GameSalad on the Mac App Store / iTunes App Store

Photics

I think that GameSalad would be more successful if it changed a few things...

1 - Get away from the subscription model.
2 - Get away from cloud-based publishing (Export from Desktop!)
3 - Get on the app stores

I think these are smart moves because of what happened with Hype and Pixelmator. These two programs seem to have done well on the App Store. Pixelmator switched to Mac App Store exclusive. So, since GameSalad is mac software, why wouldn't the same happen here?

...and then I realized why it might not... BETA!

Apple would likely reject this software because it's still in beta. So what happens when the software leave beta? Will GameSalad be heading to the Mac App Store? I'm not sure, but thinking about the possibilities is entertaining to me. While the last few updates have been disappointing to me, GameSalad could be holding back. What's going to happen to this software when it leaves beta? 0.97 doesn't have to impress as much as 1.0. Perhaps GameSalad is preparing for a spectacular launch.

olster1

Is the whole reason they do cloud publishing is to avoid people tinkering with the file, the prevent the file from being imported into xcode, remove the gamesalad splash ect.

MetzoPaino

I would gladly pay a flat out fee for GameSalad on the app store.

Perhaps GameSalad 1.0 and onwards will be on the app store for a price, and they will keep 0.99 around as a free download outside of the app store to catch those who aren't quite sure if they want to commit.

aario

i dont see what the problem is with Gamesalad being a subscription service or cloud publishing at all? Its a great tool and it does its job very well for still being beta. The future of Gamesalad looks very bright!

Photics

olster1 said:
Is the whole reason they do cloud publishing is to avoid people tinkering with the file, the prevent the file from being imported into xcode, remove the gamesalad splash ect.

Yeah, but is that really an issue? Artisteer exports themes without needing to go to the server. I think that's a good comparison to GameSalad. Artisteer makes it easy to create web pages. GameSalad makes it easy to create apps.

I'm thinking of looking at HYPE today. I doubt that requires a server for exporting projects. If so, isn't that how GameSalad should work too? Both programs export HTML 5. The difference is that GameSalad tries to own my game, by tethering it to the GameSalad.com server.

Although... with the Web Preview feature... I can see my game locally. (Opening up the game in a browser reveals a "localhost" web address.) Are we allowed to manually export our HTML 5 games?

aario said:
i dont see what the problem is with Gamesalad being a subscription service or cloud publishing at all? Its a great tool and it does its job very well for still being beta. The future of Gamesalad looks very bright!

The problem is the bright future. If GameSalad is less restrictive, I think the future of this software is very bright. HTML 5 is important in web/app development. And yet, there really isn't a great HTML 5 tool... not like GameSalad. Hype is pretty cool, but it's not for making games like GameSalad. So what if GameSalad took the lead... allowed HTML 5 exporting?