How GameSalad makes it all easy
GameSalad simplifies the development of your game. No need to learn a crazy confusing language! All the programming you do here is done by drag-and-drop behavior-based modules into the actors or objects in the game. Everything is drag-and-drop. No need to program tiles to build your levels!
For example, here is a very simple collision detection system using the iOS Sprite Kit development:
- (void)checkForAndResolveCollisionsForPlayer:(Player *)player forLayer:(TMXLayer *)layer
{
NSInteger indices[8] = {7, 1, 3, 5, 0, 2, 6, 8};
player.onGround = NO; ////Here
for (NSUInteger i = 0; i < 8; i++) {
NSInteger tileIndex = indices[i];
CGRect playerRect = [player collisionBoundingBox];
CGPoint playerCoord = [layer
coordForPoint:player.desiredPosition];
NSInteger tileColumn = tileIndex % 3;
NSInteger tileRow = tileIndex / 3;
CGPoint tileCoord = CGPointMake(playerCoord.x +(tileColumn - 1), playerCoord.y + (tileRow - 1));
NSInteger gid = [self tileGIDAtTileCoord:tileCoordforLayer:layer];
if (gid != 0) {
CGRect tileRect = [self tileRectFromTileCoords:tileCoord];.....It goes on for another three pages. Now let's see how to detect collisions in GameSalad:
Well that was easy now wasn't it? That's the gist of developing in GameSalad!
Another issue with game development is platform targeting. For the most part, each platform has a different scripting language. So let's say for iOS you need to learn Swift or C#, with Android it's C or C++, and with Windows Mobile it's Visual Basic (it doesn't drink pumpkin spice lattes) or C++ as well. While a lot of the languages are similar, it involves using different SDKs to develop on these platforms. GameSalad removes the need for that. In fact, GameSalad allows multi-platform publishing with the click of a button. No need to reprogram everything.
I know what you're thinking. GameSalad can't do what other SDKs can do.
GameSalad is just as powerful as any other SDK. It can do complex equations, physics, image effects, and all the cool stuff. It's inexpensive too! Let's take Unity3D for example; to buy it with all the publishing support that GameSalad has, you are looking at around $4,500. For the Unreal Engine, you're looking at over $200 a year, plus 5 percent of sales. GameSalad? $299 a year! Flat. All this for an easy-to-use, powerful engine with no programming.
GameSalad it is! Now I know I'm comparing apples to oranges here, as GameSalad can't do super awesome looking 3D graphics, but it can do awesome games. If you harness the power of GameSalad, you can do some awesome looking stuff. Super Meat Boy on GameSalad? No problem! FEZ? Difficult, but you could probably pull it off, or something very similar to it. Final Fantasy? Again, super easy. GameSalad is very powerful and can handle almost any 2D project you throw at it. So go ahead; grab game development by the horns and give it a go. Whether you continue to use GameSalad or move on to other engines, the world of game development is a fun one, albeit a cut throat one. The potential in the game development world is huge. Just search for indie game earnings in Google and it's enough to make you shiver. Are you thinking, "I can make that much money just by typing?" Yes, you can if you really put your mind to it. Don't let anything deter you, and don't get discouraged when things don't pan out the way you want. It happens.
Another thing that will happen is summed up in the following picture.
You are going to create many many projects that you probably won't finish. Sometimes, a project is awesome when you start it, but after a while it stagnates and you just have to move on to a new one. I don't know how many projects I've started and haven't completed, but I know it's too many to count.
It's a fun world out there! Go develop all you can imagine and have fun. Thank you for reading this book.
