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Quikthinking Software Blog
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    0 Superhero Flyer App Breakout

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 08/12/2019

    How can you get all the way through into the top level of the scrolling action mobile app game Superhero Flyer? Follow along for more insider tips. In October, 2017 we released Superhero Flyer for Android in Google Play and Amazon. Now in August, 2019 we've added an iOS version for iPhone and iPad. Game action is identical across all the levels in all versions. There's a Game Center leaderboard for iPhone - iPad and a Google Play Games leaderboard for Android. Using the leaderboard is optional. What makes this game so unpredictable is the changing life span of certain superheroes. You have to decide how much risk to take while using strategy to score the most points. Scout in the yellow mask must avoid all rockets at all cost. Scout touching a windsock, the sun, or moon can power-up to call Blue (blue mask). Blue can wipe out the little rockets, but not the big ones. Blue must power-up by touching a colorful balloon to call on Trax, however Blue scores higher point totals than Trax. Trax can knock out all the rockets. Her screen time is limited. Thump (purple costume) and Bambi (red & light blue) take care of business busting big time moves on all rocket enemies plus they can pulverize the drones. Bambi with Thump team up in level 5 and 6. These two ladies stay around as long as you are scoring. You have to get to the upper game levels first to use their talents! They love balloons so seek out the balloons in the upper levels to score big time. The eagles know that along with the sun and moon Scout will touch a drone to call on Blue (power-up). Warning. In some of the upper levels, the eagles will attack all drones and knock them out of the sky! No, you won't hurt the eagles in this game. They usually take cover when the weather gets wet! Here's the help screen on the iPhone: In the game you have to score a certain number of points in the early levels to continue. If you use the pause button, you can take a game break, but even though the count down timer is paused, you'll have to wait until all of the game characters come back on screen when you resume play (potentially wasting valuable time).   We are happy to share these tips with you! Find out much more about Superhero Flyer in these previous features: * Superhero Flyer App Soaring video  * Superhero Flyer Game Adds Levels, Leaps, and Leaderboard * Superhero Flyer App Cheats * Superhero Flyer

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    0 Game Devs of Color Expo 2019 A Success

    • Expos
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 07/29/2019

    "Summer night in Harlem, man it's really hot..." to quote singer Bill Withers who was right on time describing the Saturday, July 27 heat wave in the neighborhood where Game Devs of Color Expo 2019 took place even though it was sunshine in the daytime. Indie game developers along with some well known players gathered at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture to mingle, network, and show off some of their creations. This expo is billed as a safe place for diverse people with diverse project themes to express themselves "without fear of judgment or harassment." Catt Small @cattsmall (below) is a Senior Product Designer at Esty. She welcomed the approximately 600 in attendance. Later in the day in the Schomburg auditorium Catt did an excellent presentation on how she developed her web game SweetXheart using the Phaser.io software development kit. SweetXheart is a "slice-of-life visual novel about microagressions, race, and gender." In the game you act as Kara, a 19-year-old girl from the Bronx who attends an art college and interns at a tech company. We were very impressed watching several people play the game in a separate area of the expo. Catt is one of the founding organizers of the Game Devs of Color Expo. Here I am below hanging out with two members of the Nintendo team. Congratulations if you received one of our AAeMojis app tee shirts that I'm wearing! We gave away quite a few at the expo. This view is from the second level looking down on one of the three areas where attendees could play lots of developer games. Geneva Heyward @gensuta (below) is a game developer pursuing a BFA at NYU (one of my many alma maters). Because of the visuals I was attracted to her Windows - Mac - Linux game Skate & Date that is "a roller derby rhythm ga(y)me where you play as Maggie, the lead jammer of the Rockin' Rollergirls" who has a crush on one of her opponents. Remember roller derby? I loved watching it as a kid. The graphics in this game are simple and straight forward. The story moves along with an element of roll playing using some on-screen visual dialogue to complement the action packed skating scenes. We also liked the Windows - Mac - Linux hyper casual game HyperDot created by Minnesota based developer Charles McGregor @DarkaysTG (Tribe Games). See HyperDot in action by watching the preview: Game Devs of Color isn't just about discovering or playing the games. There were engaging panels and micro talks. The one below, "Hip-Hop and Video Games" moderated by Shawn Allen @anuchallenger presented a timeline about how both art forms have combined to influence game development. A lot is jammed into only 7 hours for this one day expo. There was no question and answer time after any of  the auditorium micro talks or panels. You had to track down the participants if you wanted some follow-up. This is fine for the manageable size of the current Saturday afternoon crowd at the Schomburg, however as #GDoCExpo grows this element should be worked into the schedule.  

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    0 Game Devs of Color Expo 2019

    • Expos
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 07/23/2019

    The Game Devs of Color Expo is coming to The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York City on Saturday, July 27, 2019. This gathering is an inclusive games expo and conference putting creative developers of color at the forefront, showing off their games, building conversations, and pushing games forward as an art. Here's a Schomburg FAQ: the institution is a research unit of The New York Public Library. Opening in 1925, the repository began with the vast collections of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, a Puerto Rican born black scholar and book lover. His holdings included more than 10,000 items. Today, The Schomburg holds more than ten million items. The Center has collected, preserved, and provided access to materials documenting black life in America and worldwide for over 90 years. Watch the video below about the 2018 Game Devs of Color Expo, and join me (Hugh Smith above) on Saturday, July 27 at the 2019 expo if you are in the New York City area. Find me and I'll give you an exclusive Quikthinking AAeMojis tee shirt while they last! (I'm modelling one)

  • 0 Name Game App Confusion Video

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 07/15/2019

    What's wrong with this picture? Confusion. We software - app people generally know that many of our treasured users who love our games or other entertainment novelties sometimes overlook reading the product details. If it's a free app, no pain, no gain. Not much is lost. Even when there is cookie jar money involved some folks just do not read the easy to scan summaries after looking at screen shots. Recently a three word comment "Don't Get It" came in about one of our games that motivated me to produce a video explaining more. Perhaps this person meant "I don't get it" and not "don't get it" (the app). Watch the video to check out how to correctly play the Black History People Name Game that uses word association with an interesting twist. It's all about remembering the people.    

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    0 Pizza with Apples Forever

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 06/24/2019

    "I would never win an award for not loving pizza" so says actor - former wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. We don't do awards here, but we love pizza too. We love it so much that we've created a "new" game for it.  Pizza Burger Crush for Android is our match-3 game introduced on a lark in October, 2015. Read more about Pizza Burger Crush. The app was so well received that it was always in the back of our minds to do a version for iPhone and iPad. Follow the story of how it all came together within the closing weeks of the 2nd quarter of 2019. These demos were all fully functioning iPhone versions of the app (but never released). This first version (with one game level) worked well enough with lots of cool digital effects. We felt the game play wasn't quite fast enough so it was shelved. Demo Version 1: For Version 2 (with multiple game levels) we also included lots of sparkling special effects but after lots of evaluation we decided it just didn't cut it! Demo version 2: We killed the cupcakes, went back to the original demo version, added mustard with ketchup, made multiple changes, tested it on different iPhones and iPads, and decided that version 3 was just right: The final version above has several game levels with varying degrees of difficulty. We enjoyed working on this iPhone and iPad version. We slowed the pace down from the Android version which is fast paced and wild. The iOS versions have no time limit so you can play forever as long as you keep winning. This allows you to use strategy to maximize the score across the game levels. Long live pizza, burgers, chicken, hot dogs, and fries with special thanks to our artist Julia Liberali who drew the food items for the version 2 Android upgrade using watercolors! (She didn't draw ketchup/mustard). Release date in the App Store for Pizza Burger Match-3 for iPhone and iPad will be Monday, June 24, 2019. Watch the game video with both the iPhone/iPad/Android versions for a public service laugh below!

  • 0 Memorial Day and America's Black Patriots

    In the 20th Century when the United States declared war against Germany, Dr. Louis T. Wright (shown above) enlisted in the US Army. In 1918, he was on the front lines in St. Die, France. Dr. Wright, (1891-1952), excelled in the field of medicine and brain trauma. He is the author of nearly 20 academic papers about brain surgery. He graduated from Clark University in Atlanta in 1911. Dr. Wright graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1915. For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots features an excellent profile of Dr. Wright, along with 28 other significant African Americans who served their country in the armed forces. You'll also find profiles about specific marine regiments, infantry divisions, airborne divisions, and calvary divisions. Discover more about America' Black Patriots in the iPhone/Android App: Black History Audio Book III. Within the Android version of the app you can watch the videos featuring all 9 chapters of the America's Black Patriots story. Below I am at the Lindenwold, New Jersey USA Memorial Park on Memorial Day, 2019.

  • 0 Black History Inventors

    He was the only African American child enrolled in a Quaker school near Baltimore, Maryland. In 1753, he built the first clock in the American colonies hand-carved from wood that even chimed the hour. By 1793 he published almanacs with astronomical information about tides, sunrise and sunset, and phases of the moon.   This inventor may be most famous as one of the surveyors for Washington, DC. Benjamin Banneker died in 1806. In 1980, the U.S. Postal service honored him with a commemorative stamp. The Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum, dedicated in 1998 is in Catonsville, Maryland. Banneker is one of more than 50 inventors spotlighted in the new Black History Inventors app for iPhone that joins the already popular Android version. Discover more about our Black History Inventors and watch the videos.

  • 0 R&B Music Quiz Soul App for iPhone

    • Quiz
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 03/22/2019

    In the world of music, once every decade or so the past catches up to the present. That's why many of the best old songs are updated by contemporary artists about once every 10 years. Before our exciting career in software app development, we were responsible for programming, playing, and announcing music at a long list of very successful radio stations and broadcast networks. With our world of song knowledge along with shared stories in conversation with popular recording artists we created the mobile game trivia app R&B Music Quiz Soul for Android in November, 2015.  R&B Music Quiz Soul for iPhone has just been completed. Hundreds of tasty trivia teasers are included in this treasure trove of fun with the focus on Rhythm and Blues. Whereas the Android version of the app concentrates on hundreds of multiple choice questions, the iPhone version adds a picture quiz, right or wrong quiz (true or false), and also includes a collection of multiple choice trivia. The artists mentioned in the app span seven decades from the 1950's to the 2000's. Can you guess who had the most top 10 hits? How about who spent the most weeks at #1 on the music charts? R&B Music Quiz Soul was created for the casual music fan. You don't have to be an expert to enjoy the app. The hit quiz questions just keep on comin' bringing back magical memories. We are lucky to have a certified in-house music expert who can share this cultural appreciation with you. Under our umbrella we have a separate website devoted to the world of music. It's now offline and is being revised for a re-launch late in 2019. Stay tuned! For now, enjoy R&B Music Quiz Soul for Android. The iPhone version will be released within the next 14 days or sooner. Update (March 23, 2019): R&B Music Quiz Soul for iPhone is released on the App Store.

  • 0 Pizza Game App Video

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 03/04/2019

    Pizza Burger Crush is a fun pizza game app. Match the burgers, fries, hot dogs, chicken and pizzas with just a touch. This easy pizza game has been one of our Android download favorites, so we are building an iPhone and iPad version that is close to completion. The iPhone - iPad version won't be a match game, so it is significantly different, but it is just as much fun. Both games will look similar. As a public service, both of these pizza games provide a calorie free digital escape into the world of fun food! Warning: Pizza Burger Crush Game app encourages playing with your digital food. Did you miss the following videos? Discover: How To Eat Pizza With Your Game On video and How Much Pizza Does $1 Buy You video.

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    0 Black History Quizzes With Unlimited Ideas

    • Quiz
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 02/25/2019

    We recently received a comment about our original Black History Quiz. "Limited questions" was the entire statement. Fictional British detective Sherlock Holmes would have fun with this one. Did the person mean not enough questions, or that the questions were limited in scope? We have moved the needle forward with each of our new African American quiz mobile apps. Black History Quiz for iPhone (2nd to market) not only increased the number of multiple choice questions, but added a true or false section, plus a photo quiz. The new flagship Black History Express app for Android added brand new quiz questions not used in Black History Quiz. Black History Express also includes a complete biography knowledge reference section. We created all of the Black History Express quiz questions using the biography reference section. Try all of these free apps. Here are the app store links: Black History quiz for iPhone or Black History Quiz for Android, and Black History Express for Android.

  • 0 Superhero Flyer App Soaring Video

    • Games
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 02/21/2019

    Superhero Flyer app is not an easy mobile action game to master. Playing looks simple enough, but looks can be deceiving. Watch this video then discover how we developed this game from the drawing board to Google Play in 18 months. We started with 5 original characters: Scout who is the most vulnerable,  Blue who can't survive the large rockets, Trax who has a short life span, and Bambi with Thump. These two ladies just kick butt. You touch the screen to keep each superhero flying. An unpredictable factor is built into the game. Blue, and Trax have limited life spans that are random. These characters are upgrades from Scout (the character with the 5 lives at the top left of the screen when the game starts). When Blue is defeated by a rocket, Scout can continue the game. Here is the help screen that you can get to from the game home screen. There are a lot of power-ups. Power-ups include the sun, moon, windsocks, drones, and balloons. Our bird heroes, the eagles, make the game much more of a challenge in several levels. The eagles use their hunting skills to target, attack, and destroy the drones. Once you get the hang of playing the game, you'll have the most fun soaring along in the highest levels.  Jump on the leaderboard to track how many points you have scored compared to other players. Most of all, enjoy playing Superhero Flyer. Learn about the international team who assisted in the development Superhero Flyer.

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    0 133 Ways To Love AAeMojis Video

    When you watch this entertaining video, you'll see that there are 133 ways to love AAeMojis. I tank up on helium to provide guidance in the announce voice track. Turn the sound on if you can. Check out the action! Grab AAeMojis on the App Store or AAeMojis in Google Play. Use them for texting or Facebook.

  • 0 Black History Quotes Express App Tips Video

    • Apps
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 02/12/2019

    "Technology," "politics," "music," "tennis." Pick a subject. Black History Quotes Express app lets you search an author phrase by any words you choose. Searching by author name is also a simple way to gather quotes from within the app.  In this Black History Quotes Express Tips video, watch me demonstrate how you can easily build a theme of several quotes around your specific keyword search. The Android version is demonstrated. February 19, 2019 Update: The iPhone and iPad version is now in the App Store

  • 0 Insider Video Tips And How To Tutorials

    • video
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 02/11/2019

    Are you one of the nearly 300,000 Quikthinking friends who have gotten some fun, knowledge, or entertainment from using our Android or iPhone apps? If you are, or even if you're not, rediscover through our video channel how our apps can help you charge up your day with joy, amusement, and/or fact based history. Take a deeper dive. Our YouTube channel continues to grow. Subscribe to the Quikthinking Software YouTube channel now. Thanks! 

  • 0 Inventor Granville Woods Creates Remarkable Technology

    • Apps
    • by Kingsley H. Smith
    • 02/08/2019

    Inventor Granville T. Woods was extremely creative accumulating 45 patents between 1884 - 1907.  In addition to the steam boiler furnace (his first patent in 1884), Woods has patents for telephone/telegraph technology, brake systems for railways, and battery technology.    Woods is one of the buried inventors missing in action from most American history books. Two free mobile apps celebrate the inventive men and women who used brain power to dream up solutions to common problems. For the basics, download Black History Inventors from Google Play. More advanced is Black History Inventors Quiz. This version is bundled with two games along with a sketching app allowing you to draw your own brilliant ideas. Both of these apps are very popular. Discover the African American visionaries who helped lead innovation.

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