I purchased Boggle and can't believe how many bugs are in this app. I have no interest in getting into the details! All I know is I got ripped off and tricked into buying Boggle! Most people are reviewing the game as a 1 star app. I would rate it the same. Everything is perfect up to this point. Bugs are part of building applications. I have no problems with a developer putting out a bad app. I am working on my own first apps and I know how things can go wrong. What isn't Ok is the fact that this game makes it immediately on the New and Noteworthy list on iTunes and gets a large add placement. First question how did this app get approved? Second question how did this app get New and Noteworthy status with all these problems. Third question didn't one of the 2 reviewers catch the problems with the app. This behaviour of instantly catapulting big companies to the front of the line is left to the discretion of Apple, but in respect to all the smaller developers that are working their hearts out eating kraft dinner, it would be nice if the highlighted apps actually worked. This needed to be said.
This is hilarious! Some comments: The apple review process appears to be largely focused on a checklist of content-related criteria starting with the app description, icon, and screenshots. They don't seem to care much about app-specific bugs or even crashes, but they're supposed to launch the game(s) at least once to make sure that they at least start up and don't immediately display anything objectionable. As for why this was featured, it's a licensed brand (Boggle) combined with a mainstream publisher (Electronic Arts). Those two things almost surely got someone to rubber stamp this as a featured app, someone that probably never bothered to personally try it, but just saw some screenshots. Scanning through the few 5 star reviews, many of them (VillainGetsTheGirl, irish023, Brute Hardcastle, to name a few) appear to be planted shills, chock full of 5 star reviews for EA games, and few if any other titles. So funny to see a big name company get caught with their pants down. This could (and should) hurt Apple. Featuring an app like this destroys their credibility for customers that trusted their implicit recommendation via the "New and Noteworthy" lists only to get burned..
If people wonder how come some game get approved while having something not correct you can check the following (which was posted on iPhoneSDK forums). http://www.iphonedevsdk.com/forum/business-legal-app-store/28707-rejected-because-keywords.html#post126187 http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=289651516&mt=8 Can you see what's odd in the first screenshot that appears? I gave you a hint the game you are suppose to look at is Asphalte a racing game... Ohhh what do I see a warrior with a sword attacking monster... hmmm nothing to see move along. When I see those kind of issue with the AppStore review process it really make me go But as small indie developer I dunno what can we do, unless they were some report function in iTunes to report applications in problems so Apple can contact the developer so they rectify the situation. If not it look like they have 2 class of citizens and we're treated differently.
Good catch regarding the Shilling! At the present moment it is physically impossible to rate Boggle a 5 out 5. The dice don't even randomize themselves properly! Making the game useless! Checking most 5 star ratings really points to individuals the are connected to Electronic Arts. These 5 star ratings standout like neon signs amongst the flood of 1's. I guess the Shilling and the fact that this mess was featured by iTunes as "New and Noteworthy" really shows how corrupt the i Tunes store is. This actually is pretty embarrassing and really sad (pathetic) at the same time!
Regarding the shilling, I suspect that most larger companies do this all the time. Some companies have confessed to this shady practice (i.e. the producers of Enigmo). It's easy to shrug at shilling when the game is actually good, but as you say in this case the fake reviews stick out like a sore thumb. Want to make a difference? Get other blogs and/or news sites to cover this before EA covers their tracks with an update. http://www.macworld.com/article/142876/2009/09/boggle.html would be a good place to start. It's a mediocre review for the game, but it only scratches the surface, complaining only about the lack of multiplayer support. That's the least of its problems. I'm not sure if the bigger story is the blatant shilling, or that this title got elevated by Apple as a featured app. To Apple's credit, one could argue that neither "New" nor "Noteworthy" necessarily imply quality ;-) I'm surprised that more folk aren't viewing/commenting on this thread. Maybe because it's in the "Developer Discussion" category?
Only 14 posts in the game thread. People here just don't care about this game. http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=23851
Apparently so. Popular brand name casual games like Boggle and Uno aren't normally the types of things people come here to talk about. People are already familiar with those titles, so don't have much to discuss. But this thread isn't about Boggle so much as it's about quality control and ethics.
The patch! I have been waiting for ever to have small bugs fixed on Str8ts and Domino Dice. Why do I have the strange feeling that on Monday the new update for Boggle will be up and running! Let us see ! Will be interesting to follow.
In regards to the "ends justify the means" tactics that some companies are doing to try and game the app store (i.e. hiring pr firms to churn out shill reviews), I'm curious if anyone has seen evidence of an even more worrisome tactic: posting a fake bad_ review for a competitor's game. I've seen occasional 1 star reviews that made vague damning claims about a game, along with reviews that tell people to buy a competitor's product instead. It's tough to prove this sort of thing, but it concerns me more than shill reviews on a bad game. Shill reviews can cause a few customers to be burned, but they only work up until the real reviews trickle in. In contrast, a well-timed negative review can damn a game's sales for a long time, especially when they are posted immediately after an update - that bad review will end up being posted at the top of the list under "reviews for this version."
