Kyle Richter is an awesome developer, with a ton, almost literally, of experience! He’s got a lot of experience to share with the developer community.Check out this interview with Mac|Life on Game Center. Oh yeah, Kyle’s kind of an expert on getting game center set up. He’s been working on it, since long before Apple released it to the consumers. His Session “Game Center, Beyond Games” is Monday at 1:30
Q: How long have you been doing iOS development?
A: I’ve been writing iOS software since the beginning, I missed most of the the jail breaking stuff but as soon as their was a SDK from Apple I was off and running.
The early Jailbreaking stuff was no doubt crazy times. I remember when the first one was released, and thinking, “wow, ok now the iPhone is interesting”
Q: What do you like most about being an iOS Developer?
A: The community, I have never worked in or even heard about an industry with a community like the Mac/iOS development one. Everyone is extremely approachable, helpful and friendly all the time.
Me either, the iOS/Mac community is incredible, and like none I’ve seen.
Q:What’s your favorite Game?
A: I wish I had more time to explore some of the more niche games out there, but I have definitely stuck with Field Runners as my goto iPhone game.
Nice,one more to check out! I’ve heard a lot of good things about Field Runners, a classic already!
Q: What’s your favorite App?
A: I spend most of my time in Mail or Twitter, but I really like the Discovery News app. There is always something great to read when I am stuck in a line or waiting for food at a restaurant .
Nice. Don’t think I’ve seen that one. Time to check it out!
Q: Robots or Ninjas?
A: Pirates? Robots are scary, we need to stop teaching them our critical information. Ninjas are just plain hard to spot, I am skeptical they even exist.
Apparently we’re now teaching them how to punch humans. What purpose this serves (other than punching us) i can’t even fathom. Well if you could spot ninjas easily it’d defeat their purpose in life.
Q: What would change about the iOS platform if you could change just one thing?
A: Code signing and provisioning are still a major headache. Xcode 4 does a lot to make things easier to work with but there is still room for a lot of improvement.
Yeah, that entire process is kind of frightening. I think Ninjas, and possibly pirates are the architects of that whole evil process.
Q: What are you most excited about 360|iDev Austin?
A: Seeing the community. The iOS community is the best thing about this profession. Networking with other developers has been priceless for me in my career, every conference is like a high school reunion with only your best friends.
Can’t wait to see everyone again, plus all the new faces! That’s the best part!
Q: Lastly, what would you tell someone on the fence about attending 360|iDev Austin?
A: When you don’t know what you are looking for books aren’t very helpful. Getting to speak to other developers one on one and attend sessions on topics you wouldn’t of otherwise read about is a great experience. Being part of the community is the most critical part of succeeding in this industry, there is no better place to get to know people. WWDC is too large and too busy to meet new people, conferences like this are the perfect size and timeframe to make new friends and contacts.
Yeah WWDC is fine and all, but yeah meeting new people is damn near impossible. We make 360|iDev, as accessible as possible, so that anyone new to the community isn’t afraid of meeting new people. Heck much of the evening receptions, I’m walking around introducing someone to someone else.
Go register right now! Seriously, you don’t want to miss 360|iDev Austin! Register!
