$$$  I am so driven now to get all my app ideas into the Windows Store.  A member of my team at Microsoft recently revealed to an internal (Microsoft-only) audience that he is now surpassing thirty thousand dollars a month from a card game he submitted.  Want to understand how he did it?  Well thankfully he has generously made this public knowledge and you can read all about it at his blog!

Time for me to get my apps submitted!  BTW, if you have your own app success story, please contact me and tell me about it!

I am heading to CES in Las Vegas, NV today.  This will be my first time going.  I have always wanted to go, especially since it has been considered the Super Bowl of new technology.  The Bing homepage showed CES as a trending term, so I checked it out.  I came across an article entitled “Why We’re Not At The Biggest Tech Show In The World” and was intrigued by the following quote:

[read the quote and the rest of the story at palermo4.com]

Publish your app(s) to the Windows Store and/or Windows Phone Store between December 20, 2012-February 28, 2013 to qualify for the following rewards:

1. A Store registration reimbursement† AND a copy of Halo 4 for Xbox 360!
2. A chance to win one of 12 Xbox 360 consoles with Kinect. The more eligible apps you enter, the more chances you'll have to win.
3. The Grand Prize: Three devs with the best apps will win an ultimate backstage pass to Microsoft Studios and spend the day with the Windows 8 Games Studios team!

Want to win the ultimate backstage pass? Here's your chance to go to Microsoft Studios and meet the Windows 8 Games Studio team. If you win, you’ll be hanging out with the teams who build games for Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and the Xbox service—you'll also join the developers in a coding session! To enter, publish your app(s) in the Windows Store and/or Windows Phone Store between December 20, 2012-February 28, 2013, and fill out the form below. Every qualified app you publish and enter during the promotion period increases your chance to win! Our judges will pick the best three apps, and those devs will win the Grand Prize of a lifetime.

[more details!]

The CEA MoDev Hackathon is where developers compete on the world’s technology stage at the International CES. This exclusive event will be a live competition to see who’s got the best idea and the skills to bring it to life in just one day. Twenty-five teams of up to four people will compete for glory and over $25,000 in cash and prizes. Spots are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

When creating a game via GameMaker, the place for changing the tiles, splash screen, colors, names, and capabilities are in Global Game Settings >> Window8 [tab] >> General [side tab]

I have recently acquired GameMaker by Yo Yo Games for cross-platform game development. Among the supported platforms are Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8!

This gaming tool allows anyone with decent computer skills to develop a game rapidly. I recently lead  a group of students (many who had never written a single line of code before) to create a simple game in one hour. I could not believe how much the students accomplished in such a short period of time.

I highly recommend GameMaker, and suggest you start creating your game today! There is a free version of GameMaker available to download now.  However, I strongly suggest that you buy GameMaker:Studio Professional while it is 50% off (offer ends January 4th 2013).

Calling all students!  Will you have any extra time in December or January?  Are you feeling entrepreneurial? Have an idea for an app and want to make it a reality?  Want a little incentive to make your vision come true?  Stop dreaming and start your app (or apps) now!

Get all the details at the Windows 8 App Challenge on Facebook.

Hardcore JavaScript, HTML5, and NodeJS developers come together on this day and create an app for prizes. If things go my way, my team will walk out with a prize - and an app in the Windows Store! I will be representing Microsoft as co-sponsor for lunch and for some cool prizes at the end of the hackathon.

[register here]

To play video, hover above and press play button.

Please join me at the Microsoft Store in Scottsdale, AZ on December 12th between 6PM and 9PM when I chat about Monetization and Windows Store Certification. In this casual setting we will cover how to submit your app to the Windows Store and teach you all the different methods for making money with your apps and games on Windows 8 including free with Ads, free with in-app purchases, try and buy and paid.