Why I Write iPhone Apps

Well, there’s a bunch of reasons: I like making interesting stuff, it’s great to get a bit of additional income from a hobby, and it’s very rewarding when people write to tell you they like your stuff. But in particular, why do all that on the iPhone? There are several other platforms that would enable all that.

I think it all boils down to one thing: doing this sort of thing on the iPhone allows me to focus on the stuff I’m interested in. I mean, there are a ton of other considerations when making apps like distribution, commerce, security, etc. — these things need to be worked out, but they aren’t what I’m doing this for. Fortunately, Apple takes care of all these things for you, which means that I can concentrate on drawing the art, creating the interfaces, designing the games … the interesting creative parts.

When I was a kid, I used to wonder about “the future” a lot. I used to think it’d be all about flying cars and fancy gadgets. Well, flying cars haven’t really made it (although there’s certainly no shortage of gadgets) but even if they had, I think the biggest impact technology had would still be the fact that it enables ordinary people like you and me to create and share their works with everyone else be it silly videos, obscure iPhone apps, or ephemeral random thoughts.

2 Responses to “Why I Write iPhone Apps”

  1. Joel Davis Says:

    Good post. I’ve started working on a iphone app (a bubble-popping game for toddlers) for much the same reasons. And the touch screen and social gaming features just offer so many creative possibilities.

  2. Mach Says:

    Yeah, I agree. In a way, the whole iPhone app writing scene reminds me of indy PC game writing in the 80s. Sure, there were big companies like EA and Sierra making professional games, but it was still possible for individuals or small groups to make interesting games. I hope that continues with the iPhone.