Wayne and I had an idea of teaching to the masses from a class room but it never came about, recently i have been thinking of offering a local 1 on 1 service in my area.
Just wondering if it would be viable with all the info you can get online...
I can't learn everything I want to learn just by backward engineering templates and waiting for responses that are helpful from the forum. Don't get me the wrong. I learned a lot from the forums. But I got most of my best learning from tshirtbooths videos and the ones he made for gamesalad. But gs has advanced since he left. So I was hoping to find a 1 on 1 or group based place.
I get a idea in my head. And I start working on it. And I'm all gung ho. And when I hit a road block I first go to forum do a lil past post research. Then I ask questions in forum. Then while waiting for some responses in forum. I check and see if any of my gs buddies are on skype. If I don't pass the road block soon I start to lose that gung ho feeling and give up. I'm just one of those who likes having access to immediate help. Basically I'm impatient hahaha
Maybe instead of paying blizzard 30$ a month. I could put one of you GS GODS on a monthly retainer. With a all access 8 hrs a day 5 days a week phone access haha.
@FINNBOGG I'm right with ya,bro. I'm ready to get under the hood and learn more. My experience so far has been like yours gleening all I can from scattered sources on the web. I suppose it would be difficult to put all the information that would cover all kinds of games in one spot. I mean my idea of a game could be totally different from yours. Still hope springs eternal.
@FINNBOGG said:
Has anyone created a GameSalad School?
@jamie_c has recently released a Gamesalad Book for thoose of you you who dont know. It can be purchased in PDF and Real book format and can be done so by following the link below....
I suppose it would be difficult to put all the information that would cover all kinds of games in one spot. I mean my idea of a game could be totally different from yours. Still hope springs eternal
@floatingwoo, That is so true. Once you move beyond the basics things become very specific to what type of game each developer wants to create. I'm constantly asked by my students at Udemy to create a more advanced Gamesalad course. But every time I ask them what they want to see in the class it is almost completely specific to the current game they are trying to create. I'd love to do a more advanced class and I may someday, but it's harder than you might think to come up with what the exact content of the class should be.
@gingagaming Thanks! Yeah I was waiting for this one. I'm almost through it...Great book, lots of information and great illustrations. But you can only go so far in a book like this, working through a few game tutorials. I think what I would like to see is someone to drop one of those "O'Reilly Essential Code for Gamesalad" cookbooks. Maybe theres one out there already, I mean I read somewhere that game salad is essentially using Lua, would it help to learn programming in Lua?
@floatingwoo, would you mind taking some time and explaining what exactly you'd like to see content wise in a book/class/tutorials that would be like an "O'Reilly Essential Code for Gamesalad" book?
@FINNBOGG, are there specific things you have in mind as well or is it more like you said at the bottom of your post where it would be more beneficial for you to have someone on call as needed? I can't offer that I'm afraid, I have a full time job... lol
As for LUA, you may want to start learning it. If you move to a different platform you will need to know it. If you move to Graphene when it is out, you will probably want/need to know it.
If there were a book besides Jamie's that would do well, I think it would be one that explains game logic, and then teaches how to string logic together in GS. However, there are a number of ways to do almost everything, so it would either be way too large, or severely lacking for some.
BTW, you can study things from other systems that are essentially the same and use that stuff in GS.
I never miss an opportunity to promote my Illustrated Guides threads. They're not aiming to teach you how to do something specific, but rather to better understand the behaviours and how you can use them.
@jamie_c Sure, Thanks for asking, and don't get me wrong I found your book to be very thorough! I think your explanation of how tables work and the examples you have us work through for instance are brilliant! And in all fairness I haven't completed going through the whole book yet, maybe you have covered some of these.
Your right it is hard to target what content someone would want to be covered. Thats like trying to predict at what level of unconsciousness a person is when they walk into a room. How can you know how to talk into that?
For me programming language is new (last few years) and I think I'm having to back peddle to cover some fundamentals. That said, I could stand to get more information on just about all of the functions between abs to mod and how they might be used in games. What for instance is padreal or padInt? I'd like to know more about the use of textSubStr and behaviors like...loop and loop over table.
But thats just me, these are just some gaps that I'm trying to fill.
I applaud anyone who takes on trying to explain/teach this stuff or anything you especially Jamie.Your son is very lucky kid to have you around, or is it the other way around, I mean a teacher only gets to be himself through his students.
@floatingwoo, no worries about the feedback, I asked! I'm glad you like the book so far. It's certainly not meant as an end all lesson in Gamesalad, more of a 'once you get through this book, you'll have a good understanding of GS and be able to create your own projects with confidence' sort of thing.
I could stand to get more information on just about all of the functions between abs to mod and how they might be used in games
Are you aware of the Glossary? It details all the functions (and behaviors). While it doesn't give specific in game samples it's certainly helpful.
@ant_lad I think it would be one that explains game logic, and then teaches how to string logic together in GS. However, there are a number of ways to do almost everything, so it would either be way too large, or severely lacking for some.
.....
Freakin nailed it, for me!
I have not looked at everything out there. I think another thing users would want would be a beginning explanation about how to make things more efficient. Maybe having game type examples (endless runner/flyer, casual, etc), explaining why you would want to configure a project in a certain way to begin the project
Braydon_SFXMember, Sous Chef, Bowlboy SidekickPosts: 9,273
edited May 2015
@floatingwoo - In my community tutorial thread I have a few demos that use the textSubStr() function. The text functions are my second favorite (tables being first) in GameSalad, and I would love to do more demos with them. Anyone who has done video tutorials can tell you that it takes a lot of time. Even with a 5 minute tutorial video, you have to record it (sometimes multiple times), edit it, upload it, etc. For a 5 minute tutorial it takes me about an hour and a half to create, edit, upload and so forth. Having said that, it's hard to find time to make a lot of videos, though it's something I always want to do. : )
Anyway, if you want to take a look at my community thread, it's located here.
For a 5 minute tutorial it takes me about an hour and a half to create, edit, upload and so forth. Having said that, it's hard to find time to make a lot of videos, though it's something I always want to do. : )
Agreed. I have many more ideas for tutorials than I do time to do them!
@Braydon_SFX I will check that out, Thanks! Your efforts in making and disseminating the information in your tutorials, and Jamie's, Armelline, are not lost on me. In turn I have been a loyal customer and or made use of services from each of you.Thanks you guys are the life blood of game salad.
@jamie_c - if you are looking for ideas for an advance course, you could just do a series of classes on different game types. Each one has it's own challenges and teach slightly different concepts.
Popular ones seem to be:
1) RPG's - think Zelda type
2) Shooters
3) Platformers (I know you have an excellent template for this)
4) Casual Games - anything from Match 3 to Connect the Dots, just pick one or two and make a course
I'm going to be teaching a beginners course at my local college and I've come up with a workable synopsis that will step them through building 3 different games, with each game adding more and more features. It's all basic stuff, but to a beginner, it's gold.
@FINNBOGG -- You have been using GameSalad since mid 2011. (At lease thats when you started asking really interesting questions in these fourms.) My perception is that your knowledge of GameSalad is quite extensive and, over the years, the technical questions you've asked have always been quite challenging and fun to explore.
I don't think the kind of questions you have about GameSalad are the kinds of questions that will come up in an introductory (or intermediate) course. But they are usually interesting challenges! I personally look forward to the questions you have because it usually means I get to explore some new aspect of GameSalad's capabilities.
I guess I am saying that I wish you (and all the old timers) would ask the hard questions in these forums. Its fun trying to see if GameSalad can meet the challenge.
@RThurman -- Thanks for the vote of confidence. However my knowledge is not as vast as you may think. I have stepped away for awhile. The apps I did make did very weill for a year or 2. I made more than my investment back thats for sure. But it was with the help of some cool peps in this forum helping me along the way. Plus TshirtBooths video was the inspiration to even come Gamesalad. He made it look easy. Im more of a WYSIWG guy. Breaking down the inside of the templates helped me understand the fundamentals. But with tables and all these new features making the old stuff easier. Im back to the drawing board. I have that drive again to dive back in. And I basically forgot more than I know now. Right now Im breaking down any 3 match template I can get my hands on, Learn and understand as much of it as I can before I start asking for help.
Well, Having completed Jamie Cross's book "Learn Mobile Game Development in One Day Using Gamesalad" I have to say it is very thorough, and the best source of information to date I have seen on gamesalad. The illustrations are spot on and the project files, usually two or more per chapter are very clear. The games he has you build have great graphics and really fun game play.
He set me up with the .pdf version through his "Indigogo" campaign. What I've been doing is opening the .pdf on one side of my screen and the "gamesalad" projects he provided on the other. I have been having a little trouble with my glasses lately so I select a section in the .pdf and use the speech command on my mac. Works great! I can have the project open and it's like he's standing over my shoulder explaining things.
Recommend it to anyone wanting to get a real good solid foundation on how gamesalad works.
I will second using Jamie's book. I am about 1/4 through it and it is fantastic. The best thing about it is that it is a book for beginners, that is ACTUALLY WRITTEN for beginners. That is very difficult to find these days
Comments
Wayne and I had an idea of teaching to the masses from a class room but it never came about, recently i have been thinking of offering a local 1 on 1 service in my area.
Just wondering if it would be viable with all the info you can get online...
I can't learn everything I want to learn just by backward engineering templates and waiting for responses that are helpful from the forum. Don't get me the wrong. I learned a lot from the forums. But I got most of my best learning from tshirtbooths videos and the ones he made for gamesalad. But gs has advanced since he left. So I was hoping to find a 1 on 1 or group based place.
Ive done a few beginner tutorials but I'm guessing your more advanced than that, what is it you want to learn?
I get a idea in my head. And I start working on it. And I'm all gung ho. And when I hit a road block I first go to forum do a lil past post research. Then I ask questions in forum. Then while waiting for some responses in forum. I check and see if any of my gs buddies are on skype. If I don't pass the road block soon I start to lose that gung ho feeling and give up. I'm just one of those who likes having access to immediate help. Basically I'm impatient hahaha
Maybe instead of paying blizzard 30$ a month. I could put one of you GS GODS on a monthly retainer. With a all access 8 hrs a day 5 days a week phone access haha.
Or maybe think of the project as a whole, and when temporarily stymied, work on art or putting together menus or something else for it
@FINNBOGG I'm right with ya,bro. I'm ready to get under the hood and learn more. My experience so far has been like yours gleening all I can from scattered sources on the web. I suppose it would be difficult to put all the information that would cover all kinds of games in one spot. I mean my idea of a game could be totally different from yours. Still hope springs eternal.
@jamie_c has recently released a Gamesalad Book for thoose of you you who dont know. It can be purchased in PDF and Real book format and can be done so by following the link below....
http://www.jamie-cross.net/books/#special-offers
@floatingwoo, That is so true. Once you move beyond the basics things become very specific to what type of game each developer wants to create. I'm constantly asked by my students at Udemy to create a more advanced Gamesalad course. But every time I ask them what they want to see in the class it is almost completely specific to the current game they are trying to create. I'd love to do a more advanced class and I may someday, but it's harder than you might think to come up with what the exact content of the class should be.
@gingagaming, thanks for the plug.
http://jamie-cross.net/posts/ ✮ Udemy: Introduction to Mobile Games Development ✮ Learn Mobile Game Development in One Day Using Gamesalad ✮ My Patreon Page
@gingagaming Thanks! Yeah I was waiting for this one. I'm almost through it...Great book, lots of information and great illustrations. But you can only go so far in a book like this, working through a few game tutorials. I think what I would like to see is someone to drop one of those "O'Reilly Essential Code for Gamesalad" cookbooks. Maybe theres one out there already, I mean I read somewhere that game salad is essentially using Lua, would it help to learn programming in Lua?
Not really for GameSalad.
Contact me for custom work - Expert GS developer with 15 years of GS experience - Skype: armelline.support
So keep at then Huh! Stay the course, cool the jets, "have patience Luke".
@floatingwoo, would you mind taking some time and explaining what exactly you'd like to see content wise in a book/class/tutorials that would be like an "O'Reilly Essential Code for Gamesalad" book?
@FINNBOGG, are there specific things you have in mind as well or is it more like you said at the bottom of your post where it would be more beneficial for you to have someone on call as needed? I can't offer that I'm afraid, I have a full time job... lol
http://jamie-cross.net/posts/ ✮ Udemy: Introduction to Mobile Games Development ✮ Learn Mobile Game Development in One Day Using Gamesalad ✮ My Patreon Page
As for LUA, you may want to start learning it. If you move to a different platform you will need to know it. If you move to Graphene when it is out, you will probably want/need to know it.
If there were a book besides Jamie's that would do well, I think it would be one that explains game logic, and then teaches how to string logic together in GS. However, there are a number of ways to do almost everything, so it would either be way too large, or severely lacking for some.
BTW, you can study things from other systems that are essentially the same and use that stuff in GS.
I never miss an opportunity to promote my Illustrated Guides threads. They're not aiming to teach you how to do something specific, but rather to better understand the behaviours and how you can use them.
Prototypes and Instances
Display Text behaviour
Spawn Actor behaviour
More coming when I get around to it!
Contact me for custom work - Expert GS developer with 15 years of GS experience - Skype: armelline.support
@jamie_c Sure, Thanks for asking, and don't get me wrong I found your book to be very thorough! I think your explanation of how tables work and the examples you have us work through for instance are brilliant! And in all fairness I haven't completed going through the whole book yet, maybe you have covered some of these.
Your right it is hard to target what content someone would want to be covered. Thats like trying to predict at what level of unconsciousness a person is when they walk into a room. How can you know how to talk into that?
For me programming language is new (last few years) and I think I'm having to back peddle to cover some fundamentals. That said, I could stand to get more information on just about all of the functions between abs to mod and how they might be used in games. What for instance is padreal or padInt? I'd like to know more about the use of textSubStr and behaviors like...loop and loop over table.
But thats just me, these are just some gaps that I'm trying to fill.
I applaud anyone who takes on trying to explain/teach this stuff or anything you especially Jamie.Your son is very lucky kid to have you around, or is it the other way around, I mean a teacher only gets to be himself through his students.
@Armelline It was your Illustrated Guide threads that prompted me to start bookmarking posts in the forum. Yes please continue.
@floatingwoo, no worries about the feedback, I asked!
I'm glad you like the book so far. It's certainly not meant as an end all lesson in Gamesalad, more of a 'once you get through this book, you'll have a good understanding of GS and be able to create your own projects with confidence' sort of thing.
Are you aware of the Glossary? It details all the functions (and behaviors). While it doesn't give specific in game samples it's certainly helpful.
https://help.gamesalad.com/hc/en-us/articles/202699556-1-11-Glossary
http://jamie-cross.net/posts/ ✮ Udemy: Introduction to Mobile Games Development ✮ Learn Mobile Game Development in One Day Using Gamesalad ✮ My Patreon Page
@ant_lad I think it would be one that explains game logic, and then teaches how to string logic together in GS. However, there are a number of ways to do almost everything, so it would either be way too large, or severely lacking for some.
.....
Freakin nailed it, for me!
I have not looked at everything out there. I think another thing users would want would be a beginning explanation about how to make things more efficient. Maybe having game type examples (endless runner/flyer, casual, etc), explaining why you would want to configure a project in a certain way to begin the project
@floatingwoo - In my community tutorial thread I have a few demos that use the textSubStr() function. The text functions are my second favorite (tables being first) in GameSalad, and I would love to do more demos with them. Anyone who has done video tutorials can tell you that it takes a lot of time. Even with a 5 minute tutorial video, you have to record it (sometimes multiple times), edit it, upload it, etc. For a 5 minute tutorial it takes me about an hour and a half to create, edit, upload and so forth. Having said that, it's hard to find time to make a lot of videos, though it's something I always want to do. : )
Anyway, if you want to take a look at my community thread, it's located here.
My GameSalad Academy Courses! ◦ Check out my quality templates! ◦ Add me on Skype: braydon_sfx
Agreed. I have many more ideas for tutorials than I do time to do them!
http://jamie-cross.net/posts/ ✮ Udemy: Introduction to Mobile Games Development ✮ Learn Mobile Game Development in One Day Using Gamesalad ✮ My Patreon Page
@Braydon_SFX I will check that out, Thanks! Your efforts in making and disseminating the information in your tutorials, and Jamie's, Armelline, are not lost on me. In turn I have been a loyal customer and or made use of services from each of you.Thanks you guys are the life blood of game salad.
@jamie_c - if you are looking for ideas for an advance course, you could just do a series of classes on different game types. Each one has it's own challenges and teach slightly different concepts.
Popular ones seem to be:
1) RPG's - think Zelda type
2) Shooters
3) Platformers (I know you have an excellent template for this)
4) Casual Games - anything from Match 3 to Connect the Dots, just pick one or two and make a course
I'm going to be teaching a beginners course at my local college and I've come up with a workable synopsis that will step them through building 3 different games, with each game adding more and more features. It's all basic stuff, but to a beginner, it's gold.
We'll see how it goes.
@FINNBOGG -- You have been using GameSalad since mid 2011. (At lease thats when you started asking really interesting questions in these fourms.) My perception is that your knowledge of GameSalad is quite extensive and, over the years, the technical questions you've asked have always been quite challenging and fun to explore.
I don't think the kind of questions you have about GameSalad are the kinds of questions that will come up in an introductory (or intermediate) course. But they are usually interesting challenges! I personally look forward to the questions you have because it usually means I get to explore some new aspect of GameSalad's capabilities.
I guess I am saying that I wish you (and all the old timers) would ask the hard questions in these forums. Its fun trying to see if GameSalad can meet the challenge.
@RThurman -- Thanks for the vote of confidence. However my knowledge is not as vast as you may think. I have stepped away for awhile. The apps I did make did very weill for a year or 2. I made more than my investment back thats for sure. But it was with the help of some cool peps in this forum helping me along the way. Plus TshirtBooths video was the inspiration to even come Gamesalad. He made it look easy. Im more of a WYSIWG guy. Breaking down the inside of the templates helped me understand the fundamentals. But with tables and all these new features making the old stuff easier. Im back to the drawing board. I have that drive again to dive back in. And I basically forgot more than I know now. Right now Im breaking down any 3 match template I can get my hands on, Learn and understand as much of it as I can before I start asking for help.
Well, Having completed Jamie Cross's book "Learn Mobile Game Development in One Day Using Gamesalad" I have to say it is very thorough, and the best source of information to date I have seen on gamesalad. The illustrations are spot on and the project files, usually two or more per chapter are very clear. The games he has you build have great graphics and really fun game play.
He set me up with the .pdf version through his "Indigogo" campaign. What I've been doing is opening the .pdf on one side of my screen and the "gamesalad" projects he provided on the other. I have been having a little trouble with my glasses lately so I select a section in the .pdf and use the speech command on my mac. Works great! I can have the project open and it's like he's standing over my shoulder explaining things.
Recommend it to anyone wanting to get a real good solid foundation on how gamesalad works.
Thanks Float. I may actually look into that. Anything helps I suppose.
I will second using Jamie's book. I am about 1/4 through it and it is fantastic. The best thing about it is that it is a book for beginners, that is ACTUALLY WRITTEN for beginners. That is very difficult to find these days
Ok Send me a link to Jaimes Page where its sold or downloaded.
Jamie's book can be found pdf version or paperback at his website http://www.jamie-cross.net/
Or, on Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Mobile-Development-Using-Gamesalad/dp/1511914203/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432170986&sr=8-1&keywords=jamie+cross+gamesalad
Mine should be arriving tomorrow.