After a long weekend of trying to figure out certificate and provisioning files for submission to the app store, and making sure my game had 64-bit support and was compiles with the iOS SDK 8.0 or greater, I am happy to announce the game is in the hands of the Apple App Store and is awaiting approval.  I googled how long this step usually takes and the consensus was about 7-9 days so hopefully next week some time the game will be approved and available for purchase.  Those of you who backed me at eh $5 level or above will be receieving a promo code that can be redeemed in the app store for the full version of the game.

here is a shot of the “sponsor” screen – s special thanks to those who gave $50 (or more) and chose this reward:

Thanks SO much to everyone that has made this possible!  This project has been successful beyond my wildest hopes!
Backers should receive a message from Kickstarter soon to gather information so you can receive rewards.
I’m crazy excited to post this app and will try to let you all know when it’s out!

As in it’s the last week to go – not what happened last week.

While we are on the topic. Last week I went through and tried to fix any bugs or game-play issues that i might have found. I also had some testers play my game to make sure 1- it was fun and 2 – it was actually possible to pass each level. After working with them and their feedback, I think the game is ready to be submitted to the App Store. The only thing that i have left to do is to add the title screen with my $50 backer names on it. I won’t create that scene until this Kickstarter is finished so i know all of the names that i need to add. There are still 4 spots available to have your name in lights!

Above is a game-play pic if you win level 50…i hope to add about 10 levels a month after this initial release of the game. I am already thinking of new obstacles and enemies to add to make the game fun and challenging!

Thanks again for going through this journey with me! It has truly been an incredible ride! Let’s finish this week and get this game in the app store – i am so excited!

I spent most of the weekend working on the code that will allow you to save your progress.  The app would save your level temporarily, but after a while of you not playing it or if you would close it out, you would have to start back at level 1.

Now, your game automatically saves every 10 levels.  When you pass level 10 (or 20, 30 40 etc…) if you close out of the game or shut down your phone, you can start back pretty much where you left off.  This should give you incentive to keep going until you reach the next “10”.

Still thinking about a stretch goal…will keep you updated this week when I make that decision.  Again – Thanks for making this such a successful Kickstarter and learning lesson for me!

I couldn’t have done it without you! Thanks so much for backing me! I can not wait to take the next steps to finish the app, submit it to Apple, and then spread the word!

I was thinking about possibly adding some stretch goals to use some funds to advertise my game. I know that i have a good base of you backers that will enjoy my game, but i want to be able to share my story and my game with more people! What do you think?

P.S. I can’t say it enough THANK YOU!!!!!

As of this morning, my project – thanks to you awesome backers – is at 89%! Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I am excited to say the least. I have been playing through the 50 levels I created to see which levels need tweaked. Some of them needed a little code added to make sure things happen the way they are supposed to; some needed changed so that the level is actually passable!

I have received the artwork that will be signed and given away for all rewards $20 and up. The image is the artist’s interpretation of the game in 3D. The game is a 2D top down maze as you have seen in the game play video and also in the image i’ll attach at the bottom of this update. I gave the artist freedom to interpret the game into what his vision was so that it was a little more exciting for a print! Hope you like it:

What do you think?  Pretty cool!?!

Again, the game is not in 3D but this can get your imagination going as you play the game and put yourself in DOT’s shoes going through the maze to find your Green DOT friend!

Thought you might want to see me play a couple levels…these are at the beginning of the game.  I designed the levels to slowly introduce you to the control of the game and to introduce the obstacles and “enemies” you might find throughout the game.  The game does get harder as you go along, but there are some easier levels later to give you a little break.

This brought me to my first big question about the game.  How often should i let players save their progress (or auto save their progress)?  Part of me wanted to not let you save at all and see how far you could get…but I realize that players might get frustrated having to play levels over and over just because they had to set the game down for a while.

So right now, I am working on the save feature that should allow you to pick up where you left off – within limits.  There may be a save every 10 levels type of a scenario, so there is some incentive to keep playing and make sure you are at a save point type level.

Hope you enjoy the teaser of the first couple levels…back to coding!

So last week was pretty crazy – getting much more backing than i thought i would – thank you all again! This weekend i spent some time working on the app and finished level 50! I think that is as far as i am going to go for levels for the first release of the game (but will add more levels in the future with updates!) I am going to focus now on fixing bugs and making sure game play is what it needs to be so that everyone enjoys DOT! I also got the music in the background so that there is a nice little soundtrack playing while you travel through the maze levels.

I am hoping to get a website up this week. I registered chainreactiongames.org. Chain Reaction Games is what i want to call my game company. I created a comic series a couple years ago that i named Chain Reaction and wanted to use that name.

I have set up a twitter account: https://twitter.com/ChainReactGames @ChainReactGames and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chainreactgames where i will post updates and shout-outs as well!  I want the website to be a place where i can show off the game(s) and also have tips and hints for levels that people might be stuck on.

Thanks again for your continued support and encouragement! It means a lot to me! This week i hope to have some video footage of me plying the game so you can see what it is really like to play!

I didn’t know what to expect….let’s just say I am blown away by my first day on Kickstarter! I can not thank you all enough. I was amazed to see donations roll in from people I didn’t know but believed in me and supported my dream. And thank you to family and friends who have donated and help spread the word.

Game update: I am on level 37 and have also received a music loop for the background that I will have to figure out how to put that in. I hope to have some game play footage up on the site too so you can see a level in action.

Thank you again for making the first day quite unbelievable!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/654515112/dot-my-first-app

Hello I am Brayden,  an 11 year old 5th grader. I have always loved games and computers and wanted to create my own. Soon I started working hard to make my dream a reality. I found out how to program apps and began making some apps and putting them on the Chrome Web Store. Some of my first games were honestly very primitive and received a much less than welcome response from players, but the bad reviews only inspired me to work harder.

I built up my skills with programming and design until I finally thought I was good enough to take my games to the App Store! Unfortunately I found out how pricey that is for an 11 year old. I needed a new computer to be able to post to Apple devices (you are required to have a Mac to develop games for the Apple App Store). Expensive full versions of the app software and Apple Developer licenses were added to the list of expenses.

I was able to get a used Mac for my Christmas present, but without the full software and developer licenses I will not be able to pursue my dream of creating apps.

I have been working extremely hard on an app called “Dot”. Dot is a simplistic app in which you must tilt your phone to get the red Dot to the green Dot without touching walls or enemies. Without money I won’t be able to post this app and all my hard work will be wasted! I would appreciate it so much if you helped me pursue my dream.