A group of local internet entrepreneurs have brought their experience, expertise and love of iOS together and created their very own app. Mike Stopforth, Richard Mulholland, Don Packett, Trevor Mey and Kyle Burnett of App Assassins developed Car Cricket Century. The app is now available for download as a free ad-enabled or paid premium (99c) version from the App Store.
For those unfamiliar with the game that has been played for generations in automobiles across the globe, this is how it works in the app: Each player loads their details into the app and then each player’s – wife, mates, kids, dog – gets to play in turn, and scores runs depending on what vehicle passes you in the traffic. However, when a red car passes, you‘re out (you can yell “Howzaaaaat!” if you’d like) and the next player is in! You keep going until a player reaches a century (100 runs).
The app kicked off when the guys challenged each other to come up with app ideas that would be quick to release into the market place. Kyle Burnett, co-developer, came up with the idea while driving into the office one day and well, trying to think of a great idea for the app. When he was passed by a Ferrari 458 it suddenly occurred to him that if he was playing car cricket, he would have gained 6 runs and “the light bulb went off”. “I pitched the idea to the guys and everyone loved the concept,” says Burnett. “We all brought excellent ideas to the table that day, but mine was deemed the best to take to market as a proof of concept.”
Burnett, who studied Internet Development through CTI, has known Stopforth for a long time and approached him when he needed help with a website he was trying to get off the ground. “I knew that Mike would be a great source of advice as he founded Cerebra, which is firmly established as South Africa’s largest, oldest and leading specialist social media agency,” says Burnett. “Mike then introduced me to the bright minds of Richard, Don and Trevor at 21Tanks who facilitated a mini brainstorming session with me.”
It was during this very session that the guys realised that by combining their skills, they could create an app development company which would be a vehicle for turning their many application ideas into real, working, enjoyable apps. Enter App Assassins.
In terms of future developments, about five app ideas a week come out of the App Assassins team so there are definite plans to release another app soon. They have one in particular that they believe could be very exciting for this market. Burnett offers a hint as to what this might be: “Your thumbs will be sore after playing this classic game”.
Watch this space!
The premium version of Car Cricket will be free from the 1st to the 8th of April – no April Fool’s joke here. To download the app for a limited time only click here.
To download the Car Cricket Century app click here.
