IamA One of my old MS-DOS games was released as one of Internet Archive browser games AMA!

What technology do you use to create your apps?

I started with Basic on C64. I made Save Larisa with Turbo Pascal on a 486DX2/66. Currently use an i5 touch screen PC.

I mostly write my apps in Adobe Air with help from Photoshop and Adobe Audition. But I am starting to play with Blender and Unity to make 3D games.

Since you are developing for iOS, whats your opinion on metal?

It is more useful than OpenGL and doesn't freeze up the CPU as much. But I still prefer Unity over Metal as more devices can run the app. It would be useful for more high end graphic developers. I like how Asphalt 8 runs now using the Metal API (but that's not my game).

Wait, you can make apps outside of x code?? Any Windows support yet?

I write all of my iOS apps on PC. You will need access to a Mac to send apps to the App Store via XCode or Application Loader. I use Application Loader.

I use Adobe Air to create my iOS apps. Famous apps (not mine) such as Angry Birds and SongPop were also written in Adobe Air. What made me first get into Adobe Air was reading a blog by one of the Angry Birds developers. The SongPop developers open source their Air Native Extensions so anyone can use them.

I LOVE this answer.

Can you elaborate on your Adobe Air usage?

What do your projects look like? Is it all Flex/AS? What version/s of the framework/s do you use?

Are you a part of any relatively active communities that discuss the sort of work you do?

As a c++, java, and web stack developer who often gets sucked into UI/UX crap-work, I can say that I LONG for the projects I was a part of that leveraged Adobe Flex. ReactMobile gives me hope, but there really was nothing better than the awesomeness of Action Script w/ Flex. It really was pretty. Not even -- it was beautiful.

Flex 4.6 and Air 17.0. I use Github and help people struggling at times in the comment sections.

why are most of your iOS games free but Muzzle is $219?

That's because I don't want anyone downloading it.

EDIT: Mostly because it is a bit broken and easier than taking it off the App Store. I don't think anyone would be silly enough to buy it when it is going to be free once I fix it up. It still works but not how I want it.

I've heard Apple often bump heads with devs, but seriously it's hard to remove an app? That seems like it should be a couple of clicks..I'm curious, how do they make it hard? what's the process of removing an app like?

Basically you cannot call an App that name again if you take it off. Also you lose all the current users of that app.

Errrmmm ... I just managed to "play" the game for about 10 seconds until its DRM triggered and told me:

UNREGISTERED VERSION
PLEASE REGISTER!

... typed out really s .... l .... o ..... w ..... l ...... y .....

So, did you expect your copy protection to (mis?)fire two decades later when you made your game?

And why is the Internet Archive distributing unlicensed copies? ;)

I should find the key maker I made for that game (if I still have it) and just give the Internet Archive a registration key.

If you can't find it then I'll crack it for you.

Sure I give you permission to do that.

Did you get any kind of notice that the game was going to be available? Or did you just browse the list and find it in there?

Nope no notice. I actually found out about it from Reddit's front page a couple months back that the Internet Archive compiled that list. I clicked through and had a look and was like... damn didn't expect that.

EDIT: I am happy that they chose to put it on there though.

Which app are you most proud of ?

I like Shazam the most out of any app, mostly because a mobile device is perfect for that sort of app.

Out of games i've wrote i'd say Lands of Crom which was an old BBS door game. I am currently reworking it into a mobile app. Out of the apps I have on the store i'd say the ones that got to number 1 as it gave me a fuzzy feeling :)

ever played legend of the red dragon bbs game or usurper? Loved those games

Yes I used to love Legend of the Red Dragon 1 and 2. I didn't play Usurper as much. I liked Arrowbridge.

What would you recommend to a new software developer interested in developing games? Any recent resources or tools you find would be good to start off with/hit the ground running?

YouTube, Stack Overflow, and some subreddits are also useful. I would recommend Adobe Air for newbies as it's quite easy to work with. It is beneficial to learn UI/UX as the look and feel of apps is one of the most important things. I started with textbooks though.

Did you have a crush on Alex Mack? I know I did.

Yes I had a major crush on her LOL, the whole reason I made the Save Larisa game. I wouldn't miss an episode. Good old 90s.

if you were going to make a game similar to Save Larissa nowadays, which celeb would you focus a game on?

A game about Bruce Jenner would be funny

How much forward would you say the PC is in making games for? Rather than PlayStation, or Xbox?

PC has many different programming environments compared to PlayStation and XBox. Games made for PlayStation and XBox require extra credentials and really need a distributor more so than PC games which can be delivered from services such as Steam.

How did you get into software development?

My dad got me into it by giving me a computer for my 8th birthday and heaps of programming textbooks. When I was 3 playing Venture on Colecovision I said to him that I wanted to make games.

/r/titlegore

How did it feel to know your game was uploaded online? Did you care? We're you angry or proud. Or what?

I was proud. I don't mind what people do with it as I made it like 17 years ago now.

If we're talking what has the best revenue for developers..would you rather throw in a cheap app or two every month or investing your time and money in making a complex one before releasing it? Which is more rewarding?

I'd say a complex one would be more rewarding personally as it's more of an achievement but even a simple app can be rewarding as long as the user experience is amazing.

Any advice for aspiring software developers?

You have the potential to change the world. You can go with making apps you find useful yourself or go with something that could change lives around the world. I know it sounds kinda corny, but even the Internet came alive due to software developers.

In the broadest sense what would you say has been the single most significant change in software development since you started and today?

The ease of making apps and basically how limitless the ideas can be these days. When I first started it was on a C64 which was a pain even editing code once it was written.

However, back then, it seems like there was much more potential to be the first at something fundamental. Or what do you think?

It does seem like that, but there is that saying that everything that could be invented has been invented. I feel we are just at the start and there should be massive breakthroughs in the future.

What is your favorite platform to develop for?

I prefer iOS Universal (iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad).

What are your thoughts on Swift? I'm learning web dev now, aiming to move towards iOS, and I'm not sure if I should start with Objective-C and move to Swift, or start with Swift and potentially learn Objective-C later.

I personally find Objective-C hellish.

Was a fee charged to register Save Larisa? If so, how much did you end up making off of registrations?

The fee was $5 for registration. I did give away a few registrations back in the day but no one ever paid to registered it. It's okay because I make money from my App Store apps these days. Win some, lose some.

What's your favorite food?

Chilli con carne

What's your stance on having retro games available to play for free like the internet archive does? What about emulation?

If the game is old enough I cannot see any problem personally as it helps preserve them for future generations to see exactly how games were.

Do you play any PC games now? If so, what interests you?

GTA 4 is my fave PC Game. GTA V Online is my fave game overall but that's on console.

Do you know where the Internet Archive got your game? Was it available on any of those shareware websites?

It looks like they got it from MobyGames as someone posted it up there in 2007. It is on quite a few abandonware sites around the internet though.

How easy is it to make an iOS app/game using air?

I know js/Jquery, HTML, CSS, unreal, maya, zbrush,Photoshop, after effects, etc, and actually work at a AAA studio now, just interested in seeing how difficult it would be.

I would say you would have zero problem. You would just need to learn the syntax and stuff, but with that experience I cannot see you running into difficulties.

Which of your apps reached #1?

Guess Song, XOX and Fast Brick: Smash The Bricks.

How do you feel about MUDs? And did you ever code for one and/or play?

Yes used to love them back in the BBS days.

What Ms-Dos game you spent most time playing?

Dune 2

Why does Muzzle cost $220?

Basically because I don't want people to buy it. I gave a more in depth answer earlier to someone else :)