The Official GameSalad Guide to Game Development (Explore Our New Media Arts & Design 1st Eds.)

THE OFFICIAL GAMESALAD GUIDE TO GAME DEVELOPMENT teaches readers how to make their own games with the simple, powerful, drag-and-drop GameSalad Creator software. Using techniques based on key game development concepts, current trends, and established best practices, readers will be able to use GameSalad Creator from concept to prototype--and beyond. The text's wide-ranging coverage encompasses desktop, mobile, online, social, and serious games--as well as key platforms such as iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and HTML 5. This reader-friendly, highly visual guide is equally suited for formal game development courses and self-paced learning--with a balance of depth and detail that is ideal for both professionals and those working on their first game. Basic tutorials and terminology are available in the book's Appendix. GameSalad has also provided manuals, templates, and a Cookbook containing video tutorials at http://gamesalad.com/manuals and http://cookbook.gamesalad.com.

GameSalad is an online community that empowers everyone to express and share their ideas through games. The company was founded on the belief that all people should have the tools to make popular games--limited only by the boundaries of their imaginations. GameSalad provides a platform used by creators to rapidly design, publish, and distribute original games that have been played by millions of people worldwide. GameSalad is a privately held, venture-backed company headquartered in San Francisco, CA--with studios in Austin, Texas and Los Angeles, California.

Jeannie Novak is the lead author and series editor of the widely acclaimed GAME DEVELOPMENT ESSENTIALS series (with over 15 published titles), co-author of PLAY THE GAME: THE PARENT'S GUIDE TO VIDEO GAMES, and co-author of three pioneering books on the interactive entertainment industry--including CREATING INTERNET ENTERTAINMENT. She is also co-founder of Novy Unlimited and CEO of Kaleidospace, LLC (dbaIndiespace), providing curriculum development and consulting services for corporations, educators, and creative professionals in games, music, film, education, and technology.Novak served as director of the Game Art & Design and Media Arts & Animation programs at the Art Institute Online and has taught game courses at UCLA, Art Center College of Design, DeVry University, Westwood College, ITT Technical Institute, and the Academy of Entertainment & Technology at Santa Monica College. She holds a B.A. in mass communication/business administration from UCLA and an M.A. in communication management from the Annenberg School at USC. She also serves on the Online Gameplay Committee for the Academy of Interactive Arts &Sciences and has served on the executive boards of the International Game Developers Association (Los Angeles) and Women in Games International. An accomplished composer and performer, Novak was chosen as one of the 100 most influential people in technology by MicroTimesmagazine and has been profiled by CNN, Billboard Magazine, the Sundance Channel, Daily Variety, and the Los Angeles Times.