All posts by ajohnson

Links: 4-18-2010

Links: 4-12-2010

Links: 4-6-2010

  • rc3.org – The secret of the iPhone app store
    The power of the long tail for app stores is that everyone can find and share a handful of quirky little apps that really excite them for whatever reason. And when they share those apps, they’re essentially shilling for the platform, not the specific apps. Every time two people pull out their iPhones in a crowd and start trading recommendations for incredibly niche apps that fit their specific interests, everyone who doesn’t have an iPhone feels like they’re missing out.
    (categories: platform iphone appstore longtail )

Links: 3-25-2010

  • DESIGNER NOTES » Blog Archive » “Fear and Loathing in Farmville”
    Why game designers are flocking to facebook: 1) True friends list: … Multiplayer games no longer suffer from the Catch-22 of requiring friends to be fun while new players always start the game without friends. 2) Free-to-play business model: New players need not shell out $60 to join the crowd. Consumers don’t like buying multiplayer games unless they know that their friends are all going to buy the game as well. 3) Persistent, asynchronous play: Finding time to play with one’s real friends is difficult, especially for working, adult gamers. Asynchronous mechanics, however, let gamers play at their own pace and with their own friends, not strangers who happen to be online at the same time. 4) Metrics-based iteration: Retail games are developed in a vacuum, with designers working by gut instinct. Further, games get only one launch, a single chance to succeed. Most developers would love, instead, to iterate quickly on genuine, live feedback.
    (categories: games facebook design socialsoftware motivation metrics )

  • Coding Horror: The Opposite of Fitts’ Law
    Love the visual.
    (categories: usability ux gui fitts-law interaction ui interface design )

  • Launch: Highrise for iPhone – (37signals)
    Nice touches on a loading screen.
    (categories: iphone apps )