Sultan Alsharif (@LeSultan) is a new Appolicious member from Dhahran, Saudi Arabia who has jumped right in to let us know the best apps including the best ludo games for the iPad. Sultan is a systems analyst for a major oil company and recently co-founded an iOS game development company.
1. Tell us about yourself – where you live, your job, things you like to do.
I live in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. I have a master’s degree in information technology from Liverpool University, and I am a systems analyst for a major oil company. Aside from being a tech enthusiast, I enjoy reading, watching sci-fi movies, and developing apps – I recently co-founded a game development company targeting iOS devices.
2. Which iOS device or devices do you own?
I have an iPad, iPhone, and an iPod touch, and I choose to have these devices purely for their innovative design and ease of use. They are becoming an essential part of my day-to-day activities, amusement, and urban lifestyle.
3. Is there a particular category of apps that interests you the most? What are your top apps?
Mainly games, but in my app library, I do have other genres such as Productivity, Books, Reference, News, Photography, Entertainment, Utilities & Lifestyle.
4. What are your top 3-5 apps and why?
- Tiny Wings & Solitaire City purely for quick fun
- NotifyMe2 for productivity
- iBooks to feed my brain
5. What apps are popular among your colleagues and friends?
- Angry Birds
- Viber
- Fluke HD
6. Give an example of a time an app was truly useful to you.
There are many, but off the top of my head, Maps, the preinstalled Apple app, helped when I was lost in Singapore.
8. Do you have a blog, Twitter, Facebook, app etc. URL’s you’d like to share?
Recently, we developed an iPad game called Fluke HD that is becoming so popular and we are getting very high reviews from all over the world.
9. How did you get into app game design?
The iOS devices and the iTunes Store are a great platform for developing unique apps and sharing them with the rest of the world. We saw an opportunity to innovate and design high quality games and are having a wonderful time developing them.
10. Tell us about Fluke HD.
Fluke HD represents a digital twist on the board game genre with gameplay in the vein of classics such as Snakes & Ladders, Sorry! and Ludo. It is a virtual board game that requires opponents to employ both strategic play and a healthy dose of luck. Players are each given four colored tokens, which they must successfully navigate across any one of the game’s many uniquely themed boards before their opponents in order to win.
A victory can only be achieved if a player is able to get all four of their game pieces across the finish line. Though seemingly straightforward, a variety of different interactive obstacles and surprises await players on each of the game’s three board options and no two boards are alike. Users can either play against live opponents or online via Apple’s Game Center.
11. What is most important in building a successful app?
The idea, the controls, the graphics, and the overall quality of the app (bug free).
12. How are you getting the word out about your app?
Through Appolicious and other major review sites and blogs. Also, word-of-mouth has been a good medium in spreading the word.
13. Anything else you’d like to share with the Appolicious audience?
Check out Fluke HD, it is an awesome multi-player app designed specifically for a true iPad experience
