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