Happy Shapes – My First Android App

By Michael Heraghty on January 10th, 2013

Last night I released Happy Shapes – a FREE Android game for kids

Play the game now on desktop at newskoolgames.com
Here is how it all came about.

Ideation

Originally, I had intended to create a software product. After months of wrangling with complex wireframes, I realised the development was going to cost $$$.

I’m not a fan of apps. I prefer web-based solutions. But my preschool kids, who steal my phone at every opportunity, like apps. Especially games. However:

• My kids unwittingly click on ads that took them away from the game
• Many games ‘speak’ using peculiar words (“trapezoid”) or unfamiliar colloquialisms (“Good Job!”)

Goals and Design Constraints

I set about trying to design a game app that was intuitive for preschool children, regardless of what language they speak, or whether they speak at all.

• The goal of Happy Shapes is for preschool children to learn basic shapes
• I avoided ‘advanced’ conventions such as scores, limited player lives, etc.
• I designed for the mobile phone ‘short-burst’ playing pattern, whereby the playing time lasts only a few minutes

Initial Designs

I began wireframing in Balsamiq. Within a few days, a had a good early mockup of the game screens.

The Plan Changed

My plan was to outsource the development, since I am not a programmer. This changed when I discovered the amazing Construct2 by Scirra.

Construct2 allowed me to develop HTML5 games without directly writing any code. I have a grasp of programming concepts like variables, loops, arrays, etc. so Construct2, with its visual interface, was just the right tool for me.

Developing and Testing the Game

• Working mainly in my spare time, I developed the game in 6 months
• The development took about 40% more effort than I anticipated
• Much of my time was spent learning Construct2 and CocoonJS — an application that converts HTML5 games into Android apps
• I was lucky enough to have two eager testers — my 2 year old and 4 year old girls 🙂
• Finally, I put the game live on the Android market on January 9th 2013.

Integrating the Artwork

I got some great artwork from Jaya at Rumah Designs.

The launcher icon is slick and, using the master vectors, I was easily able to create promotional graphics on Google Play, etc.

Your Feedback is Welcome

Development and testing is never finished.

If you’ve got a young kid, and have an Android device, please try out Happy Shapes and let me know what you think.

See the website: http://newskoolgames.com

 

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