

Show HN: Learned Objective C as a high schooler and made this iPhone game - Firecracker
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-deeps/id532041586?mt=8

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MartinCron
An old guy here: I too was making video games in high school, but mine never
nearly looked as good as this, nor did they ever get this kind of an audience.
You don't know how good you've got it :)

Good work and good luck with whatever you decide to make next!

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TheGateKeeper
You're claiming to be an "old guy here" and making video games in high-school?

wtf. that's not old. wait till you're in your 50s or 60s to call yourself old.

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logn
I think he meant that he _was_ making games in high school but is now "old"
(e.g, 50s).

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biot
Nicely done! I noticed it was sold by <http://makegameswith.us/> \-- can you
elaborate on why you chose them? I notice that they take 30% after Apple takes
its 30%, leaving you with just under half of the selling cost as your gross
revenue in exchange for help and promotion. How widely have they promoted the
game? Your game is also translated into tons of languages; did you need to
arrange this yourself, or is that something they helped out with?

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DesaiAshu
MGWU co-founder here, to clarify we take 20c of 99c (30% of the 70c post
Apple) so the developer keeps majority :). The localization on iTunes showed
up by accident due to the Appirater library
(<https://github.com/arashpayan/appirater>) being localized, will be fixed in
an update

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biot
Right, that was my understanding. 70% of 99c is ~70c. 70% of 70c is ~49c. 70%
of 70% nets the developer 49% of the 99c selling price; just under half.

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jvrossb
We'll definitely explain this in a clearer way as we move out of beta. Out of
99c Apple takes 29c and we take 20c leaving the developer with 50c, so
slightly over half :)

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trishume
Fellow high school IOS programmer here. This is pretty cool, It's nice that
you get help with the art, that is the main thing that keeps me from making
games. Instead I just make apps for psychological researchers:
<http://hume.ca/ix>

~~~
jvrossb
Hey, we'll make art for your games too! Drop me a line at
jeremy@makegameswith.us if you're interested.

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jjb123
Just downloaded it. Curious - from start to app store, how long did it take?

~~~
Firecracker
Roughly 3-4 months. I was taking classes at the same time, so I worked about
an hour a day.

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saxamaphone69
I've always wanted to learn a language and make a game out of it, but
procrastination always gets the better of me (5 years later, I still haven't
learnt anything). Congratulations, good luck and keep it up!

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finkin1
Did you learn Objective C as part of your high school curriculum or by
yourself in your spare time? I think all high schoolers should at least have
an introduction to programming in high school, if not middle school.

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Firecracker
I connected with makegameswith.us through high school. I first learned to
program in a class freshman year.

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mrdmnd
Congratulations, Chris! I'm sure Mr. T and Mr. S are very proud, too. The work
looks fantastic; Jeremy and Ashu have done a great job getting art assets into
place for you guys.

\-- A friendly HS alum

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Firecracker
Thanks Matt! I'd like to think that I'm putting what they taught me to good
use.

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GoofyGewber
I've been trying to learn Objective C and make iOS Apps, where did you learn?
Everything I've tried so far has been really, really boring or outdated.

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Firecracker
Try going to makegameswith.us! That's where I learned.

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orangethirty
Well done. What are your next plans?

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Firecracker
With regards to this project, I'm considering making a sequel and an iPad
version. Otherwise, I'm pretty busy at the moment, but I have an idea for a
bigger mobile project that I'm not ready to unveil just yet...

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archgoon
Did you create the sprites yourself, or did you contract an artist?

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Firecracker
I got help with the art and with learning Objective C from makegameswith.us
They were awesome in making the whole thing possible.

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Firecracker
For sure! They helped guide us through the process of learning Objective C
with Cocos2D, and lent a hand if we ever got too stuck. Also, they provided
the art to complement our code and published the game out on the app store.

~~~
speg
Did you look into any other frameworks besides Cocos? I just taught myself
Objective-C this year and love it so far. I'd like to get into making games
next and it seems Cocos is the the most popular/recommended so far.

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anonymoushn
Do you have any gameplay videos or promotional videos?

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drizzzle
MGWU art/marketing dude here...Thanks for asking. Gameplay videos will most
certainly be part of our promotions package in the very near future (read:
probably a YouTube channel). In the meantime, I can assure you that this game
is legit and future updates will make it well worth your investment.

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SG-
how much have you made off this game and how long has it been in the app
store?

~~~
jvrossb
The App has been out for a couple of days. Apple's sales reports are delayed
for yesterday so we're not sure how much Chris has made yet. While it was free
it made top 25 puzzle and arcade games in 3 stores and top 100 puzzle and
arcade in a couple more including the US!

