Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by emsy 1380 days ago
The problem is that this is not something Apple wants to have on the App Store. They reject apps they deem arbitrarily unsuitable all the time.
2 comments

What makes you believe Apple would reject this app? (provided it used properly licensed assets)
What makes you believe Apple would reject THIS app?
Because it's not original license owner. They would have to provide licenses for everything used plus Apple may reject it just based on "not matching app guidelines". Apple banned even console emulators even tho technically there's nothing legally wrong with emulator on it's own, same for torrent downloaders, Kodi etc. If Apple have any doubts about legality of app they'll just ban it
>They would have to provide licenses for everything used

I said "provided it used properly licensed assets". Apple has accepted compiled open source projects before, even from people other than the authors e.g. OpenTTD[0].

>Apple may reject it just based on "not matching app guidelines".

We all know Apple might reject an app for any reason it wishes. This is a poor answer to support a claim that it wouldn't want this specific app.

>Apple banned even console emulators even tho technically there's nothing legally wrong with emulator

Emulators where you add game images yourself were always forbidden.

"2.5.2 Apps […] may not download, install, or execute code which introduces or changes features or functionality of the app"[1]

>torrent downloaders, Kodi

This is an entirely different topic than Quake.

[0] - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/openttd/id1585549844

[1] - https://developer.apple.com/app-store/review/guidelines/#sof...

Untrue. As long as it meets the technical requirements (ie, not using private APIs, doesn't excessively drain battery etc), and the licensing issues aren't a problem (some OSS licenses are an issue, as well as using the Quake assets may be an issue), there is no reason why Apple wouldn't approve a game for the Apple Watch on the App Store.
Apple is more than willing to reject apps that follow all the guidelines.
Can you show an example? I’ve been an iOS developer for 10 years, and I’ve only ever seen/been rejected for things that fall foul of the guidelines, never arbitrarily.
Apple is unable to interpret their guidelines consistently. We ran into this with iSH a while back: https://ish.app/blog/app-store-removal
And yet, you aren't rejected, and are in the store. While their interpretation of their guidelines can be ropey, as is anything handled by a human, my point still stands. Quake 1 would be allowed on the App Store.
What you’re probably missing is the two weeks of concerted effort we put in to design an appeal and then a PR campaign to get Apple to actually listen to us. iSH would not be on the store otherwise.
They reject apps for being too simple so meeting technical requirements is clearly not enough.
Yes, they publish their guidelines which states as such… but how is Quake 1 too simple? Downvote all you want, but within the context of Quake 1 being approved on the Apple Watch, “too simple” isn’t relevant.
The point is that they can reject you for subjective reasons even if you fully comply technically.
I've never heard, or seen that before. Everything I've ever seen rejected by Apple (either personally from my own apps, clients, or from press reports) has always been a guideline issue.

So, "Subjective reasons" such as? Example?

Here is an example of a 3D game running on the Apple Watch, that was approved by Apple, on the App Store, which looks rather "Quake like". Mindkeeper: The lurking fear (Apple Watch)[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mindkeeper-the-lurking-fear/id...]

Don't they reject apps that are "out of scope" for the device they run on? The Watch isn't made to run 3D games, even if that is possible. It's a "bad experience", even if it is a cool technical demo.
No, they don't. There are 3D games running on the Apple Watch, available in the App Store.

Mindkeeper: The lurking fear (Apple Watch)[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mindkeeper-the-lurking-fear/id...]