The Modern Father: iPhone the Focus of Family Projects
A father’s father taught him to program when he was 10, and now he passes it on to his own kids.
Asheville North Carolina, June 10, 2011 – Model airplanes, trains and tree houses are the types of
projects typically done with ‘dad’, but in a world full of iPhones and Xboxes, Keith Phillips knew what
would excite his kids. Together they created an iPhone game.
On May 30, 2011, the Phillips’, Keith (Dad), Greyson (12) and Iva (11) released “Redneck Jellyfish” into
Apple’s iTunes store. Gus Hickey is a jellyfish. His job is to build coral reefs. Simply tap the screen to
make him swim and pick up coral seeds which he uses to grow more coral. Sounds simple, until he starts
losing his tentacles to barnacles, crabs, sea urchins and other sea hazards!
“So many games today focus on destroying and tearing something down. With this game, I wanted to be
sure the goal was ‘building’ something up”, says Keith. They can’t remember how it started with a
jellyfish, but the coral idea came from Greyson, who had done some cool sketches with a Sharpy marker
that looked like abstract coral.
It took about four months to develop the game. Each played a part in the development. In typical “dad”
fashion, Keith wrote most of the code. He used Ansca mobile’s Corona SDK, which made development a
breeze. The language was easy to learn and there is a wonderful online community to help solve
problems and share code. Iva did the concept sketches for the main character, and Greyson is the voice
of Gus. They all collaborated on ideas for over 60 levels.
Keith says, “We kept getting more and more ideas for the game, like eating plankton and shooting fart
bubbles at the crabs. Iva was learning about undersea vents and fault zones so she wanted a Volcano
World. Greyson came up with pepper plankton, that gives you a speed “power up” to help battle the
current. Eventually I had to say ‘enough’! And so we wrapped it up and submitted it to app store”.
Keith’s dad, Fred Phillips, taught him to program when he was 10, almost 30 years ago. “We didn’t even
have a computer yet. We would sit down for an hour after dinner, and I would write simple Basic
programs in a spiral notebook. Dad would go through the logic and tell me where there were
problems.” Eventually they bought one of the first home computers, a Timex Sinclair 1000, and started
writing real programs. The difference in technology today and back then is staggering. The Timex
Sinclair’s graphics had a resolution of 8 pixels per inch(ppi), and two colors – black and white. The
iPhone 4 boasts 326 ppi and millions of colors.
The music for Redneck Jellyfish was provided by a family friend, Shane Hickey, aka Ukulele Guy, who
composed it and played a banjo ukulele. “It was a perfect compliment and we felt it really put a shine on
the game”. To compensate Shane for his contribution, we named the main character after his son.
The Phillips’s have some more ideas and plans to eventually enhance the game, but when asked if they
wanted to work on it over the summer break, and they said “In the summer, we’d rather play outside.”
About the Phillips Family, aka MudStuffing Industries
Keith Phillips is a potter and artist working in Asheville, North Carolina, working under the business
name MudStuffing Industries. Greyson and Iva Phillips attended Claxton Elementary School and next
year will both be attending Cane Creek Middle School. Redneck Jellyfish is actually MudStuffing
Industries’ second app in the app store. The first release,“SimpleList”, helps artists sell their handmade
products on Etsy. For more information, visit http://www.mudstuffingindustries.com &
http://khphillips.etsy.com
About Ukulele Guy
Shane Hickey is Ukulele Guy. About 6 years ago, his mother-in-law gave him an ukulele they had gotten
on a visit to Hawaii. Being a guitar/bass player, he was instantly drawn to it. Unfortunately, no matter
how hard he tried, he couldn't get it tuned correctly. Fortunately, this started him down a life-long
obsession with all things ukulele-related. For more information, visit http://www.ukuleleguy.com
About Ansca Mobile
Ansca Mobile is enabling everyone to create mobile apps. Their Corona SDK is the world's most
advanced development platform and is quickly becoming the industry-standard choice for games, ebooks, and other interactive content. Whether you are an enthusiast or a professional, a small team or a
big studio, a publisher or an agency, you can quickly and easily create great mobile experiences with
Corona. http://www.anscamobile.com/
Contact:
Keith Phillips
21 Spring Lake Drive
Fletcher, NC 28732
828-279-0572
[email protected]
http://www.mudstuffingindustries.com
Resources:
Redneck Jellyfish in iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/redneck-jellyfish/id438715701?mt=8#
Redneck Jellyfish YouTube Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUXNKzw81SQ
Redneck Jellyfish media assets:
http://www.mudstuffingindustries.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=68&I
temid=71