State of GameSalad on June 6th 2016

CodeWizard

Hi everyone!

I know it's been a while since I posted an update about what's happening here at GameSalad. Seems like now is a great time to share the latest. Let's jump right in!

The rumors are true. I've stepped down as CEO of GameSalad and passed the baton to Brent Dusing. Why, you ask? Two reasons:

1. Brent is better suited to lead the company in our new education focus. I'm woefully out of sync with that market and those customers. He's got great ideas on how to direct the company there and I'm glad he's joined us!

2. I've been working @ GameSalad for over 3 years now. I'm getting a bit burned out with the day-to-day operations of the company. I'm relieved to have Brent stepping in and taking on these responsibilities.

I'm going to continue working in a technical capacity with GameSalad. I'm a damned good engineer that knows the GS codebase very well. So I'll continue leading the charge on making product improvements and fixes. No worries there!

What about the crazy slowdowns in Mac Creator since 10.11.5? I'm working on them now and expect to have a build ready for testing over the next week. Sorry for the delay on this.

Rest assured that GameSalad is moving forward and we're going to continue taking good care of you guys. I'll post more info on build status soon.

Thanks!

The_Gamesalad_Guru

Glad to see you here steven!

Braydon_SFX

Good news - thanks @CodeWizard ! I know a lot of people will be relieved!

Dues

Great news! @CodeWizard

freneticz

Now maybe i can sleep

johnnymagne

That´s great news! I will continue to pay mye monthly fee - keep it up @CodeWizard

jonmulcahy

@CodeWizard glad to see you back. do you think you'll be able to keep the forward momentum improving the software? The past year has seen incredible strides, I would be a shame if things just stopped and all we got were bugfixes and a new feature every six months.

Armelline

Awesome! Really glad you're sticking around, very relieved to have someone so provenly effective tackling the tech debt! Looking forward to seeing how things shake out now!

GameSalad has had my unwavering support for 7 years (well 6 really, my first year I was more of a lurker) and will continue to have it for as long as we get the pleasure of using it!

RedRobo

@CodeWizard That's great news and I like many others feel a sense of relief.

However this is tempered somewhat by the shock that Gamesalad seems to be wholly dependent on one person for updates and fixes.

I think there are a lot of current Pro users who are in need of reassurance going forward.
Are we going to be 2nd priority to the educational user base? If so will you please be honest with us about that so we can start developing a contingency plan. As we have invested years into our projects and offered a commitment through our subscriptions to this platform I hope we will be catered for.

I really hope it all works out well as for all it's annoyances...I still love using GameSalad!

Chunkypixels

@CodeWizard so can you confirm or deny the situation with regards to you being the only coder providing support to the engine now?

Can you also give any insight into what it means going forward with regards to the educational focus... Does it now mean GS no longer means to try and push the software as a serious development tool, but instead aim lower with the educational focus?

Or can we expect that to be explained by the new CEO?

Not meaning to put you on the spot, but the community really deserves to know more. I understand you might not be in a position to disclose too much anymore, so can we expect a more Indepth discussion with the new management with regards to our concerns and the future direction of the software?

CodeWizard

I'm sure more information will be forthcoming shortly. Your patience is appreciated!

lycettebros

GS is like reality TV or Soap Opera.

Hypnorabbit

Except that the reality TV or Soap Opera is muted on the TV so you have no idea what is going on.

@CodeWizard thanks for the response. Can you please just put all your efforts into fixing the current bug asap which renders the Creator useless? As a paying PRO user I would appreciate it! I'm sure the new CEO will be discussing next steps and the future focus of GS, which I will also be very keen on hearing.

PhilipCC

@CodeWizard I opened the Forum this morning with great trepidation and my belief that if I put my intention on what I want, instead of on what I don't want, then it will manifest. It did... you are back!

LivieGames

@CodeWizard OMG thank you!!! This news has made my day!
So happy to hear things are being sorted.
Cheers

Nabbo (ReflectiveByte)

@CodeWizard Its nice to see you back, but it concerns me that priority will be given more to educational package than pro members that is really saddening as we have been working in our projects for so long and now you are saying you will shift priority.. please let us know what does it means.. as without proper software updates and features GS will be less satisfying as it is already lacking so many basic features..

Hypnorabbit

Thanks @CodeWizard for the clarifications and think this could be a step in the right direction for GS. Looking forward to it! More importantly, look forward to you getting that fix out there ASAP!

UtopianGames

Seems clear that GS is going all out for the educational side of things as there's more money to be made if they can get into a few schools and colleges.

I think it fits this area well as its easy for teachers and kids to use with plenty of learning material like videos and templates out there already.

As its probably going to be marketed to schools as an introduction to coding they also wont have to add features like joints or snap to grid or whatever new features we've been after so less pressure on the team.

It might mean we wont get many new features as they simply concentrate on keeping it updated to run with the latest OS and handle customer support but sadly you have to go where the real money is to survive in todays world.

IMO CodeWizard is the only guy working on GS and he needs a rest by the sounds of it! my guess is the new contract for CW will be a 10 hour week so he can persue his other interests while giving him enough time to keep GS ticking over.

Icebox

Does this mean we shouldnt expect exe ? Steam ? Other features on the list ?

The_Gamesalad_Guru

@Icebox said:
Does this mean we shouldnt expect exe ? Steam ? Other features on the list ?

This means you shouldn't expect much of anything.

pinkio75

sad news about GS...
honestly few certainties, few answers,
maybe it's time to change...

Chunkypixels

As I've mentioned in the other thread, GS staff have confirmed to me that the push towards education means they'll only be adding or updating for things that the educational sector requests, once they've got the current build fixed and fully working again. I was told if anything, any future development on the tool will be to make it simpler to better suite the target age of the educational market.

So in a bizarre turn of events,it may actually finally get some UI improvements, but pretty much anything else on the feature request list isn't likely to now happen.

I don't know if the plan is only to have Codewizard provide support, or if they plan to ramp up with new dev staff in the future, so that's something I'd still like to hear from the new CEO.

lycettebros

In its current state GS is 'OK' for teaching environments but there licensing mechanisms holding them back from being picked up. Eg. I do not think they have a server licensing system and this is essential in big schools/universities. (one payment of a license to share across many machines). i could be wrong on this please correct me if required.

zweg25

If Gamesalad is not being worked on, can you at least make it so that we there is a part where we can make our own custom behaviors. That way we might be able to create what you aren't.

imjustmike

@zweg25 said:
If Gamesalad is not being worked on, can you at least make it so that we there is a part where we can make our own custom behaviors. That way we might be able to create what you aren't.

Great shout - allowing third party plugins would seem to be the best of both worlds - GS can focus on making the tool they want, developers in the community can make the tools the community want.

I'd even be willing to pay extra for certain features, so the community developers could get paid for their work. GS could even take a cut - like Unity do on their asset store.

For example, I'd love to see the level editor @manto has been working on integrated further, and some of the tools that @UtopianGames created in the past. Opening up an API for plugins would make these tools easier to integrate and offer a consistent experience for users.

Seems like a win for everybody involved....

UtopianGames

@imjustmike Third party plugins sounds good but not from me (not sure about Wayne) as i don't even have a basic license anymore and moved away from GS a while back, i only come here to see how things are going and chat to old timers.

If what @Chunkypixels says above is true, its not looking good for you guys

Icebox

Yes if they don't plan to add more features and updates in the future then there is no point in using GS anymore atleast for me , I thought with custom collisions/fonts we would start to see more features coming + steam and exe got me all excited. I didnt think they would leave all that and focus on education alone

BigDave

aslong game salad keeps the current build with a stability update running
it works for me.

we have custom shapes and rewarded videos there is really nothing holding us off doing neat apps and making some money.

Hypnorabbit

As long as they fix the current build and maintain it in-line with new iOS changes, I have no problem with that. Our existing feature set is enough for me and I still believe there's a goldmine to be found in GS development. Anything on top of that with regard to the new educational focus is icing on the cake!

Look forward to hearing what the CEO has to say.

Nabbo (ReflectiveByte)

Well, lots of missing feature, it holds me release a great game and promoting our app/games such as leaderboard support in android (dont mention Kindle please), facebook integration, and more .. and they will now never look at this anymore as educational need is only running basic GS without any features!!

Jeffm2

I'm hoping "education" means developing educational games.