# The Monkey and the Apple

DevFeed: [The Monkey and the Apple](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/the-monkey-and-the-apple-38779.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-monkey-and-apple.html>)

Author: Steve Yegge (noreply@blogger.com)

Published: 2016-11-17T07:11:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Steve Yegge](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/steve-yegge.md>)

Topics: [Mobile](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/mobile.md>), [Cloud](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/cloud.md>), [iOS development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ios-development.md>), [Open Source](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/open-source.md>), [Google](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/google.md>)

Tags: [cloud](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cloud.md>), [google](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/google.md>), [ios-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ios-development.md>), [mobile](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/mobile.md>), [open-source](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/open-source.md>)

## AI overview

The author describes turning an older game into a mobile MMORPG with a cloud backend. The project required substantial work involving cloud development, iOS APIs, and open-source technologies, and was opened for beta testing on supported iOS devices.

## Source excerpt

It's been a while! I took a couple of years off blogging because I felt I didn't have much left in the way of interesting things to say. So I've been just been programming, and studying, and learning this and that. I've been doing a bit of Cloud development, and I taught myself iOS development, and after years in the Google cocoon I poked my head out and learned how people do things in the real world with open source technologies. And lo at long last, after some five years of tinkering, I finally have something kind of interesting to share. I wrote a game! Well, to be more precise, I took an old game that I wrote, which I've perhaps mentioned once or twice before, and I turned it into a mobile game, with a Cloud backend. It has been waaaay more work than I expected. Starting with a more-or-less working game, and tweaking it to work on Cloud and mobile -- I mean, come on, how hard can it be, really? Turns out, yeah, yep, very hard. Stupidly hard. Especially since out of brand loyalty I chose Google's cloud platform, which 3 or 4 years ago was pretty raw. And let's face it, iOS APIs have evolved a ton in that timeframe as well. So even as "recently" as 2013 I was working with some pretty immature technology stacks, all of which have come leaps and bounds since then. And now I have all sorts of stuff to share. Definitely enough for a series of blog posts. But I also have less time than before, because it's all happening in my non-copious spare time, all late nights and weekends. And running an MMORPG is a fearsome task in its own right. Incidentally, I've just opened the game up for beta testing. So if you want to try it out while you read along, visit http://ghosttrack.com to request an invite. (Edit, 12/13/16 -- BETA IS NOW CLOSED.) You'll need an iPhone, iPad, or iPod running iOS 10.2 (Edit: 9.2!) or later. I'd love to do Android and PC, but there's only one of me. For now. So where do I start? I guess the logical thing to do would be to start at the beginning, but