mobobo development blog

When Geeks attack.

pegbert — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:38:55 +0000

Mobobo Vs Mobobo

It was a quiet Tuesday afternoon here at Mobobo Games, when I received an e-mail from Andy King, a web designer who runs a site called Mobobo.co.uk. He was passing on some Spam e-mail, which was kind, but he also threw in a back-handed criticism of our Characters.
What happened next, quickly descended into Madness between 2 people who have never met.
It brightened up the day though

Here’s a transcript of the conversation,
Andy is in Red, as he’s so Angry
and I’m in Green, as, I like green.

On 12 Feb 2013, at 11:33, Andy King Wrote:

I think it telling that a VP of sales can’t tell the difference between a .com and .co.uk URL

It’s like he’s never looked at either site – one showing an advanced understanding of design and the other comprising of aesthetically challenged illustrations for free apps!

Andy King

www.mobobo.co.uk

Begin forwarded message:

From: “Sean Foreman”
Date: 12 February 2013 09:10:12 GMT
To: “Neil Pettitt”

Hi Neil

This is just a note to let you know that the Chief Strategy Officer Summit, taking place on the 25th & 26th April in London is only ten weeks away.

Overview:SPAM SPAM SPAM Blah Blah

On 12 Feb 2013, at 11:40, “Neil Pettitt” wrote:

What are you on about?

… and less of the ‘aesthetically challenged’ ;P

Andy King Wrote:

Read the email that i received from Sean Foreman sent to you because he put .co.uk on the end…it’s at the bottom of my first email to you.

You might be able to do 3D an code apps – but honestly your character designs and web page design display a lack of aesthetic knowledge regarding those disciplines

Andy King

www.mobobo.co.uk

“Neil Pettitt” wrote:

Ha ha, Thanks for the advice!

You’re obviously annoyed with the duplication of the ‘mobobo’ name ?

( btw we formed in 1995 as a Llp, so we were first )

You have no idea of the constraints I work under to make these apps, and I wont bore you with it.

The characters look good on the apps, are generally well received, So far we have nearly 5 million downloads, and are doing really well with our range of apps.

You’re right though, the site does need attention, but we’re too busy making more apps to do it, if only we knew someone with an ‘advanced understanding of design’ ?

Btw, do you find you get much work with this approach?

Neil Pettitt

www.mobobo.com

Andy King Wrote:

Not advice – statement of fact.

I tend to ignore amateurs whose understanding of design is so limited in the first place that the’d release such clearly derivative, poorly conceived, badly designed and produced visual offences as they generally are really crap to work with.

I need no idea “of the constraints” just as your users wouldn’t care either way.

Wow 5 million who download your app for free (and delete it soon after) that’s wholly underwhelming!

Actually I really am very pleased your website is so visually abhorrent. It puts me in mind of a drug addict Director in Cambridgeshire & his pet crackho much Ruth little Reason, and their coke driven idea of “design”.

Andy King

www.mobobo.co.uk

“Neil Pettitt” wrote:

Brilliant.

So to recap…

you steal our name,criticise us, compare us to drug addicts? ( a past difficult client? ) Slate what we do, with no provocation?

Please continue to ignore us amateurs then, and carry on your busy day posting about LOL cats.

“Quote from Andy’s Lol Cats posting:”

the world is full of haters – people who insult & harass and don’t think of the consequences to the targets.
if you judge somebody because somebody fed you slander – put yourself into the category of moron. if you insult someone because somebody else asked it of you – put yourself into the category of scumbag. if you take part in harassment – put yourself into the category of hater.

Andy King Wrote:

Wow, your (mis) understanding of design is now matched by your inability to understand written English!

Steal your name? Wtf – hahaha.

I informed you of emails misdirected and provided free consultation, politely and with humour, regarding your obvious need to self educate on design.

I have no hate for you, if I was to have any emotional regard it would be pity for a techie that wouldn’t know design if it were to sit upon his head.

Andy King

www.mobobo.co.uk

“Neil Pettitt” wrote:

You’re absolutely right, Such good humour and so polite.

How silly of me, let me backtrack and apologise, Thank YOU So MUCH!
Also let me reciprocate with some free consultation of my own.

Your website does not demonstrate your ‘advanced understanding of design’, there’s Way too much white space, it looks like you’ve made the fonts ENORMOUS to compensate for the fact you’ve no real content. Why make people scroll down 3 screens?

The BBC News website is smaller in size.

Ours may be admittedly poor, but ours is not our front of house, and so I don’t imagine effects our business.

Andy King Wrote:

Glad you see sense on one point at least. Still your an offensive, talentless twerp – so apology not accepted.

As for your web design critique… Looking at mobobo.com the only reasonable response would be to ignore your opinion whilst laughing (which I am doing right now )

Andy King

www.mobobo.co.uk

“Neil Pettitt” wrote:

Hang on!

Is all this because you wanted to go to the Chief Strategy Officer Summit, and weren’t invited?

Because if you want, I could put in a good word for you with Sean Foreman ?

You can roll up and Tout for work, I’m sure someone there would want an Enormously Fonted Website with nothing on it.

Andy King Wrote:

Hahaha – why would I want to go to a conference where a VP can’t tell the difference between your goppingly awful website and a responsive web design – perhaps you should google the term and get an understanding of why font sizes have increased.

A word from someone who can’t even ripoff shriek properly…erm I don’t think so.

Andy King

www.mobobo.co.uk

“Neil Pettitt” wrote:

Perhaps you should Google the Term ‘Psychological Projection’ ?

Conferences, I’m told, are good places to meet people to get Work, then you could start replacing all the Procrastinating Analysis of things you didn’t do in your ‘Work’ section of your website ?

This in turn may lead to more work, and stop you drinking through the day ?

At the very least, you could get lots of business cards of people you don’t know, who you could harass, like you have me today.

Neil Pettitt

www.mobobo.COM

Andy King Wrote:

Much call for crap illustrations? – I mean taking shrek making it really bad AND still going with it…storming.

Yea it’s great working on leading ecomms all day – it’s all drink, drink, drink.

What we really need tho is bad derivative illustrations and apps whose business model is to give em away because nobody would be dumb enough to pay for them!

Hahaha harass!?£&?! You really are an muppet.

Good luck at your sales conference with your free apps

Andy King

www.mobobo.co.uk

“Neil Pettitt” wrote:

* a muppet.

Christ mate, if I was stuck in web development 20 years too late, I’d be drinking as well!

No wonder your so bitter and twisted.

I’m glad you’ve enlightened me with your razor sharp business acumen, because, I’ve been wondering why we keep doing these apps, if only anyone knew how to make money from apps?

Here we are, the worlds only real time talking app developer, with 5 million downloads, completely wasting our time.

You’re right, It’s probably a dead end, and we should give up and make enormous websites, people love scrolling right?

www.mobobo.COM

Andy King Wrote:

Your apps, like your site, and whatever it is your spouting now are dog shit.

You still stuck on the whole above the fold kick?

People’s expectations for character design in 3D are so low with hastily produced stuff like Shrek that your piss poor ripoff stands out…right?

Yea Siri could really learn something from the astounding utility your beautiful and functional apps offer…hahaha right…

What a Putwain you are

Andy King

www.mobobo.co.uk

“Neil Pettitt” wrote:

Thanks for getting in touch, I’ve enjoyed today, I do miss arguing with people I don’t know about nothing.

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You’re an idiot

Andy King Wrote:

What a no-nothing shifty little techie prat you are – keep up the utterly shit site…pls

Andy King

www.mobobo.co.uk

“Neil Pettitt” wrote:

Oh I will, you be a good little boy and keep passing on any poorly addressed junk mail.

Goodnight.

Andy King Wrote:

Yea you’ll keep it going…because font sizes should be small, and keeping content (even when it’s piss poor illustrations as leaders for download once and dump apps) above, what you read somewhere is, the “fold” is what it’s all about – right?

Talentless lackey Cnut Neil an his outdated pile of crap web presence Ganesh bless ya!

Andy King

www.mobobo.co.uk

Dork – The World’s Most Stupidest Talking App

pegbert — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:58:03 +0000

Dork - The World's Most Stupidest App

Meet Dork, the Star of our Latest Talking App, Some say he’s an idiot, some say he’s too stupid to be in a Talking App… We agree, but he’s there anyway. Perhaps we’re dumbing down?

Where do Outfit7 get thier ideas?

pegbert — Tue, 10 May 2011 09:42:30 +0000

Well, well, well, Outfit7 have a new app out, and Very good it is, probably thier best one yet.

I wonder where they got thier inspiration for thier Talking Dog in a Lab mixing Potions idea?

Are they calling us out?
Do they want Trouble?
We,eeell we’ll have to see about that, this could mean War… App War

Have they... ?

Andy

pegbert — Fri, 06 May 2011 11:56:51 +0000

… and so it begins, a Summer of expanding our catalogue of 3D Fully Responsive Virtual Talking Apps, with our Latest Offering ‘Andy’.
Andy is a cute little boy that repeats what you say.
But DO NOT KNOCK HIM OVER – he’ll turn into a little monster – literally!!
Stunning real-time 3D graphics with 1000s of triangles, silky smooth animations, and real-time voice morphing technology.

You wouldn't like him when he's angry

Lab Mat

pegbert — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 12:54:38 +0000

Here at Mobobo we’ve been locked in the Lab, torturing an innocent little man, by making him drink strange concoctions and monitoring the Results.
Here are some screenshots of what we’ve observed:

Lab Mat iTunes
Direct link
Lab Mat

Mani Golf update Announcement

pegbert — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 14:52:47 +0000

Its been an amazing release for Mani Golf, we always knew the gameplay was up the best of what’s out on iPhone, as a Developer you still always wonder how it will be receieved, you put it out there, and always hope for something, but expect obscurity. Getting featured by Apple as ‘New and Noteworthy’ in pretty much every Country’s App store, has given us Massive exposure, and Sogoplay has done amazing to achieve this, so thank you to them.

The Game’s been reasonably well recieved, the biggest Critism that the game’s too short, and we agree with that, and are currently discussing getting a new course in there Asap, and also getting some new Physics Mechanics in too, also we’re discussing a 2 player mode, along with various other features and surprises we have planned, it’ll be a packed update.

Apart from that, there wasn’t really any other serious critism…. apart from the witterings of a Certain Person!
So, we’re also giving the option to ‘Gag’ Gaylord.
Never let it be said mobobo are a developer that doesn’t listen!

I don't think Apple will approve the second one!

Storming up the Charts, like a Ferret up a Trouser Leg.

pegbert — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:23:02 +0000

Well, interesting Times, on the Evening of our first day on Release, Apple gave us a ‘Hot New Games’ Feature on App Store, this helped us up into the Top 25 of Puzzle section in UK last night.

This in turn lead to being Featured on ‘New and Noteworthy’ on US store, which has led to us being, at the time of writing at number 70 all paid games.

We’re now at number 85 all paid games in UK!

Nice guy Guy

pegbert — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:17:42 +0000

Its a small world, it really is.
On a Forum, I bumped into the guy ‘Guy’ who gave us our terrible review, turned out to be a really sound bloke, who after I explained the situation, has amended his review:

Excellent customer service, and a fun game to boot ! – ★★★★★

by Guy and Jackie – Version 1.0 – 14 October 2010

Edit to Review: After the developer heard about my complaint, he contacted me within a day, and explained that there had been a mix-up in the test process, and that the version submitted to Apple was never intended to be compatible with the iPad. A fix has already been submitted to Apple that will address this problem. I was thoroughly impressed by the promptness of this response, and to the level of care that the developer invests in satisfying his customers. Too often these days, when an app has an issue, the developer is nowhere to be seen, and the app is abandoned, leaving customers frustrated with the whole experience. I applaud SoGoPlay for their commitment to customer service, and I await the chance to play this game on the iPad. Meanwhile, I was able to play the game on an iPod Touch, and it played flawlessly. The whole style of the game is quirky and fun. It’s by no means a serious golf game; rather, it captures the inherent silliness of Mini Golf perfectly. Mulligan is a great character, reminiscent of the classic Hannah-Barbera characters of the late sixties and early seventies. The animation is smooth, and the gameplay is lots of fun. My only complaint is that the iPod screen is a tad small for my older eyes, which is why I”m chomping at the bit to try this on the iPad. In all, this is a great game, and I look forward to more from SoGoPlay. I’d love to review this game, since it looks really cool, and has great-looking screen shots, but I can’t. It will not load on the iPad at all. The first splash screen shows up for a second, and then, crash… Tried a restart, and then a reboot. Nothing. Stay away from this one if you have an iPad, because it’s a total waste of a dollar. I hope the developer sees this and gets working on a fix quickly. And if the description given by the iTunes store is wrong, then shame on Apple for not getting facts right. Maybe this works on the iPhone, but for now, it’s a major disappointment on the iPad. A definite shot right in the water hazard.

Mani Golf is Launched for iPhone and iPod touch on App Store

pegbert — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:21:44 +0000

First Review in!

1 star

Will not start on the iPad

by GUY DAYENI’d love to review this game, since it looks really cool, and has great-looking screen shots, but I can’t. It will not load on the iPad at all. The first splash screen shows up for a second, and then, crash…

Tried a restart, and then a reboot. Nothing. Stay away from this one if you have an iPad, because it’s a total waste of a dollar. I hope the developer sees this and gets working on a fix quickly. And if the description given by the iTunes store is wrong, then shame on Apple for not getting facts right.

Maybe this works on the iPhone, but for now, it’s a major disappointment on the iPad. A definite shot right in the water hazard.

Oh… Bugger….

Well it was never supposed to work on iPad as we’re doing a big, shiny new version for iPad.
It says on App Store it works for iPad, but it doesn’t leading to some not good reviews…
Oh well, we’ll update this version to work on iPad, and also release the new version.

Update soon.

The Eve of the App Launch and a possible Balls up!

pegbert — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 14:22:07 +0000

Well after months of hard work, we’re here, the Eve of Launching Mani Golf upon App Store and the World!

.. and I’ve just realised we might have made a potential Massive Mistake.

We haven’t included the word ‘Doodle’ in the title!
Will this come back to Bite us I wonder ?

I say!