International App
Development Conference & AppJam

It’s been a long-haul.  There’s been a lot of laughter, there have been tears.  There was one moment where it looked like industrial action might take place…  However, we’re nearly there.  The projects are in place, the team names (mostly) decided and the presentations to the AppConference audience are looming…

Let’s take a quick look at the runners and riders:

GIVE BLOOD (iGiveaDamn) – the app designed to promote blood donation is looking sharp.  All of the various aspects of the app are now in place, the front end is looking very nice indeed.  Collating and displaying all of the information is the last thing left to integrate.

GRAVE DANGER (Buoyant Games) – A tower defence game in which the player must defend their haunted castle against merciless hordes of humans (mounted on hobby horses).  Build graves, create zombies, stop the human scum!  Most assets in place, basic gameplay working, all looking rather nice.

GREMLIN GOLD (Team Krooks) – An updated, new generation version of whack-a-mole.  As tiny gremlins pop their heads out of the safety deposit boxes, you smash their tiny, evil faces in.  Pick up gems for bonuses!  No animation or gameplay in there yet, but team Krooks remain optimistic they’ll have the game running for zero hour…

APPTRACKER (Threetastic) – A ‘day tracker’ app, which records your location across a whole day and allows users to create trips and ‘favourite’ expeditions.  Integration with google maps, trip creation etc. are all now in place.  The team have plans for using the data collected at a later date.  Looking very smooth and professional.

TAGAR (Team Napier) – An augmented reality app, which allows users to place tags and graffiti within real world locations, using the device camera.  The resulting images can be shared through Facebook and social communities, creating a whole new way of branding a space.  The whole app seems to be more-or-less in place, from the Facebook single-sign-in through to the tag overlays.  Intriguing new idea from the team.

THE ADVENTURES OF PIBLIC FLASE (Summer Crew) – A side-scrolling fighting game in which the user can use various abilities to knock lumps out of the baddies and generally kick butt. Expect different abilities and strange alliances.  The background, character and animations are all in place and the Summer Crew expect to be putting on a strong show in the presentations.

MYTOUR (digiTANG) – A mobile tour app, which allows a user to create, store and share their own tours of whatever locations they choose.  Everything, according to the team, is ‘nominal’ with all systems now in place, the back and front ends speaking to each other and the various elements all integrated.  Expect an interesting presentation from this team.

FLICK ‘EM OUT (Team Pataka) – ‘Sumo wrestling with pens’.  Almost entirely complete, Flick ‘em Out challenges two players to take it in turns to flick their pen against their opponents and try to knock it off the table.  The first player to five knockouts is the winner.  A strong and colourful game, with all of the elements in place (it’s fun too!)

VECTOR CLAY (Vector Play) – A simple, friendly character creator.  Users can build their own avatars from a selection of heads, torsos and legs, before charing them with friends and contacts.  The User Interface is in place, the character elements are all created and choosing the elements couldn’t be simpler.  A smart, fun app, outside the normal areas for apps.

NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR (‘Team 11′) – A fully-fledged network admin app, which allows sysadmins to control, start/stop/reset and monitor networks using only their smartphone.  It’s an usual app, but one which might be the dark horse of the whole AppJam…

THRASH PHYSICS (Thrash Core) – A virtual physics-based toybox, which allows users to play with various objects, or change the attributes of objects to create their own little mini games, such as basketball (above), balancing games, breaking games, etc.  An intriguing entry this one.  Watch out for it…

PUREE ESCAPE (Volunteers) – A touch-screen game in which the player must guide the naturally bouncy little character to the exit at the end of the level, by drawing lines underneath the character for him to bounce upon.  Realistic physics mean that the character can be directed in any direction and cleverly, the smaller the line, the bigger the bounce.  Fun!

Team: SUMMER CREW

Members: Matthew, Douglas, Ian

Project Name: The Adventures Of Piblic Flase

Platform: XNA

Description: Side-scrolling beat-em-up game.  Lots of characters, all with different skills, different attacks etc.  Multiplayer too.  Hurrah!

Team: rnd()

Members: Robbie, Nathan, Daniel

Project Name: TBC

Platform: iOS

Description: Project task manager.  Dedicated project manager application, which can be synched with web back end, allowing multiple projects to be managed comprehensively.

Team: TBC (or ‘Me and James’)

Members: Adam, James

Project Name: TBC

Platform: Web/Cloud

Description: The app is a fully featured network manager, allowing multiple networks across all operating systems and platforms to be controlled from a single app.

Team: BUOYANT GAMES

Members: Chris, Dan, Diki

Project Name: GRAVE DANGER

Platform: iOS, Symbian, PC

Description: A light-hearted tower defence game, in which the player must fight off ravening hordes of humans, defending their monsters and zombies from the endless waves of mankind.

Team: VECTOR CLAY

Members: Tom, Amr, Tasneem

Project Name: VECTOR PLAY

Platform: iOS

Description: A 2d character creator app.  Users can build, modify and export their own custom avatar for use in multiple social networks, etc.

Team: digiTANG

Members: Alex, Rory

Project Name: MyTour

Platform: Android

Description: User-generated tours.  Uses all functions of the smartphone – positioning, camera, web, etc. to allow anyone to create their own tours of any location – home town, favourite walks, etc.  Tours can then be shared with others, who can download them and use them on their handset.

Team: iGiveADamn (www.igiveadamn.org.uk)

Members: Kyle, Jamie, Mike

Project Name: GIVE BLOOD

Platform: iOS

Description: An app designed to encourage blood donation.  Provides existing donors with information to make it easy to find and donate more regularly (location, to do lists etc.)  Encourages new users to sign up with ‘games’ type rewards.

Team: TBC

Members: Dean, Will, Sam, Mark

Project Name: Thrash Physics

Platform: Android

Description: A virtual ‘toy box’ full of toys which can be played with.  Uses a realistic physics system which allows users to do things like add various objects to the screen and then shake the phone, to see what happens.  Alternatively, various items can be ‘fixed’ to the screen, allowing more complex interactions, toys and games to be created).

Everything is running smoothly here at day one of the AppJam.  The teams are here, the equipment is working and the hum of brains ticking over can be heard above the appropriately antarctic winds outside the venue.

We took some time to visit each of the teams participating in the AppJam and find out more about who they are and what they’re up to.

Team: THREETASTIC

Members: Tasin, Emeric, Yannick

Project Name: TBC

Platform: Android

Description: the app is a location tracker.  It keeps a record of the user’s movements over the course of a day, showing all of the locations visited.  This can be expanded to incorporate a ‘to do’ list, so if the user needed to buy something, for example, the app will inform the user when they’re in close proximity to a retailer selling the item/s needed.  This information can be overlaid on Google maps.

Team: KROOK(S)

Members: Robert, Kemal, Kieran

Project Name: TBC

Platform: Symbian/Ovi (at the moment)

Description: The app is a game based on the classic ‘Whack-a-mole’ arcade machine.  The player is in a bank vault, surrounded by safety deposit boxes.  Some contain precious jewels, so contain gremlins.  The player has to be careful not to hit the wrong ones…

Team: ‘Team 9′

Members: Druhin, Nidhin, Vaishnav

Project Name: PEN FIGHT

Platform: Symbian/Ovi

Description: Based on a real world schoolyard game.  It’s sumo wrestling – using pens.  Players take turns to flick their pen at their opponent’s pen.  The loser is the first pen to be knocked off the desktop/playing field.

Team: The Volunteers

Members: Aaron, Mike, Roy, Toby

Project Name: TBC

Platform: TBC

Description: A game.  The player controls a little bouncy character by drawing lines.  The character bounces off these lines, in a realistic manner, so can be guided through the level to get to the end point.

Team: Team Napier

Members: Kevin, Alisdair, James

Project Name: TBC

Platform: Android

Description: this is an augmented reality app which will allow users to ‘tag real world locations with grafitti, logos etc. These tags can then be shared with contacts and friends via the most popular social networks.  Using gestures to ‘paint’ new tags and art is something which could also be implemented at some point.

We have begun.  Andy Mackenzie from Dundee College introducing this afternoon’s speakers.  These include:

Loretta Maxfield (Thorntons) – Intellectual Property and the law

Mike Wharton (Waracle) – iPhone connections to the cloud

David Hamilton (Digital Goldfish) – Apps, the small developers godsend?

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the first ever International AppConference and AppJam, Dundee.  The AppJammers are jamming, albeit a bit blearily and the chill Northern winds and biting rain are not dampening their spirits in any way.

The conference itself kicks off very shortly and we’ll be bringing you all of the latest updates, speakers and information here – live.  Or at least as live as we can make it.

Much more info coming your way shortly!

The very lovely Arjan Oldser, editor at Mobile Games Blog, recently took the time to speak to Andy Mackenzie from Dundee College, the man behind the AppJam and AppConference.

Andy answered questions on the purpose of the AppJam and AppCon, the audiences it’s aimed at and the organisations behind it all.  He even revealed his current favourite app.

Here’s a taster:

As most of you know by now, the AppCon, AppJam and AppXtra conferences will be organized in one and a half week from now. We spoke with Andy Mackenzie about the events.

[Arjan] Most events go under one name. You guys have three. What’s the logic behind that?

[Andy] All three events have a different setting and targeting. By splitting it all up, the visitors know what to expect. The one thing they all have in common though, is sharing experience and knowledge.

You can read the full interview, over on the Mobile Games Blog.

That’s it.  We’re at capacity for designers and developers who’re interested in joining the AppJam.  We’re bulging at the seams with dangerously talented creative types who will have a mere 48-hours to come up with a brand new app during the first ever international AppConference.

We’ve had a judging panel going through the concepts and backgrounds of dozens of entrants.  We’ve matched them into TEN teams of THREE and we’re all set to light the touch paper and see what happens.

We have teams working across almost every platform.  IOS, Android, Facebook, Symbian – so we’ll be keeping you updated as the event approaches, so you can enjoy the white hot creativity – AS IT HAPPENS!

Thank you to everyone who entered.  If you applied to join the AppJam and were not accepted, please accept our apologies.  The standard of entrants was extraordinarily high and our judges were slightly overwhelmed with the talent and experience of many applicants.  There’s always next year!  In the meantime, stay tuned and we’ll ensure you see all of the information and updates from this year’s inaugural event…

It’s here.  The final speaker programme for the AppConference was announced yesterday, with speakers from all over the world participating in the event and covering a broad range of topics, from publishing your own apps, to creating a user interface for a small screen, through to business models and an exploration of ‘freemium’ apps.

Speakers now confirmed are:

Forum.Nokia Development Team - Forum.Nokia Team (UK)

Session– Developing with Nokia Qt SDK, the future of Nokia Apps

Thomas Joos – Founder of Gladiator Media (Belgium)

Session – User Interface for the Small Screen

Jeroen Retrae&Lyan van Furth – Founders of moblio.nl (Netherlands)

Session – Vuvuzela 2010&Freemium Model

Karsten Wysk – Founder of Mobilebits.de (Germany)

Session – Cutting out the Publisher

John Chasey – CEO of Metismo&Chairman of FinBlade  (UK)

Session – Tools&Practicalities of Getting to Market

Mark Ettle – CEO&Founder of Cobra Mobile (UK)

Session – What Makes a Great App

Mike Wharton – Lead Programmer at Waracle (UK)

Loretta Maxfield – IP Specialist for Thortons Law

Session – Creating&Protecting Original IP

Andy Mackenzie, Project Manager: Centre for Creative and Digital Industries for Dundee College, organisers of the AppConference and AppJam, said,“The growth of the new app markets has been truly extraordinary, encompassing new platforms, new types of content and new challenges for creators. The AppConference and AppJam will look at all of these issues and our speaker line-up reflects this diversity. We’re excited to welcome such a strong, experienced and expert range of speakers to participate in this first conference.”

The international AppConference, which will run alongside the 48 hour development challenge AppJam, is part-funded by the Interreg ‘Creative City Challenge’ project ( www.creative-city-challenge.net ).

Created by Dundee College and supported by industry partners, the three day AppConference is an event looking at the creation and development of applications for new platforms such as the iPad, iPhone, Android and Facebook. It promises to explore the issues facing the new generation of developers, creating applications for some of the world’s largest and most rapidly evolving platforms.

Tickets for AppCon can be purchased for£125.

Tickets including the NeoN digital arts festival are also available at £175.

They’re going fast, so book now and claim your place at this year’s event.

We’re thrilled – THRILLED – to be able to tell you that the Forum.Nokia team is the first of the keynote speakers to be announced for the first ever international AppJam, taking place here in Dundee next month.

While Nokia is sometimes overlooked in the AppMarkets of the world and the general growth of smartphones, the company still dominates many of the territories around the world and is making massive steps in ensuring a future for it’s Ovi store in the future of mobile content and applications.

Here’s the official announcement:

Rocking All Ovi The World

Dundee, Scotland, October 1^st, 2010. The international AppConference is delighted to announce that Forum.Nokia, the group which enables the design, development and distribution of apps for Nokia’s Ovi store, is the first keynote speaker to be confirmed for this year’s inaugural event.

Forum.Nokia was founded to help content creators to Design, Develop and Distribute their apps to hundreds of millions of Nokia customers in over 190 countries worldwide.

In the first AppConference keynote, Forum.Nokia will be exploring the future of app development and the challenges facing app creators in the marketplaces of the mobile world.

Andy Mackenzie, Project Manager: Centre for Creative & Digital Industries for Dundee College, organisers of the AppConference and AppJam, said, “Nokia has sometimes been overlooked in the rapid evolution of the applications markets and slew of new consumer devices. Yet the company still has a colossal global user base and a huge amount of experience in the mobile market. Forum.Nokia is the company’s programme to support and encourage developers to create their apps for the Ovi store and is perfectly aligned with what the AppConference aims to achieve. We’re thrilled to welcome such a high profile partner to the programme.”

The international AppConference, which will run alongside the 48 hour development challenge AppJam, is part-funded by the Interreg ‘Creative City Challenge’ project (www.creative-city-challenge.net ).

Created by Dundee College and supported by industry partners, the three day AppConference is an event looking at the creation and development of applications for new platforms such as the iPad, iPhone, Android and Facebook. It promises to explore the issues facing the new generation of developers, creating applications for some of the world’s largest and most rapidly evolving platforms.

Tickets for AppCon can be purchased at an early bird price of £99 (plus VAT) until 4^th October, available for £125 thereafter.

Tickets including the NeoN digital arts festival are also available at an early bird price of £150 (plus VAT), or £175 after 4^th October.

You can find out more about the events via www.appjam.eu or follow @AppJamDundee on Twitter.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The International App Conference & AppJam (www.appjam.eu) are part-funded by the Interreg ‘Creative City Challenge’ project (www.creative-city-challenge.net )

The AppCon has been created by Dundee College and is supported by partners including: Cobra Mobile, Denki, Digital Goldfish, Dynamo Games, Electric Tophat, Lynda.com, One Thumb Mobile, Sooper Double D, Tag Games, Waracle & YoYo Games.

Contact:

Andy Mackenzie

Dundee College

E: a.mackenzie@dundeecollege.ac.uk

[Image source: AllAboutSymbian]

We’ve mentioned the 48 HOUR APPJAM several times now, but we’ve had a few people coming back and asking for more information.  ’What,’ they’ve been asking, ‘is it all about?’  ’How do we get involved?’ and ‘can we enter, even if we’re professionals?’.  So, to answer all of these questions and more, here’s an in-depth guide to the AppJam

The AppJam is a 48x hour game development competition, which takes place in Discovery Point in Dundee on November 8th and 9th 2010.

The goal is to create a new and original App.  The App can be anything – not just a videogame.  It can be created for any platform you wish – iPhone, Android, Facebook, Samsung Bada, Blackberry, Nokia/Symbian – you name it.

It’s free to enter.  You must be over the age of 18.  You can be an amateur developer, a student, a full-time, experienced professional, or someone who’s simply itching to make something NEW.

We have partnered with lynda.com, who will provide access to their comprehensive online tutorials, guides and training courses across the entire event.

You need to bring along your development equipment.  Laptops, handsets, emulators etc. have to be supplied by YOU.

We’re ideally looking for teams of THREE.  You can enter as an individual and we’ll endeavour to place you in a team, with people whose skills complement yours.  Of course, if you want to enter as a team of three, that’ll work too.

The AppJam runs alongside the AppConference, which takes place in the same venue.  AppCon delegates, partners and speakers can wander in, provide help, feedback and judgement and useful pointers.

At the end of the 48 hours, your App will be judged by a panel of industry experts and you’ll have a chance to show it off to the AppCon delegates and who knows, find a deal or partner to help take your App out to a global audience.

You can request an application pack HERE.  Or if you have any other questions, feel free to leave comments below…