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9780470952788

The Art of the App Store The Business of Apple Development

by
  • ISBN13:

    9780470952788

  • ISBN10:

    0470952784

  • Edition: 1st
  • Format: Paperback
  • Copyright: 2011-12-06
  • Publisher: Wrox
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List Price: $29.99

Summary

The Art of the App Store provides those who are looking to develop games for the iPhone and iPod Touch a non-technical guide to navigating the opportunity and peril of the App Store, including best practices for all aspects of market research, streamlined game development, and successful app marketing. Many developers protect revelations like those appearing in this book as if they were state secrets. This book opens up the vault to success.Important Topics Covered: Analyzing successful games: Combining aspects of popular titles for a new niche Creating a specification document: How it saves you time, money, and yields a better app Recruiting and outsourcing: Utilize a global workforce the right way Learning from the Master: Adopting Apple's approach to software Marketing wizardry: Rolling unique features into your app for maximal low-cost marketing

Author Biography

Tyson McCann owns Nth Iterate, a game design and consulting company. As a freelance game design, social media, and user experience consultant, he has worked for major game companies including Sega, 3DO, the Tetris Company, Fisher-Price, and Funcom. His experience includes design and development on multiple iPhone apps, including a top-grossing, multiplayer game that can be found in the App Store Hall of Fame.

Table of Contents

Introduction xv
A Brief History of Time in the App Storep. 1
Time in a Tablep. 1
The Early App Storep. 5
Novel Uses of the Touch Screenp. 6
Simplicity Succeeds While Complexity Failsp. 8
The Modern App Storep. 9
The Slow March Toward Complex Appsp. 10
How Niches Have Changed from the Early App Storep. 10
Summaryp. 11
Setting Your Goals, Costs, and Expectationsp. 13
Confronting the âÇ£Hero InventorâÇ  Syndromep. 13
Benefitting by Doing It Yourselfp. 14
Outsourcingp. 15
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Going It Alonep. 20
Considering Your Fundamental Costsp. 23
Programmingp. 24
Factoring in UI/UX for Game/App Designp. 25
Factoring in Art Designp. 26
Considering Your Optional Costsp. 26
Audio Costsp. 26
Special Effects Costsp. 27
Localization for Foreign Marketsp. 27
Quality Assurance/Testingp. 28
Public Relations and Marketingp. 29
Advertising Costsp. 30
Managing Your Expectationsp. 31
The App Store as a Crowded Zoop. 31
Planning for Cost Overrunsp. 32
Scheduling with an Iron Fistp. 32
Summaryp. 32
Researching the App Store Marketp. 33
Examining the Numbers and Trendsp. 33
Making Decisions Based on Researchp. 36
Opportunity Size: Is There a Hole in the Market?p. 37
Choosing Your Nichep. 38
Perform Due Diligence Earlyp. 39
Summary Decisionsp. 40
Analyzing Successful Appsp. 41
Exploring Popular Featuresp. 48
Exploring Visual Stylesp. 49
Exploring Social Integrationp. 50
Exploring the iPhone Hall of Famep. 51
Avoiding Pesky Ego Trapsp. 51
Game Concepts: Old versus Newp. 53
Analyzing Unsuccessful Appsp. 55
Learning from Other People's Mistakesp. 57
Learning from Other People's Complaintsp. 58
Mixing and Matchingp. 59
Borrowing Style and Functionality from Mainstream
Applications/Games (the Picasso Way)p. 59
Pulling Out Successful Features for a Twistp. 60
Summaryp. 60
Knowing Your Customerp. 63
Understanding App Store Demographicsp. 64
Casual and Traditional Gaming Pillarsp. 65
iPhone Casual versus Traditional Casualp. 68
Meeting Your CustomerâÇÖs Expectationsp. 68
Visual and Graphical Expectationsp. 69
Gameplay and Feature Set Expectationsp. 69
Competitive Feedback Researchp. 91
Summaryp. 91
Plotting the Stages of Developmentp. 93
Leadership and Your Teamp. 94
Assumptions about Your Rolep. 95
Your Starting Lineupp. 95
A Controlling Idea to Kick Things Offp. 98
Concept through Releasep. 100
Maximizing Your App through Agile Developmentp. 101
Planning — Envisioning Your Visionp. 104
Schedulingp. 107
Production and Stages of Developmentp. 115
Coordinating Marketingp. 119
Summaryp. 121
Guidelines and Expectations for Developing Your Appp. 123
Potential Risk and Rewardp. 124
Paid Apps Are Seen as WYSIWYGp. 124
What Incentives Can You Provide When Sales Dwindle?p. 124
Are You Planning on In-App Purchases?p. 124
Can You Go Free?p. 125
Like Winning the Lotteryp. 125
Revenue Like a Rollercoasterp. 126
App Store Business Modelsp. 127
Free Appsp. 127
Paid App Revenue Models and Price Expectationsp. 129
Creating for a Multitasking Worldp. 132
Understanding the Effects of Multitasking on the Brainp. 133
Seeing the Phone as the Ultimate Multitasking Toolp. 133
The Half-Second Windowp. 133
Understanding Typical User Tendencies with Touch Screensp. 134
Building Initial Interactions That Meet the
âÇ£Half-Second WindowâÇ p. 134
Depicting the Physical Worldp. 136
Using Physical Metaphors to Delight Your Audiencep. 136
Designer/Branding Exercise:
Creating Metaphors for Your Appp. 139
Utilizing Physical Forces: Gravity, Weather, Objectsp. 143
The Importance of Sound in Physical Metaphorsp. 144
Summaryp. 144
Creating Free and Freemium Appsp. 145
App Revenue Terminologyp. 146
Microtransactionp. 146
Downloadable Content (DLC)p. 146
Free Appp. 148
Freemium Appp. 148
In-App Purchasep. 149
Free-to-Play App (F2P)p. 149
Lite Appp. 149
Long Tail Strategyp. 150
Business Reasons behind Revenue Modelsp. 150
Free App Considerationsp. 150
Freemium App Considerationsp. 151
Lite App Considerationsp. 153
Considering Risks and Rewardsp. 155
Free Appsp. 155
'Freemium Appsp. 156
Lite Appsp. 156
Minimizing Risk for Any Appp. 157
How to Succeed with a Free Appp. 157
Free Appsp. 157
Lite Appsp. 160
Supporting Your App with Adsp. 165
How to Succeed with a Freemium Appp. 168
Microtransactions and the Long Tailp. 169
Viable Ways to Monetizep. 170
Implementing a Virtual Currency Systemp. 172
Succeeding with the Freemium Modelp. 176
Summaryp. 176
Creating Paid and Premium Appsp. 177
Business Reasons behind Revenue Modelsp. 178
Two Types of Paid Appsp. 178
Entertainment versus Practicality or Education in
Price Point Determinationp. 179
Non-Premium Paid App Considerationsp. 180
Premium Paid App Considerationsp. 181
Considering Risks and Rewardsp. 183
Non-Premium Paid Appsp. 183
Premium Paid Appsp. 184
How to Succeed with Paid Appsp. 184
The Paid App Mentalityp. 184
Integrating Your Lite Versionp. 187
Adding In-App Purchasesp. 192
Summaryp. 193
Adopting Apple's Approachp. 195
Infusing an Insane Amount of Carep. 196
Treating User Experience as Kingp. 197
The Little Things MatterâÇ  More Than You Thinkp. 200
Value-Added Benefits (Go Farther Than You Think You Should)p. 202
Customer as Kingp. 203
Adapting Apps to iPadp. 204
Case Study: Tapbotsp. 206
High-Contrast Brandingp. 206
Refined, Responsive, Simplistic Interfacep. 207
No Transitionsp. 208
Standard Conventionsp. 208
Summaryp. 209
Riding the Social Networking Wavep. 211
Fostering the Ultimate Viral Marketing: Social Networksp. 212
Integrating In-App Networksp. 212
Building Achievements, Medals, Badges, and Other Rewardsp. 218
Taking Cues from Facebookp. 219
Everything Is More Fun with Friendsp. 220
ItâÇÖs All about Metrics — Tweak Values Early and Oftenp. 220
Ignoring Facebook Conventionsp. 222
Waiting Is Not Funp. 223
No Forced Friends, Pleasep. 223
Rewarding Users for Promoting Your Appp. 224
Gifting with Virtual Objects, Free Stuffp. 224
Providing Users with a Sense of Communityp. 227
Social Interaction as Featuresp. 227
Features versus Extrasp. 228
Setting the Stage for Users to Competep. 228
Providing the Tools for Users to Connectp. 232
Implementing Facebook Connect and Twitterp. 232
Fostering Your In-App User Communityp. 234
Maximizing Viral Channelsp. 235
Summaryp. 240
Feedback, Maintaining, and Sc alingp. 243
Evaluating Feedbackp. 244
Soft Launch Preparationp. 244
Main Launch Feedbackp. 245
Taking the Good and the Badp. 246
Converting Data into Actionablesp. 247
Maintenance Isn't Just Fixing, It's Marketingp. 250
Customer Support Is Keyp. 250
Timely Updatesp. 253
Scalingp. 253
Releasing New Contentp. 253
Building for Other Platformsp. 254
The Future of Your Appp. 254
Summaryp. 256
Reading List of Recommended Booksp. 257
App Developmentp. 257
Business and Project Managementp. 257
iOS Programmingp. 258
Design and Artp. 258
Marketingp. 258
Creativity and Inspirationp. 259
Online Resourcesp. 261
Research and Metricsp. 261
App Store Metrics and Rankingsp. 261
App Usage and Engagement Metricsp. 262
Website Metrics and SEOp. 262
Planning and Communicatingp. 263
Outsourcingp. 263
Project Managementp. 263
E‑Mail, Video Conferencing, Chat, and Screen Sharingp. 265
Developingp. 265
iOS Developmentp. 265
Social Game Solutionsp. 266
Brainstorming and Prototypingp. 267
Documentationp. 268
Cross-Platform Developmentp. 268
Royalty-Free Audiop. 269
Marketingp. 269
App News and Review Sitesp. 269
Ad Networks and Affiliatesp. 270
Award Sitesp. 271
Press Release Submissionp. 271
E‑Mail Marketingp. 272
Full-Featured Marketing Solutionsp. 272
Social Mediap. 272
Customer Supportp. 274
Indexp. 275
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

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