Magic IO: My Start-Up Company

Tonight I'm announcing my start-up company, Magic IO.  Magic IO is going to be a digital entertainment company but, at least initially, its going to focus on developing beautiful reading experiences for the iPad.

If you've been following along with my blog of late you are probably aware that I've been writing a lot about what I call "app/books" (here and here), which are a combination of iPad application and electronic book.  Without getting too long winded about it, I first started thinking of interactive books in 1987 when I was taking Chemistry and Physics for pre-engineering requirements (I ended up with a Computer degree).  At that time the world was just transitioning from 5 1/4" to 3 1/2" discs, the Internet was unknown to 99% of the World, and CD's had only just came into their own.  I had no idea how interactive books could be created but I felt certain that an interactive book would be a boon to learning the sciences.

Fast-forward 23 years to the beginning of this year when I downloaded and was completely delighted by two very different iPad app/books:  Alice for the iPad and The Elements.  If you are not aware of these books, but you are interested in new media, than download them and check them out. They are both groundbreaking and beautiful at the same time.

The company that I'm creating will first focus on fiction titles for children and young adults.  I'm currently working on a licensing deal for several classic tales illustrated by one of the greatest fantasy artists of the 20th century.  As soon as the deal is inked I'll be happy to share more details about it.  At any rate, Alice for the iPad, and  The Elements set the bar for excellent app/book experiences. They are interactive, enchanting, engrossing, and beautiful.  I hope to do better, but I'll always have Atomic Antelope and Theodor Gray to thank for inspiring me to revisit an old dream.  Of course, I would be remiss if I didn't thank Apple for finally providing a platform on which electronic books  can be created that are truly interactive.

I hope to announced the first title we are developing in about two weeks. I need to get some legal stuff taken care of first including the licensing deal I mentioned as well and papers of incorporation and convincing some talented friends to join me.  I have little in the way of financial resources, but I have my keyboard, personal drive, and access to some serious talent (my friends) and I think that will be more than enough to create products that I can be proud of.

Along with books I hope to also develop some interesting games and I've already been working on a title that will hopefully be fresh and new and engaging enough to win a lot of gamers hearts.  In the mean time stay tuned while I continue to blog about app/books and my experiences creating a new company and developing products for the exciting iOS platform.