Apple Launching Reality TV Show Called 'Planet of the Apps' (venturebeat.com) 62
theodp writes: The Verge reports Apple is making good on an earlier threat to create a reality TV show about app developers. An open casting call has been issued for "Planet of the Apps," with the goal of finding "100 of the world's most talented app creators" -- news which VentureBeat suggests must be making Steve Jobs' ghost weep. Apple has teamed up with Propagate, a new production company created by the producer of "The Biggest Loser." The description of the show says: "Join us on the search for the next great app in a new original series. Those selected will have the chance to receive hands-on guidance from some of the most influential experts in the tech community, featured placement on the App Store, and funding from top-tier VCs." The show is expected to be released in 2017.
Re:First app! (Score:4, Informative)
You are all LUDDITES! Moooo! LUDDITES go mooooo! Moooo LUDDITES moooooo! You LUDDITE cows!
No, not the Cow guy; we wanted the Appy guy!
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Since you are everything Mac, I am sure you know the answer, but I can't seem to understand this line in TFS.
news which VentureBeat suggests must be making Steve Jobs' ghost weep.
Why would Steve weep? I thought he was kind of the one behind the app store.
Also, wasn't Steve a huge promoter, it seems like a TV show would be right along what he would envision for promoting the Apple way.
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Since you are everything Mac, I am sure you know the answer, but I can't seem to understand this line in TFS.
news which VentureBeat suggests must be making Steve Jobs' ghost weep.
Why would Steve weep? I thought he was kind of the one behind the app store.
Also, wasn't Steve a huge promoter, it seems like a TV show would be right along what he would envision for promoting the Apple way.
LOL! I have no frickin' idea!
I actually went and read TFA (see what you made me do!), and have no more insight now than you about what that obtuse comment is about, sorry! My best guess (and it is exactly that: A guess) would be that Jobs hated television (IIRC), and, although he was certainly the ultimate promoter, would have considered this a "dilution (and cheapening) of the brand" (Apple). I personally think he would have been kinda right about that. But that could just be me "projecting" my opinions
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Where is the app guy when you need him? He should've been straight on this.
That's exactly what I came here to post.
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He's been spending a lot of time with APK hosts file guy lately. He's bad influence.
Just another Reality POS program (Score:3, Insightful)
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It baffles me how they find audiences bored enough to watch the reality TV shit they have already let alone make more.
Ah, consider the success of "talented" shit like Flappy Bird.
In a single word? Pokemon.
That should tell you everything you need to know about "bored enough".
Re:Just another Reality POS program (Score:5, Insightful)
Miyamoto's answer was "well, I like moving things around the screen.". That's it. That, bluntly, is why he is a genius level game designer and the interviewers were not. Every element above is just that - an element. It can help or hinder the particular game, and Miyamoto just saw them as things that could be combined to form a game.
The point? Don't discount Flappy Bird. Just because it didn't take three years and a research team to develop, does not mean it wasn't talented.
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Years back, there was an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto. It was by one of the tech mags and they were asking him what makes a great game. 3D instead of 2D? Immersive? Should the player have cinematic elements? Does the player need to be emotionally involved? Miyamoto's answer was "well, I like moving things around the screen.". That's it. That, bluntly, is why he is a genius level game designer and the interviewers were not. Every element above is just that - an element. It can help or hinder the particular game, and Miyamoto just saw them as things that could be combined to form a game. The point? Don't discount Flappy Bird. Just because it didn't take three years and a research team to develop, does not mean it wasn't talented.
I would agree with the fact that it takes a certain amount of design talent or even artistic flair to attempt to create something as mindlessly simplistic as Flappy Bird.
Ironically, it was actually so mindless that the creator himself couldn't take it anymore, pulling the game out of app stores for a period of time to help the addicts get some professional help.
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And the consumers of the world feel the same way. Whether it's a TV or a computer, they like things moving around the screen. Thus, reality shows and anything but quiet and thoughtfulness.
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The point? Don't discount Flappy Bird. Just because it didn't take three years and a research team to develop, does not mean it wasn't talented.
No talent involved, I'm afraid. Flappy Bird is, first, just another one-button helicopter game. Worse, it's a near identical clone of Piou Piou vs. Cactus, down to the look of the unfortunate protagonist! Some people have even claimed the code and some of the assets were purchased from one of those pre-built game kit sellers.
There was virtually no creativity or talent involved in the creation of Flappy Bird.
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The only reality TV show I'd like to watch is "Bill Gates Piñata"
I'd watch that, too!
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This show has everything, the tension of programmers working themselves nearly to death, the drama of them moving back in with their family when they can't pay their rent, and the excitement when you see the nice new car the Apple executive spends their profit on.
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It is possible to do reality shows amazingly well. The prime example being Penny Arcade's Strip Search [penny-arcade.com] (produced by LoadingReadyRun [loadingreadyrun.com]).
Though, I don't know of any other reality show worth watching. So only sample size 1. But still, proves it is possible.
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It baffles me how they find audiences bored enough to watch the reality TV shit they have already let alone make more.
The show is called "Planet of the Apps". Sounds like the target audience is code monkeys.
Augmented reality (Score:1)
I have no intention of ever watching the show, but I predict the app creators will be evenly divided between:
nerdy white & Asian guys
nerdy flat-chested women
curvy blonde & Asian women
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Gavin Belson, HBO Silicon Valley [wsj.com]: "It's weird - they always travel in groups of five, these programmers. There's always a tall skinny white guy, a short skinny Asian guy, a fat guy with a ponytail, some guy with crazy facial hair and then an East Indian guy. It's like they trade guys until they all have the right group."
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Most exciting thing to come out of Apple lately (Score:1)
Which says a lot about their lack of vision.
2012 Reality Show: Be The Next Microsoft Employee (Score:2)
"Be the Next Microsoft Employee" [geekwire.com] (2012): "The show will debut online on Tuesday morning. It pits four veteran SQL Server gurus, selected from more than 100 applicants, in a series of head-to-head technical challenges designed to test their ability to develop business-oriented database solutions. A new episode, each about 13 to 14 minutes long, will be rolled each week until the winner is revealed in the finale on Aug. 21. And yes, the person who prevails actually does win a job at Microsoft."
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Lmao the final episode was released on youtube and has amassed a staggering 5,032 views in the 4 years since its premier date.
Apple will easily double that.
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Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty app!
Weak Subject (Score:2)
no such thing as reality television (Score:1)
There is no such thing as reality television because reality is boring.
Everything you see on television is heavily edited and curated and does not even resemble reality whatsoever.
But, you know, I am sure that Apple's research discovered that their fan base are the ones already watching the dance or singing or losing weight "reality" shows already.
I mean, Apple could have chosen to make any kind of show imaginable and throw a lot of money behind it and made it great. But what did they choose? "Reality TV",
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Unfortunately, this is true.
I remember being quite excited about the prospect of some show about a group of mechanics that build end end motorcycles. What I wanted was to watch talented cats build beautiful bikes, what I got was some kind of soap opera.
I'd also love to watch a weekly hour long episode focused on luthiers. Show me the beginning to end process of building a beautifully hand crafted guitar, violin, etc... from picking the wood to testing the acoustics and I'd watch it. Hell, expand it to co
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I remember being quite excited about the prospect of some show about a group of mechanics that build end end motorcycles. What I wanted was to watch talented cats build beautiful bikes, what I got was some kind of soap opera.
Haven't you noticed that this is what every (or nearly every) TV show devolves into?
Even "regular" TV shows that start out pretty good, like "Code Black" or "Person of Interest" (which did have a wonderful final episode) seem to start spending more and more time with interpersonal relationships ("Soap Operas") than the actual overarching premise of the show.
Frankly, though, I think it says more about human psychology than it does about the creative skills of TV producers.
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Ob. Quote (Score:2)
DO NOT WANT (Score:1)
Oh, God.
More Silicon Valley energizer bunnies.
<facepalm/>
On another note, I was chatting the other day with a very senior chap in a company I know, and got the message that Silicon Valley is fast approaching the event horizon.
The arrogance, short-term job-hopping, ageism, sky-high salaries and incessant FAIL (see "ageism," previously) are starting to take their toll. Countries like Vietnam are starting to come to the forefront as places where good talent lives.
This person's position, experience, corpo
In a word: Swift (Score:2)
We shall see if I'm right...
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... How will know?
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