Game Idea, Need help.

Hmpf, if it's a quite big idea, I recommand you not to go on with Objective-C for just this task, since you have HTML/CSS skills, isn't it better to look at some game engines? Some of them support HTML which transforms it into a game for you.
I think the steep hill of Objective-C might suprise you, specially when it's for a project due.

 

18 weeks... That sounds pretty tough to go from knowing nothing to having a game, particularly if you're expected to work on it alone.

I would suggest you pop open Learn C the Hard Way and go through the first ~20 chapters. That should take 2-3 weeks. It's a free ebook, google it. We can help if you run into problems (although actually, any questions you have about it might go in the Mac programming section of the forums better.)

Once you've done that, hit Stanford's iTunes U iOS development lectures. Those will take 4-8 weeks to get through. They're free.

At that point, you should know enough C, Obj-C, OO concepts, Xcode, and iOS SDK to be able to put together some sort of simple game with the 7-12 weeks you'll have left.

Also... Don't expect to make something very fancy in that time. Your game is going to be 2D and about as complicated as a board game, I think. You can propose whatever you have in mind, and I'm sure we can let you know about how long it could take.

 

No, splitting the project into tiny pieces so nobody knows what the whole project is will doom the project to failure. Developers need to be able to run the whole project, test it out, make sure the pieces fit together, etc.

There are things called NDAs (non disclosure agreements) and non-compete agreements. Professional developers sign them all the time, and they have legal teeth to them. If you get somebody under NDA and/or a non-compete and give them the spec to the project and they steal it, you have a very clearcut case to sue for breach of contract, punitive and actual damages, legal costs, etc. You can kick the crap out of them in court, in other words.

Also, a developer is risking his career by stealing ideas from a client. It's a small world, and word gets around.

As long as your developers are in the same country as you, and you hire working professionals, you should be able to protect yourself just fine with a standard NDA agreement. It could be more complicated if the developers are in a different country, or if you are hiring some high school kid who doesn't have any assets to sue for, or the good sense to understand the consequences of his/her actions.

Our company ASKS our clients to put us under NDA before talking about their project ideas with us. That way there is a clear understanding and a paper trail, and everybody's interests are protected. We earn our livings by developing software for people, and want our clients to be happy with us. Ethics aside, the risks of trying to steal a client's idea far outweigh the possible benefits.

 

I've seen many cases where over protecting a software idea (which are copied anyways once released) ends up killing the whole thing.