

“The charts are self-perpetuating, especially on iOS devices where browsing is sub-par. “If not, it merely shows quality doesn’t count for much these days (did it ever?), that Apple should make more of an effort to push great titles on its stores (instead of regularly giving very prominent placement to grindy freemium rubbish). I’ve no idea why something as dire as Red Bouncing Ball Spikes is zooming up the chart, and it sets off my suspicion alarm. “The iOS games charts have always been of dubious quality,” says Craig Grannel, an iOS games journalist, “but the paid charts historically been harder to crack. It takes around 4,000 downloads to hit the top 10 paid apps on the app store, meaning that, including Apple’s 30% cut, the developer of the app has made back their money 277 times over. That hasn’t stopped thousands of users downloading the app, at a cost of a dollar each – although after nine reviews, it only has a three-star rating. But Red Ball Template was designed as more of a tutorial, demonstrating a key feature of GameSalad to other developers. More complex packages, such as the “Super Mega Game Pack”, can cost hundreds of dollars. Red Ball Template is one of the simplest assets available on the GameSalad site, sold for just $9.99. However, it is a lot simpler to learn and put into practice while the results are perfect for the casual mobile market, which can yield sensational results.Red Bouncing Ball Spikes is at number three in the US paid-for apps chart. A helpful tool for aspiring game designersĪll things considered, GameSalad Creator certainly cannot compete with the heavyweights in this niche, such as the Unreal Engine from Epic Games. It can get pretty crowded from time to time, but things get easier to handle once you are familiar with the application. Hence, you can browse for useful files in your project, arrange the logical operators to create an action, and view a specific graphic element at the same time. Naturally, animations can be implemented as well, so you can make things look and feel more interactive.Īs far as the interface is concerned, the main window is split into different sections, all of which have a particular purpose. With a bit of imagination and a lot of artistic inclination, a great atmosphere can be created using nothing but static imagery. Since the gameplay mechanics are bound to be very basic and straightforward, your escape can come in the form of a stunning visual appearance, albeit in 2D. Granted, it doesn’t have the same power, but it works for all practical purposes.

However, instead of programming the components and linking them to the visual elements, you can use a drag & drop interface, which is obviously much simpler to put into practice. In essence, the application is a framework that allows you to create games for a variety of platforms and devices, depending on your target audience. Hence, although the results are obviously pretty basic and not very compelling, you can still get something interesting done, or at least challenging enough to get people interested. GameSalad Creator is a tool that should allow virtually anyone to have a go at the video games industry, regardless of any previous experience or familiarity with a coding language. Hence, whether you are a seasoned developer or just an ambitious fellow, you can easily put your vision into practice. Developing a video game is no longer something only an entire studio of programmers and artists can achieve, thanks to all the modern technology that packs everything you might need to build and release something on your own.
