Case in point, it’s crunch time for us to release our game Big Top Ballet. We’re working on what makes the game beautiful and unique: the performance of the game play, the graphics and the user interface design. But we also need to be smart about how we allocate our development resources. Pareto Principle, how can we best leverage our time? From some features we don’t want to re-invent the wheel. To achieve this we looked for the best plug-ins to achieve some key UI  capabilities we wanted to have in Version 1 of Big Top Ballet’s release for iOS. We found all of these and more at Prime31.com.

Pretty incredible time for indie game developers and game artists. What would have taken days to hard code, took an afternoon to implement using Prime 31′s Core iOS Features plugin.

]]> http://vectorbloom.com/2012/02/best-unity-plug-ins-to-accelerate-game-development/feed/ 0 http://vectorbloom.com/2012/01/game-trailer-on-youtube/ http://vectorbloom.com/2012/01/game-trailer-on-youtube/#comments Sat, 21 Jan 2012 07:38:32 +0000 Elizabeth Boylan http://vectorbloom.com/?p=1967

After developing multiple versions of Ecard Apps over the past 2 years,  we’ve decided to make the template of our in-house Ecard/ Modern Correspondence iPhone App available to artists and stationery designers who wish to release their own branded Ecard App for either a portfolio showcase or to generate revenue through App Sales on Apple’s App Store.

What’s unique about Verious.com is how the site is integrated with Elance.com and contract developers to help you release your own Ecard App. Some component reseller sites are intended for developers, yet we recognize the Custom Mobile Greetings App Starter is a high demand component for artists and stationery designers. This is where Verious is great as a component reseller for a non-developer looking for a contract iOS developer to modify the Custom Mobile Greetings App Starter Kit to their needs.

The Kit as is, is ready for distribution with minimal code changes. By following the project’s instructions manual, some people with web development experience will be able to handle any changes required to add their own art and graphic design content to the App Starter Kit, while others will require a developer to work with. The good news is the App’s template is completely built and tested, you can demo how it works by downloading our free app ArtCards By Elizabeth Boylan. The Custom Mobile Greetings App Starter Kit saves anywhere between $20,000- $30,000.00 of custom development costs and over 300 hour of development time. The end result is a very competitive iPhone App based on it’s many features and capabilities to create and send custom greetings, invitations, announcements or birthday wishes via MMS, HTML email, share on Twitter with iOS 5, and post to Facebook and Facebook Friend’s Wall.

Check it out on Verious.com!

Follow our Facebook Support page for news on the ArtCards app and the Custom Mobile Greetings App Starter Kit.

There are 2 licensing packages 1 for $199.99 for a single free app release on Apple’s App Store and a second for $299.99 for a commercial app (that’s an app sold on Apple’s App Store or distributed for free with In-App purchase). Both licensing packages on Chupamobile.com also come with limited support from the VectorBloom team, assuming that you’re a developer with some familiarity to iOS. If you’re the bomb at iOS development and  just want to save time helping an artist get their portfolio out to the world in a free iPhone App, the licensing package for $99.99 on Binpress is a no support license package for 1 non commercial iPhone app release on Apple’s App Store.

From our observation of the market of Apps, we feel  the Ecard App and Art category on the App Store really has room to expand and grow. Not one design house can meet everyone’s taste or flavour for visual art, stationery design or illustration. This is exactly why we think the Custom Mobile Greetings App Starter Kit is a perfect solution for artists and the Kit itself is going to be a wild success in 2012.

We are happy to announce that we’ve made the template for the ArtCards By Elizabeth Boylan App available to purchase from Binpress.com. We are offering 2 licensing packages starting from just under $100.00 for distributing a free version of  your very own iPhone App on Apple’s App Store and a second package just under $300.00 for a commericial app with up to 6 months support from the VectorBloom Team to get your app running and ready for distribution on Apple’s App Store.

We are also really impressed with the folks at Binpress.com, the quality of their service as well as the whole site. For every submission, they proceed with a thorough review and approval process to make sure the components that are listed on their site are created with integrity and quality for the end user. They even offer a 14 day money back guarantee. The Custom Mobile Greetings App Starter Kit for iOS is ideal for a developer working with an artist, illustrator, animator or photographer who wishes to use an iPhone App to share or promote their work. For anyone who is wanting to learn iOS development, the Kit is also a great tool for seeing how to put an app together with the accompanied Instructions.pdf manual that comes with the Kit.

To preview the app template in action download free ArtCards By Elizabeth Boylan App and imagine your own art work within the layout of the template. The Kit will save over 300 hours of development time or the cost of hiring a developer. Anyone wishing to distribute an iPhone App on Apple’s App Store will first need to join the Apple iOS Developer Program. We’re looking forward to seeing the many ‘Ecard’ or ‘Art Portfolio’ Apps that take advantage of this kit.

As an artist, I appreciate how important it is to get one’s portfolio out there and build one’s name. What better way than through a mobile app so other people can download to their iPhone or iPod touch one’s portfolio and view it in an interactive way?

Yet the cost for developing a mobile app for iOS and Android continues to be a significant barrier for entry for most businesses let alone an artist or photographer. Having designed and developed numerous apps for iOS, the reality is native app development requires expertise and design interface choices that can’t be left to chance. We previously custom developed a couple of Ecard apps in 2010 that received notable publicity and allowed the small business owner to significantly raise their business profile as a result. Thereafter, we received a number of inquiries from artists, photographers and galleries wanting a similar iPhone App to show case and share their artwork and photography.

We decided to revisit the design of a ‘Mobile greetings’ app and released our own free in-house app in the Spring of 2011.

The SDK is the full template of the ‘ArtCards By Elizabeth Boylan’ App, which is a unique UI design that engages the accelerometer to browse through ‘ArtCards’. The app can accommodate ‘unlimited’ greeting cards that are displayed in an accelerometer controlled carousel layout. Pinch Zoom and drag to edit text placement and size. User customization allows multiple lines of text, editable and custom fonts and sharing via email, MMS, Twitter, Facebook and Facebook friends and save to photos. The template also features a Web View for a visual artist’s on-line presence on Facebook, Twitter as well as their main website and a separate biography page.

More recently we were invited to participate on a site that allows VectorBloom to make the iOS SDK for a Custom Mobile Greetings Starter Kit available commercially to the public for developers working with businesses, artists, photographers and illustrators to feature a visual portfolio.

The ‘KIT’ as is, saves anyone between $12K- 20K in development costs or over 200 hours of development time. As a fully integrated app the SDK also significantly democratizes publishing for developers or artists on the iPhone and iPod touch who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford the time investment or custom development of a similar app.

It can take months to develop a remarkable app and that app will inevitably require maintenance. This starter Kit is so very versatile for developers to expand on or for artists, illustrators and photographers to substitute their portfolio and graphics within the template.

Before the end of this month we’ll post a link to purchase and download the Kit. Depending on feedback from users we’ll update the SDK to integrate with the Sincerely Framework to make the option of sending printed postcards through Sincerely Ink available within the KIT. Some licensing terms will apply for the sublicensee.

We are ready for beta testers! We’ve invited a small circle of VIP beta testers for Big Top Ballet the game. From their feedback we’re going to implement common suggestions on the game flow and and then we will open up to a wider audience of Beta Testers for the on-line version of BigTopBallet.

We can’t say how excited we are about this. I’ve been playing the game myself on-line and on the desk top. I am finding it a little addictive but I’m biased as the game artist and designer. Everyone will agree the music is awesome. But of course we need external impartial feedback. Although our initial release is for iOS, rather than using test flight, beta testing on-line is the easiest way for us to share the game on our servers and quickly implement adjustments based on game testers advice.

We are scheduling our official release for January 12, 2012 on Apple’s App Store for the iPad/ iPhone and iPod touch. We will be following with a release to Android. If you would like to beta test Big Top Ballet, we want to hear from you! Email: game {AT} bigtopballet.com.

When designing a game and working with a team, the vision becomes clearer as the game is developed. What makes the game fun on the iPad or Desk top, all of a sudden presents a subtle challenge on a different screen size or a non- mobile device.

Since we’re taking advantage of the accelerometer for iOS and Android as part of the game play and we also have plans to release to the Desk Top, instead of trying to make the game exactly the same on each platform, we’re tweaking the design so that the end result will have slight differences that enhance the game play based on the strengths of the platform it’s being played upon.

As a game artist and designer I find that these subtle differences lend to making the game more interesting and more likely to be explored on different devices or platforms as a process of discovery, so long as the device specific differences remain delightful.

We’ll be posting a video capture of the Paper Ballerinas level shortly on our site. We’ve been beta testing and even though this looks like a game for girls, it never fails to put a smile on the face of the men who play it!

It’s not enough to just create a game, there must be a ‘Why’ behind choices to guide the creative process. With thoughtful consideration, we have created Big Top Ballet’s Artistic Manifesto:

‘It is living by the conviction of our dreams that
we bring meaning to our role as creators and artists.

Our right to express freely a perfect beauty that inspires innocence and childlike curiosity
fuels our hearts to take risks through game art, dance, music and circus play.

Works of awe-inspiring music, art, costume, dance and story
carry us upon the chariot of the ever evolving game.

We will explore magically responsive sounds and visuals
to push new boundaries of artistic expression.

We seek to awaken the collective human soul
by playing with the imagination of game players.

Our ultimate destination?

The space between parallel dimensions,
somewhere between our hearts and the heavens.

Come play with us.’