Since the initial release Michael has
put out a couple of updates, one fixing an issue with a ball that didn’t drop
all the way through the screen and the other say upgraded and improved graphics
and sounds, also accepted by Apple on his first attempt.
But it hasn’t stopped with Atomic
Dodge Ball as Michael continued to produce a further two apps. One was a Lite
version of Atomic Dodge Ball after realizing marketing plays and important role
in the success of any app while the other was a Christmas title called Hungry
Rudolph.
Hungry Rudolph is similar to Atomic
Dodge Ball but the levels are easier to play, designed to make them more
suitable for smaller children playing with their parent’s iPhones. Rudolph has
to pick up carrots and presents to improve his score, whilst avoiding the
snowballs and black snowflakes.
Both games sold well over the
Christmas period, with downloads occurring in many different countries, other
than the UK, including Canada, USA, Japan, Spain, Australia, Italy, Poland,
India, and even the UAE. But sales have gradually started to decline.
‘I now realize it’s not as simple as
just making the game, you have to have some form of marketing strategy. I have
had some coverage in the local papers, and I was even on the TV, which is quite
amazing! And all this helped my app get into the top 300 UK chart, it got up as
high as the UK top 50 at one point. That was really cool to see my app in the
charts, at one point the 2 games were beside each other.’
Marketing is another story altogether
but this is just one of the many lessons learned that most 15 year olds don’t
grasp until much later. It says a lot about Michael’s character and capacity to
always learn and improve.
So does he have any advice for other
budding developers out there?
‘You need to have an Apple computer,
if you are struggling, use the internet and maybe join some online forums, buy
a book, and possibly the most important thing, don’t give up! Be prepared to
work hard as it is not an easy task.’
Apps for kids with cancer
One of the most inspirational stories
of child developers is that of Conner Haines of Pennsylvania. At just 11 years
old, Conner decided he wanted to develop apps for kids with cancer after his older
sister Lauren was diagnosed with the disease at the age of two and half. Lauren
is now 14 years old.
‘The good news is my sister is
all-better now,’ says
Conner. ‘That is why I started BElieve, I hope to get some kids that sign up
for it.’
Believe is Conner’s charity, and
organization that invites children with cancer to submit their app ideas to the
fledgling developer who then pieces them together, submits to iTunes and
donates all profits to the Make-A-Wish-Foundation.
Flip Flop Games is his company but, as
he states online, Flip Flop is not so much a company but a website ‘by a kid
that likes to make iOS games.’ He named it Flip Flop Games because he loves
to wear flip-flops and, he says, all of his apps are going to be flip-flopped.
Conner says on his website:
‘I really like to think of game or app
ideas and just bring them to life and let the whole world play or use them. I
also love to spend time with all 7 of my siblings and just have an awesome time
with them. I have 3 older siblings and 4 younger and even my siblings help me
by trying out my new games. Also I am home schooled so I have time to make apps
and help kids with cancer.’
Kids suffering from cancer who are
interested in having an app developed by Conner just need to visit the website,
download the template, print fill it in with their idea, draw out how they want
the game to appear, scan the form and email back to flipflopgamesbelieve@aol.com.
Conner insists on a letter or
diagnosis from a doctor to ensure only those kids suffering from cancer have
access to his services. But apart from that, it’s as easy as filling in the
template and submitting it to Flip Flop before the hard work begins for Conner
over the next 2-3 months. All he asks is that you don’t make the idea too
difficult: he is only 11 after all!
So far, all four apps that Conner has
successfully submitted to the App Store (one was a free version that has since
been removed by Conner to improve sales and subsequent donations), are original
ideas but he hopes kids will begin to sign up for BElieve soon and also hopes
to attract the interest of medical centres to the organization.
So far Conner has sold over 2,000
downloads of his apps, not a bad start after seeing previous attempts and ideas
not quite turning out how he would have liked. But That Chipmunk Bob seems to
have taken off.
‘I did not have an idea for That
Chipmunk Boob right away,’
says Conner. ‘It took lots of thinking and remarking to get That Chipmunk
Bob out. I had about seven other apps I was going to make but they never worked
out how they needed too so That Chipmunk Bob was not the first app that I made
or thought of.
I have made four apps that have been
on the App Store, now it is only three because I took off the free version of
That Chipmunk Bob so I can have better sales.
I also made a Christmas Bob and a
clock app called Kids Time Clock. That Chipmunk Bob is a fun app that I made
for mostly kids that like a cute funny chipmunk voice. That Chipmunk Bob was not
one of the best apps that I will be developing. Kids Time Clock will be coming
out with some cool new features because I think it needs some more fun added to
it.’
Like a lot of very young developers
Conner is self taught while also being home-schooled, so the help and support
of his family have played a major role in his success. They encouraged him to
be persistent, but there wasn’t much they could do technically to help him,
since he knows more about app development than they do.
‘We were quite blown away when he
first showed me the game he created and how he figured out how to get it
developed after we purchased a developer’s license,’ says Conner’s father.
‘Conner was extremely self motivated.
He even asked us to wake him up extra early so he could have time working on
his game and app before he had to start his school work.’
Conner has always wanted to make video
games and this self motivation is what helped him to learn the basics and
beyond, even when he had just missed out on registering for a video game
development camp for kids. Instead, Conner just found out program they were
using to teach on the camp was GameSalad, then proceeded to get his hands on a
copy and dived straight in, learning from his mistakes.
Once he understood the basics and began
creating mini games using GameSalad, Conner moved onto apps after enjoying
classic titles such as Angry Birds.
‘I was self taught and I did find some
useful forums and websites but it was kind of all something that looked fun,’ adds Conner.
‘The internet was a big help to find
answer and help. It would have been hard without it.
The process is hard but I got it to
work and I had to make everything just right. I had some challenges like
publishing it and it took one month to get it all figured out. When it was all
done it felt like the best day ever.’
It’s a great story and just one of the
many examples of kids doing some great things using Apple’s development
program. If you want to know more you can visit Conner’s website www.flipflopgames.com.
The next Steve Jobs?
Late last year, a video began doing
the rounds of 12-year-od Thomas Suarez giving a presentation at the TED x
Manhattan Beach event in October 2011.
Inspired by Steve Jobs, Thomas has all
the poise, confidence and demeanour of the late Apple founder as he wowed the
audience with his public speaking, knowledge and creations.
In the video, Thomas, who is currently
a student in 6th grade at South Bay of Los Angeles Middle School,
tells the audience how be became interested in coding as a kindergartner… yes
that’s right, kindergarten!
He goes on to say that he taught
himself programming basics in Python, C and java while his most popular
creation using this knowledge is a Justin Bieber inspired whack-a-mole game
called Bustin Jieber because ‘people at school disliked Justin Bieber a
little bit.’
Thomas has also started an App Club at
his school to share his and others’ knowledge to work with a teacher sponsor to
create educational apps for iPad to be distributed to local school districts
for free.
Most recently Thomas has created his
own Apple inspired company named CarrotCorp, promising more apps in the future.
