I am very happy to announce that as of today, Go Button has officially joined Figure 53!

Go Button is an app for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch designed to play sound cues for live shows. It was designed from the ground-up to be touch-friendly, and it lets you carry a powerful playback system right in your pocket. If you don't have a copy yet, check it out!

I created my first prototype in early 2011. I was in a long rehearsal at a warehouse in Bushwick, and we were still playing show tracks off of CDs. We didn't have QLab, but everyone had an iPhone. All that was missing was an app to play my cues.

I couldn't find one. So over the next few months, I started building a simple app for myself. I didn't need it to do everything, just the basics like looping and fade outs. I thought I might as well try out the App Store, and to my delight I started hearing from magicians, puppeteers, solo performers, and small theatre companies who all loved the flexibility it gave them in their performances. So I kept going, adding more features and making it more flexible with each release.

Fast-forward to last spring, I awoke to an email from Chris Ashworth. The subject was "Go Button, making stuff, ideas for the future". He introduced himself & his company (of course, I knew who they were) and wondered if I had any thoughts about a shared future together. Specifically, would I be interested in joining them and bringing Go Button to Figure 53. I couldn't believe it — I had never set out to try to recreate QLab on iOS, but I had always hoped we'd find a way to team up someday.

Not long after, I hopped on the Amtrak to meet Chris and some of the gang in Baltimore, and I was hooked. It immediately felt like such a great fit.

I had just released version 2.1 of Go Button, and the iPad version had come out only a few months earlier. My feature set was getting really close to my original intentions, but I had so many more ideas. It's incredible to now have access to all the Figure 53 knowledge and resources. And to join this team and have their help in making those ideas into reality is the chance of a lifetime, both for me and Go Button users.

What's next?

Go Button is not going anywhere. In fact, it's only going to get better!

You can still buy Go Button directly from Figure 53 on the App Store. If you already own Go Button, you don't need to repurchase it or re-download anything. You'll continue to get free updates as we release them.

And as of today, I am joining Figure 53 full-time so I can continue working on Go Button. The top-notch support and design teams here will be helping me out so I can focus more on development. You can still reach me personally at brent [at] figure53 dot com.

Version 2.2 of Go Button is well underway with a bunch of new features. Look for that releasing in the near future.

What about QLab Remote?

QLab Remote and Go Button serve different purposes and will continue as two separate products. QLab Remote controls an existing QLab workspace on the same network. Go Button plays sound cues and is a self-contained system that does not require QLab.

Can I export my show to...

That sure sounds like a cool idea to us too. Give us some time to get to know each other, and I think there will be plenty of fun things to come.

Ideas for the future

I want to personally thank all of the users who put their trust in Go Button and helped me make it what it is today. Your feedback and suggestions have been invaluable. Please keep them coming, and be sure to tell all of your friends about this exciting new chapter for Go Button.

- Brent