This is something I've been fighting with in my head for the past few years. Even after I have decided, yes, fucking love it, I have massive doubts again.
@Cabel, of Panic, posted this on Mastodon the other day.
A short story. We once submitted Untitled Goose Game to the Mac App Store. It was rejected by the reviewer because they thought you couldn’t skip the credits. (?!?) We explained that you could skip the credits by holding space. It was then rejected for something else and at that point we just gave up and never bothered to resubmit. Fin
Just like most developers, I too have had my share of complete WTF rejections. I've dealt with most of them and moved on. In one case I gave up just like Panic. It just wasn't worth it. That game sits in an archive never to be looked at again. Just thinking about that review process boils my blood.
If a company like Panic has to go through this and moves on because it's just not worth it, I, like others, don't have a chance. There is a problem at Apple and by the looks of it they still don't care. And why should they?
This brings me full circle to having zero confidence in the Apple review process. Zero. And once again...
I Don't Know What To Do
I've been working to get my original games to re-imagine and re-release them back into the Apple app store. I've been having fun doing it. Swift is easy and fun.
Because of all this new doubt I'm not sure it's a good idea. I still haven't spent the $99 dev fee to publish and I am, at this moment in time, I'm kinda glad I haven't. (probably will change later ;)
This photo puzzle game I've been creating has been bringing me great joy. So much so I haven't felt this happy about creating something in a long time.
But, it's different.
If a reviewer "doesn't get it" then it's dead. If they can't figure out how to play, it's dead. If they think it's too simple, it's dead.
Sure I could port it to Windows and maybe even the Switch but I simply don't want to. It's so nice to see it on Apple TV, Mac and iOS.
There's still a lot more work to be done but I'm hesitant. Things have changed for me with some sudden unexpected life changes.
I don't want to spend my energy fighting bullshit.
