Which SDK? (Newbie needing advice)

Elvira83

Hi everyone,

Before diving into it, a brief introduction. My name is Elvira, I'm from Oakland and bought my first Mac a year ago, my first iPhone soon after. I love all games and am a big fan of the Nintendo DS.

I have been playing with a couple of SDKs and would like to get some opinions from people who use GameSalad.

I originally downloaded Unity, GameSalad and Corona but ended up ditching Unity pretty early on. (Not because it wasn't good but because I'm really only interested in 2D games right now and it feels like overkill for that.)

I have been trying to decide between GameSalad and Corona and had a few specific questions that I can't seem to find answers to.

I should say too that I am only interested in building for iPhone and Android right now and not tablets, web, etc. (I know GameSalad can't build for Android yet but that it is coming soon, so that is OK.)

My first question is with the price; $349 VS $499 - I can't make out why GameSalad is so much more, especially because it's still in BETA.

I know that it is drag and drop but I was wondering if that was the only difference? I know Corona has quite a few things that GameSalad doesn't however and I guess my point here is, is the ease of drag and drop worth not having those other features? Please share your thoughts with me.

My second question is about whether or not GameSalad is OK for a professional to use.

If this is something I end up pursuing as a profession, even if only for the next 12-24 months, I'd like to know whether others in the industry would look at this as acceptable or if it would come with a bit of flack.

I have noticed a lot of users talking about load time issues and seen a lot of kids on this forum and although it's great that kids are easily able to use GameSalad I just wonder whether or not this perhaps makes it less suitable for a professional because of some kind of stigma attached? (I haven't seen this stigma myself as I haven't been here long, however I have seen some users here post about it.)

Thanks for reading, I know this ended up being an essay and thanks in advance to anyone who can answer either of my big questions.

beefy_clyro

Hi. First and foremost ... Welcome

To try and answer your questions honestly, i'll give you my 2 cents worth.

1. Price - Compared to Corona, the price does seem a bit expensive, especially as you say with GameSalad still being in Beta. Corona offers a few extra features as well that isn't supported yet in GameSalad. However, for me, drag and drop, no coding as such ... Wow! That is the main difference but one i'll gladly pay for. We live in a day and age now where we shouldn't have to really code, the hardcore objective c fellas will see it as cheating but in all honesty ... Should we have too? The way the world is going in technology is to make things easier and quicker, even the 4S is trying to introduce an assistant in Siri, so in GameSalad, this is the way to build games.

2. Professionalism - Is there a stigma about GameSalad? Well, kind of ... sites like Touch Arcade had generally frowned upon GameSalad but are starting to turn over the last few months ... Several GameSalad games have now been featured on the front page and many more listed in the 'Game of the week' section. In all honesty, 90%+ of people who would potentially download your game from the app store wouldn't know, or care, what GameSalad is! Even if there is a stigma, a potential buyer does not know what your game is built with before purchasing. If you are worried, then purchase the pro version as well as this gives you custom slash screen and not GameSalad's one, then the only way to really tell is the little loading wheels. This brings me on to the next point ... There are a few issues with load times, as like you said, you have seen mentioned. This is now the priority for gameSalad, they have introduced a new art asset loader, essentially, you decide what art is loaded at the beginning of a scene, only essentials is recommended thus helping scene loading times as it doesn't need to render all the art before the scene loads. Like anything, the amount you have going on, how you optimise your code etc also plays into loading times. They are working hard to help improve this and i think the future is bright with GameSalad. Many games that were born through GameSalad have gone on to become successes on the App store and Mac store, such titles are;

Bumps
Zombie Drop
Puzzle Dozer
Spooky Hoofs
The Secret of Grisly Manor

These have all hit incredible heights on the Stores and made a lot of money. There are also, like many others, plenty of awesome games been made that haven't taken off.

In summary, i think GameSalad is a great SDK with the best community ... You struggle, you make a thread on the forum and someone comes to your aid. There are a lot of kids on here and that can affect the overall image as they churn out non-professional looking games (not all of the kids but just addressing for concern) but the best bit of advice i could probably give to you is;

Download GameSalad and give it a go! Its free to download and use, you could even publish for free and upload to Apple, but i would personally see how you get on, make your game, test your game, if you are happy, want to publish but look professional, then purchase the pro upgrade and publish with your own splash screen

Hope that helps.

old_kipper

Beefy has given you very good advice. I would add that the professionalism is largely down to you. I've seen great art done in MS paint and terrible art done in Photoshop. Both are tools with massively different capabilities for the creation of images, but it's the ideas and skill of the user that makes the images. It's the same with app dev tools. If you have a fab idea and GS can cover the creation of the mechanics then I would go with GS. It is also great for just learning game design as its so fast for prototyping. You have to ask yourself also if you are capable of dealing with a more complex tool set. Features are attractive but if the idea and design are strong and don't call on features we don't have then GS is well capable of making a great title.

good luck. Kipper