Day 13-Tossing GameSalad around as an app patch over Objective C

This blog was started because of my desire to document my attemtps to build an iPhone app. Initially, I struggled with Objective C and all the coding it requires. And although I have learned about it and I did scratch the surface, I have recently gotten off track because I have discovered GameSalad.

"GameSalad is the world’s most advanced game creation tool for non-programmers. With GameSalad, game makers of all levels can bring their ideas to life without programming a single line of code. Build games visually using a drag-and-drop interface along with a robust behavior system. Publish your games quickly and easy to the iPhone, iPod Touch, Mac Desktop, and the Web."

http://www.gamesalad.com/ It's a 2D graphic game builder.

There are quite a few video and written tutorials listed under the Support tab in GameSalad to help beginners. It seems pretty easy to use, but I have to qualify that statement. It is easy to use relative to Objective C.

Presently, I am reverse engineering a basic app from Crayon Physics called "Cannonball". It's one of the templeates that opens up under the new project window. But as easy as it is, I am having difficulty with the behaviors and attributes section learning how to create new rules for my actors within the game I'm building. In my opinion, I believe there could be better videos done for this program.

There are two videos found on YouTube for building a simple space ship war game app, it comes in two parts called "GameSalad Create a Game From Scratch Part 1" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-0-mZqMUbY&feature=related and "GameSalad Create a Game From Scratch Part 2" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWET2sLvwb4&feature=related Both are pretty good. In fact, YouTube carries videos of GameSalad development that aren't found at GameSalad.com

These tutorials are a great place to start, but I'm still finding it difficult understanding how rules can be created and placed upon my actors. But just like Objective C, you will want to build all your graphics as PNGs in photoshop.

Also, to publish your app from GameSalad, you will have to pay $99. This IS NOT the amount you then have to pay Apple to release your app to iTunes. That is an additional $99. What is crazy about GameSalad is the two price offerings. For $99, you can get your one year liscense and publish your games using the GameSalad program, but for nearly $2,000 ($1,999) you can pay for unlimited customer service help for developing your game. That's a huge jump and it strikes me as strange because of the enormous price difference. It might also explain why there is such a limited number of videos and tutorials available on GameSalad. I believe the company hopes to make money on offering customer service help. When I last checked there was NO book available on Amazon dealing with GameSalad.

I will say that I am keeping my eyes and ears open for other free game building programs. A new program due out this spring is Atmosphir.http://atmosphir.com/ It builds for both PC and Macs and it's a 3D animation game builder that doesn't require coding knowledge. I had to sign up to be a beta tester with the site. I have been recieving emails with questions like, "How I would like to see a blast gun work and what would it look like." Clearly, Atmosphir wants user feedback and will incoproate suggestions into its gaming program. It looks awesome and I can't wait to see it when it's released.

One last thing, I recently investigated Nintendo's gaming institue called DigiPen. They offer online programs over the summer in two areas: animation for beginners and game design for beginners. The workshop sessions are held for two weeks for 2 1/2 hours each day. I ordered the material at https://www.digipen.edu/

I am really excited about this workshop possiblity for the summer. I like the "beginner" without prior coding experience approach. The fact that it is only a couple of weeks and online equally compel me to want to register. However, there are some fairly strict non-refundable policies regarding registering. So, read the information carefully.

All-in-all, once I became more involved in the gaming area I have learned about so many opportunities. I recently came across some fascinating information. "Gaming: Not just for kids anymore. I think the very fact that the largest player base of passive online games is women flies in the face of the typical view that games are for kids. According to Nielsen Entertainment in August 2009, of the 117 million active gamers in the U.S., 56 percent play games online and 64 percent of those online gamers are female. And the revenues generated from online games is enormous and growing. Do not underestimate the power of games and gaming — and not just the marketing and revenue opportunities, but also the learning opportunities as well in the form of fun quizzes and polls. Have you used gaming yet in a social media marketing campaign?" (8 Significant Developments in Social Media You Should Watch by Aliza Sherman)

It would appear that I'm just riding the wave.