I'm in the middle of producing an iPhone app for preschoolers.  A lot of people seem to be curious about the whole process, so I thought I would share some of my journey. 

First, you need an idea for a game.  My motivation to make a game came from browsing the App Store. I noticed that with some exception, most of the apps available for young kids were pretty dry.  There are many 'touch the thing that begins with this letter' games, memory card games, flash card apps, simple jigsaw puzzles, and apps where you touch an animal to hear the sound it makes.  I grew up playing pretty sophisticated games on the Apple IIe, so I thought I would try my hand at designing a game that I would have enjoyed as a kid.

So I got to thinking about what my game would include.  I wanted something very simple.  I wanted kids to be able to play without frustrations.  Young kids don't have the fine motor skills necessary to make delicate motions required in many small touch screen games, so I knew I shouldn't design something that would need careful precision on the part of the player.  I also knew the game had to be somewhat intuitive, because I didn't want to include any kind of aural or text instructions.  I'm of the mindset that players come to a game to play, and many people don't have the patience for reading or listening to instructions.  Plus, if the audience is preschoolers, most wouldn't be able to read anyhow.  So simple, intuitive play was my first directive.

Next, I needed a setting.  Most games are mimicking a system found in the real world.  For example, SimCity and Diner Dash mimick urban planning and restaurant management.  So what type of system would interest small children?  I thought about this for a couple of weeks.  Finally, in the middle of a walk through my neighborhood, I was struck with a concept I really liked.  Over the next few days, I brainstormed ways a player could interact with this concept via touchscreen.

Then it was time to work on my game design document.  I searched Google for a couple of templates to study, and chose one to use as my main model.  I didn't include every section shown in the template, because my game isn't as complicated or lengthy as some games, like fantasy role playing games.  But it was handy to have a structural guide for sections I would need.  It took me a couple of days to think through the game mechanics.  In other words, I had to plan out what the computer would do after each action a player could possibly take, and what would trigger the computer to introduce more advanced challenges to the game.  I also had to think about specific characters and objects in the game, and what the computer should be doing with them at specific times.  Once I had all this decided upon, I would be able to talk to a programmer about getting the game built.  The programmer uses this information to write the code.

Finding a programmer to work with was a challenge!  I talked to some of my colleagues from the children's media industry, and they were very supportive.  My friend Lynn tried to connect me with some production companies she had worked with before.  I didn't have any money to offer upfront though.  It was difficult to find a company willing to devote manhours with no guarantee of profit.  That was understandable.  Established companies would need to put their paying clients' work first.

In September, I attended GDC Austin and met many wonderful people from the video game industry.  Even there though, not everyone was interested in my game.  Kids' games are a niche market, and many of the people at the conference were interested in bigger selling MMOGs and console games.  I met some experienced iPhone programmers, but they seemed busy either developing their own game ideas, or working for bigger fish in the pond than myself.  I made sure to have individuals sign a non disclosure agreement before discussing details of the game with them, but honestly, I didn't get that far with very many of the people I met.  If they weren't interested after hearing my elevator pitch, I didn't press the issue.  I wanted a development partner who was excited from the get go, not someone I would have to constantly be motivating.

I did meet someone at GDC Austin I'm really excited to work with, and work has already begun!  I have a great graphic artist on board, too!  She's someone I've worked with on other projects.  Watch this blog for updates on our progress, including more details on the game itself. 

In the meantime, if you're interested in producing your own iPhone game, check out Carla White's Inside Secrets to an iPhone App.  It continues to be a great help to me in this process.  Another thing I should mention is that before you share your design document with anyone, it's a good idea to register it with the WGA West or East.  This will provide you with an extra layer of protection, should you find yourself in the position where you feel someone has stolen your idea.

Learn about my next steps in Building a Preschool iPhone Game, Part 2!

Photo credit: apdk, shared via Creative Commons