Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Monday, October 26, 2009

Gallery (click any photo to view the gallery)

'Physify,' an iPhone application, allows the user to create various shapes and figures.

Nick Profitt has never formally studied physics, but he likes to play around with it. That’s how he came up with “Physify,” an iPhone application he created and pitched to Apple Inc.

“It’s basically a 2-D physics sandbox. Whatever you draw comes to life,” said Nick, a junior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. “The laws of gravity and physics apply.”

Physify is sort of like this generation’s Etch A Sketch. The user can make different configurations using shapes like circles and squares, create a rag doll to toss around or build a tower to knock down.

“You touch down (on the screen) with your finger and drag to make all the objects,” said Nick, who noted there are also tools to change their speed and rotation and tools for tracing or erasing.

“It’s an app to entertain you when you’re bored. There’s not really an object to the app. You don’t really beat the game ever,” said Nick, who works part-time downtown at Apax Software.

He developed Physify this past summer, and it’s been available through Apple’s online store since mid-September. Apple keeps 30 percent of each $2 download. Of his $1.40 take, Nick gives 35 cents to his graphics designer, a fellow student in Virginia who’s also the administrator for Nick’s own gaming site.

“It’s looking pretty good – not amazing to where I’m getting rich, but I’m getting a few sales,” he said.

Nick is thinking about majoring in computer science in college and says he might want to work for a game-making company one day.

“If anything, I’d like to own my own business or start a business for iPhone games. I’ve heard a bunch of success stories about that,” he said.

A member of the Technology Student Association at Dunbar, he is also interested in making videos and designing Web sites.

“It all started when I got a laptop and decided to learn how games work,” he said, noting how he progressed from tinkering with a PlayStation Portable to developing iPhone applications.

Nick already has upgrades in mind for Physify, including a tool that connects shapes but prevents them from colliding, which would allow the user to create two rag dolls in the same scene.

He also hopes to eventually host an online community where people can upload their Physify creations and share ideas with others.

“There’s really no end to it unless you quit imagining stuff,” he said.