No this isn’t a goodbye post. I just wanted to take a moment to thank TGC for AppGameKit, a tool that let me get something that I had wanted to release in some format or other for years (never imagined it would be a mobile app). To be honest it wasn’t the greatest idea to make a non-gaming app in AppGameKit and I won’t be doing it again, but if I hadn’t it would most definitely still be a pipe dream to this date.
Even though a non-gaming app wasn’t the greatest idea it does show that you can probably create almost anything in AGK. The reason why I won’t be doing it again is because the UI limitations, and the lack of gesture detections. It means I’m unlikely to develop OryUI any further now but the code is there if anyone wants to build on it or use it as inspiration to do something better that we can all use on mobile apps. I see a lot of different UI posts here but they all seem to be desktop only, and it would be great to get something that looks more native.
The HTTPS requests are heavily used in my app with a server managing parts of the app. And they were a doddle to use from the beginning when I was first toying with AGK. The app wouldn’t have been possible without them. So if you're reading this and wanting to do a turn based game, it's definitely doable.
There’s also a basic read only API on the server available to the users where they can access all their stats/history and active locks. With that users have developed several personal/hobby projects including lockboxes and digital safes that’s controlled by the app/API, a couple of Alexa Skills (not available on the Alexa Skills market place, but I've seen videos of the skills working and the code for them and they were awesome), an Apple Watch app (not made with AGK), a few Discord bots, and a couple of projects that do stuff with iCal and Siri Shortcuts. All using the app API. That’s been really cool to see. People creating stuff. I will take something like that to most future projects if possible, even if it’s just a feature for users to create and share levels etc.
So again, thank you TGC. I know I come across as a bit naggy/moany at times but that’s only because I enjoy using AppGameKit and get frustrated when things just break and remain broken for ages, or you change direction by introducing a new tool.
I don’t know what I will use AppGameKit for next, and may honestly jump between it and other tools, but I still like coding with it. It’s definitely going to be a game next time.
OryUI - A WIP AGK2 UI Framework