

countless prototypes in various 

stages of development. We both 

work full-time at Glitch, however 

mostly this turns into much longer 

than full-time with regular 14 plus 

hour days in 7 day weeks. We are 

both in our mid-twenties. 

What apps have you published 

and what is the most popular? 

At present we have eight pub- 


lished apps, each very different 

from the last ranging from an 

interactive book for kids to an 

old-school point’n’click adventure 

game. Our two most popular 

apps are Blox, a fast paced multitouch 

arcade game, that was at 

one point receiving over 100,000 

free downloads a week and our 

most recent game, Forever Lost, 

an episodic adventure game that 

has received our highest volume 

of paid downloads to date. 

Let’s talk revenue, Which 

market is most profitable 

for you? 

Our most popular paid app is 

not yet available on android 

devices so iOS has been far more 

profitable for obvious reasons. 

We have released some of our 

apps on both stores, but we have 

not had much success with 

Android to date. 

What is your most successful 

way of earning revenue with 

your apps (in-app, free/paid, 

etc)? 

We have experimented with 

in-app, free and paid releases 

over the last year and a set price 

suits us best. The set price allows 

us to do sales whenever we wish 

and generally helps decrease any 

of the complications associated 

Tired of being packed 

in the app store with 

everyone else? 

DISCOVER SECRETS TO BEING NOTICED WITH TIPS 

FROM APP DEVELOPER MAGAZINE. 


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with the in-app structure. 

From our experience, if a 

customer expects to receive 

an app for free and then is 

required to pay for content 

from within the app, then 

many feel like they have been 

conned. 

We used the in-app function 

for our first few apps so 

that the customer could get 

a feel for the game before 

they had to fork out any 

money. We thought this 

would be a bonus for our 

customers, but in the end it 

was more hassle than it’s 

worth. Our two most recent 

paid apps were released for a 

set price and these have 

brought in around 90% of 

our total revenue for the year 

alone. 

Which mobile ad networks 

do you prefer? 

We haven’t had much 

success with monetizing 

from adverts however that 

may be less to do with the 

networks themselves and 

more to do with our apps. So 

far we have tried both 

Inneractive and InMobi and 

although we’re not really the 

right people to talk about 

which one is better in 

regards to monetization we 

can say that they both have 

great customer support from 

our experience with the few 

times we needed any help. If 

we try adverts again we are 

going to test RevMob. 

Share some general 

revenue numbers on a 

monthly or yearly basis. 

Our revenue for the first 

eight months made us question 

whether we would ever be 

able to make a living in app 

development. Although our 

first six apps taking an average 

of one week development 

time; we had hoped for far 

more income than we had 

actually received. 

Despite the popularity of 

Blox, it only seemed to do well 

during the temporary free sale 

periods so we were unsure 

whether the big adventure 

game ( Forever Lost ) which 

we had been working on for 

six months would fall to the 

same fate. To our fortune, 

Forever Lost was an instant 

hit, with five star reviews pouring 

in from every country giving 

us a promising opening 

week. We hit just under the 

$5000 mark in the first week 

of sales and despite dropping 

slightly, it has been pretty constant 

since. 

What is your development 

process (from idea to 

release)? 

We have a simple system 

implemented. We work on one 

large app, which at the 

moment is the episodic adventure 

game Forever Lost, and 

during this process we take 

temporary breaks to work on 

smaller projects which take 

around one week to create. 

Ideas come to you at the 

strangest of times and it is 

important, especially with the 

increasing number of apps 

available now, to be as innovative 

and creative as possible. It 

is not simply a case of sitting 

down and thinking of an app 

idea. During the development 


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process of the larger game our 

minds are constantly flowing and 

creating new ideas for apps. As 

soon as we think of an idea, no 

matter how basic, we write it 

down and when we feel like a 

break we put together prototypes 

of the ideas we like the most. 

Which development platform 

do you use most, any favorites? 

We have been using the 

Corona SDK since the early days 

of its life and even though it has 

its issues and limitations, just like 

any other framework, we have 

stuck with it because it allows us 

to build prototypes very quickly 

which, more times than not, we 

can then use the same code to 

actually create the non-prototype 

builds. 

Corona also makes cross platform 

development across iOS and 

Android very easy, even though 

Android hasn’t really made us any 

money yet we’re hoping that the 

Android version of Forever Lost 

will do better. 

Biggest challenges in mobile 

development for you? 

For us the biggest challenge 

has been in marketing, before 

starting out we had no experience 

with this side of things and essentially 

we were naive. We simply 

assumed that if we make something 

good then people will buy it, 

which to the most part is actually 

true, but the phrase should really 

be that if you make something 

good, and people know about it, 

they will buy it. 

We have been getting better 

at marketing with each successive 

app and one of the things we 

have learned the hard way is that 

marketing starts from day one. 

The minute you have something 

interesting to show people make 

sure you do. Chances are it will go 

unnoticed but just keep showing 

people stuff and eventually people 

will see it which makes it much 

easier for them to find your product 

once it’s finally released as 

they will already know about it. 

How do you market your apps 

(youtube, cross-promotion, etc) 

We use all the usual methods 

that we can afford, i.e. are free, 

such as our Facebook and Twitter 

pages as well as YouTube and the 

traditional guilting of our friends 

and families. We also have a 

newsletter and a blog but not 

many followers of each yet. We 

have found that so far the best 

method, for us at least, has been 

word of mouth between friends 

and on the TouchArcade forums. 

We could do more, which may 

explain why our apps haven’t sold 

as well as we hoped they would. 

As mentioned, for us marketing is 

by far the hardest part of this 

business and up until starting this 

adventure we had zero experience 

with it so were completely lost. 

The single most important factor 

in app development? 

Passion. If you don’t love what 

you’re doing and what you’re 

making than you’ll make a substandard 

product and if you’re not 

having fun when you’re making it 

then what’s the point? 

Do you have any great developer 

tips from things you've 

learned in regards to any of the 

above? 

If you are going to make apps 

then make sure you do it well. We 

may not have the best artist or the 

best programmer in the world, but 

the key is that we have both. So 

many programmers/artists try to 

make apps alone, but it takes a 

collaboration of both to make a 

good app and make sure you play 

to your strengths. 

If you’d like to talk to Simon or 

Graham you can contact them at 

hey@glitchgames.co.uk. 

Apps From Glitch Games 


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DEV | ADVICE 

A lot of you 

send me your 

games to figure 

out a problem 

here and 

there, or ask 

me questions 

about how to 

do XYZ or thisand-that. 

Some 

of you send me assets without 

blinking; other of you are reluctant 

to send me your assets 

because your game is the next 

Angry Birds and you don’t want 

anyone to see your creation. 

Some of you are reluctant to 

send me the code because the 

“code” is not pretty. Trust me, 

Elements 

To A Successful Game 

By Carlos Icaza 

I’ve heard and seen just about 

every type of game, code design, 

and killer app — I’ve been working 

knee-deep in the mobile 

space since 2004, when it was 

“pre-historic.” I’ve seen the 

whole gamut! 

So, I see a lot of games and 

apps. Of course, I see a lot of 

Corona-made apps, but I also get 

to see a lot of non-Corona apps 

— and I get the same question 

asked over and over again. 

What makes a game successful? 

And with apologies to 

Cookie Monster, here we go… 

While there is no magic elixir 

as to what makes a game a success. 

I have seen a series of ele- 

One of the 

most exciting 

parts of being 

at Ansca, is 

that I get to 

see a lot of 

your great 

games all the 

way from 

inception to 

being released 

on the App 

Store and/or 

Android 

Market. 

ments that most successful 

games have and in Cookie 

Monster lingo, here is the Letter 

What makes a 

game successful? 

And with apologies 

to Cookie Monster, 

here we go… 


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DEV | ADVICE 

E for the key elements to a successful 

game 

1. The game must be 

engaging. 


entertaining. 


enjoyable. 

4. The game must be elastic. 


expandable. 

6. You must game must 

expose the user to other 

players. 

7. A game starts in an 

endemic area. 

8. A game, once it reaches 

mass appeal, it becomes 

an epidemic. It is viral and 

at this point unstoppable. 

While it is difficult to articulate 

everything in detail, I will do my 

best to see if I can make sense for 

each of the elements I mentioned 

for a successful game. 

A game must be engaging! 

Think of having an engaging conversation 

— the conversation can 

be enjoyable or entertaining. Not 

all conversations are enjoyable, nor 

all conversations are entertaining. 

But if it has one or the other, you 

at least have three items from the 

list: engaging, entertaining, and 

enjoyable. 

Now, think of a movie that is 

entertaining — not all the movies 

that you consider to be entertainment 

may be enjoyable, but they 

could be engaging. The movie can 

have a plausible story that makes it 

entertaining, but may not be 

engaging. But certainly a movie 

that is enjoyable can be quite 

entertaining and engaging at the 

same time. Think of it this way: 

Entertaining = mass appeal. 

Simple.! 

Now onto the rest! A game 

must also be expandable, some- 

thing that you can keep growing. 

In the case of the Angry Birds franchise, 

there is Angry Birds 

Seasons, Angry Birds St. Patrick’s, 

Angry Birds Valentine’s Day… 

Again, using a movie metaphor, 

think of a movie sequel. Although 

not always as good as the original, 

you can still continue the franchise. 

Lastly, the game must be elastic. 

You have to take the gameplay 

to the breaking point. For me, this 

is the one of the top elements here 

(the key ingredient!). One has to 

pick up a game and be able to 

grasp it in matter of seconds. You 

must “fool” the player into thinking 

that it is easy, and have them go to 

the next level, continuing as the 

game gets progressively harder. 

That’s the elasticity of a game: 

stretch it is as far as you can while 

letting the player think that it’s still 

as easy as the first level. 

If the game is elastic, it is also 

entertaining, enjoyable, and/or 

engaging. At this point, the player 

will want to share the game with 

other game players — then, you 

have successfully created an 

endemic game and the goal is to 

make it an epidemic! 

And how do you expose your 

game to the masses? Create a 

Facebook Fan Page and a Twitter 

account for your company or 

game. Create a video demo of your 

game. If you can afford it, try to 

get someone to write a press 

release for you and get the word 

out. Partner with a company that 

can get you the exposure. 

And remember: all apps and 

games — no matter how 

successful — are ephemeral. 

Don’t fall into the mental trap that 

your game will be on top of the 

charts for months on end, or a year 

or two. Today, we live in an ADD 

world and today’s headline is 

tomorrow’s old news. Your job is 

to always keep your game fresh, 

introduce new levels, build trust 

with your players, award them with 

coupon codes, etc. Making a game 

is not just about making pretty pixels 

move around the screen, it is a 

business. And part of that business 

is also the ability to market (evangelize!) 

your game. 

A little disclaimer: the stock 

inclusion of all the elements I men- 

And remember: 

all apps and games 

— no matter how 

successful — are 

ephemeral. 

tion is no elixir. It doesn’t guarantee 

your game to become a 40 million 

download juggernaut. 

Nevertheless, having some of 

these key elements in your game 

will make your game that much 

more enjoyable, entertaining, 

and/or engaging to play — and if 

you get to that, you will automatically 

get more exposure. 

After that, you could become 

endemic, and turn out to be the 

next big gaming “epidemic!” 

Carlos Izaca has been shipping industry standard software since 1991 shipped software titles 

such as Adobe Illustrator, Flash Authoring, Mobile Flash-Lite, Deneba Canvas and a others. He 

started a mobile framework company in 2007 called Ansca, Inc. and games/apps created with 

the Corona SDK have been played by over 55 million users. Currently he is a technical advisor to 

several startups. 


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DEV | ADVICE 

Easier to Do: 

Find Bigfoot 

or Develop 

the Next 

Million 

Dollar App? 

By Richard Harris 

I was talking with our Publisher 

about a developer he knows that is a 

genuine, dyed in the wool Bigfoot 

hunter. If there is a sighting within 

500 miles, he’s off to check it out. 

Of course he’s never seen Bigfoot, 

but he’s been close (he thinks) plenty 

of times! 

It's exciting as a developer to 

think of the prospect of making a 

piece of software that can be distributed 

over millions of devices and 

turn you into a millionaire. But for 

every successful app that has generated 

a million dollars, there are at 

least thousands underneath it that 

have never gotten close (still better 

odds than finding Bigfoot though). 

Let me prefix this by saying I've 

never created a million dollar app 

though I have had some very successful 

apps. But in the 200 published 

apps my company has developed, 

no single app has ever generated 

me a million dollars. 

But like Thomas Edison once 

said, “If I find 10,000 ways something 

won't work, I haven't failed. I 

am not discouraged, because every 

wrong attempt discarded is another 

step forward.” 

So based on my varying levels of 

success and contacts in the industry 

that have successfully created million 

dollar apps, let me highlight for 

you a few points that I believe those 

apps have in common, ordered by 

priority. 

It's an App People are 

Curious About 

Most popular apps seem to be 

driven by a couple of factors. One is 

that the app itself makes people 

curious. Curiosity gets people think- 

ing, after all isn't that why we write 

our app descriptions? 

Another factor is that some 

apps are popular just because 

they're being driven by expensive 

marketing tactics. That doesn't 

mean they are necessarily good 

apps, it just means there's a lot of 

money behind them that is driving 

these apps into the market. 

The point I'd like to make is that 

an app needs to be interesting and 

make the user curious. If it's a 

game, people want to know how 

many levels are in it, how many different 

types of characters are in it, is 


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it hard to play, is it easy to 

play, etc. If it's a utility app, does it 

do something that I will use every 

day or is it a real niche type of 

app that I'll only use once in a while 

and thus probably wouldn't be 

curious to know if it worked in the 

first place. 

It's a Buzz 

This one is obvious. Does everyone 

have this app? Is every 

one talking about this app? If you 

can get a social buzz working about 

an app, your chances have more 

than tripled to be successful in the 

market. 

Looks Are Everything 

As developers I think the general 

consensus is that it's easier to program 

the app itself and then to try to 

make it look good. Be careful here 

because while programming has to 

take a front seat, a close second is 

making the app look outstanding, I 

mean really good. Apps that are popular 

are that way because they look 

amazing, are easy on the eyes, and 

have interesting things inside them 

that keep people curious. You should 

be spending as much time developing 

the look and feel of your app as 

you are programming it. 

The Free/ Paid/ Freemium Conundrum 

I won't get into the specifics of 

each one of these marketing tactics 

because I think it's pretty common 

knowledge. You either give your app 

away for free, you charge people for 

your app, or you have a free version 

with paid features inside of it. It's a 

fairly mixed bag of success when 

using these three types of marketing. 

But of the three types, I think 

the apps that are million-dollar sellers 

are the ones using the free version 

pushing the paid version or a 

version where it's a free app with-in 

app purchases to upgrade or add 

additional features inside the app 

itself. That doesn't say that a free 

app running banner or interstitial 

advertisements can't generate $1 

million, but it's going to be a harder 

road than the others. 

The App Uses the Device’s 

Functionally to It's Max 

Most successful apps engage 

the user in a way that makes the 

app fundamentally different than 

apps that are not successful. 

Leveraging on device capabilities 

such as multi-touch screens, 

accelerometer movements, HD 

graphics, and other 

types of functionality 

are what sets 

successful apps 

apart from their 

competitors. 

Developed for Multiple Devices 

and Platforms 

Million dollar apps are everywhere. 

They are on the iOS platform, 

the Android platform, they are 

available through Amazon, they are 

on small screens, large screens, 

medium screens! I think you get the 

point that it's important to make 

your app cross platform and available 

on most if not 

all screen sizes. 

You Don't Have to Be a Big Company 

I think it's a bit of a misconcep- 

tion to think that a $1 million app 

has to be something that has a lot of 

marketing and big money behind it. 

On the contrary, there are many 

apps that were created either in 

someone’s home office or basement 

and have become successful by 

accident. 

Know Your Audience 

Knowing who your app is targeted 

to is half the battle because million 

dollar app developers know who 

they are trying to reach and they do 

it well through marketing, rankings, 

and social media. 

Named Well 

Million dollar apps also have 

catchy names. When you think 

of a successful app such as 

Angry Birds you immediately 

know what the app is, what 

the app does, and what it 

looks like. 

Just 

imagine if Angry Birds had been 

named something like Throw The 

Bird! 

Of course there are many other 

elements to consider. Check out the 

article “8 Elements for a Successful 

Game” in this issue by Carlos Icaza. 

And while you’re coding in the 

warm environs of your office, living 

room, or wherever, consider that it 

could be worse. You could be standing 

in the middle of the woods in 

the freezing rain, looking for the 

washed out trail of the elusive 

Bigfoot. 

Richard Harris has worked in mobile development since 2003, and has been in IT administration 

for 15 years. He is the CEO of Moonbeam Development with over 200 apps published in 

the market. He is also the founder of LunarAds mobile cross promotion and mediation platform. 





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