Vie - A new Game of Life iOS app

[fabienwarniez]

Hello!

I am a Game of Life enthusiast and a Software Engineer, so naturally I had to combine these 2 things and create an iOS app that lets you play your favourite game!

The app is called Vie (life in French), and was released today. You can find it here: https://itunes.apple.com/app/vie/id989686123

I am open to feedback and suggestions, so please don't be shy.

Thank you for reading.

Fabien

[codeholic]

Why is it better than Golly for iOS? https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/golly/id553184760?mt=8

[fabienwarniez]

Golly is only available on iPad.

[Freywa]

But it's also available on Android systems (whether mobile or tablet), Fabian; indeed I use it to view and evolve patterns on-the-fly.

[Scorbie]

Well I only have android, so didn't have much to say about this when I first saw this post. However, after seeing the discussion going on I would like to add my utterly/strictly personal opinion.

I can dare to say that among existing GoL apps, Golly for android (and probably iOS) has the most functionality for Game of Life enthusiasts. However, when you search Google App Store, with the keyword Conway's Game of Life, Golly is in about 97th place. I'm not saying that this ranking is important, or the Golly app should change to make more users, as Golly is the best app for heavy users.[1] What I am saying is that there should be waaaaay more 'light' Life users who just want to simply enjoy simple patterns in Life. Even I, as a light user, not a Life Enthusiast, wanted to have a Life wallpapar or screensaver.[2] Like Codeholic, I also think that there is a long long way to go (and not really worth the developing time) to match Golly's functionality. However, I think your app might be developed in a different direction than functionality to attract light users. For instance, I really like the design of your app. As far as I saw, no Game of Life App in Android had an elegant design like yours. (But I'm not sure if the app would be popular if it were released in Android as there are many apps already.) Maybe you could add more light-user-convenient functionalities for your app. (Which sadly, I cannot help you as I don't really know what light users want.)

Thanks for reading. It has been a long time since I wrote such a long post.

[1] Mostly Life Enthusiasts who check out the forum and archives several times a day.
[2] No, not something like Okrasinski's. I just wanted the visual effects on my smartphone.
(English help: what word(s) could replace the underlined words more naturally?)

[fabienwarniez]

You are quite right, one of the selling point for Vie is that it is light, and it is (hopefully) better looking than all other Life app in the App Store. I have the chance to be married to a graphic designer, I could have never done this by myself

Looking at the UI of Golly, I was kind of overwhelmed by all the options. It definitely has waaaay more functionality. I'm not trying to compete, but just add an elegant alternative. Also, my app is an iPhone app, golly does not run on iPhone (probably because there is no way to fit all these button a on a phone )

I'm lad you like the design.

Thanks for reading and replying.

Fabien

[biggiemac]

@scorbie:
"Strictly" is probably the best choice for the first, "I dare say" might be the closest English phrase for the second.

@Fabien:
Unfortunately it requires iOS8.0, which is notorious for draining models of iPhone before 6.0. My 4S is probably going to stay at iOS7. If there were a lightweight app for iOS7 I would be all over that. As is, I am only able to recommend your app to iPhone 6 users from no real information besides what you and Scorbie have written..

[c0b0p0]

[1] Mostly Life Enthusiasts who check out the forum and archives several times a day.

What are the archives?

[Scorbie]

[1] Mostly Life Enthusiasts who check out the forum and archives several times a day.

What are the archives?

Game of Life links. I usually look at paul's page of life miscellany for stable reflectors. --before having the collection. Other studies can be found in Jason summers' David bell's website and probably more.

[fabienwarniez]

@biggiemac it's funny you'd say that, I didn't expect it but you're the 3rd person to ask for iOS 7 support in 24 hours. I actually pushed an update to the app store yesterday that adds iOS 7 support. I had dropped it at first because I really didn't think people were still using it, boy was I wrong.

It will hopefully be live before the weekend. I will post an update here when it is.

[biggiemac]

Excellent, thank you!

[fabienwarniez]

The update is out. iOS 7 is now supported.

[Alexey_Nigin]

Fabien, I have sent you an email regarding your app.

[fabienwarniez]

Thank you for your email.

I submitted the update just now. It will fix the 2 problems that you mentioned.

We should expect it to be out by next Monday.

[Duck]

Not sure if this is still relevant to you anymore, but anyway...

I do like the app but it's somewhat limiting, even for a "light" user like me. Allowing the user to look at more than just the previous generation would be great. An editor would also be appreciated!