Good morning 👋
This week I tweeted:
There are definitely moments when I question how the hell can I charge $10 a year for a weather app. But not today.
It was the first day in two weeks that I managed to do deep work.
I was spending the day making improvements to precipitation notification alerts based on user feedback. As far as the user can tell, what’s new is a couple of new settings and an additional line of text in the notification. If only they could receive the update with a bonus Director’s commentary! This train of thought was semi-triggered by a recent Daring Fireball post concerning the release of Good Sudoku:
I’ll bet you have a short list of favorite authors and filmmakers. When you hear that one of them has a new book or movie coming out, you’re buying a ticket before you know the premise. Zach Gage is that type of game designer: Really Bad Chess, Ridiculous Fishing, Flipflop Solitaire and more. They’re great games, exquisitely crafted, with inordinately clever premises and conceits. And no matter how disparate the premises they all share Gage’s distinctive voice and aesthetic. There’s a distinct Gage-yness to a Zach Gage game, in the way that you know, say, a Stephen King novel or Martin Scorsese movie just by the feel of it.
Both apps I’ve built entered extremely crowded and competitive markets with several established players. This knowledge dictated the need to create a distinct experience. One that’s intentionally not for everyone. I took a bet and, fortunately, it paid off – there are enough users who they’ve been the perfect fit for. This has enabled me to continue on this journey, and, perhaps just as importantly, given me the confidence that I can approach any app space and offer a distinct noteworthy alternative. If only there were 30 hours in a day!
There are many ways to measure and interpret success. For me, if one day there’s anticipation and curiosity surrounding what I build next, that’s success. Maybe one day there is such a thing as a favourite app developer. To help get there, app developers, myself included, need to consistently value their output more and not be embarrassed to ask for a few dollars in return. I mean, would Stephen King or Martin Scorsese?
Have a great Sunday! Hopefully not too hot where you are ;)
Best,
Bardi
I feel like I do have favourite app developers already! Zach Gage, as you mentioned. As well as Sam Ruston. I will be excited for all of their releases. I haven't used ruff, but based on appy weather, if future apps are anything like this, then you'd likely be a contender too!