Today I clicked the “Submit” button on my very first Windows Phone 7 app: Improv Suggester. This is a simple app that randomly selects an item from a list to be used as a suggestion for improv comedy practice.
Lists
The version I submitted today comes with 5 lists and the user can’t change them. The lists are not actually part of the core application, so, in the future, I plan to offer the ability modify lists and store them on SkyDrive.
I also want to sell lists as Add-in products, you know, the contents of a suggestion bucket from an actual improv show. To start I would sell bucket from the Blue Door Theatre here in Spokane.
User Interface
The UI is really sparse. My counsel of advisers (mostly players at the Blue Door Theatre) tell me that they want something simple and fancy graphics and color scheme get in the way. They want to be able to pick up the word.
I did make a controversial decision that may hold me up in Certification: everything but the suggestion is in the “Accent Color”. I stand by my decision because, to me, the accent colors are less visible than the text color and it really makes the suggestion stand out. I haven’t seen any other app do this, so I have a feeling that I may be told to change this to get certification.
Android
Someone at the Blue Door Theatre gave me a HTC Incredible (no phone service) in hopes that I would port Improv Suggester to the Android system. I haven’t started work on this yet.
