- Status: Accepted.
- Technologies Used: AVFoundation, CoreGraphics, SpriteKit, SwiftUI, UIKit.
- Demo Video: https://youtu.be/4BUhhSCweqc
I've used the following fonts to make my project livelier and more personalized.
- Creative Fabrica Fonts, "Before the Rainbow." Single Sales License (https://www.creativefabrica.com/single-sales-license#digital).
- Freebies, "16x8PXL." Single Sales License (https://www.creativefabrica.com/single-sales-license#digital).
I've always had an affinity for traditions. However, I ensure that these traditions propel me forward and push me to do and become better. One tradition started three years ago: using a different framework for every new Swift Student Challenge submission. UIKit was for 2020, SpriteKit for 2021, and SwiftUI for 2022.
This year, I could have used a framework like AppKit or SceneKit. Yet, I wished to stay true to my tradition while making something unique for, potentially, my last chance to receive this award. I wanted to gather the experience I gained from creating my older submissions: a nod to the past. As such, I decided not to use one framework, not two, but three frameworks: UIKit, SpriteKit, and SwiftUI! Also, let's not forget AVFoundation, which has been with me since the start, and CoreGraphics since last year.
Therefore, I made a game, not because I'm using SpriteKit, but because this challenge made me realize how fun it is to create assets, conceive gameplay, and write dialog. By coding with SpriteKit and designing various distinct assets, I built a lively world where clouds disturb the sun, wind sways the grass, and windows light up in sync.
Where the latter framework makes up the project's heart and soul, UIKit is its bones and skin. I used it to build the title screen and to complete levels with essential gameplay elements like the sliders. The latter guarantees that the game is not educational storytelling between two characters but an action-packed story requiring three characters: Colin, Shay, and the user.
With the body of the project done, it was time to give it a brain. The user can get introduced to color theory through the character's adventure to find their mother. However, they can also dive deeper into the subject by accessing a level's "Learn more" section, built with SwiftUI. The latter delivers the perfect flexibility to create a generic yet beautiful view that I can use to share knowledge through detailed paragraphs and images.
Enrolling in an engineering school has taken away some of my free time. The time I used to develop my side projects has turned into time used to drive my future career. However, I never fully let go of my side projects or the Swift community. I always ensured keeping in contact with that side of my life, no matter how intense my involvement was.
During vacations, I never hesitate to launch Xcode, open up an old project, usually an app I have published on the App Store, and update it with new features, fewer bugs, and an improved interface. The hard part is choosing what to update and managing my time. Regardless, this lifestyle helps me learn more about time management and prioritizing tasks appropriately.
Besides, I also keep in touch with the Swift community through social media platforms where I post questions and share thoughts, discoveries, or Swift features that everyone should know about! It's not a one-way lane. I also read exciting information from the developers I follow, their articles, videos, and ideas.
Moreover, I have a personal website on which I publish articles on Swift concepts and code snippets. I also post stories and summaries of relevant books I read, including one of my favorites: Factfullness. Although I don't write as much as I would love to, I'm proud to have this space where I can share more substantial and detailed paragraphs than I can on social media.
I love writing, and I also love sharing. That's why I started my newsletter last year: The Yaacoub Scoop. In it, I share articles, videos, projects, indie apps, memes, music, and more content related to Swift. With a weekly schedule, I have never missed a Monday morning to share this newsletter with my subscribers. I'm also looking to extend this newsletter to an interview format. My probable first interviewees? Swift Student Challenge candidates! I can't wait to talk to other candidates and winners.
I have two apps on the App Store, and I love describing them! Yet, contrary to what I usually do, meaning that I write long sentences explaining what my apps do and how they work, I am deciding here to be concise, straight to the point, and still impactful.
Huh? Dictionary is the first ever development project I published on the internet. At 14, this was a big deal. Writing the code, making the assets, and marketing is challenging. In short, the app is a collection of 50+ dictionaries available on the internet in 7 languages. Changing dictionaries becomes faster than hitting the back button on your browser.
Christmas Guide is my second and most recent app released on the App Store. It stems from a holiday Swift competition organized by moderators from the WWDC Scholars Discord server. With it, I won the 3rd place prize, an Apple gift card! I first created a fun machine-learning model that compares a selfie of you to famous Christmas characters. With it, you can learn more about these characters, look up notable holiday dates and play classic carols. It is the best Christmas hub you can find.
Future projects I consider publishing on the App Store are my four Swift Student Challenge submissions, stemming from 2020 to 2023. I always said that I would do it, but it never happened. Hopefully, I will be able to polish them and publish them this summer! My goal is always the same: share my projects with others, improve them, and share them again!
As always, I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to participate. Thank you for making the Swift Student Challenge possible for thousands of excited worldwide students!
Like last year, I look to teach users about a concept in art. I didn't mix in as much math as in 2022 and not as much physics as in 2021. Instead, I focused on building a polished project that young children and adults equally grasp. This last goal was the most challenging, especially explaining the color theory to a broad audience.
Besides, I also took this opportunity to learn for myself. What I teach in the app is also what I discover while doing research, conceiving levels, and writing dialog. I couldn't define hue, saturation, or brightness, and I didn't know how they precisely worked before now!
Even though I only made one story mode with the same levels, users can play it indefinitely since the character's colors change every time a user begins a new story mode with Colin and Shay! Of course, building a Free Play mode is also an idea I had in mind, but one that didn't make sense with the imposed 3-minute time limit and the deadline.
Before running the app, please set the destination as "My Mac (Designed for iPad)" and run the app on fullscreen for the best possible immersive experience.
I hope you enjoy it!