New Game Maker launched called Build Box. Thoughts?

motorcycle boy

I noticed this game maker launched recently but seems highly limiting. The main positive that I can see is that you can out put games very quickly compared to GS; but I don't know for sure as I haven't tried it. They DONT offer a free trial and it COSTS $2600!!!!! Outputs to a lot of formats GS doesn't. Thoughts? I was curious and asked about details. You can only have ONE playable character!!! I think Trey is a genius at marketing lower end software in my opinion. I'll give him that. Also, I checked on sensortower.com the worth of the first game he released earlier this week and it's already estimated to be worth 17k. I don't know how sensor tower estimates app worths but I use it to check out lots of big apps too and seems to be reliable to a degree.

http://www.gameacademy.com/buildbox/

FallingBoxStudios

It looks very impressive, but $2600 is far too much, especially since there's no trial version. And being restricted to only 1 playable character is just crazy

iKandy

The web page looks pretty slick.

BazookaTime

Looks fantastic and is truly drag and drop. Too pricey for me but probably worth it for the features it offers.

Braydon_SFX

Looks interesting -- but I doubt I'd ever move to a different drag and drop engine -- GameSalad is pretty much my life and it's a fantastic engine to use, even if it doesn't have all of the features that other engine does.

I'd have to look at the forum rules, and I'm not sure if you know this, but I don't think discussing other engines is allowed...

birdboy

Edit: After watching a few videos so many aspects of gamesalad seem much more potent and there's no chance in hell that this is worth so much money... seems like a scam to some degree. But still... stuff like the font editor, custom collisions, joints, real time lighting and a scene editor that isn't the spawn of the devil himself really make me jealous.

jay2dx

Looks awesome, ill probably save up and buy this when I'm a bit more accomplished, looks like it would be good for fully fledged platformed games, i love game salad though so sticking with that for now also is that $2600 a year?? or one off!

Armelline

The only things that really has that GameSalad doesn't - and make a real impact - are the special effects (particularly the lighting) and the custom collision shapes. On the other hand, there are TONS of games that are impossible with that but can be done with GameSalad.

I played the game they released to promote it when it went free. The lighting effects are pretty impressive, but other than that GS wouldn't break a sweat making the same game.

Hopscotch

From the reviews it is just a collection of re skinnable and predefined game templates. So it is a rip off like his previous two stunts which did not go beyond the initial launch cash-in.

motorcycle boy

@Braydon_SFX said:
Looks interesting -- but I doubt I'd ever move to a different drag and drop engine -- GameSalad is pretty much my life and it's a fantastic engine to use, even if it doesn't have all of the features that other engine does.

I'd have to look at the forum rules, and I'm not sure if you know this, but I don't think discussing other engines is allowed...

Oh sorry I thought since it was news and non gamesalad I could post. If I broke the rules though please close my thread. Nor hard feelings

motorcycle boy

@Hopscotch said:
From the reviews it is just a collection of re skinnable and predefined game templates. So it is a rip off like his previous two stunts which did not go beyond the initial launch cash-in.

Yeah when I didn't know any better I bought his "Project Zero" engine. Words can't express the horror that was $1,000. I can say that they did give me my money back and then I discovered GAMESALAD

motorcycle boy

After research and some inquiry I have come to the conclusion that this game builder is a joke. My friend on FB actually got a copy and said it has some nice features but you will pull your hair out when you find out what you can't do. Basically, in my opinion, it is an update to his older "game builder" Project Zero. He basically does these launches then makes the software unavailable so people buy while its here and makes a ton of money. Then a year later he comes out with another game builder which is just an update of his earlier game builder. None of which are really professional game builders. He's mainly a genius marketer and not really a game builder developer.

To top it all off, my buddy says half the stuff in the sales pitch is for future releases of the game builder...

izam

@dreichelt‌ thanks for this info. This couldn't have come more timely. On the surface it looks awesome but there's really no shortcut if you want to build a great game. And from my experience, buildBox aka Project Zero version 3(or whatever) is not the way to go. Save your money folks. If you've already bought into it, I strongly suggest you get a refund right now.

motorcycle boy

@izam said:
dreichelt‌ thanks for this info. This couldn't have come more timely. On the surface it looks awesome but there's really no shortcut if you want to build a great game. And from my experience, buildBox aka Project Zero version 3(or whatever) is not the way to go. Save your money folks. If you've already bought into it, I strongly suggest you get a refund right now.

Yup they give you a 14 day MBG. It's soooo sneaky. Someone who keeps putting out game builder launches of the same game builder which is not good for any game with replay value is not looking to help you as a developer. They're there to take your money period. Costs $2,600, no free trial, only available for a limited time, and half the stuff they claim to be able to do isn't even available upon launch. To say GS is far superior is an understatement and you pay a fraction of that cost. I agree get your money back people now if any of you did make a purchase.

MarcMySalad

Only really stupid people would buy that buildbox. A ten minute google investigation will give you all the info you need (about project zero 1/2 and it's creator, opinions etc) that will get all the warning bells ringing so high that you have to be both deaf and blind to be able to ignore it.

jay2dx

i retract my previous comment! I would not buy this lol

MarcMySalad

@jay2dx said:
i retract my previous comment! I would not buy this lol

colander

They are letting people have a free timed demo (30 minutes). You can download the software and play with it. I played with it for about 20 minutes and it looks very very limited I don't think you could do much with this other than a pretty basic side scroller/platformer. It looks like scenes are joined together on the X axis and no ability to increase scene size or scroll on the Y axis.

The list of restrictions compared to GameSalad would be very large. By the time you knew them all it would probably take a day of solid typing to list them. When you look at the games they have created there is nothing special about any of them. Anyone who buys this will regret it.

RP

I would not utilize another app that performs similar to...anything I'd currently be using. Pick one that does the deal and does it to the best of your needs. If you are looking at another GDK, go with something that is going to take you into new territory...even if that means a heavy learning curve.

motorcycle boy

It just kills me that they put a 30 minute time limit on the free trial version of their "game builder." who does that?! Someone who wants to give you just enough time on it to hook you and make a sell that's who! I think since it's their demo that they aren't showing all the features though. I don't think there's much in the other features though and the game builder is pretty much for making very boring side scrollers where not much can be done.

Armelline

@dreichelt said:
It just kills me that they put a 30 minute time limit on the free trial version of their "game builder." who does that?! Someone who wants to give you just enough time on it to hook you and make a sell that's who! I think since it's their demo that they aren't showing all the features though. I don't think there's much in the other features though and the game builder is pretty much for making very boring side scrollers where not much can be done.

30 mins was, it turned out, 29 minutes longer than I needed to fully understand just how utterly useless the software is.

The only good thing about it was the lighting effects.

JSproject

There is no need to actually test it to find that out, as others have said already some research along with common sense is enough.

Armelline

@JSproject said:
There is no need to actually test it to find that out, as others have said already some research along with common sense is enough.

And yet I wanted to anyway.

JSproject

@Armelline said:
And yet I wanted to anyway.

Nothing wrong with that

Armelline

It's like driving past a car crash.

motorcycle boy

@Armelline we know better but I think he targets people who are not knowledgable so that when they try out the demo they will most likely think it's really good. These would be people who don't know what's actually out on the market. From what I've found out, he's made over one million dollars capitalizing on people's ignorance.

Tiny_Ideas

This post is going to be make me sound like the devil but it needs to be said,

There is nothing wrong with this Build Box, it has just attached a lot of attention. Regardless of whether or not it's negative.

First if there is no such thing as bad publicity - the name is getting out and people are talking about. These people saying negative things actually have no experience with it and therefore are only judging on the price and the history of previous products.

(You should see the amount of negative post about GameSalad, or construct 2, it's everywhere)

Secondly, it's not going to be converting developers who already Developer on other platforms in its initial introduction, everyone should know that. What it is doing is attracting those who have read about the huge cash developers are making by making small simple one touch games. Hey will buy, make and publish. This is exactly what full game templates do yet somehow it's fine for sites to sell those things but not fine for build box to do this.

The price model: very smart, very effective, maybe a bit heartless

Take a step back from the price, take a deep breath and now let's look at the price.
A high price tool means higher quality. And let's remember GS use to be $2000 and over time it changed. But is there really quality?
What you may not be aware is the amount of planning and thinking behind every action with Build Box. Do you think it's just luck that the buildbox has closed, do you think it's just ordinary for such a large price tag? Do you think it's alright for Gamesalad to still be in beta and charge for it? (Oops sneaked that one in)

Chances are, hundred of thousands of people now know of BuildBox, and can not get their hands on it because only those who took a leap of faith could get it.

Let's fast forward a few months - and this is my prediction - BuildBox will be re-opened and everyone is going to have that name somewhere in their mind and check it out, despite all they heard because this is going to be a newer updated version.
And boy will people start throwing their money, it's how the consumer mind works, we all want something we can't have - logically speaking. The price will be lowered, and to most people, that's a bargain. Thank god they didn't buy it when it first released - but truth was they were never going to buy when it first released. It's just the second release has everything that was holding them back. Now is the time when developers get converted.

It all about how to change the consumers mind. And since negative news spreads faster than good news, it's all about how to turn those negative reviews into good ones.

Should GameSalad be concerned about BuildBox - yes.
If they are not than should we be concern about GameSalad - Yes

Also all these comments about common sense - want common sense, why pay for a product in beta that gives bugs every update etc - sort of lost its meaning if you ask me

colander

@Jeromy said:
Also all these comments about common sense - want common sense, why pay for a product in beta that gives bugs every update etc - sort of lost its meaning if you ask me

I disagree with pretty much everything you said but this is simply not true, you don't have to pay for GameSalad.

Tiny_Ideas

@colander said:
I disagree with pretty much everything you said but this is simply not true, you don't have to pay for GameSalad.

I disagree here - GameSalad positions it self as a game engine that can publish to multi platforms including Android - has iAds and Inapps. To get the product you must purchase it. The current Free version is a demo and is not the full product. The Full product is a Beta product.

izam

I'm going to reiterate again what I have just said and to reaffirm what many others here have said. Do not buy that build box software if you're already comfortable with game salad. Gamesalad gives you so much more flexibility and possibilities. I'm saying this BECAUSE I had experienced the software prior to this build box. I'm negating what Jeromy has said and I'm strongly recommending for those who have just bought into this hype of build box to quickly get your refunds.

colander

@Jeromy said:
I disagree here - GameSalad positions it self as a game engine that can publish to multi platforms including Android - has iAds and Inapps. To get the product you must purchase it. The current Free version is a demo and is not the full product. The Full product is a Beta product.

Looks free to me and if I want I can purchase Pro for $300 a year. AFIK there is no other software out there that is as easy to use as GameSalad has the same or better abilities for less money and if you don't want to pay you don't have to.

People jump in and spend $300 without taking the time to do their due diligence and then complain when GS is not what they expected but is all on the page below, the forums and the internet. As you said there is plenty out there regarding GameSalad's short comings but they can use GS and publish games for free for as long as they like and find out for themselves before spending any money. I think that is a fantastic deal if anyone knows of a better one please tell me.

On the other hand BuildBox is a terrible deal when compared to GameSalad. I know this because I trialled their software (Due diligence) and I know they wanted $2,600 or so. To be fair I was never a buyer I looked at it only out of interest. But if I was a serious buyer I would have done these basic things and a lot more before parting with my cash.