GameSalad Blog

GameSalad Member Talks Game Creation on the Radio

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:00:49 +0000

Wesley Campbell, also known as Weswog to fellow members of the GameSalad community, is a 13 year-old game developer. Recently, Wesley was invited as a guest on The SOS Computer Talk Show on 860AM WGUL, a Tampa Bay talk radio station.

Download the podcast HERE. Wesley’s segment begins around the 28:42 mark.

Like we said, Wesley is 13 and makes video games. And we’re not talking about making some flash games he shares with his buds after school. Wesley uses GameSalad to build games for iOS devices, and he sells them in Apple’s App Store. In short, Wesley is a 13 year-old entrepreneur, and he’s good at it.

Wesley gives a pretty amazing interview and, we believe, will now be a regular contributor to the program, offering his take on the must-have apps new to the App Store.

Congrats, Weswog on the radio gig! It’s always great to see a community member get noticed.

Want GameSalad at SXSW? Vote Now!

Yodapollo — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:26:38 +0000

Last year, Gendai Games brought GameSalad to SXSW and was a huge success. In fact, it went over so well, we’re currently being considered for TWO possible panels at SXSW 2011. And, guess what?

YOU can have a say!

Right now, you can vote at SXSW Panel Picker. You’ll need to create a login, but once you do, you can submit your vote for what panel you’d most like to see at SXSW 2011. One is on games as communication and a means for people to artistically express themselves. The other is about the day to day operation of GameSalad.

This is your chance to put the Gendai team on the stage and give yourself the opportunity to ask us the questions you’ve always wanted to ask. No more waiting around for a ‘yellow post’; this is your chance to make us sweat under the lights and put us on the spot. For more info on the two panels we’ve submitted, check out the details below:

Games: Tools for Mass Communication

Art, education, economics, propaganda. Games are arriving at the forefront of media to become an important way to engage entire generations of people. What’s different from before? Five billion people are replacing the most common communication device, the simple cell phone, with a full-fledged gaming system in their pocket. There are multiple ways to publish and distribute games over the Internet and to the masses. For many, game creation is becoming a regular activity, as tools become both easier to use and more powerful for people without programming knowledge. This panel will cover unique perspectives on how games are becoming more meaningful forms of expression and a significant tool for communicating ideas.

Behind the Scenes: GameSalad

Games are a form of communication like literature, music, and art. Just like all those forms of communication, you must be literate in the form to participate in the conversation. Right now, there is a great wall dividing the few who can fully participate and the millions on the other side who would like to be part of the discussion. That great wall is Coding Knowledge. Right now, in order to make a game, you have to code. Until that wall is breached, the act of game creation will remain as a privilege for a limited few.

For hundred of years, the ability for printing was restricted to those who could work a printing press. As access to the process of printing expanded, literacy likewise expanded, and human communication soared to a new level. And so the question remains: how do we teach people to use the world’s newest printing press – the tools of game creation? Promising “game creation for the rest of us” is no short order. Delivering on that promise is even more of a feat. How does one company bring the complex behaviors and mathematical formulations involved in game creation to everyday users?

Over the course of this panel, the team behind GameSalad will show how they are bringing more than the tools of game design to creative professionals the world over, they’ll show how by eliminating the need for coding knowledge from game creation they have opened the door to a whole new form of human communication to millions all across the globe.

Voting is open now and closes at midnight on Friday, August 27th, 2010.

VOTE NOW!

QuakeCon 2010: Carmack Talks iPhone Over Android

Yodapollo — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:25:01 +0000

We here at GameSalad didn’t get the chance to attend QuakeCon this year, despite its relatively close location some 3 hours up I-35 from the Gendai offices in Austin. We did, however, get to read some incredible accounts of what people in attendance got to see. Of course, what got us all excited was John Carmack of id Software showcasing their Rage playing on an iPhone. An iPhone 4. At 60 frames-per-second. Awesome. But what really caught our attention — even beyond coolness of Rage on an iPhone — was Carmack response to questions about porting to Android phones.

According to an article at CrunchGear, Carmack will “continue focusing on iOS devices for now”. There seem to be two reasons for the choice of iOS over Android. First, people just send more money of the App Store than in the Android market. Also, Apple iOS doesn’t have near the same level of fragmentation present in Android OS versions and devices etc. When you put it together, you have a pretty clear choice for developers: develop for fewer targets in a more profitable market, or spend more resources developing for more targets for less money. Makes sense, no?

Mahalo.

SOURCE:
CrunchGear.com: QuakeCon: Carmack Has Rage Running At 60 Frames Per Second On The iPhone. Whoa.

‘Bumps’ Soaring to Success on App Store – #30 Overall!

Yodapollo — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:07:56 +0000

Ever since Bumps from Utopian Games (and built using GameSalad) debuted on the App Store on August 5th, it has been picking up momentum like a snowball rolling downhill. In the two weeks since its release, the adorable puzzle/strategy title has skyrocketed up to #18 in all paid games on the iPhone and #30 in overall paid apps! That is absolutely incredible and a testament to the fantastic design by Utopian Games.

In the game, “aliens have imprisoned the cute bubbly-eyed bumps, and it’s up to you to rescue them!” Bumps features 54 levels of fun, colorful physics puzzles and is more than worth the current price of $0.99. Official word from Bumps creator Utopian Games is that update 1.1 is on the way soon, and should include an additional 9 levels of awesome!

On behalf of the GameSalad team, we can’t wait for the new levels and especially can’t wait to see what Utopian Games have coming up next. They are definitely development house worth following. Congrats, Utopian Games, on a marvelous game and wondrous success on the App Store. Well deserved!

TITLE: Bumps
PLATFORM: Apple iPhone
RELEASE DATE: Available Now

Bumps is available for the iPhone right now on the iTunes App Store. Check it out now!

Vampire Surgeon HD — Available Now!

admin — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:22:28 +0000

New to the App Store this week is Vampire Surgeon HD for Apple’s iPad. The game features skilled drag & drop gameplay combined with stunningly beautiful artwork. Vampire Surgeon HD was developed and released by D7 Studios and built entirely within the GameSalad creation tool.

In Vampire Surgeon, you have the choice of playing as either Dr. Vlad von Vinderschplatz or his beautiful wife Dr. Diva von Vinderschplatz – both vampires, both surgeons, both awesome to the power of awesome. The happily married vampire couple serve at the mercy of Dr. Van Helsing, a renowned monster hater. With you as the von Vinderschplatz of your choice, the evil Van Helsing forces you to perform a series of surgeries on various “test subjects”. You’ll need fast thinking and even faster fingers to master the use of your forceps, stitches, scalpel and medicine in order to stave off disaster.

D7 has built a gorgeous game with top notch touch controls. The game features a brilliant balance of style, humor, stakes, and fun. At $2.99, the game is more than worth the purchase. According to D7, the game was built by only 3 people and went from idea to product in only 8 weeks. Amazing work, by any standards.

D7 Studios also has a slew of other titles due out in the coming months, and if Vampire Surgeon can be taken as a sign of their talent, they have a great chance at becoming one of the premiere development studios for iOS games.

TITLE: Vampire Surgeon HD
PLATFORM: Apple iPad
RATING: 5 Stars
RELEASE DATE: Available Now

Vampire Surgeon HD is available for the iPad right now on the iTunes App Store. Check it out now!

GameSalad 0.8.9 Beta – App Loader Fix, New Blending Modes

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:37:50 +0000

Hey, everybody!

So, as I’m sure most of you are aware, there have been some issues with Apple’s Application Loader and using it to submit GameSalad games to iTunes. Rest assured, we’ve resolved the issue with GameSalad 0.8.9 Beta, available now!

In GS 0.8.9 there are no longer any issues regarding Apple’s Application Loader. We’ve also resolved the timing issue related to progress indicators, clock start time and actual game start time. All timers should now be in sync with the start of a scene.

In addition to these fixes, we’ve also thrown in a small graphic feature: additional blending modes. In addition to the normal, opaque, and additive modes, you can now choose screen and multiply as blending options. For a little more explanation on blending modes, check out this page on our Support Wiki. You can find these blending modes in the actor’s graphics attributes as well as in the Particles behavior.

So, for general overview, here’s what you’re getting in GameSalad 0.8.9 Beta:

Resolved Issues with Apple’s Application Loader
Fixed Scene Loading Progress Indicator and Game Clock/Timer Issue
New Blending Modes: Screen & Multiply

A pretty small update, but a vital one we feel. And, believe me, there’s some exciting stuff on the way!

In the meantime:

Download GameSalad 0.8.9 Beta now!
Read More on New Blending Modes
Discuss this release on our Forums

Mahalo.

GameSalad User AppChogie Interviewed on AppTrawler

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 22:51:59 +0000

Hello all.

I just wanted to share this awesome interview posted today with AppChogie, a GameSalad developer and active member of the GameSalad community. The interview was performed by the website AppTrawler and is a fantastic glimpse into the the process of an independent iOS game developer. A highly recommended read.

Congrats, AppChogie on the great interview!

AppTrawler.com: “Developer Interview: AppChogie”

GameSalad 0.8.8 Beta – Retina Display & iAd Support!

Yodapollo — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 23:36:39 +0000

Hey, everybody!

So, I’m just going to cut to the chase: We’ve got a new version of GameSalad, and it’s kind of a big deal. Sure it took about a week longer to get out than normal, but when we found out that we could cram all this in for only a one-week delay in exchange, we figured it was a no-brainer. We think you’ll agree.

In GameSalad 0.8.8 Beta, you’ll find total support for Apple’s new Retina Display. We’ve done this through a system we like to call “Resolution Independence”. Now, when you create a project, you will no longer be tied down to the exact resolution. Instead, you will only choose the device and orientation. This way, you’ll be able to take full advantage of iPhone 4′s double resolution without having to create a separate project. For a little deeper explanation of our new “Resolution Independence” support, check out our video:

Additional material on Resolution Independence can be found in our Wiki.

Also in GS 0.8.8 Beta, we are proud to announce our newest Pro Behavior: Show iAd. Yes, iAds are now supported in GameSalad, and available for integration by any Pro member. By integrating iAd support as a behavior, we’ve given you the ability for greater customization in terms of how iAds are put into your game. With this, you can tell iAds to only show up on certain screens, following certain behaviors or events, or even change the location where they appear and their duration. If you’d like a more detailed tutorial on the Show iAd behavior, take a look at this video:

Additional material on “Show iAd” behavior can be found in our Wiki.

Of course, that’s not all we’ve brought to GameSalad in 0.8.8. We’ve improved the sound selection screen, now allowing you better dragging and dropping with audio files. We have added a “More” button under ‘Shared Projects’ for easier navigation through all the online projects. Image larger than 1024 in either dimension now have the option of being automatically scaled down upon import, instead of you having to go back into your illustration program and resize. The “Delete” key can now be used to remove actors, sounds, assets, and even scenes. We’ve improved stability even more, resolving a collection of issues and crashes that have bothered users in the past, including a memory leak caused by the particle system.

All in all, we think this is a huge update, and really feel this is a version of GameSalad to get excited about. For a detailed breakdown of everything in GameSalad 0.8.8 Beta, here are our release notes for the new version. Enjoy!

GameSalad Creator version 0.8.8 beta

Features

Show iAd behavior. Pro Membership only.
 Resolution independence. Easy game compatibility for normal and iPhone4 resolution.
 Imported images larger than 1024 in either dimension can be scaled down to 1024.
 Imported images and sounds with duplicate names can be automatically renamed to a unique name.
 Feedback status wheel added when opening shared projects. 
‘More’ button added to the Shared Projects tab of the Dashboard to show more projects.

Fixes

 Delete key on a keyboard can be used to delete actors, scenes, and sounds assets.
When a Rule or Group is created to encompass a selected behavior(s), the behaviors will stay in their current location instead of shifting to the bottom of the view. 
Behaviors can now be dragged between different projects safely. 
Particle system memory leak fixed. 
Crash fixes.
Sound assets in the media pane can be dragged in and out of the project via the icon.

GameSalad Viewer for iPhone version 0.8.8 beta

Features 

 Support for Resolution Independence testing. 
Support for Show iAd behavior. OS4 only.

GameSalad Viewer for iPad version 0.8.8 beta

Features

  Support for Resolution Independence testing. 
Project compatibility for Show iAd behavior.

GameSalad Web Plugin version 0.8.8 beta

Features 

Project compatibility for Resolution Independence and iAds updates

There, you have it. GameSalad 0.8.8 is here!

Remember, ALWAYS update your preview player to match the version of the GameSalad Creator you are currently using to build your game. Also, for those updating to GameSalad 0.8.8, you will be required to download and agree to the Apple iPhone OS 4.0 SDK Agreement in order to get the viewer to function properly. You can find all the info you need about upgrading to iOS 4 SDK on Apple’s website.

Download GameSalad 0.8.8 Beta
Check out Resolution Independence Video & Wiki Tutorials
Check out iAd Pro Behavior Video & Wiki Tutorials
Upgrade to Apple iPhone 4.0 SDK
Talk About this Release on the Forums

Create something revolutionary.

GameSalad Game A Finalist in ‘Boing Boing’ Competition

Yodapollo — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:01:46 +0000

Hey, everybody!

We just wanted to take a moment to send out a huge congrats to Weswog and his new game Arctic Trek, which has now become a finalist in Boing Boing’s ‘Games Inspired by Music Competition’.

In Arctic Trek, you’re a penguin on its way back home. But, watch out!! There is a huge fleet of mad polar bears and large orca whales. To make it through, you’ll need to use your powers to defeat the enemies. Also, watch out for the water thats creeping behind you so you have to keep moving to not let the frigid waters kill you. Good Luck!

The Boing Boing contest started a few weeks ago, and tasked independent developers to create games inspired by “chip music”. Boing Boing has just narrowed down the entries to 9 finalists, and Weswog’s Arctic Trek is one of the chosen few.

So, what say you, GameSalad community? Will you help a fellow GS creator to unending internet glory? Go to Boing Boing and vote for Arctic Trek NOW!

Calling GameSalad Users! IGF Now Accepting Submissions!

admin — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:07:25 +0000

Hey, everybody!

How would you like to see people playing your game at GDC this year? How does a prize a $2500 sound?

The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is now accepting submissions to be considered for over $40,000 in prizes. They even have special categories for “Best Mobile Game” and for “Best Student Game”. Seriously, you are all independent developers in the truest sense of the word and we’d love to see your games up on the stage at GDC!

Have a look at the rules and submission process and get your game in today!

If you’re serious about submitting, please let us know! We’d love to arrange a way for you to share your experience developing a game for this contest with the entire GS community and beyond. We’re talking blog entries, interviews, etc. So, if you decide to submit for IGF, please send us a note via our contact form.

Also, while I can in no way say that they will do the same this year, the finalists for last years “Best Mobile Game” award were featured by Apple on the front page of iTunes. Pretty good promotion for anyone, yes?

Submit to IGF TODAY!!