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Accessibility in iOS Games→

Shaun Musgrave’s story at TouchArcade about Accessibility in iOS games is a great one. Thanks to VoiceOver and the work of developers who implement accessible iOS technologies, blind and visually impaired users have been able to play games and be part of an active community.

In talking to the developers who have been able to make their games accessible, their feelings about the response from players are almost universally positive, in fact. In the case of King Of Dragon Pass, David Dunham actually implemented some code so that he could track how many players make use of the VoiceOver function. It varies over time, but in the last month or so, he reported that 7% of players loading up the app are doing so in VoiceOver mode, a very significant number. From a purely financial view, Dunham informed me, the investment was worth it. He went on, “But that’s not the only viewpoint. Not long after we released with VoiceOver support, we got email from a player who said he was a blind teenager from the Netherlands. He thanked us for making a game that finally let him feel like part of the world gaming community, because he could play on an equal level with everyone else.” Amir Rajan told a similar story about A Dark Room. “It’s worth it to get a thank you email from a father with a blind daughter than can enjoy a popular game that her seeing friends play too,” said Rajan.

Related: The American Foundation for the Blind awarded Apple for their work on VoiceOver and Accessibility features.

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Snake Coming Back Next Week with ‘Snake Rewind’ for iOS→

Snake, the iconic ’90s game that came pre-loaded on Nokia phones, is coming back with a new mobile version developed by its original creator. Stuart Dredge, writing at The Guardian:

Long before Candy Crush Saga, Clash of Clans and Angry Birds, Nokia’s Snake was the king of the mobile gaming world – not least because it was installed on every single mobile phone the company sold.

Now the game is returning for modern smartphones courtesy of that mobile version’s creator Taneli Armanto and developer Rumilus Design, who will release Snake Rewind on 14 May.

As you can imagine, it sounds the new Snake Rewind will implement various In-App Purchases to buy items and continue playing even after your snake crashes. I played hundreds of hours with the original Snake 15 years ago, and I’m more concerned about the control scheme. Snake could be played well with the number pad on a Nokia phone. How will this translate to touch controls?

Snake Rewind launches next week, on May 14th. You can read the official blog post here.

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“One Day They’ll Understand Apple”→

Ken Segall succinctly describes how Apple approaches new product categories and why waiting is often a better option than rushing to market:

Fortunately, it all becomes clear in hindsight.

Now we know there was a ton of work going on at Apple during The Period Of Great Whining. Possibly more than at any time in Apple’s history. Now we have new iPhones, Apple Pay and Apple Watch.

To me, this just says that Apple is doing a very good job of being Apple. Its mission is to create products that people can fall in love with. There is not now, nor has there ever been, a timetable for such things.

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Apple Details ‘Made for Apple Watch’ Bands Program, Posts Updated HIG→

Last night, Apple published a webpage detailing the ‘Made for Apple Watch’ program, which will allow third-party companies to make custom bands for the Watch.

Apple Watch bands are easily changed with simple release buttons and lugs that secure the band to the Apple Watch case. When creating your custom bands, refer to the band design guidelines and lug profile. Apple Watch lugs will be available soon through the Made for Apple Watch program.

In two documents available on the page, Apple has detailed band design guidelines and the Apple Watch lug profile. If you’re curious to know more, the band design guidelines include some interesting tidbits on the materials, measures, and design Apple recommends for third-party bands.

Also, Apple posted an update to the Apple Watch Human Interface Guidelines first released in November 2014. If you’re a designer or developer making apps for the Apple Watch, make sure to check out the updated document (and downloadable PSD/Sketch files) here.

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Google Acquires Timeful→

Interesting acquisition from Google: Timeful was an iPhone app that combined events, todos, and ‘habits’ in a single calendar UI that could suggest the best time to schedule everything according to your patterns, location, and available times.

Here’s how TechCrunch described Timeful last year:

From the user’s perspective, Timeful works like this: You link the app to any of your existing calendar apps, such as iCal, Microsoft Exchange, or Google Calendar. You then tell the app additional things you need to and would like to do, providing concrete things like “buy milk” and more fuzzy things like “exercise” or “cook dinner more often.” You also select a level of aggressiveness that you’d like Timeful to have when suggesting times and activities, from laid-back, to very ambitious. Timeful then provides you with a customized calendar that incorporates all of the things you need to do and want to do at the times that would be best for you to actually make sure they get done.

I remember trying Timeful when it came out and thinking that I didn’t want to put all my events and reminders in a standalone utility for iPhone with no iPad or web counterparts.

Timeful seems to make more sense as an addition to Calendar and Inbox, the company’s alternative take on email that features location and time-based reminders. Google could use Timeful’s intelligence to predict when a user is most likely to tackle todos or suggest the best times to schedule a new event or meeting. According to a post on the Gmail blog, it sounds like Timeful tech will indeed be rolled out across several Google properties:

We’re excited about all the ways Timeful’s technology can be applied across products like Inbox, Calendar and beyond, so we can do more of the work for you and let you focus on being creative, having fun and spending time with the people you care about.

In the meantime, Timeful will be kept on the App Store, but it’ll no longer receive new features as “the team’s attention will be on new projects at Google”.

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Molly Watt’s Apple Watch Review→

Molly Watt, who has Usher Syndrome Type 2a, published a unique, personal series of Apple Watch first impressions unlike anything I’ve read to date.

I am fortunate to have a few friends who also have the Apple Watch and together have devised ways of communicating in ‘Code’ when out, particularly when out at night and in dark situations when I am completely blind.

Useful codes in the event I need help of any kind, for instance if I am in a badly lit and noisy environment and struggling to be included in something I can get message to friend I’m uncomfortable or I need assistance or help of some kind or “I’m bored” can we do something else!

Many have reviewed Apple Watch as a gadget or a fashion companion. And that’s fine, but make sure you also read Molly Watt’s take for an idea of how wearable technology can truly impact other people’s lives in meaningful ways.

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Virtual: 43,000 Pieces of Gold→

After covering some of the interesting things they’ve seen in gaming this week, Federico and Myke talks to David Smith about Apple Watch games. They explore why David decided he wanted to make games for the device and take a look at what’s available now.

We’ve been talking about Apple Watch games for a while, and in this week’s episode we were able to discuss them with an iOS developer and listen to Myke’s first impressions. You can get the episode here.

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VoiceOver Turns 10→

Tony Morales, writing on the 10th anniversary since the introduction of VoiceOver for OS X:

VoiceOver, however, represents a significant milestone in the history of assistive technology. With the introduction of VoiceOver, Apple became the first operating system vendor to build a fully functional screen reader into the operating system that didn’t require additional installation procedures. Unlike Windows Narrator, VoiceOver didn’t simply follow the keyboard focus as the user navigated the GUI using available operating system shortcuts. Instead, VoiceOver provided a rich set of commands for interacting with the contents of the GUI, putting the user in the driver’s seat.

A fundamental technology for the Accessibility community, with an unwavering commitment by Apple. Today, VoiceOver is also available on the Apple Watch.

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Apple Rolls Out App Analytics→

Almost a year after the original announcement at WWDC 2014, Apple has opened access to App Analytics in iTunes Connect today.

Sarah Perez, writing for TechCrunch:

Ahead of its annual WWDC developer conference in June, Apple has opened up beta access to a new mobile app analytics service aimed at iOS developers. Simply called “Apple’s App Analytics,” an announcement inviting developers to request early access to the service appeared today on the iTunes Connect developer portal. Those with an iTunes Connect account can also reach the sign-up page using the direct link analytics.itunes.apple.com.

App Analytics are available for devices running iOS 8 and above, and the usage data part is completely opt-in. Every time you set up a new iOS device (or upgrade to iOS 8), you’re asked if you want to share information with app developers to improve their apps through analytics. Other App Store metrics (views, installs, etc.) are returned for all users.

Based on the tweets I saw in my timeline today, first impressions seem positive. Apple can now give developers a level of insight that’s unprecedented for any other app analytic platform. Apple’s App Analytics can plug directly into the App Store and tell developers how customers find their apps, where traffic is coming from, and how many views an app gets on the Store.

After years of no data about customer behavior on the App Store, it seems like this will be a massive change for how apps are marketed, optimized for international App Stores, and presented to users.

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