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Over the last twelve months MAGIC KIT Pro has received both refinements and major new features. Normally each update would be accompanied by a post on Illusionary to explain the thinking behind the changes. Alas, I’ve been busier than ever this year so those posts were never written. Here then, on the eve of a major new direction for MKP, I’d like to take you behind the scenes and revisit the updates to MAGIC KIT Pro.

Custom Backgrounds

One day, while perusing YouTube, I noticed a magician performing Mystic Hand at what appeared to be a corporate gig. This isn’t unusual, MAGIC KIT Pro is designed for professional use. What was unusual; the background behind the golden hand was not the supplied wood pattern but instead corporate branding for the gig. I have some theories on how this was achieved but it’s not really important. Clearly, MKP was not meeting a pro need. To address this I added custom background support to Mystic Hand and in the process rewrote the supporting infrastructure. The real-world benefits of this are that each trick which supports custom backgrounds can have its own unique background (previously the background was set in the settings and applied to all tricks). The new infrastructure also makes it easier to add custom backgrounds to new tricks.

Persistent Setup Options

Custom Backgrounds are an example of one of the many Setup Options available in MAGIC KIT Pro. In version 1.1 I made all the Setup Options persistent. This means, for example, if you set a specific force card in a trick that card will remain until you manually change it. Previously exiting the trick would reset the option to its default. A small change with real impact for pro performers.

Enhanced Capture Tools

MAGIC KIT Pro has always supported capturing your own card designs. In 2017 I added support for capturing a coin design. I also tweaked the alignment tools; previously you had to tap small arrows for precision alignment. Now you can use a more natural drag gesture. These capture tools offer powerful customisation for pro users.

UI Refinements for iPhone X

October 2017 saw the release of the iPhone X. In the process of adapting MKP to support the new device attributes I also made small refinements to the overall user interface.

Utility Library

MAGIC KIT Pro currently offers nineteen magic tricks available via the Effect Library. Each trick is designed to be a self-contained piece of magic with a deeply considered ‘beginning-middle-end’ structure. The Utility Library takes a different approach. Utilities are not a magic trick in their own right but rather a tool designed to enhance your existing magic tricks.  ‘Props’ is a powerful item-to-screen tool featuring multiple everyday objects and a whole host of appear/disappear modes. ‘Force Card’ is a focused card-to-screen tool, again with loads of customisation options.

Pro Club

Earlier in this post I mentioned a major new direction for MKP. Starting in December 2017 MAGIC KIT Pro is free to download with In-App Purchase. There are two membership options ‘Annual’ and ‘Unlimited’.

An Annual Membership unlocks all content via a yearly auto-renewing subscription. The Unlimited Membership is a one-time payment much like buying the app previously. If you’ve already bought the app you automatically get the Unlimited Membership so you won’t be charged again for content you’ve already purchased.

The reason for adopting this new model is threefold:

1) Subscription pricing makes it more cost effective to start using MAGIC KIT Pro. You can also cancel if you’re not getting value out of the app. 2) MAGIC KIT Pro is more sustainable meaning I can add more magic tricks and utilities. 3) I can offer free trials so you can explore the app risk-free.

The free app, without a membership, allows you to watch all the demo videos and get a feel for the quality of the app.

It's been a while.

After over sixteen months in development, I'm very happy to introduce my new app, MAGIC KIT Pro.

The name may be familiar but that 'Pro' label represents fundamental change.

This project started life as a simple point update to Magic Kit and gradually grew into something entirely new.

Magic Tricks

Probably most important to you - this app is filled with new magic. There are two entirely new magic tricks but that's just the beginning. Every magic trick in MAGIC KIT Pro has been revisited, most have been completely redesigned. There's too much to cover here, and words don't do the visually powerful magic justice. That's why I've recorded new demo videos in glorious 4K. These are not carefully edited videos to hide the workings. These are full, mostly single-take, performances.

App Design

I was happy with the way Magic Kit looked but I wanted to refine the design. I spent a long time iterating on the UI and flow of the app. My goal was to reduce the steps needed to start performing. You now launch straight into the Effect Library. The Quick Access menu as been dramatically redesigned to be more compact allowing for more magic tricks to be usefully included.

I've also revamped the icons for many of the tricks.

Technology Powerhouse

Underlying the new magic and refined app design is a load of new technology.

I'm now using 'on demand resources' to ensure the tutorial videos are available (and using device storage) only when they're required. This makes the initial download much smaller.

All the tricks are now indexed for Spotlight search and state restoration is fully supported.  

From a magic trick perspective, I'm now using SceneKit to render certain tricks as fully interactive 3D scenes. This dramatically increases the visual appeal of the magic.

I've also written a comprehensive customisation infrastructure to enable things like custom cards, or alternative force options where required. This mostly behind-the-scenes work means new tricks can be more fully featured more quickly.

New App

I wrestled with the decision to offer this release as a new app or free update to Magic Kit. In the end, I opted to create a new app and offer an update bundle for existing customers (coming soon) for a couple of reasons.

1. What is now called MAGIC KIT Pro represents a tonne of work. Almost every line of code and every visual element has been changed. Releasing over a year's worth of work for free is not sustainable. 2. While I think all the changes are a massive improvement, I felt uneasy making such dramatic changes on behalf of existing customers. If someone really likes the way Photo Escape works in Magic Kit and has built it into their routine, it's not great for me to completely change the trick in an irreversible way.

Magic Kit received 12 major updates over the course of five years. MAGIC KIT Pro is the foundation for the next five years.

Magic Kit version five is nearly complete.

All the new technology features have been implemented and all the effects except one (Bookshelf) have been updated.

I have to complete Bookshelf, build the new 2016 magic effects, test the app and film the new tutorials.

I don’t want to give a timeline on this but the end is in sight. This update will be worth the wait.

Best,

It’s been a while. The last update to Magic Kit was in July 2015 - over eight months ago.

During those months I’ve been working on an update. The fruits of which I had hoped to release sooner.

My initial plan was to adopt the app thinning features of iOS 9, convert my Watchkit app to a native app and, add a new effect.

Woah there friend you might need to slow down

Before I explain what I’ve been up to, I’d like to offer some background.

Magic Kit was one of the earliest magic apps in the App Store. Its been in active development for over five years. As I’m sure you can imagine, Magic Kit has grown in complexity.

This gives me a dilemma. I can either focus development time on new effects or on maintaining the existing effects and features.

Magic Kit 4, released in September 2014, was a major step in modernising the foundations of the app. In 2016 I plan to take it even further.

Magic Kit 5

I’ve still got a few more months of development to complete but I wanted to share some details about the upcoming release:

I’ve completely rewritten the app to use storyboards. 

The visual design of the app has been streamlined.

Every existing effect has been touched in some way. Either under-the-hood optimisations or a complete visual refresh.

The app will be a smaller download and take up less space when installed.

New effects are coming in 2016.