Friday, October 16, 2009

FAQS on Word Warp Part I


Hello all,

So you guys might remember a couple weeks ago where we took a couple days to respond to some of the Solitaire comments our fans wrote in on our App Store page.  This week, we decided to tackle on one of our popular applications, Word Warp, a game that posses a gigantic fan base but also its share of questions and concerns.


The first set of comments deals with the whole "ads" factor:

"liked the game. Hated the ads. deleted the game."

"Was a fun game until you decided to put pop ups that keep asking my gender to "specialize ads" to fit my gender before I can move to the next level.  It's guerilla marketing, I don’t appreciate it!!"

"I really loved the game but after each game there's an ad. And I find the ads very annoying after each and every game. I just finally deleted it. Not worth the annoyance"


Yes, we know there are ads in most our free apps.  We want to state that MobilityWare is a professional software firm.  We're not two guys living on air mattresses coding between classes and waiting for hot pockets to heat up in the microwave.  That's not meant to be a disparaging comment on any company, but simply a statement about what MobilityWare is.

That means there are lots of bills to be paid!  We have to pay our developers, pay our administrative people, rent in offices, electricity; the list goes on and on. So of course we have to find a way to pay our expenses.  Rather than forcing everyone to pay for apps, we like to give customers a choice:  download a free app that is ad-supported, or download a paid app and you won’t get the ads.

We find the comments about the ads a little interesting.  We at MobilityWare are upfront about which apps are ad-supported.  We certainly understand some find the ads annoying; that’s why there's a choice.  Maybe we just don’t understand the people who try our free apps and complain about the ads.   Have you ever had to work without being paid?  It's hard to just live on air, you know.

The next set of comments revolve around the game crashing:

"some ads crash the game. This has been going on for weeks now, and is inexcusable. When it works, it's hellishly addictive (no, none of the words are made up, some reviewers just have a poor vocabulary). But when it often crashes partway through a game, wiping out your score, what's the point?? – Aug. 19th, 2009

"Great game but mine freezes a lot" – Aug. 7, 2009

"since the last update, this game crashes all the time, usually after a level going to an ad – it's a shame cause it's one of my favorites…hope you fix it" – Aug. 2, 2009

"I love playing this game, but the constant crashes after I finish levels are a real drag" – Jul. 25, 2009

"I love this game. I do. But it has a marked tendency to crash after ads (nearly 100% if you pull up the menu and skip the ad before it completes, but sometimes just randomly as well)" – Jul. 31, 2009

It's a shame these comments are dated and still show up for the current version of Word Warp in the App Store.  Yes, the app crashed and we apologize.  We understand many of our faithful customers were upset and they definitely have a right to be.  However, causing a massive uproar and confusion was the least of our intentions!  The freezes, crashes and "bad ads" that our customers experienced have been traced back to a defective ad that was being delivered by our ad provider and NOT as a result of the software update.  Our provider has assured us that the defective ad has been removed from the delivery channel and that steps have been taken in order to prevent this kind of problem from happening again.  Please accept our apologies.

While we may not be perfect, we surely try to be.  We're not a "hit-and-run" software company where we hope you download an expensive app and "run" by ignoring you after we have your money.  If something was working but no longer does, it is likely to be unintentional.  Send us an email ASAP (support@MobilityWare.com) and we're going to do everything we can to investigate it right away.  That is something we can assure you.

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We’ll respond to another set of comments for our Word Warp application shortly.  Remember, let us know if you think this sort of post is helpful!  You can post in the comment section any thoughts or further questions and we’ll do our best to address it.  Also, if there is a game you’d like for us to respond to comments on, please let us know!



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