Shipping my first app
Download Magic Counter Lite from the app store here.
I’ve been playing magic on and off for years. It’s a game that stays new and exciting because Wizards of the Coast continually adds new features. I remember seeing my first magic card, it was a Leviathan in my favorite color.
The image of the sea creature and swirl of the blue border mesmerized me. And then I learned how powerful the card was, and I was hooked on the artwork and the game play.
I’ve been an artist and table-top gamer since my teen years. Although I’ve played countless games, and enjoy more than I can name, none are as diverse in or near and dear to me as Magic. In Magic, brilliant art work converges with the opportunity to be intellectually challenged. Furthermore, because Magic has been around for so long, there are nearly 20k cards floating around. If you know another card game that is more complex I’d love to hear about it.
Fast forward a few years, post college, and in the midst of a career transition. I decided to update my professional skillset. I embarked on a journey to learn programming. I tried my hand at some free online courses, but didn’t really gain much momentum. Even though I’d gotten my under-grad in graphic design, I seemed to really struggle when it came to web development. People kept telling me that learning to program is pretty hard for a lot of people, especially in the early stages. They kept telling me to stick with it, that I needed to get over that first major learning curve. It wasn’t until I found iOS, and Xcode that it clicked as to what had been missing. The visual element. Xcode offers a way to visually layout your assets as well as write the code that gives them interactivity. I’m still very much a beginner, but I’m actually finally starting to make progress, and enjoying the process.
Here is a snippet of the Magic Counter Lite app from the Xcode environment, the full code can be found on Github. As you can see, in one pane I have the visual elements, and in the second pane some of the code that makes the various features come to life.
To push myself further, I decide to submit my first app to the App Store. I’m pleased to announce that it has been approved, and will be available for download within 24 hours. This process has been an exciting experience, and I’m learning a ton about launching an app.
A lot of us beginning developers try to solve problems that we can relate to. The problem I focused on is that I struggle to find the correct number on a 20 sided dice while playing Magic. This lead me to build a life counter to replace the need for a 20 sided die. As an added bonus, my counter can track life when it’s more than 20.
Before building my app, I focused on the design and the UI. I downloaded a bunch of other apps that had a similar purpose. What I discovered is that a lot of them over complicate the life counter. It seemed like a lot of the apps added unnecessary features just for the sake of it. Each app I tested had two major things in common; they all lacked of simplicity, and none of them were intuitive to use. I wanted to create an app that the user could engage with immediately without a learning curve. I wanted to keep the focus and attention on the game.
Since simplicity and ease of use were the goals, I chose a minimalist design aesthetic. I chose a modern font that leverages readability. I made the +/- buttons easy to tap with very large hit areas, while being visually modest. I’m most excited by the score board. If I’m being completely honest, it’s because I enjoy gloating about how many games I’ve won in a best of seven match.
I chose the subtle colors from the mana symbols because they are soft on the eyes and as a nod to the game. I included colorless for those that like to be more secretive about their decks. My favorite features are the addition of swipe gestures. You can easily change the life counter by one by tapping
the add or subtract buttons. You can increase or decrease your life by five or ten by swiping up and down, or right and left. When your life goes below one, the life counter turns red.
Sometimes I play the same opponent in multiple games, thus the desire to have a score board. You can add one to your wins tally by tapping the win button. Tapping the lose button reduces the tally by one, and if you change opponents you can tap reset to bring the tally back to zero.
Magic Counter Lite is available for download now. I eagerly await the thrashing I will get from the Magic Community, and am seeing it as an opportunity to grow. If you’re interested in checking out, search for it on the App Store as Magic Counter Lite and download it for free. I’d love to hear what you think.
