GameSalad Tutoring for Beginners: $20/Hr (but negotiable)

Hello, I started using GameSalad about a year ago. I have tutored someone before on GameSalad, and I am looking to start up that business once again to earn money for a new computer.

This course is for people new to GameSalad or need help understanding coding logic in general. I can go over coding logic, the behaviors, practical ways to use them, and I can also give you an idea of how to go about coding an idea you have (in which I will of course never share the idea). Whatever you don't understand, I will do my best to explain and help you understand the concept.

I prefer to do the tutoring over Skype (screen share). Best way to contact me is private messaging me or commenting on this post, and I can setup some "lesson plans", in a sense. Also, if you cannot do $20/Hr, just let me know and we can negotiate. Thanks for your time, and any questions or tips are welcome.

Comments

  • The_Gamesalad_GuruThe_Gamesalad_Guru Member Posts: 9,922
    How old are you and any examples of your work?
  • CreativeJuicesEntertainmentCreativeJuicesEntertainment Member Posts: 85
    edited August 2013
    I think age is irrelevant in the case of tutoring GameSalad, but since you asked, I'm 15.

    For work to show, I recovered deleted file of a partial project/demo I had going. Here's a video: http://videobam.com/QASjR It's just a simple demo; it has pause, play, jump (although not refined, it was just a demo), randomly spawning actors, parallax, repeating backgrounds, mute, un-mute, and buttons that changed size when pressed on.

    I used GameSalad mainly as a hobby (because I'm a student). My team consisted of myself and an artist, who of which left the team recently :D

    The only other project files I have other than that are small demos I made myself to learn GameSalad for myself (that the art is not good), and also I believe I still have the demo files I made to tutor someone else on GameSalad.

    Let me know if there are any other questions.
  • RPRP Member Posts: 1,990
    "age is irrelevant" , "I'm 15", "I used GameSalad mainly as a hobby" and "$25/Hr".

    Sounds like a recipe for disaster.

    If you were of legal age to offer business services and were highly skilled with GameSalad (like some of the GS veterans we have around here), you might be on to something.



  • CreativeJuicesEntertainmentCreativeJuicesEntertainment Member Posts: 85
    edited August 2013
    I'm sorry sir, but I tutored someone on GameSalad just fine. GS Helper is an expert at GameSalad, and he charges $40 an hour. I know the basics, and I tutor beginners for $20 and am negotiable.

    Yes, I did use it as a hobby. I'm not going to lie. Just because it is a hobby does not mean that my skills are lacking for tutoring beginners.
  • sawkasteesawkastee Member Posts: 184
    If no one uses his services after seeing his work & examples then fine. No need to be negative on the guy.
  • IcedBIcedB Member, PRO Posts: 384
    Anyone else interested in tutoring. I'm a 26 year old, systems engineer with a number 1 app and 3 years gamesalad experience. Will also offer a rate of $20 because I enjoy teaching people. Please PM me
  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Member, Sous Chef, Senior Sous-Chef Posts: 9,934
    For the record... Gshelper is not a he... It's a we. There's is 5 of us at the moment helping people with their projects every day.

    Also I do think age is completly relevant. You are not old enough to be bond to any legal agreements. Business arraignments are legal agreements even if they are not signed contracts. So if I were to send you my money and never receive the help I paid for I'm just screwed legally speaking.

    And that doesn't even take into account the possible child labor laws one would be breaking by hiring you...

    I'm sure you know enough enough about GameSalad but you have to be upfront with someone about something like your age when they are agreeing to hire you for something.
  • KevinCrossKevinCross London, UKMember Posts: 1,894
    I feel a little violated by the video hosting site you used >.< Please place it on YouTube
  • @KevinCross Sorry I found it on Google and used it. I should have checked. My apologies; I thought the site was safe.
  • @tenrdrmer With an engine as simple as GameSalad, and since I would be tutoring beginners, I am confident I know enough to tutor.
  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Member, Sous Chef, Senior Sous-Chef Posts: 9,934
    If you read my post I said you are probably more than capable of tutoring. You however don't understand the legal issues that could arise from a minor being hired for this or any kind of work. You need to be upfront with anyone hiring you so they can decide on thier own if they want to take the risk.
  • KevinCrossKevinCross London, UKMember Posts: 1,894
    @KevinCross Sorry I found it on Google and used it. I should have checked. My apologies; I thought the site was safe.
    No worries, if you do put it on YouTube I'll take a look, more out of curiosity than anything else.

    Good luck with the venture

  • The_Gamesalad_GuruThe_Gamesalad_Guru Member Posts: 9,922
    edited August 2013
    At teacher should be completely knowledgable about what they teach. Just because you know 5 chords on a guitar doesn't mean you can teach it. People come on here and they think because the can drag around some stuff they know how to code logic and all want to sell some service. People need to be upfront when offering services. I hear all the horror storied from my clients about their experiences with the wanna bees.
  • ArmellineArmelline Member, PRO Posts: 5,334
    edited August 2013
    Without taking any sides in this discussion, it is likely that there would be no legal issues arising from the OP's age. Certainly none of child labour. Under 18s provide tutoring services all the time and very few countries have laws which prohibit it. You may question if his age allows him to have the necessary experience, but you'd be amazed what kids these days can do. If OP has expertise I don't know, but really he is perfectly entitled to offer his services and it's up to his potential clients to judge. If they care about his age they can ask. If they feel he has demonstrated the necessary level of expertise then great.

    Now taking sides... Really don't get all the dragging down of OP here. I'll agree his video doesn't fill me with confidence in his abilities but for all we know he's an amazing teacher. At the end of the day, being a great teacher is more important than just knowledge. As long as he isn't afraid to say "I'm not sure the answer to that question. I'll check and get back to you", he doesn't need to have complete knowledge to be a good teacher. If you honestly believe that then almost every teacher in the world should be fired. Anyone can learn the facts needed, but being able to teach them effectively... that's a real skill.

    Give the poor kid a chance and let him succeed or fail.
  • The_Gamesalad_GuruThe_Gamesalad_Guru Member Posts: 9,922
    I'm not says kids can't do amazing things. I myself have two very exceptional boys. One now age 22 and he was working as an Apple tech at a local retailer at age 15 but he had a resume working in the computer department at the school and therefore had validated references. He now manages his own Radio Shack store at 22. My youngest now 16 has been making games and running his own mine-craft servers since he was 13. This is much different from business with references.

    I don't care what your age is, people should always be skeptical when doing business with anyone via the internet. This is the overarching point. Just because one sets up a website and comes up with a clever name and calls themselves studio or what not doesn't mean anything. Is someone offering services properly registered as a legitimate business properly by the laws of their country, state and town. There is too much of this fly by night acceptance of people posing as companies, when by law they are not a company. By law, this is misrepresentation and is considered fraud if you are not properly registered and forthcoming about ones status et... To be honest there are only a handful of people I trust and who have proper professional businesses' here on GS. I know this first hand from client testimonials of there experiences hiring on the GS forum and yes I know the names so you're not fooling me I know who many of you are. It's not my place to expose these people as I keep my client's confidences because I am a professional.

    But every time one of these types of threads pops up I will post a warning to be vigilant about who you hire and contract with. I you don't like that then maybe you don't like it because you have something to hide? When people hire me, I give them contact info of my clients, I explain how I work, who I am, where I'm based out of and what to expect. My experience is on display in the games and apps I've created and my videos of me teaching this software and my forum posts answering questions. The same goes for others who offer services like DBA and GSHelper they are lawful proven business that have a record of quality, customer service and experience all on display and transparent. If you want to conduct business and be taken seriously then be transparent and be a proper business and professional or expect people to be skeptical, this is how the world of business works, like it or not.
  • ArmellineArmelline Member, PRO Posts: 5,334
    I think the difference here is that I looked at this and saw something more akin to a kid offering Maths tutoring to other kids in his area, and you looked at it and saw a kid pretending to be a businessman. He presented himself much more as the former than as the latter. This is much more like Mike's Maths Tuition for the neighbourhood kids than TuitionExpress.com. The neighbour in this case just happens to be the GameSalad forums. I'd bet there are people here who would be happy to have someone - even a teenager - give them some one to one help than to just post a thread on the forums asking for guidance and be told to look at the cookbook and follow some tutorial videos.

    He doesn't want to conduct a business. He wants to earn some pocket money doing a bit of tutoring. You're applying standards far above what is fair.

    That said, of course anyone considering taking tuition should be vigilant in finding out a bit about who they'd be employing. But he didn't present himself as a GameSalad Guru, he presented himself as someone who could teach you the basics.
  • RPRP Member Posts: 1,990
    edited August 2013
    @25 dollars an hour (you'll note that more experienced people offer services for less. GS helper is more than worth the $ considering the level and years of experience). There is no presentation of his skills (his 'take my word for it' approach doesn't fly). His age was a mystery and his name suggests a game development studio, which one would suspect to be very experienced.


    @Armelline "He doesn't want to conduct a business."

    CreativeJuicesEntertainment: "and I am looking to start up that business" - He's looking for business.

    He's making a presentation in his first post and honestly it's not good.
    There is too much information missing from an introduction standpoint within his proposal. Some of us here have no issue being straight forward about who and where we are and there is a reason for that. There are others that remain 'mysterious' residing behind impressive names and titles, but are not straightforward about who they are.

    I'm not saying he should pull the cord, what I'm saying is he needs to reevaluate his proposal here. He's not making a good presentation. It's also not reasonable.

    *Note his original price was $25 before edit.
  • ArmellineArmelline Member, PRO Posts: 5,334

    CreativeJuicesEntertainment: "and I am looking to start up that business" - He's looking for business.
    If you read his post that's clearly not his intention. He wants to start up that business of tutoring again, not start up A business of tutoring again.

    These forums can be so pedantic and mean.
  • RPRP Member Posts: 1,990
    edited August 2013
    @Armelline No business is business. A business conducts what again?..business, trade, commerce, services. Let's not beat around the bush and get real. Common.

    So let's pay someone with little experience a full price that professionals would charge....that is an insult to anyone whom does this professionally and they may as well not conduct their own business anymore. Let's let the amateurs run amok right?

    Mean?.....Oh my gosh. Dude, I have a lot of industry experience, as do many others on this forum. If you think this is mean, then you come from a very fluffy place. ;)

    I'm sure I don't need to cover the ethics part of this right?
  • Team6LabsTeam6Labs Member Posts: 541
    You know what is great about america? It's a free market. If you don't like the services, just ignore it. No need to bash on him.
  • The_Gamesalad_GuruThe_Gamesalad_Guru Member Posts: 9,922
    You know what great about America too? Freedom of speech. Too many of you around here think you can pose as a company when you're not. That is fraud. Consider me a consumer advocate exercising my first amendment rights.
  • Team6LabsTeam6Labs Member Posts: 541
    @FryingBaconStudios a username does not necessarily mean they are a business entity.
  • SnapFireStudiosSnapFireStudios Member Posts: 1,603
    You know what great about America too? Freedom of speech. Too many of you around here think you can pose as a company when you're not. That is fraud. Consider me a consumer advocate exercising my first amendment rights.
    And anyone can create a name, and call it a "business", even if it is not a sole proprietorship or anything more.

    It's really sad to see teenagers like this be trashed and not considered, just because of their age. Concerns about child labor and legal issues are rarely justified, and these are not.

    Plus, on a forum, people are way more rude than they would normally be. For example, @RP, I see you constantly posting in a thread, which service you will not ever use, but still you feel the need to "warn" others about the service. I personally see that as derailment of the thread. People should be able to decide for themselves whether or not they use a service, and they don't need your opinions on the matter, especially when you start using phrases like "child labor", just to stir up confusion. If you want to give feedback on the service, that's alright, but it should not involve trashing them when you have very little actual information.

    I know you'll now go and pull apart my sentences with quotes and show everyone how I'm "wrong", but the point remains that this is not how a healthy forum looks.

    Sorry for derailing the thread @CreativeJuicesEntertainment, best of luck with tutoring.
    - Thomas
  • jonmulcahyjonmulcahy Member, Sous Chef Posts: 10,408
    edited August 2013
    i think this has gone on long enough. closing this down.

    anyone who is presenting themselves as a business should expect these types of questions

    and anyone who is looking to hire someone should be asking these types of questions

    there has been a lot of fraud on these forums over the years from people not paying for services rendered, to someone stealing templates and selling them as their own. being as open and honest about what you are providing is the best course of action.

    feel free to open a new thread, but be as detailed as possible about what you bring to the table.
This discussion has been closed.