App Developer’s Corner: David Neely, Creator of Mathogen

Today’s App Developer’s Corner features David Neely, whose educational gaming app Mathogen makes learning or practicing basic math skills fun. Here’s what David had to say about writing and marketing an app as an indie developer, and how Pinch has helped him understand his user base so he can better meet their needs:

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a professional musician with a college degree in computer science. I work as a web developer using PHP and MySQL in Honolulu, Hawaii. I like to program at the beach while I listen to the sounds of the surf.

How did your interest in developing mobile apps, specifically educational gaming apps, come about?

I completed a mobile price comparison website as my final undergraduate project back in 2006. The success of that web service encouraged me to continue to develop mobile applications. I enjoy video games but can’t shake the feeling that I’m wasting my time while I play them. I created Mathogen (a basic math game) believing players could use the lessons learned in the game and apply them directly to real life.

What experience did you have coming into iphone app development?

I use Java, PHP, ASP, XML technologies on a daily basis. I was able to apply my OOP knowledge directly to objective-c and create Mathogen.

What made you think of creating the Mathogen app as a starting point?

I had been reading iPhone game reviews. Common knowledge seemed to show that games that were easy to pick up and play for 60 seconds, made use of the accelerometer, and had wide appeal were the most popular games. The idea for Mathogen seemed like a perfect fit.

How did you go about building a company around your idea?

I am the sole developer/creator of Mathogen. I downloaded the SDK, registered my business at the state office, and started programming.

What has been the most successful strategy/avenue for promoting and increasing visibility for your apps and your company?

I posted 5 minutes of gameplay in a video on my website. It seems like everyone wants to take a look at the video to see what the game is like. I plan to create more videos and post them on youtube with a link back to mathogen.com

How has Pinch helped with app development, promotion, and marketing?

Pinch has helped me in all three ways. Placing beacons in the different stages of my game allowed me to track my users’ progress through the game. Noticing that very few players were able to pass the game on hard difficulty setting, I was able to retool the mechanic and make it easier. Looking at the player progress now, a larger portion of my users are able to pass the hard difficulty setting.

I belong to a discussion group where we discuss iPhone programming. When I posted my experience integrating Pinch into my application, my hit stats skyrocketed. It seemed like the developers that read my blog were eager to see how easy it was to integrate into my app. To this day, the post on my blog regarding integrating Pinch into my app remains one of the most popular posts on my website.

I will continue to use Pinch to track my users’ progress through the game and alter the game mechanic in accordance with their usage patterns.

Do you have any other advice you’ve learned that you’d like to share?

Use Pinch. It’s become an essential part in the development of my iPhone applications.

David’s experience shows how paying attention to users’ reviews of existing applications can provide inspiration for a new app. And once the app is developed and in the store, continued attention towards your audience is crucial– not just through reviews and feedback, but actual stats and metrics.