Hitcents Co-Founder Ed Mills and his wife Chrystal attended the star-studded Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City to accept and celebrate two Webby wins for Draw a Stickman Epic on May 21, 2013.  Ed Mills shares his experience attending the event.

Hitcents President, Chris Mills and Senior Developer, Jon Peppers were interviewed and featured on Channel 9 about the development and vision behind Draw a Stickman EPIC. Check out the video interviews below. 

After much laughter and consideration, we decided as an agency to expand upon the YouTube sensation by developing the first ever Harlem Shake App for iOS.

Clients come to us all the time with app ideas, but never research if there is an app that already performs exactly the same way of their idea. There are so many apps today that it is important to research the market before running with (what individuals believe to be) a great idea. When we first develop any app, we know that research has to be done on our concept. If no similar apps can be found, after searching in depth on the Apple app store and Google Play, that is when we run with an idea.

- Backstory -

Back in 2010, Phil Williams, a graphic designer/flash developer at Hitcents started on an idea he called “draw a stickman”. The idea was an interactive story, where you drew a stickman and he came to life. You would then have to draw other items to help your stickman through his adventures.

Jerry Nixon, Technical Evangelist for Microsoft discusses Draw a Stickman and the Xamarin Platform with Xamarin CEO, Nat Friedman and Hitcents President, Chris Mills.

Discussing the development of a smart phone app is always fun, but at the end of the day it’s all about your business plan and how to make money. There are so many challenges that people overlook when creating apps that it produces a market full of unsuccessful apps. The key to app success is obviously to ensure that more money is made than spent. The important piece of free apps is the money made from the ads. Hitcents actually began as an ad placement company in 1999, although shortly after we focused our talents on other aspects of the internet market.

App design is an exciting process to be part of and has been a highlight for me while working at Hitcents. Designing mobile apps should be more than just slapping a slick interface on a set of controls but a process that explores the user experience. Part of what makes designing apps a neat experience is the process and each designer will have their own approach to app design. One designer's workflow may not work for the next, but I would like to share some of the processes I use as I design apps here at Hitcents. 

Establishing the Scope

How do you design the artwork of a game that is all about drawing in such a way that will encourage anyone, of any age, with any level of artistic ability to be creative in their own way? Sound like an epic task? It was and here is how we went about accomplishing it.

Announcing the new Stickman app! Get ready for a creative gaming experience unlike anything you've ever played before! Draw items and elements, then bring your drawings to life as you solve puzzles and overcome obstacles. Draw a Stickman Epic immerses you in a fantastic world where you have complete creative freedom! Coming to iOS and Windows 8 on October 26. Coming to Android soon after that.