Unofficial GameSalad Textbook — Waiting For Review — Good news for Paypal fans!
Photics
Member Posts: 4,172
So OK, The Unofficial GameSalad Textbook is available through two places...
Digital Download (PDF)
http://photics.com/books/gamesalad-textbook
Print
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/the-unofficial-gamesalad-textbook/9202566
Tshirtbooth stated some interest in my book. However, there was a problem with Google Checkout. It seems like a big hassle for people. Yet, Paypal doesn't seem to be a good option for me. I worked hard to find a compromise. I think I found it.
I created the book as universal binary and I uploaded to the iTunes App store. It's scheduled to be placed in the Books and Education sections. (I wanted to create the book with GameSalad, to help deliver the message of how powerful GameSalad can be. But unfortunately, the App I built is better for viewing printed material.)
I think Paypal works with iTunes, so that should solve the problem. The app is listed as Tier 26, so it is more expensive than the PDF version. That's because Apple takes 30%. I wanted to get my book in the Apple Stores. This is pretty close.
For those that already bought a copy of book, you should have my email address. If you are interested, you can request a promo code for the app version. I think iBooks is much better than the App, as that has hyperlinks, much better navigation and search. You don't need the app if you have iBooks.
That's why I still think the PDF version is better. The app is intended for those who don't want to use Google Checkout, or who would not have found out about my book otherwise. Maybe that app will add popularity and excitement to the textbook and the GameSalad community in general.
If you're interested in buying the App version, maybe you would like to receive an email notification when the App is approved. If so, you can contact me through my website. My email address is at the bottom.
Digital Download (PDF)
http://photics.com/books/gamesalad-textbook
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/the-unofficial-gamesalad-textbook/9202566
Tshirtbooth stated some interest in my book. However, there was a problem with Google Checkout. It seems like a big hassle for people. Yet, Paypal doesn't seem to be a good option for me. I worked hard to find a compromise. I think I found it.
I created the book as universal binary and I uploaded to the iTunes App store. It's scheduled to be placed in the Books and Education sections. (I wanted to create the book with GameSalad, to help deliver the message of how powerful GameSalad can be. But unfortunately, the App I built is better for viewing printed material.)
I think Paypal works with iTunes, so that should solve the problem. The app is listed as Tier 26, so it is more expensive than the PDF version. That's because Apple takes 30%. I wanted to get my book in the Apple Stores. This is pretty close.
For those that already bought a copy of book, you should have my email address. If you are interested, you can request a promo code for the app version. I think iBooks is much better than the App, as that has hyperlinks, much better navigation and search. You don't need the app if you have iBooks.
That's why I still think the PDF version is better. The app is intended for those who don't want to use Google Checkout, or who would not have found out about my book otherwise. Maybe that app will add popularity and excitement to the textbook and the GameSalad community in general.
If you're interested in buying the App version, maybe you would like to receive an email notification when the App is approved. If so, you can contact me through my website. My email address is at the bottom.
Comments
The book seems great though and I think it is worth it.
The are tons of flash and unity tutorials and assets for sale that do really well.
Even thought the active community is somewhat small but, at this point the actual GS user population has to be in the thousands.
Its just a matter of time before someone opens up a shop selling full templates and open source projects... I mean nice full complete ones. I think people would pay 25 or 50 bucks for a complete setup with no art or levels.
After I finish my next project (and I submit it). I plan on stripping out the art and levels out and selling the source files.
So you'd just have to replace the art, and sound and design the levels.
Great minds think alike.
"Hey Mike, is the $19.98 PDF going to go down in price?"
"Considering that's the same as the year Photics.com was started, highly unlikely at this time."
I thought about releasing the book for free with iAds, but that wouldn't be fair to those that paid for the book.
I work hard at this book because I know it helps sales. When Gendai Games doesn't react to the community, it's like they're not interested in making money. I was really close to buying Pro, but it just felt like it would be a big mistake. Meanwhile, the price of the textbook is also competitive. Of the three computer books on my desk, the price ranges from $39.99 to $49.99. (I might have gotten them on sale though.)
While the pace of GameSalad updates has been terrible for my game development, it's been excellent for the book. Without a new update in about two months, I picked an excellent time to launch the book. I'm not sure. I was estimating that paying customers are still under 1,000. So, let's take a look at some stats...
http://siteanalytics.compete.com/gamesalad.com/
http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/gamesalad.com
As mentioned in another thread on this website, actual web traffic might be incredibly different. I had over 200,000 visitors in one month but Alexa didn't pick it up. That's because it was mobile traffic. But basically, it does show a rough idea. If it's an accurate reflection, it's a bad sign.
It seems that traffic is going in the reverse direction. It's actually down from a year ago. That's bad. Gendai Games is not doing enough to get the message out there.
I think it's important to remember why I post my feedback - because I care. I don't post on the Porshe website and tell them that their cars are too expensive. That's their thing. They make fancy cars. With GameSalad, if it's truly "game creation for the rest of us", feedback shows Pro is not priced right. Are people really interested in this?
I was thinking of starting a GameSalad assets website, but I'm not sure if the demand is there.
Darren.
Hey, that's a new look for you... new name and new icon?
Send and Receive Data using your own Server Tutorial! | Vote for A Long Way Home on Steam Greenlight! | Ten Years Left
Perhaps that better explains my frustration with Gendai Games. On the Android side of mobile development, I created an online RPG. It was a free app with advertisements. It was incredibly popular, but I couldn't monetize it.
Google didn't want to pay me my AdSense money...
http://photics.com/a-warning-for-android-developers-that-use-adsense-for-content
So, with GameSalad, Game Center and iAds, I can create a worthy successor. But unfortunately, I don't know when Game Center will be included with GameSalad. As for iAds, $2,000 is expensive. I'm impatiently waiting, but I suspect that the situation will improve.
makes sense now.
Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quantum_Sheep
Web: https://quantumsheep.itch.io
- As your website gets more popular, the more people will try to hack, spam or break it.
- The games section was the most popular part of my site.
- Advertisement based websites are tough because ad-blocking is so prevalent.
- Wikis and Forums are tough to maintain, and some other site can swoop in and do a better job.
If things would have worked out, I probably wouldn't be making iPhone apps today. I'm thinking that I would be making Flash and Webview apps - just for Android. I probably wouldn't know about GameSalad either. My recent work with Xcode reminded me of how great GameSalad is. Although, it was refreshing not having to worry about the restrictions of the software.
I'm still waiting for the 0.9.0 update. Maybe Gendai Games can make GameSalad better. They must be really busy. They didn't even give some fanfare to the new moderators... I didn't see an official post or anything like that. So, the next update must be pretty big.