The dirty little secret of programming for iOS? With the right tools, and a little bit of elbow grease, it’s not quite the impossible task you might think it is.
A newly published book, “Learn GameSalad for iOS,” gives would-be developers all the tips, tricks, and pointers they could possibly use to make the most of GameSalad, the highly regarded, premium game-creation tool for both Macs and PCs that’s designed for people “who don’t speak code.”
“I decided to write the book last October,” author David Guerineau said. “The reason was that I was very excited about GameSalad but also very frustrated by the lack of existing books on this subject. I spent hours learning GameSalad from forums and online tutorials, trying to learn as much as possible. So I’ve decided to share in a structured, all-in-one approach what I learned about GameSalad the hard way.”
Unlike Apple’s official development tools, called Xcode, which assume at least a degree of familiarity with the Objective-C programming language, GameSalad can be effectively used by complete programming novices. It has big, bright colors and a drag-and-drop interface encouraging users to think about game design rather than game programming.
“iOS development is quite complex when starting from scratch,” said Guerineau, a lifetime hobbyist programmer who works in Singapore as a managing director for Orange, the French telecommunications giant. “Objective-C is a powerful development language but quite complex to learn … I recommend beginners focus on game mechanics and use tools like GameSalad instead of spending enormous amount of time learning languages like Objective-C.”
The book gives readers step-by-step directions on how to create games that resemble all-time classics like Pong and modern favorites like Angry Birds. (There are also sections on how to create non-game apps.) There are also tips on how to successfully prep your app for publication to App Store as well as using iOS features like iAd and GameCenter.
“Though this book is designed for beginners, the truth is that anyone can benefit from using GameSalad, even experienced developers,” said Guerineau. “Using it will give readers a comprehensive approach to develop their first app.” Nicholas.Deleon@thedaily.com @nicholasadeleon

http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/07/09/070912-tech-news-gamesalad-deleon/

Today we are excited to announce the launch of two original titles, published by Ice Cap Games, in association with Kevin Smith’s SMarcade, and developed by Powerhouse Animation and GameSalad’s own internal development team, Game Team One. The games feature pop culture icons Jay & Silent Bob as they make their Apple App Store debut in Too Fat To Fly and Let Us Dance, available on iPhone and iPad.

These two titles, along with an updated Battle Legend Infinity, mark the debut of our publishing arm Ice Cap Games. We created Ice Cap as a way to promote premium mobile and web content, focusing on top tier quality games that benefit from our proprietary distribution technologies and expertise in designing, marketing, distributing and monetizing successful mobile and web games.

Ice Cap will source the majority of its titles from games built on GameSalad technology, and built by members of the GameSalad Community. High quality games are eligible to be published by Ice Cap, and any GameSalad developer is encouraged to submit great games for consideration.

Selected developers will receive exclusive access to custom enhancements still in development, including advanced analytics, cross-promotion technologies, back-end services, access to our native code engine, and other cool features.

In addition, games published by Ice Cap may also receive assistance from our internal game team to integrate sophisticated game mechanics and monetization features such as virtual goods and virtual currency storefronts to optimize the game’s performance and player engagement.

Do your games have what it takes to be a part of Ice Cap? Keep your eyes peeled for more detailed information in the coming weeks on how to submit your games for consideration.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/app-builder/ios-app-development-for-non-programmers/1375

Download a chapter from the book Learn GameSalad for iOS to get tips on creating an Angry Birds-like game.

Learn GameSalad for iOS: Game Development for iPhone, iPad, and HTML5 by David Guerineau and published by Apress features instructions on how to use the game creation tool even if you don’t have any programming experience. The how-to text covers setting up your game design environment, designing your game, submitting your game to the App Store, promoting your game, and more. Guerineau also educates you on how to create non-game apps usingGameSalad.

You can download the ebook version from the Apress site, orpurchase the print version via Amazon. For a sampling of what you can expect in the book, get Chapter 6: Learning Gravity, Basic Physics, and Camera Controls: An Angry Birds-like Game, Part I (PDF) from TechRepublic’s downloads directory.

GameSalad has uploaded on the 21st December a new version of the Creator. It is now version 0.9.89 and the main fixes are around android publishing.

Here are the fixes:

• Game audio no longer continues playing when in a pause state (in calls, locked, in menu).
• Game music continues playing correctly after game resumes operation.
• Android publishing now prevents users from omitting display name by mistake.
• Android publishing now prevents users from omitting version number by mistake.
• Users can clear debug output in the Android troubleshooter.
• Android publishing alerts users if they have not entered a package name.
• Android now supports publishing projects with asset files that use non-basic Latin characters.
• Android now supports the Keyboard behavior.
• Android now supports the Open URL behavior.
• Creator no longer crashes when loading large projects.
• Creator no longer crashes when taking screenshots of large projects.

More info on the forum thread:

http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/37017/gamesalad-hotfix-patch-0-9-89