Today I am talking to Sam Saturday, who made two apps with Kwik in about a week only! Sam is sharing his experience with us, and I invite everybody to do the same.
Kwiksher) Tell a little bit about you and your company
My name is Sam Saturday and my company is Saturday Buffet (http://saturdaybuffet.com). My company specializes in producing video trailers for authors to promote their books. But I’m also using Saturday Buffet as an app & game design and publishing company.
What is your app about?
My first app is called “The Magic Chicken.” It’s a children’s storybook created by author Corky Portwine (http://corkyportwine.com). The Magic Chicken is aimed at children between ages 3-5, although I’ve heard of kids both older and younger enjoying it. It’s a short story about a young chicken who is given magical powers and uses them to make people happy. Besides words and pictures, The Magic Chicken is also a musical app. The text on every page is sung when an optional “play” button is pressed. And there’s actually a whole animated song which is a separate feature from the main story.
How Kwik helped you to build it? Any favorite features?
Corky and I essentially “shared” the duties of the app creation. I was already used to working in Photoshop because I drew & published comic strips for years through my imprint Load World Comics. So using Kwik was very natural to my creative process. The longer I can work within Photoshop, the better!
I’d been learning to code for Corona SDK earlier this year, and I was making progress, but as a designer it was just too daunting to complete an entire app through code alone. Kwik really saved me and it immensely sped up my work-flow. I love how easy it is to turn an image into an interactive button and not have to stress over “am I coding this right?” With Kwik, I know it’s going to be right.
What is your overall experience with us (product and services)?
I think Kwik is a great product. It’s perfect for the types of apps I want to create. I love how open you are about upcoming changes and features, and how you really make sure your user base is educated on the new features. In the short time I’ve been using Kwik you’ve not only been helpful when I have questions, but also surprisingly available and willing to help whenever I run into a problem. I’ve rarely had that kind of generous attention from other software makers.
What is next for you and your company?
Actually I’ve already put out my second app! A few years ago I published a collection of my comic strip “Load” as a print book called “Why Do You Cry When I’m On Top?” Last weekend I got the idea that I should use Kwik to turn the book into a simple app. All the artwork had been done years before, so I figured reassembling it in Kwik shouldn’t take very long. I ended up putting a nearly 80-page app together in one day! Right now it’s only available on the Android Market, but hopefully it will show up on the iTunes and Amazon stores, too.
Now that that’s all done I’ll be working on more Corky Portwine books. I’ve got the next two books planned and I’ve even begun working on the music. And since Saturday Buffet is also a video production company I still need to work on book trailers, too. The only problem is Kwik has made app design too much fun!
LINKS
The Magic Chicken on iTunes:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-magic-chicken/id473518812?mt=8
The Magic Chicken on Android:
http://market.android.com/details?id=com.corkyportwine.books.themagicchicken
The Magic Chicken Song on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1kCkAUj1g8
Why Do you Cry When I’m On Top? on Android:
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.loadworldcomics.whydoyoucry