Mac Applications continue to get rejected for Insufficient user interface?

robertkdale

In brief, I have recently had my app rejected almost immediately after it went into review.This is the second app to be rejected. The reasoning was that the user interface is not of sufficient quality.

In sum, I have create a user interface that is clean, easy to use and has a highlight and sound system that allows users to see when a button is selected. Most importantly, it works efficiently on the Mac. Also, I use mouse events in my rule sets.

Here is what Apple sent me in my rejection letter.

From Apple
6.4 - Apple and our customers place a high value on simple, refined, creative, well thought through interfaces. They take more work but are worth it. Apple sets a high bar. If your user interface is complex or less than very good it may be rejected
6.4

The user interface is not of sufficient quality. Applications that provide a poor user experience are not considered appropriate for the App Store.

Your app appears to be a mostly unmodified port of your iOS app.

The Mac OS environment significantly different from the iOS environment, and it is important that your app be a great app on Mac OS X. Multiple windows, windows that resize or go full screen, and control functionality for mouse and keyboard, are some of the many features customers expect in a Mac OS X app, and it's important that your app look and work well in a Mac OS X environment.

For app design information, see the Apple Human Interface Guidelines. The HIG provides in-depth guidance on the characteristics of a great Mac OS X app, and describes the appropriate technologies and interface elements Mac OS X provides to add to your app.

Also available is Programming with Objective-C, a guide to getting started with the Objective-C programming language.

Is any one else having this issue when submitting binaries to the Mac store?

Thanks for your time.

Dale

robertkdale

I have just filed an appeal so I will post Apple's final decision.

jonmulcahy

can you post a screenshot of your app?

robertkdale

Thank @jonumulcahy for the response. I have an image attached. The issue was that Apple wanted a game that uses some keyboard functionality. Here was their response

We advise implementing the keyboard, as it can be difficult to quickly move to the button positions which appear to be positioned for iOS.

Original I had the game designed so that user can click either side of the screen.

The solution,

Now when the user press the A button the character ducks. Conversely, when the player touches the S button the character jumps.

An onscreen prompt at the start of each game that lets the users know about the keyboard commands.

I have just resubmitted the app.

We shall see if it gets approved this time.

Thanks,
Dale

Summation

@robertkdale Good luck with the resubmission!

robertkdale

Thanks @Summation

tatiang

So it sounds like you submitted an application that had button locations that made the buttons difficult to use and then Apple responded with a somewhat unclear message indicating that the user interface was poorly designed and then AFTER you appealed, they responded with a more specific complaint about not including keyboard controls. Is that accurate?

Summation

@tatiang
@robertkdale is like... So when am I going to get some clear feedback?
And Apple is like...

robertkdale

@Summation LOL!

robertkdale

@jonmulcahy Yes, that's exactly what they did. If I did not appeal they would have never given me an answer. As a result I would have had no idea what needed to be fixed.

clee2005

@robertkdale did your appeal work? Did it get accepted in the end?

I submitted our game Word Wow, which is iPad portrait in design. They rejected it with the same siting. I appealed and to my surprise, it went in! I didn't change anything. Would be nice to have IAPs in the Mac store.

Thunder_Child

That's interesting they hold Mac apps in such high regard compared to iOS apps. I would prefer this in the iOS App Store as well...even if my previous apps had been rejected. It creates a good standard. Hopes gets fixed soon.

kobayaashi

I'm having a similarly-confusing time with Apple : I recently submitted four apps - puzzle-based, with much identical functionality - to have three passed (Sujiko2015, Suko2015 and TANKO2015), while the fourth (Dottoko2015) was rejected. I'm currently trying to work through advice I received on re-submitting the final game ("your app uses the iOS Advertising Identifier but does not include ad functionality", which may have been down to me clicking a button incorrectly, perhaps?), while also trying to figure out why the other three, almost identical, games were passed...

Sometimes I feel that making a game is a mission, but getting through the App Store's barbed wire-protected fortress is a war...