GameSalad Textbook

Photics · June 2010

Yesterday I downloaded iBooks to my iPod Touch. It was slow, but amazing. Now I'm incredibly motivated to create a GameSalad Textbook. so, I'm testing the waters once again. Here's my new plan...

It would mainly be a PDF, so that it would be less expensive and it could easily be updated. However, a printed version could be made available. It would cover many different areas of GameSalad game development, from conception to marketing.

Originally, I was concerned about sales. Also, I had a bit of writer's block. I felt that I didn't have any business writing such a book, as I wasn't a GameSalad success story. But with that has changed.

Plus, the people at Gendai Games are cool. If I take the pressure off them, by creating quality documentation, they'll have more resources to focus on what matters... like adding features to GameSalad.

So, who would by the book? It will probably be like 400 pages and available in digital form for $19.95.

If 10 people post here by the end of the day requesting the book, I am very seriously going to work on this project.

AfterBurnett · June 2010

I'll buy the book if you promise to stop linking to and plugging Commove in every single post you make :-P

But yeah, I'd buy it. We need more docs!

Kamazar · June 2010

As long as the book has detailed, step-by-step instructions as to recreating Castlevania: Symphony of the Night full optimized for all devices up to the 1st gen Touch, I'm interested.

Tris · June 2010

Go for it

I'd buy

Photics · June 2010

POLYGAMe said:
I'll buy the book if you promise to stop linking to and plugging Commove in every single post you make :-P

I can make no such promise, especially now that I have a macro. I just hit the G1 key on my G15 Logitech keyboard... and BAM... instant hyperlink.

Kamazar said:
As long as the book has detailed, step-by-step instructions as to recreating Castlevania: Symphony of the Night full optimized for all devices up to the 1st gen Touch, I'm interested.

Heh, not likely, but there should be enough information to create a decent platformer. Actually, that might be the theme of the book... creating a game from scratch. I haven't decided if I'm going to focus on an RPG like Zelda / Guantlet, or a game like Super Mario Bros. Since I have more RPG connections, it's more likely to be the former. I was thinking about including inspirational interviews with professional game developers.

I'm planning to include examples of many types of games... but one gigantic project might run through the entire book.

So, if keeping score, is that 2, 3 or 4 people interested in the book?

AfterBurnett · June 2010

Keen as long as it has jumping covered!

MagoNicolas · June 2010

I Want it 2!

chosenonestudios · June 2010

I will only buy it if its ready tomorrow, or it includes sandwich recipes

Photics · June 2010

Heh... so not counting wacky replies... the current score is at four.

...as it will not be ready tomorrow, nor will it contain sandwich recipes.

chosenonestudios · June 2010

Oh and photics, your Commove link doesnt seem to Commove me to your Commove website....

P.S. you spelled photics wrong

"Sorry, we couldn't find phtoics.com"

Photics · June 2010

chosenonestudios said:
Oh and photics, your Commove link doesnt seem to Commove me to your Commove website....

Oh, that's not good! Here's a fresh Commove link for you...

...and to the iTunes store...

...and if you don't have an iPad...

...and if you don't have an iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone...

chosenonestudios · June 2010

Thanks I've now been Commoved everywhere

Photics · June 2010

We're about halfway through the day and only four people clearly stated an interest in the GameSalad textbook. So far, it's looking like a no go.

chosenonestudios · June 2010

Wether you get direct support or not today.... Think about the thousands of people that will eventually flood in... Think of how easy it would be to say "See Photics' GS textbook" I'll be able to put that for the same stupid threads over and over again... It will clear up the clutter and our wasted time and you'll profit from it

Just do it man!

Photics · June 2010

chosenonestudios said:
Just do it man!

That's Five. Your post was convincing enough that I almost counted it twice.

This thread isn't about pre-orders... just a simple yeay or nay for the book idea. Maybe one day the community will be huge. But if 10 people can't post up with a "just do it man" response, then I'm not sure if I should still do the book.

gyroscope · June 2010

chosenonestudios said:
Just do it man!

Photics said:
That's Five. Your post was convincing enough that I almost counted it twice.

Excellent idea! (That's six...)

Don't want to put the dampeners on it in any way though, but I read, not that long ago, (possibly in the one before last Big Picture) that Gendai are going to write a manual (as well as supply more tutorials/ videos). Whether or not that will happen, I don't know.

Get in there quick, Photics, it'd be terrific! (As would Gendai's version... aah, you know what I'm sayin')

A suggestion: as a graphic designer by trade, having designed manuals and books amongst many other things, I'd gladly donate my time to laying it out "professional, like".

Are you considering publishing it via a POD company, Lulu for instance?

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Spiral Gyro Apps

RH · June 2010

Personally I wouldn't buy it. $19.95 is too much for something that I'm already pretty confident with

. I prefer the idea of a community PDF or something that everyone can contribute their own ideas to. I guess that would be like the wiki. But a LOT more obvious and available. I'm sure that a forums section called tutorials with a stickied 'contents' thread linking to all tutorials by title would do well. It could have some more experienced users moderating the submitted tutorials to check if they work etc.

Just my opinion. But good luck making it if you do, 400 pages sounds like a bit of a chore to me!

EDIT: I also can't afford it

Photics · June 2010

gyroscope said:
Get in there quick, Photics, it'd be terrific!

If I start this project now, I'm planning to finish by the end of July.

A suggestion: as a graphic designer by trade, having designed manuals and books amongst many other things, I'd gladly donate my time to laying it out "professional, like".

Thanks for the offer, but I'm also a graphic designer. I started with Quark, but I've since moved over to InDesign. I have a template ready for action.

Are you considering publishing it via a POD company, Lulu for instance?

Yes, I am considering Print-On-Demand. I was having email discussion with a publisher about a GameSalad book before, but the dialogue turned more distracting than productive. I have used Lulu before. Although, I might use CreateSpace. I haven't decided. It seems that digital files are the best way to go, especially with software in beta. Just about every developer here should have an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad, so my focus is ebook / PDF. I'll need to get an ISBN to get into the iBooks store. That gets expensive, as Apple gets a significant cut and an ISBN costs money... so it's simpler to just manage the sales from my website. I might even have some free assets and sample files for those that order the book. That's why I think a PDF/ebook through Photics.com (and print through Lulu/CreateSpace) would be the best way to manage this project.

RH said:
Just my opinion. But good luck making it if you do, 400 pages sounds like a bit of a chore to me!

It can be very tedious, but once I get going I'm dedicated enough to keep going until I finish. But overall, I'd probably find the project satisfying and fun when I'm done.

gyroscope · June 2010

I'd pay $19.95 for a paperback version, but not for an e-book, that's certain. I'm guessing that a lot of other people would think the same (despite the rising popularity of ebooks). A quick estimate: 400 pages 7" x 10" would cost in the region of $14; a royalty of 20% would put it in the region of $17. Ebooks via Lulu are very cheap (I think they used to be free) so any eBook cost would be a majority of royalty; something like $6 would generate $4 or more per ebook download.

edit: written at the same time as Photics reply above.

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Spiral Gyro Apps

gyroscope · June 2010

Photics said:

It can be very tedious, but once I get going I'm dedicated enough to keep going until I finish. But overall, I'd probably find the project satisfying and fun when I'm done.

It's obvious that you know the ins and outs of it, Photics; I wish you the very best of luck. :-)

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Spiral Gyro Apps

Photics · June 2010

I wouldn't offer the ebook through Lulu. Not only do I not want to give them a royalty, the PDF might be updated frequently and I want to include multiple formats. I don't think Lulu is the best way to manage that.

Also, CreateSpace has better prices. I might not go with Lulu at all.

I like the idea of having a print version, but it would be offered more as a convenience for those who prefer paper.

gyroscope said:
It's obvious that you know the ins and outs of it, Photics; I wish you the very best of luck. :-)

Thanks!

QuinnZoneStudios · June 2010

Sounds great! PDF would be fine with me. If you stuck with that, you could self distribute too via PAYPAL or something like that - no middle person to pay. Just a digital download to distribute.
Also it would be simple to add updates to new editions every few months if you wanted.

For $20 I would love to see some screenshot illustrations of what some of the rules look like. Often when I try to follow instructions on a thread I'll fail because I'm implementing it incorrectly.

Gamesalad recipes would really be nice (audio volume sliders, level unlock, pause, controls, animation switching, accelerometer and I'm sure dozens of other commonly requested help).

Thanks!

IntelligentDesigner · June 2010

I'd buy a copy. It beats smashing your head against the totally unorganized docs that are here.

Please make sure your book has a table of contents and an index?

Thanks for doing this. When do you think it will be ready?

Photics · June 2010

MikeQuinn said:
Just a digital download to distribute.

Yes, I'm thinking of a digital downloads... but I'd probably use Google Checkout instead of Paypal.

For $20 I would love to see some screenshot illustrations of what some of the rules look like. Often when I try to follow instructions on a thread I'll fail because I'm implementing it incorrectly.

Yes, the plan is to include lots of screenshots and examples... and a comprehensive explanation of behaviors and GameSalad tools.

Gamesalad recipes would really be nice (audio volume sliders, level unlock, pause, controls, animation switching, accelerometer and I'm sure dozens of other commonly requested help).

Heh... pause... that's going to be tricky... but all that stuff should be covered. I've been monitoring the forums for common pitfalls and frequently requested tutorials.

IntelligentDesigner said:
Please make sure your book has a table of contents and an index?

Thanks for doing this. When do you think it will be ready?

I'm absolutely planning to have a table of content and an index. It should be ready by the end of July.

So... that's seven and eight... is there a nine and ten? It doesn't matter. I think that's close enough. I'm incredibly psyched for this project now. I'm going to wrap up my next app and then I'm going to focus on the book.

IntelligentDesigner · June 2010

I'll buy two if it helps.

Especially if you include chapters on how to incorporate Social Networking, In-App Purchasing, iAds, GameCenter, You know, iDevice stuff.

And Pause, right?

quantumsheep · June 2010

IntelligentDesigner said:
And Pause, right?

Sometimes I love you guys

I wish you the best with this, Photics. While it wouldn't appeal to me personally as I know my way around the software and believe in just asking for help on here if stuck, I can see that there may be a demand for it, especially from those new to the software.

I kinda balked when I saw what you wanted to charge for it though, and that's my honest opinion. It doesn't make sense that the software is ostensibly free to use, but a manual for it costs $20!

However, that's just my opinion. Enough people here have said they'd buy it at that price, and as I said, I wish you every success!

Good luck!

QS

QuinnZoneStudios · June 2010

Yeah it all depends upon your point of view I guess QS....

See, the way I see it, the hours and days I've spent/wasted going around in circles trying to figure stuff out and sometimes only missing the correct method by a "gnats knob", It's worth $20 to save me even one hour of foolishness. My time's too precious.

I'm looking forward to it and more left brain dead people like me will follow.

Thanks Photics.

quantumsheep · June 2010

That's fair enough, Mike, totally understand that point of view.

I'm in an unbearably wonderful state, so take anything I say with a pinch of salt.

i.e. carry on as normal

QS

Photics · June 2010

quantumsheep said:
I wish you every success!

For those keeping score, I think that counts as nine.

$19.95 for a printed book can be very handy, if it can help you make thousands of dollars. I think that's a fair price for the GameSalad Textbook, as the printed books on my desk list for $39.99 and up.

iPhoneDevForMe · June 2010

Guess its time you got started, because I'm number 10!

I think its an amazing idea and I would gladly pay $20 for such a book.

Apple has made it VERY easy to publish to iBooks without a publisher! You should look at that as well!

Stryfe01 · June 2010

I'd pick it up as long as it was well written and definitely provided much needed direction and short cuts etc...

GameSalad Textbook

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