Beginning iPhone Games Development – Book

Posted by on Aug 30, 2010 in iOS Apps | 1 comment

I recently ordered and received the Apress – Beginning iPhone Games Development book. You can check it out here from Amazon. So far the book has blown my mind with tons of different concepts and approaches to different games. A lot of the book so far focuses on a game called Space Rocks! which is just like the old Asteroids game. The first few chapters have us make the game using Quartz/UIKit the later chapters have recreated the same project using OpenGL ES 1.1 but entirely in 2D (so far). The book does an awesome job of explaining the various aspects of game design including the all important game loop. Another great concept that is followed throughout the book is the MVC (Model View Controller) architecture. The book teaches you key concepts about what each part of your game should be doing and what it should not be doing. For example during a rendering phase you should not be updating the game, during the update phase you should not be rendering etc. I am not even half way through the book yet and already have a few ideas for different games. The only issue I am having is what engine I want to use should I stick with Quartz/UIKit or make the leap to OpenGL and a much more upgradable game? Well I am going to keep reading and keep working so like always Enjoy!

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$0.01 Default Case Review

Posted by on Aug 29, 2010 in Reviews | 5 comments

On August 24th I posted about the $0.01 cases I had found from Default Case. I ordered one to try out and see how good it was for the cheap price. So far I LOVE the case. It feels like rubber, is durable like plastic, and just looks cool. The case fits perfectly over the phone giving you access to you volume buttons and silent switch. The top and bottom are uncovered to allow full access to the bottom and top of the phone which means any accessories you already have should work flawlessly. The cases have a nice feeling to them that allow you to grip them securely and still add very little to the size of the phone. I think one of the best things is that this case works perfectly with an Invisible Shield. The case just grips the metal lip on the band around the phone which leaves the screen perfectly open for a screen protector. One issue I had with the bands that wrap around the iPhone is that it would push my Invisible Shield off around the edges on the back of the phone. Since this case has the back covered and doesn’t interfere with the screen protector on the front this combination is providing perfect coverage and protection. You can check out my initial post about the cases here to see the pictures of the different cases currently available.  Read more here...

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iPhone 4 Cases for $0.01 (Plus $3.99 Shipping) – Default Case

Posted by on Aug 24, 2010 in iPhone | 4 comments

Yesterday while checking out various websites I came across an ad from Default Case. They are working hard to build up a following for their products. They make iPhone 4 cases and they have about 8 different colors. The best thing about this company? They are using their entire advertising budget to subsidize the cost of the cases. The result? They are currently selling their cases for $0.01 (with $3.99 for shipping). This is a very good deal, even competitive with cases found on eBay. It looks like the entire business model for the company is based around the idea of building a strong following for its high quality cases and eventually selling them at $34.99 once they have proven their quality and reliability. It is nice to see a new company take a new approach to generating sales and this company is using most of its advertising money just to sell early adopters cheap cases. They also sell cases for the iPhone 3G and 3GS.  Read more here...

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Object Oriented Programming

Posted by on Aug 19, 2010 in Programming | 0 comments

Programming in Objective-C
When I first began programming, I learned the old and easy language of BASIC. BASIC was fun and not overly difficult for a novice programmer. I remember I bought a Learn to Program in BASIC CD at one of the book fairs. The CD had plenty of walk-throughs and sample code that let you create interfaces all the way to simple games. This language is known as a “procedural language” which simply means that the program follows a set procedure during execution. The language is very “English-like” and is very easy for nonprofessionals to pick up on. Unlike Object Oriented Programming, Procedural follows a set procedure with commands like GOTO, and GOSUB. By issuing a goto command you are essentially telling your program to jump to this line of code. With OOP you simply call your method with any values you wish to send and voila your method executes. The methods in OOP are similar to functions in PP. With OOP  the main focus is on well Objects. In OOP, each object is capable of receiving messages, processing data, and sending messages to other objects. Each object can be viewed as an independent ‘machine’ with a distinct role or responsibility. Whereas PP follows a structure of code OOP allows programming logic to be reused by various objects.  Read more here...

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UILocalNotifications Epiphany

Posted by on Aug 18, 2010 in iOS Apps, iPhone | 0 comments

While reading iPhone Developer’s Cookbook, I had a strange epiphany. I was finishing up the chapter on Objective-C Boot Camp, and the idea hit me. I recently had a tough time implementing local push notifications into iSupplement (also iRx Tracker).  Read more here...

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