Hello,
Our big story this week is Leap Motion’s collaboration with HP, which opens new possibilities and new audiences for all Leap developers. We also have details about the latest SDK update, a handy guide to promoting your app with a short video, and more code samples from the community toolkit.
Featured News
The world’s most accurate 3-D motion-control technology has joined forces with the world’s largest technology company. Earlier today, we sent you an email about our collaboration with HP to bring 3-D motion control to unique HP devices. Check out the media coverage of the announcement on our Facebook post.
SDK 0.7.7 includes new palm tracking and gesture settings
The latest version of the SDK includes a variety of updates, including: dramatically improved hand/palm tracking, smudge detection, and automatic detection of poor calibration. By default, the Leap application now only provides tracking data to the application which has the operating system focus. (However, we will add support for background apps in the near future.) You can see the full details on the release page.
Pre-orders now available through Amazon UK
Starting this week, we’re happy to announce that the Leap Motion Controller is available for pre-order within the United Kingdom on Amazon UK.
Thinking in Motion: Promoting Your App
Short videos are a great way to grab people’s attention and promote your app. As well, your application trailer can serve as your video submission for your Airspace page. In our latest post, we share some best practices for creating your own trailer and showcasing your app to the world. You can read our full post on this subject on the forum – here are the highlights:
- Short and sweet. Keep your trailer as short as possible. One minute or less is usually ideal.
- Make an entrance. Include your app’s name, developer/studio, and the fact that your app has been designed for the Leap Motion Controller.
- Show application interactions. Show and tell the story of your app along with its fundamental interactions.
- Keep it in perspective. Include shots with both hands and the computer screen in view.
- Show the big picture. Reveal quick views into different modes (or levels) so that people can see how the experience of the app progresses.
- Highlight key features. Show the essential actions, characters, or tools that define your software.
- End with a clear availability message. Examples include “Available for the Leap Motion Controller – May 2013” or “Coming soon to Airspace.”
- Keep it current. When submitting your trailer video for your Airspace page, be sure to remove any “Coming Soon” messages.
Here’s an exciting trailer from Pierre Semaan’s Rock Paper Scissors that offers some great examples of these techniques:
We’re curious to hear your suggestions about what makes a great app trailer. Join the conversation and share your thoughts.
Forum Highlights
It takes a lot of courage to post your code for the whole world to see. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been shining a spotlight on developers who have generously shared sample code and UI elements. Now you can easily access all of these examples in one place – the example tag on the Links & Libraries page. Here are this week’s top picks:
theLIFT released the full codebase for their game Block54 to the Leap developer community. The code includes a number of UI elements and functions that developers are welcome to use in their own apps.
Luminary Productions posted a series of Unity3D experiments, with a hand demo, pointers demo, and menu trays, swipes, and gestures.
We’re not exaggerating when we say that Virtual Air Guitar’s Boom Ball is one of the most addictive games we’ve ever played. By hitting a ball with a paddle, you can destroy targets, collect bonus points, and cause explosions. (We’re especially intrigued by the presence of portals.)
Finally, as part of our conversation about orientations and tutorials, Scott Sykora posted some screen captures and explanations of Pixite’s tutorial for Unbound for Mac.
Developer Events
International Space Apps Challenge
Planet Earth – April 20-21
You can join thousands of people around the world in a 48-hour quest to advance space exploration and improve the quality of life on Earth. As a global event sponsor, we have provided Leap Motion Controllers to hacking sites in San Francisco, Reno, Toronto, New York City, Philadelphia, Syracuse, Rochester, and Singapore. You can also join the challenge from home and work remotely, or register as a mentor at one of the Challenge’s many other sites. We’ll be available via IRC in the #leapmotion room, on Skype at LeapMotion, and @leapmotiondev. Read more about it on our news post.
p.arts lab Meetup
3rdSpace, 4610 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA
Wednesday, April 17 – 8:00 pm
Developers are invited to Ben Guerrette’s digital arts meetup, where they can see demos of Leap-enabled apps Unbound for Mac and Deco Sketch. You can RSVP here.
San Francisco Maker Faire 2013
San Mateo Event Center, 1346 Saratoga Dr., San Mateo, CA
May 18-19
We want to hear from all developers who will be showcasing their work with the Leap Motion controller at this year’s Maker Faire. Let us know if you’re participating on the event thread.