Game Developing Opinion
I've always dreamed since I was a kid to create games, then I realized that the graphic/art field was my thing, now It's been about 8 years since I'm working in the graphic design industry, I've been using Game Salad for the last week and I think I've got some skills with it now cause developers made it really easy to use. BINGO! I can create some games!
This tool is incredibly powerful and intuitive, and even when it still have few glitches because of the Box2D engine, I think it could grow so much more among non-programmer creatives, game development should be so much easier than it is right now. Having to pay insane amounts of money for softwares like Unity or having to learn awful and tedious coding languages, kills the fun of creating something for art/design-orientated people.
I'm sure that 99% of the non-programer creatives and designers would rather pay 300$ for a GS version that allows them to create some sort of standalone games than having to pay the extra 150$ for the licences nor smack themselves learning Unity or C++...
I don't have anything against hardcore programers but I think that their place in the media industry is not in the very front end of the creative process of a product and tools like GS are exactly an example of my point, someone else who cracked his/her nuts learning programing languages made a tool so people like me, who studied graphic design, animation and art, can develop something great without having to go to college again. The result, games with much better art concepts. Is similar to when we see an incredibly functional website, lots of code everywhere but then the facade lacks the image it deserves.
Game developing shouldn't be catered to pure-programing professionals because it isn't a pure-programing job, in fact programing is just the small tip of it, game developing involves practically all the arts made by man together, illustration, music, literature, sculpting, film, animation, etc etc, name one and you can think of a game that uses it but the truth is that, unless you're a developer (either programer or designer) that works for the big games companies that have all the art, music, literary scripting, 3D modeling and programing team, you're not gonna create anything good enough for yourself or with a couple friends.
This is where tools like Game Salad take the leap and cater to freelancers and small team developers that lack the programming component or are not part of big companies. Sadly, GS feels too restricted by the 2 big wolves of digital media right now: Apple and Microsoft.
My point is that non-programing tools like Game Salad should be far more important than they are right now and should let creatives publish, share and profit with ease from their work, not making all of this harder.
Standalone options for game exports are highly needed, not everybody can pay 150$ for Mac/Win licences + 300$ GS pro versions. A native Xcode or standalone HTML5 exports are a must so GS users don't depend from OS licences to create stuff..
Thanks for reading.
Linksunstrider.
This tool is incredibly powerful and intuitive, and even when it still have few glitches because of the Box2D engine, I think it could grow so much more among non-programmer creatives, game development should be so much easier than it is right now. Having to pay insane amounts of money for softwares like Unity or having to learn awful and tedious coding languages, kills the fun of creating something for art/design-orientated people.
I'm sure that 99% of the non-programer creatives and designers would rather pay 300$ for a GS version that allows them to create some sort of standalone games than having to pay the extra 150$ for the licences nor smack themselves learning Unity or C++...
I don't have anything against hardcore programers but I think that their place in the media industry is not in the very front end of the creative process of a product and tools like GS are exactly an example of my point, someone else who cracked his/her nuts learning programing languages made a tool so people like me, who studied graphic design, animation and art, can develop something great without having to go to college again. The result, games with much better art concepts. Is similar to when we see an incredibly functional website, lots of code everywhere but then the facade lacks the image it deserves.
Game developing shouldn't be catered to pure-programing professionals because it isn't a pure-programing job, in fact programing is just the small tip of it, game developing involves practically all the arts made by man together, illustration, music, literature, sculpting, film, animation, etc etc, name one and you can think of a game that uses it but the truth is that, unless you're a developer (either programer or designer) that works for the big games companies that have all the art, music, literary scripting, 3D modeling and programing team, you're not gonna create anything good enough for yourself or with a couple friends.
This is where tools like Game Salad take the leap and cater to freelancers and small team developers that lack the programming component or are not part of big companies. Sadly, GS feels too restricted by the 2 big wolves of digital media right now: Apple and Microsoft.
My point is that non-programing tools like Game Salad should be far more important than they are right now and should let creatives publish, share and profit with ease from their work, not making all of this harder.
Standalone options for game exports are highly needed, not everybody can pay 150$ for Mac/Win licences + 300$ GS pro versions. A native Xcode or standalone HTML5 exports are a must so GS users don't depend from OS licences to create stuff..
Thanks for reading.
Linksunstrider.
Comments
I have been gaming since 1982 and back then, if you see the movie that is in production, for reference 'From Bedrooms to Billions', that will show you how 1982 is like 2012, once again INDIE is king round here and that is wonderful thing.
I have been a graphic designer since 1990, so I have seen things go from cut and paste to computers and on to the Internet giving me an amazing journey. I have wanted to make a game for so long and am doing that now. Gamesalad gave me the the chance to do it myself, something I never thought was possible. I started learning Objective C and that was ok but not going to get me anywhere near where I am now.
Gamesalad is not going to be everything for everybody, just like the Spectrum 48k was my inspiration for so many years, the platform was an inspiration for the developers to push it to the limit with restrictions. So if Gamesalad is the best platform for non coders then roll with that and do the best you can with it.
Look at some really nice games that lately I have seen, Help Volty, Lad, After Dark, a level of game design not before seen in Gamesalad. Beautiful artwork and game play.
You can run with the two big wolves or go Android? There's an option and I love playing Android games too. Look at somebody like @firemaplegames, they do releases on multi-platforms and sometimes use Gamesalad. They contribute a lot here too.
If you have not already guessed I am standing up for a supportive and growing community that gives us chance to do something we love.
Build Games.
For me, it makes no sense at all.
I could be wrong once the LUA engine is dropped and universal builds are brought in, and it might be easier to export HTML5 rolled into standalones, but since windows is moving towards a storefont mentality much like apple, it might be a bit counter productive to go backwards.
It makes good business,development and support sense to stick with the environments that make the most money for their customers based on what GS is capable of doing.
And exactly what @matarua said, GS may not be everything to everybody unfortunately. But its a great programme if you work within its confines.
Guru Video Channel | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS
I live in a country with a communist pseudo-dictatorial government, we have one of the most painful currency control systems of all the world PLUS our own currency is insanely devaluated and with an inflation rate that gets worse each MONTH and No, we don't get salary raises monthly, the average mid-class salary here is less than 250$ a month, yes! people here know how to deal with it and solve problems with such limited options, so for you getting 200$ 300$ to pay for a software might be something simple & fairly easy. For people in my country.. not so much, I had to work my butt and save for more than a year to buy my tiny Adobe Suite, then get my $$$greens illegally through black market, loosing 60% of my gross savings and I'm one of the FEW in my home town with it..
So, yeah, you might see my comments as you wish, good for you, but calling me whiner doesn't really apply. I've grown in a country with limited freedom, to buy, to sell, to work, to speak, to learn, to live.. getting something (digital or not) from outside your own country is something that you can easily take for granted, good for you. Me and people in my country can't. So yes, it's much harder for me to pay for extra licences to Mac or Pc.
Anyway, thanks to everyone that replied.
Guru Video Channel | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS
You say we're able to get a compiled .app file from the Publishing page without the 100$ licence?. If not too much of a trouble could you point me in the direction to that please?.
Guru Video Channel | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS
Guru Video Channel | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS
The fact is that I will not get so many downloads but can I do that without spending another 99$ on mac developer license?
Guru Video Channel | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS
Guru Video Channel | Lost Oasis Games | FRYING BACON STUDIOS