“jimu” is a web-based WYSIWYG app builder, and it wants your dollars on Kickstarter [VIDEO]
As a young pup with a computer I remember always wanting to create a game. I was quite young, and hadn’t a lick of programming experience. It was at that point that I found out about the RPG Maker software, and while my time with the software didn’t produce anything worthy of mention, it was still an interesting experience — here was a series of conditions and a pack of resources I’d brought together to create something that resembled a game.
Welp, someone wants to bring you the “RPG Maker” for Android apps. It’s called “jimu,” and it only exists as a Kickstarter idea right now. The project — which seeks $50,000 by April 8th — will give people a tool to build Android apps using a WYSIWYG-style interface, allowing you to build your user interface, create your application flow and fill in your content with fast, quick, and easy methods. This tool would appear to be transparent, as well, as you’ll get to see all the code at work behind the brawn.
That would make it a great learning tool for anyone looking to take up Android development, and would give you immense flexibility in taking your app further than what jimu’s tools would allow. The folks behind jimu say the tool constructs code with best-practice syntax and structure, too, so it won’t be a jumbled mess for others to look at. I remember trying to build a webpage in Dreamweaver and having to look at the vomit of code it spit out, so this is one very important factor that I’m sure many will consider when they back the project.
The project — expected to deliver its earliest functional rewards by June — has a few different tiers of rewards. Access to early betas, a half-day class on Google Hangouts regarding jimu and raw Android development from a team of expert developers, and custom built apps are among the rewards users can get depending on how much money they decide to pledge. You can read more about it, and the jimu project overall, at the Kickstarter page. The video above should give you a nice primer on everything discussed so be sure to watch that, as well.