Well it seems I didn’t make any of the launch day “Featured” spots, but I still want to make a splash. So I introduce to you my CRAZIEST idea yet. Smiles HD, regular price $4.99 is FREE April 3rd! http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smiles-hd/id364871736?mt=8 At of this writing, I’m #27 in the top games, literally 1 spot below the actual Top 100 Apps. So very close! I’ll be up for an hour or so, before getting some sleep prior to my trip to the US....
I’ve been waiting aaaaalllll day! A long day of waiting, but now that I have you my little green dot, it can finally end. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!...
Oh hey. Like literally an hour or two after that big epic blog post of mine, Apple let us know we could submit early. So I crunched the game together and did exactly that. Here’s some final video footage of the game....
Here’s an early development video of Smiles HD. The video shows a typical game of Drop at the Normal difficulty (typical for me at least)....
Alright! The iPad is coming soon, as is a brand new version of Smiles. As we speak I’m putting the finishing touches on Smiles HD, the all new higher resolution and slightly redesigned iPhone game coming soon to the iPad. Now, in the eyes of Apple I’m nobody special. So like many of you, I’ll be heading down to my local Apple store on launch day to pick me up an iPad… with one slight difference....
So, holy cow! GDC was absolutely insane! I almost don’t know where to start, but lets start from the beginning. First thing first, I won again!! Argh! They used that squished photo again! I even sent them a square one! Yes, as if winning a free car wasn’t enough, I also won a free trip to GDC. So Intel ended up covering my flight, putting me up in a fancy hotel, gave me some spending money, treating me to dinner, AND giving me nearly front row seats to a San Jose Sharks hockey game!...
For the benefit of friends and people I’m meeting at the show, here’s a run down of my itinerary for GDC. I’ll also be tweeting and watching twitter while I’m down for any impromptu meets, hang-outs, and whatever with people I know. If the twitter says “totally bored”, then you know. 🙂 If anybody I know needs my cell number, send me a quick e-mail (mike AT sykhronics dot com). It’s not my usual cell, but it’ll be my number whilst I’m in San Fran....
Ordinarily, greeting someone by glancing at their chest might be seen as a little rude (especially a lady), but at GDC it’s encouraged! Yes I’m talking about the passes, not making a pass. The passes do a good job of helping you connect a face to a name, and even a company, but you don’t always know who made or represents what. GDC passes include a relatively large pocket, so you could either make something to insert behind your name card, or cover the pass with some strategically placed stickers....
So last year, I was an IGF Mobile finalist. This little game of mine stood alongside iPhone favorites like Edge and Fieldrunners, vying for the “Best Mobile Game” award. And if I had won, … well, I have no idea. Even just being a finalist has been great for me, so I’d image it would have been MORE great. 😉 That was 2009, and this is 2010. This year started out as my “low key” and “quiet” GDC....
So hey. Back in December I finished up a 1.0 port of Smiles for Netbooks, and sent it to Intel by their early contest deadline. And hey, guess what? Advice: whenever somebody asks for a photo, send a square one, even if they don’t ask for square. Link here. Second place! That’s awesome. 😀 So hey, what does 2nd place actually mean? Yes, I won a car by making games. That’s just… wow!...