iForce has just been updated on the iTunes store!

Hello friends,

As Scott has already stated, Apple approved iForce version 1.1 . . . We've made almost all of the changes and additions to the program that you'd asked for. Here's a list of what's new in iForce v1.1 :

• Added Save/Load Doodle feature
• Removed (codename: Doodle) from application name
• Changed App Store icon to the iForce hand with lightning
• Added new tip popup to show new users how to find the instruction manual
• Instruction video lengths are now displayed
• Made accessing the secret iForce screens less likely to be stumbled upon
• Simultaneously added new "Doodle" application to the App Store for the secret seekers. "Doodle" is a replica of iForce, minus the magic. Encourage your audience to download and try "Doodle". All they will find is a simple painting app.

We realize that there is still an issue with iPhones/iPod Touches App stores displaying the Doodle icon for iForce. We're in contact with Apple to try to resolve this. If someone searched for Doodle on a PC or Mac the icons are different, but on an iDevice they are the same.

Randy and I would love to hear some of your thoughts on the new iForce.

all the best,
Greg Rostami

My only problem is that iForce still shows up when you search "doodle." I think the search might look past the name, but search in the description of the app. I suggest maybe using the word "sketch" instead of "doodle."

I still believe turning of the magic part of the app should be possible, just in case if you know you are not going to perform it a while.

Otherwise I'm digging it!

Hi Jeff,

If you've been playing with the new version, you've probably noticed that the ONLY way of going into the secret pages is by using the 2 finger swipe down. In fact if you 2 finger swipe in any other direction it will not work. This is gonna make it harder for anyone to accidentally stumble onto the secret.

As I stated in my previous post, we're trying to fix iForce showing up when you search for "Doodle" . . . iForce showing up is NOT the problem . . . the rainbow icon is the problem. If the iForce icon looked like the hand with lightning everything would be fine, but now it's not.

We hope that Apple will helpus resolve this,
Greg Rostami

Oh thanks for the response, Greg.

I never realized you needed to swipe downwards. It's a nice addition, though.

I understand there is a problem with the icon, but I thought the whole point of removing the "codename: Doodle" was to eliminate iForce from search results when one searches for "doodle." That's not the case; as removing the second half of the title did not remove iForce from the search results.

Randy and I think we have a solution . . . But until then here's what you can do for the secret seekers.

Simply encourage them to search for "Recreation Software". That's the name of the fake company that Randy came up with to represent "Doodle".

The reason why you'll tell your spectators to search for "Recreation Software" is:

"If you search for "Doodle" you'll find 100's of programs that are NOT what you're looking for, but if you search for the publisher, you'll find it instantly."

When they do the search for "Recreation Software", they will see "Doodle" on top of the list.

I hope this helps you out a little bit,
Greg Rostami

I'd use it in conjunction with the Kennedy MindPower Deck.

Hi Scott,

I totally agree with you. I'd discussed that on another thread, but I'm glad that you brought it up again.

Greg Rostami

Hello friends,

First, both Randy and I would like to thank all of you for your support of iForce over the last month. Your generous words and reviews have really inspired us.

Unfortunately, given the secret nature of magic, there's a dark side to what's happened ever since we released iForce.

After 4 days of our release, we noticed an unusually high surge in one star ratings on the App Store. None of those one star ratings had any comments, hence we had no idea why people didn't like our App. We had 3 theories for the one star ratings:

1. People didn't understand iForce
2. Our competition was posting one star ratings
3. The magic community was trying to hide iForce from others

In the last 2 days we now KNOW that almost all of the one star ratings are from reason 3. We started a month ago with a solid 5 star rating, now we're down to 3 stars. Here are a few of the one star ratings:

Amazing!
by holymuffinman on Nov 23, 2009 v1.1
“As long as this app stays on the down low, it will be great. Rate it low so people don’t find out about it.”

Awesom
by stasyschneider on Nov 23, 2009 v1.1
“I love but I don't want everybody to know about it!:)”

Nice
by Ticktack12345 on Nov 23, 2009 v1.1
“This app is awesome. I’m rating it down so word doesn’t get out on it.”

And we suspect that other 1 star ratings are for the same reason as above . . .

Much Too Easy for the Average Spectator to Figure Out
by punkin puss and mushmouse on Nov 1, 2009 v1.0
“Looks kind of cool and I had fun playing around with it, but people are not really fooled and they know the hijinks is app related. Gets boring real fast. I added an extra star to my rating though becuase the developers over-hyping of this app is top notch!”

So . . . what I'm about to say is directed towards the people that have been dishonestly giving us bad ratings.

Giving iForce a one star rating so that it is harder to find will only hurt our ability to produce future fabulous apps like this one. Please, rate the app with an honest rating.

There are almost 7 billion people in the world, and only about 50 million iPhones/iPod Touches. iForce is on a very very small fraction of those devices. The chances of you performing for someone that knows about iForce is 1 in 200,000 . . . trust me, you've got NOTHING to worry about.

We perform iForce more then any other trick. We've NEVER had someone say "I already know about iForce."

We've done SO much to accommodate our users in the magic community:

1. Make iForce affordable to everyone
2. We've put all of our marketing money ONLY in the magic community (we haven't marketed to the general masses)
3. Create Recreation Software with "Doodle" for the secret-seekers
4. Remove all instances of the word "Doodle" in any of the search words for iForce
5. Make sure people don't accidentally stumble onto the secret screens.

So with that said, please help us continue the future development of iForce and our other amazing magic apps. If you haven't done so already, please visit our page on the app store and give us your honest rating.
iForceOnAppStore

I don't wanna sound cliche, but you've only seen the tip of the ice berg.

Thank you for your time,
Greg Rostami

I was recently messing with this app and had a few ideas using it...
One is using the "Crossroads Concept" by Ben Harris. If you have the book you will udnerstand it works perfectly, but if you don't have it I highly recommend it.

Another idea iw as messing with was the diffrent kinds of sodas such as Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, Mountain Dew, Orange soda, Grape soda, etc. maybe change it up by adding coffee, tea and what not.

Just Ideas,

Bernardo Rodriguez

Funny enough I jsut had another strange idea...
What if you had it set on the repeat mode (if you ahve it you should know) and you start of with a blank screen and drawl in a puff of smoke with a demonic ring around it or something such as a wijii board handle piece. Then you have it face down and freak friends out by asking it yes or no questions or other stuff. Maybe even know personal information ahead of time =].

Just A Fun Idea,

Bernardo Rodriguez

Bernardo, I'm loving the ouija board set up. I have some great personal info on a friend of mine. He'll freak when my phone tells him things that he thinks no one knows.

Great idea!

Hey thanks man...
I also thought of another idea last night, but didn't share it.
It was another idea using the repeat mode (again if you have it you should know) and it was the idea of maybe using it for a miracle evolution type effect. For example since screen is blank you drawl a balloon then you turn it over and snap and when you show it again it's inflated. Then maybe after it gets bigger then pops. Just an idea. Maybe even a caterpillar to butterfly type thing. I have just been trying to find ways to make repeat mode used to advantage and also other fun ideas you can use iforce for.

Have Fun,

Bernardo Rodriguez

The catapullar to butterfly has given me an idea. I could do a tribute to my pregnant girlfriend, showing her getting bigger and bigger. But then again......she's quite insecure about her bump, and it will probably set her hormones off, and I'll be on the sofa tonight.

On a serious note, I like the balloon idea. You could come up with some sort of story, and have iForce narrate it for you, kind of like a kids book??

I need to get my brain in gear and think of some more idea's

Yeah that would be a neat way to tell a story by having it on repeat mode and maybe having it go with an existing story.. such as I'm taking home a baby bumble bee, wont my mommy be so proud of me haha

Just Something To Mess With,

Bernardo Rodriguez

For those of you who do versions of the 10-card poker deal, there are only a few different hands for your winning hand, and before you even look at your hand, you can determine what your hand as soon as your opponent's hand is shown. This means iForce can be useful here.

Let's say you're doing a version of the 10-card poker deal with the AS as the Jonah card, and the other cards are 3 Kings, 3 Queens and 3 Jacks (obviously, this would be changed to suit your particular cards).

Ignoring suits, there are 12 different hands you can possibly have. How can we cover 12 possibilities with iForce? You'll need 7 predictions ready:

Two pair: Jacks & Queens
Two pair: Jacks & Kings
Two pair: Queens & Kings
Three of a Kind: Jacks
Three of a Kind: Queens
Three of a Kind: Kings
Full House

Yep, we cheat by combining all 6 full houses into 1 prediction! If you want, you could round it out with an 8th prediction of a particular full house (say "Full House: Jacks and Queens"), and use that one if you happen to hit that one, but that's up to your preferences.

In your routine, you start by writing on the iPhone the hand you hope to get as the winning hand (actually setting up iForce for the routine). Good line here: "I'm writing down what I'd like as my winning hand. Actually, I'd like a Royal Flush, but considering the cards we're using, that's a longshot."

You then proceed in your favorite 10-card deal up to the point where your spectator's hand is shown first. When you see your spectator's hand, you can easily determine what your hand will be.

If they have a pair, you will have 2 pair.
If they have 2 pair, you will have 3 of a kind.
If they have 3 of a kind, you will have a full house.

Further, if their pair is, say, a pair of Jacks, it's obvious that your 2 pair will be Queens and Kings.
If their 2 pair is, say, Jacks and Queens, it's obvious that your 3 of a kind will be Kings.
If they have 3 of a kind, you know you have a full house, and don't need to worry about the exact contents of your hand (unless you use the specific full house idea mentioned earlier).

So, after turning their hand over, you quickly and mentally determine what's in your hand, then turn over your iPhone appropriately to show the hand for which you were hoping as a winning hand. You then turn over your hand, which matches the description on your iPhone!

That's a very neat way of using Iforce...

Bernardo Rodriguez

Thanks, Bernardo!

Another idea: If you have some sort of box that's just big enough to hold your iPhone/iPod Touch (and allow you to pick it up & turn it over), and that you can lock with a key lock, you can do "Key To The Future", from Max Maven's VideoMind Phase Two: Close-Up Mentalism.

Hi Scott,

LOVE the box idea . . . Now that is COOL!!!

Greg Rostami

Haha very nice idea...

Bernardo Rodriguez