Heh... when I ran a review site I created a Hall of FAIL just for apps like this. Let's see ... there was the Knock on Wood app. It was a picture of wood. Then there was the eye chart app. It was a picture of an eye chart. Just that. A picture of an eye chart. But where the "developer" of Knock on Wood knew it was just a stupid app from the get go, the eye chart dude was totally serious about its utility. The same utility as saving a screenshot and putting it in your camera roll. Which is what I instructed my readers to do with the screenshot I posted. I must admit though, Mirror would have earned highest marks in my Hall of FAIL for being the only app in the entire App Store -- hell, the world that is less effective than turning your device off. But there is one thing worse than the fact that this is allowed on the App Store (other than it beating yours): People are buying this thing. And it has 3.5 stars.
PROMO CODE CONTEST!!! Okay here's an easy one. I made a screensaver some years back. Describe its unusual feature. First correct answer wins. No edited posts, no previous winners please.
I'm not being sanctimonious (that would imply some falsity or hypocrisy to my statements) and I'm sorry if you feel that I'm being whiny. I've tried to make it clear that my issue isn't about the money I spent. I gladly gave him my 2 bucks and I'm more than happy with the game. I'm just frustrated by the broken promises. I understand that things change and you have to roll with the punches, but that's why you can't, and shouldn't, make public statements unless you're willing to back them up. I had tons of respect for schplurg, and I still hold him in high regard, but there's gonna be that twinge when I go to purchase future games from him.
(one more try) PROMO CODE CONTEST!!! Okay here's an easy one. I made a screensaver some years back. Describe its unusual feature. First correct answer wins. No edited posts, no previous winners please.
People are walking in the city. If a firework touches a pedestrian, they will burst into flames, then disappear into a puff of smoke.
You can't stop yourself from making promises against doing something if you're not fully aware that there may be something that could make you break that promise down the road. I'm sure he fully intended to keep that promise when he made it, and I'm equally sure he wasn't aware that market forces could change that. Entering any market as a newbie is largely an unknown. You don't know what you'll be facing. You learn as you go, and the App Store in particular is a giant neon question mark. There's never been a market quite like this, and it's damn near impossible to gauge from a distance. Until you're waist-deep in it, you simply can't know what's going to come slithering between your legs. Er ... maybe that's not the most appealing analogy. Nevertheless, the point is you're holding a grudge against schplurg for encountering a situation he wasn't expecting and couldn't forsee. The broken promise was just a consequence of having to deal with that situation in the most effective way he could think of. Letting that diminish your esteem in him is unfair in the same way as getting mad at a friend who's late for a meeting because his car blew a head gasket; you place in him unreasonable expectations of unwavering fidelity in an imperfect world. He had good reason to renege on his promise, and I'm cool with that. The App Store is a weird-ass market, and it's hard to fully appreciate just how weird-ass until you're right in the middle of it.
It's cool you guys. Forget it. I appreciate the back-up but I understand the frustration. You're both right. So uh... How 'bout those Sharks? Lost again! Damn. Hey, Dave owns property somewhere, anyone who has the game already know what and where? No prize, just a way to change the subject. Anybody know about the "5002" error when trying to redeem an iTunes Gift? What I did was I bought a bunch of "gifts" of Daredevil Dave and figured i could send those to people instead of promo codes. But they don't work. I bought them and sent them to myself, and when I send them to contest winners etc, there is a 5002 error. Anyone know why?
Well, I've always felt that your word is your bond and if you make a promise, you darn well better keep it. Perhaps that's just me and not everyone feels the same way. And I'm not harboring a grudge against schplurg. The fact that he encountered an unforeseeable situation is sad, yes, but that's not the problem. The problem arose when he made the choice to go back on his word. The resulting diminished esteem is warranted because of this voluntary choice. Your analogy is flawed, in that the blown head gasket is a situation out of your friend's control. He didn't choose to have the head gasket blow and cause his lateness. A more reasonably comparable analogy would be if the friend was late to something he promised to be at because he chose to stop and grab some froyo on the way, knowing full well that it would make him late to the thing he promised to be at. Knowing that your friend made that choice would likely upset you. Schplurg could have chosen to stand by his word and leave the price at $1.99 and taken some other steps to drum up interest, just like your friend could have continued past the froyo stand and been on time. I understand the reasoning behind the decision. You've gotta do what you've gotta do. All's fair in business. Yada yada yada... I still view him as a respectable dev, but I will think twice before plunking down my dwindling discretionary funds next time. Once bitten, twice shy. I appreciate that he is active in the forum and is striving to make the best game possible. But trust is a tricky thing. Once it's gone, it's hard to regain. I'm sorry for belaboring the point. I just want it to be clear that I was upset that a promise made only days ago that influenced my purchase decision was broken so quickly. It left a bad taste in my mouth and I felt justified in speaking up and saying so. FYI, Mindfield, I have growing respect for you, sticking up for your beliefs and engaging in a civil discussion. It's not often that I find someone else in the forum who's willing to throw in his two cents in a thorough, genuine, and constructive manner. Kudos! And Schplurg, I mean no disrespect. I'm just bummed by the situation. Again, had the initial promise never been made (you don't need to justify your price drops, provided you haven't promised not to make any), I'd have been happily catching up on Fringe while gamers would blissfully be downloading a ROCK SOLID game at a STELLAR price.
I wish people held the politicians in my country as accountable for their promises as they do a one-man dev team for theirs. They actually use the word "promise", I did not. I'm sorry you are unhappy. I've been diplomatic and been the cool dev through all this, but I've explained myself and apologized more than most other devs or publishers would. I'm done.
I think keeping promises are important. But I also think for sanity's sake you need to be flexible and leave room for some understanding in situations like these. I just can't get worked up about failing to maintain a principle when the alternative is to stick to them at the possible expense of your own success, especially when the promise was over such a trifling thing. Perhaps the timing of it wasn't ideal, but here too time is of the essence when you're trying to stave off the inevitable dwindling of sales and visibility on the App Store, and I'm sure you know how critical visibility is in the early stages of an app's life as a determiner of its long-term success. Especially for a freshman effort. You're perfectly entitled to your feelings on the matter, and it's not like you can help it. I just felt it was equally important to present the other side of the issue. Your analogy doesn't quite fit though; stopping for some froyo is an elective and trivial thing to no other purpose than feeding one's desire for for a treat, which is not the case here. A more apt (though significantly more bizarre) analogy would be if, for whatever reason, he couldn't possibly make the meeting without some froyo. Perhaps it's incredible froyo that contains essential eletrolytes he needs to make it to the meeting. Or ... something. But that's what's happened here: He needed to change his plans a little to keep his app visible and possibly make the What's Hot list to extend the initial push, and had he not done so it's entirely possible Daredevil Dave would quickly sink into the obscurity of Page Two, which would be a shame. Well, thank you. I like to support developers in whatever capacity I can, and it being a matter that hits a little close to home, I tend to catch some of the blowback from attacks on a good dev's credibility when his actions were deemed necessary to promote continued success. I also like seeing good devs who come up with great apps succeed, as that's always a win-win for everyone. This is an excellent platform and an amazing community -- developers and users alike -- and I want to support that in every way I can.
Group hug? Does anyone know why someone trying to redeem an App Gift in iTunes would result in a 5002 error? I sent the gifts to myself hoping I could later send them to contest winners etc, but they don't work. I can't even redeem them myself. ??
I agree, you guys both clearly and calmly made your points, and you both do have a point, but let's move on from it. Schplurg all I can tell you is keep your chin up. You've made an awesome game that a ton of people love, including myself, and you should be incredibly proud of that. What do the Mirror app people have to be proud of? They "made" something that, as Mindfield so nicely put it, "is less effective than turning your device off." Plus, you never know when success will strike. Not sure if you've read this article, but the lesson is to never give up http://www.owmyballsthegame.com/?p=728 Ugh. Please, PLEASE don't remind me. I can only hope now that we at least don't get swept
Oh my chin is definitely up! Dave has been a great success. Being currently #1 racing, top 4 or so in Action and having been in the top 20 paid apps has been quite rewarding. Just trying to keep it going.
Just bought this game. Didn't even know about it before tonight. Watched the video, saw the 99 cents price, and now downloading. That's 2 games, which is my weekly quota. And you guys need to stop picking on devs for changing prices. They work HARD to make games - it's not easy at all. If you've never programmed, you have no idea how much work it really is. You would be stunned. Remember, they are hoping to make some money from all their work. Sometimes they feel forced to lower prices, and you have to accept that. I bought 100 Rogues for $5, and it's so buggy I stopped playing it. Someday they'll get the bugs fixed, the game will be amazing, and the price WILL drop. Will I complain about it when that happens? Nope. Nobody forced me to spend the money and I took my chances.
I worked on Dave for 5 - 6 months, every night, and some days. It was a full time job, after my day job. And I loved every minute of it...although I did cuss out my computer many times trying to figure out why code didn't work It's a big job doing it alone. The core gameplay, sounds, the menus (ugh I hate that), adding new last minute features, the icon, promoting, creating threads at TA, making videos, answering support questions. I really do love it (except the menus)
How are there any people out there still who don't have this awesome game? I have not spent more time with an app on my iPod than this one. It is fun, funny, replayable, and a stupid amazing awesome great wonder-deal at normal price. At $1.99 and $0.99 it should be purchased by everyone else in the iDevice community. I would have though I got a sweet deal on this had I bought it at $9.99. Now, Schplurg, when can we expect more levels?
