My latest game Bunny Bang has been rejected by apple for the following reason.

Thank you for submitting your application to App Store. Unfortunately, your application, Bunny Bang, cannot be added to the App Store because it uses standard iPhone screen images in a non-standard way, potentially resulting in user confusion. Changing the behavior of standard iPhone graphics, actions, and images, or simulating failures of those graphics, actions, or images is a violation of the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement which requires applications to abide by the Human Interface Guidelines.

Please see the attached screenshot.

If you would like to share this app with friends and family, we recommend you review the Ad Hoc method on the Distribution tab of the iPhone Developer Portal for details.  This will allow you to distribute your application to a small group of people of your choosing.

The screenshot they refer to is merely a game over screen that makes it look as like a bunny killing explosion has cracked the iPhone screen. (See initial image).

Now, i have had apps rejected for different reasons before but on this one they are suggesting to distribute via Ad Hoc to a small amount of people leading me to believe they are covering their tracks for the REAL reason they rejected the app.

Bunny Bang has been resubmitted so let’s see what happens next. I will keep you posted.

Ok, so as promised here is an update froim Apple.

Thank you for submitting Bunny Bang to the App Store. We’ve reviewed Bunny Bang and determined that we cannot post this version of your iPhone application to the App Store because it contains objectionable content and is in violation of Section 3.3.14 from the the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement which states:

“Applications may be rejected if they contain content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, sounds, etc.) that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable, for example, materials that may be considered obscene, pornographic, or defamatory.”

If you believe that you can make the necessary changes so that Bunny Bang does not violate the iPhone Developer Program License Agreement, we encourage you to do so and resubmit it for review.

So there you have it. The initial person behind the review was infact trying to cover something up by suggesting a cracked screen image would make the user believe a game just cracked their real screen. Come on Apple, This game features a fake animated rabbit strapped to fake dynamite in a fake bomb defusing situation.

Do you REALLY believe that your users are so stupid that they can’t figure that out?

The first block of code is something that i was struggling with for my latest app called iAnnoyance which is an annoying sounds app. The result i wanted was to have multiple sounds ready to play (.mp3) but each one if triggered must be stopped upon triggering another. In laymens terms “I wanted to stop one sound when another was playing”.

The avenue I decided to go up was the AVAudioPlayer route which I chose for the functionality such as looping and play, stop, pause functions.

So rather than create a seperate player for each sound it was decided that the app could use a single player that would watch the button presses and work out which sound needed to be loaded on the fly. This was achieved using the following code in my MainViewController.m

-(void)playSound:(NSString*)soundName
{
	if (self.currentSound.isPlaying)
	{
		[self.currentSound stop];
	}

	if (![self.lastSoundPlayed isEqual:soundName])
	{
		NSString *soundPath = [[NSBundle mainBundle]
                   pathForResource:soundName ofType:@"mp3"];
		AVAudioPlayer *player =  [[AVAudioPlayer alloc]
                  initWithContentsOfURL:[NSURL fileURLWithPath:soundPath] error:NULL];
		[player setDelegate:self];
		[player prepareToPlay];
		[player play];

		self.currentSound = player;
		[player release];

		self.lastSoundPlayed = soundName;
	}
}

Each button would then look like so:-

-(IBAction)cryBaby:(id)sender{

	[self playSound:@"Cry"];

}

-(IBAction)snoringMan:(id)sender{

	[self playSound:@"Snore"];

}

Then make sure you release the sounds and free up memory at the end of the file using the following:-

[currentSound release];
[lastSoundPlayed release];

currentSound & lastSoundPlayed were also added to the top of the file using the following:-

@synthesize currentSound;
@synthesize lastSoundPlayed;

My MainViewController.h would then have the following added:-

#import <AVFoundation/AVAudioPlayer.h>

And the following:-

@interface MainViewController : UIViewController <AVAudioPlayerDelegate> {
                        AVAudioPlayer *currentSound;
                        NSString *lastSoundPlayed;
                        }
@property (retain) AVAudioPlayer *currentSound;
@property (retain) NSString *lastSoundPlayed;

Using this code you can set up your buttons to listen for your button presses and stop or start a sound respectively. Hopefully this will help you in your App development and as usual, if you have any questions feel free to post them below.

We have seen it in the movies before right? It’s the future, The world is collapsing but one company is running things and everything belongs to that one organisation…. In the real world that company is Microsoft. Anybody following the E3 would have been unable to miss the alien technology Microsoft unleashed for the XBOX 360 known as Project Natal (Nat-all).

Imagine walking into your living room, telling your XBOX to switch itself on and then navigating the menus by simply swiping your hands through thin air. Imagine your XBOX recognising your face when you enter your room and automatically signing you in.. Maybe even greeting you. Imagine playing your favourite game with NO CONTROLLER.

Not possible right? …. Wrong!!

Project Natal takes the world of motion sensing and shits on the wii then wipes its ass on the PS3 whilst boasting Vocal and FACIAL recognition. The technology behind Project Natal puts you directly into the game for an experience never before seen or even honestly imagined. Lift up a hand and your avatar lifts up his hand, Shake your head and your avatar…. You get the picture right?

So what does this mean top the world of gaming? At the end of the day, the XBOX 360 is a gaming console so this technology is wasted if not used as a gaming device. Well, try to imagine yourself playing darts on the wii!! So you line up your shot then press another button and then you can finally make your throw based on speed of your hand flick…. Not the most interactive is it?

Now try to imagine playing darts using Project Natal. Stand up, Walk up to your line (Scripted), pretend to hold a dart and simply throw the invisible dart at the invisible dartboard… BULLSEYE. This kind of technology is not just a possibility, It is very real and very much on its way to our living rooms. Using laser technology, Project Natal scans your entire body and tracks it from that moment forth. It will even recognise if you are a man or a woman on its own.

Here is the clever part though (if that’s not enough) It will even track multiple players using the very same technology. I am so hyped on this right now and could ramble for ever.

Doesn’t sound real does it?

Take a look at the video above and see a live demonstration at E3 of Project Natal. Now do you believe it?…… Thought so!

Discuss.

Michael Schofield In Disguise

The most popular method of getting the best out of your iPhone is to Jailbreak it. The simplest method of Jailbreaking your device is by using a popular program called Quickpwn. Quickpwn allows you to run software on your iPhone that is not supported by apple but this doesn’t mean that it will break your new toy! Instead it opens up a world of new opportunities left out by Apple such as Video Recording, MMS and custom ringtones to name but a few.

To Jailbreak your iPhone do the following:

1. Download the latest Quickpwn
2. Connect your iPhone to your PC or Laptop
3. Run Quickpwn and follow the on screen instructions. Thats all there is to it..(Honestly)

Record Video On Your iPhone

One of the main features Apple failed to include was Video Recording. The reason for this is unknown to me but the good news is a clever guy called Saurik has been able to create a program that does just that! The program is called Cycorder and can be installed direct from your iPhone upon Jailbreaking using the pre-installed program Cydia.

Send Cheaper SMS Direct From Your iPhone

I have been using a program called BiteSMS on my iPhone that allows you to send text messages direct from the same interface as your normal text method. Not only does it allow you to send them but it gives you them cheaper aswell. In some cases you can save 50% on every text message you send!

You buy credits and they automatically get added to to your phone and away you go. It tracks the amount you have sent too so you know when it is time to get more credits. They also support PayPal for credit purchases.

MMS Can Now Be Sent From Your iPhone

Another feature Apple have left out is Multi Media Messaging. The reason? Who knows?

The good news is that there is a program called SwirlyMMS which allows you to send them direct from your iPhone. This application can be installed through Installer which automatically gets added when Jailbreaking your iPhone.

iPoo with my iPhone

It’s true, i literally poo with my iPhone. Every visit to the toilet for some heavy pushing involves loading up Labyrinth. Labyrinth is a maze game that uses a great amount of the iPhone’s accelerometer to allow you to tilt your phone in various directions which in turn guides a metal ball around a maze filled with Extreme Peril (holes to me and you). Trust me, if you have an iPhone and you also poo you need to combine the two.

If you have tried this method of poo & play and struggled then it may be that i can help you so please do feel free to request assistance. Who knows? it could simply be how you are sitting!!

There are other benefits to Jailbreaking your iPhone such as being able to use your iPhone as your laptops connection to the internet but that is another post’s worth

Please add some comments below this post and i hope this post helped some of you out.

For the last two years I have been addicted to the fantastic beast that is the Xbox 360. I have a wife to be (Oct 12th 2008) and 2 sons that live with me 24-7 so how can I find have a happy house when wanting to shoot some germans or alien scum?

Easy…. Microsoft gave the biggest gift to gamers in relationships and that is the Gamerscore (GS). My partner is the kind of woman that likes her man to be better than others and is obsessive compulsive with things such as the TV / Radio volume can’t be on an odd number and neither can my Gamerscore so she takes great pleasure in following my achievement unlocks during any game I play AND has a happy face whilst doing so!

How do I please my eldest son of 13 years old if he wants to watch TV and I want to shoot and shit? Easy…..I bought him an Xbox 360 too so we can now shoot each other giving me the best of all worlds. We can both compete for Gamerscore and if he beats me I can ground him…..Bliss

Bottom line is that I don’t want to be serious and political when I am winding down so I turn on the 360 instead. I would rather be home playing games against my son and with my wife to be than in the pub having a few beers to relax. How many of you can say that your girlfriend/wife enjoys watching you play games after a hard days work? Gamerscore – The solution to divorce

So, we have new maps for the game of 2007 coming tomorrow 03/04/2008 and I for one CANNOT WAIT.

Maps are Broadcast, Creek, Killhouse, and Chinatown and look really good. These maps are a godsend from Infinity Ward and will keep people playing for a long time to come (me included). The maps will be available for purchase over Xbox live for 800mp which is a bargain plus we get the extra benefit of having the maps a whole 21 days before the PS3 get them. Why we get them first is an obvious fact but that’s a completely different topic that I will not get into here.

For those that have been living under a rock and haven’t seen the maps yet here are some screenshots.

Broadcast

Killhouse

Chinatown

Creek

I have been playing my XBOX 360 on my 50″ Sony Bravia – Rear Projection for around a year now but lately i have noticed a nasty ghosting of the text an images.

This problem has caused me to actually die!! no really…. i have died numerous times on Call of Duty 4 and its all because of Sony, The bastards (My excuse and i am sticking to it ;p)

When playing games like COD4 and Assassins Creed it is unfair that you are unable to witness the true greatness and quality in the graphics so i was forced to smash up the TV and buy a new 14″ Portable……Well, actually, I found out how to solve the problem so my beloved TV was my friend again.

It seems there are settings within a hidden engineers menu in the Sony Bravia series (not sure if its the same in others) so im going to explain how you can do it yourself as this is a problem all the bravias will face at some stage.

Ok so here goes

To access the hidden menu, turn your TV into standby mode and press the following.

[i+] (little button with i+ in a kind of tv icon)

Press Channel 5

Press Volume UP

Press Analogue (its the middle button on the top of the remote)

Once you have pressed these buttons in succession your tv should boot up onto a new screen with large green letters. This shows that its so far so good and we can now proceed to the more complicated settings.

Press the menu button (At the bottom of the remote)

You will then be presented with a new menu down the left hand side of the screen.

Use the direction buttons on the remote and move down to the LCD Drivers option and press right to enter the menu.

You are now presented with a new menu / option screen.

There are three settings that need changing and all relate to the synchronizing of the horizontal RGB (Red,Green,Blue) and simply shifts the colours back into position.

Move down to “S H POS REG R” – The settings should currently be set at 10. Press right to change the value to 11. Do the same for S H POS REG G and then move down to the bottom of the screen keep pressing down until you see S H POS REG B and change the value to 11 then press the menu button to back out of the menu before pressing standby.

Now simply press standby again to start up your TV and your problem should be sorted.

If i helped you and you wish to bow down to my juicy goodness please leave a comment below. You dont have to register and it takes a few seconds. Scroll to the bottom of this page and tell me how fat and juicy i am.

Sit back and enjoy the full power of the 360 and its beautiful games. If you feel like getting shot at on COD4 then add me to your friends list. My gamertag is SN1PER UK.

Although, im still dying…. maybe Sony messed something else up .

Hopefully this will help others having the same problem.

Update: A lot of my readers are also sending me emails and have commented on this post that this is also the case for the PS3.