GameSalad allows anyone to create 2D games and the author found it a comfortable program to use on Macs. Templates provide a starting point to avoid staring at a blank canvas. However, the author encountered issues with GameSalad slowing other programs and found the publishing process complex. In particular, the option to publish free to the GameSalad Marketplace wasn't clear. Overall, the author enjoyed the creative aspects of GameSalad and would recommend it if the publishing was improved.

1. GameSalad Evaluation
Gamesalad is a free downloadable program that allows anyone to create 2D game’s. I enjoy
thinking creatively, so I thought that this tool would be fun to learn about. Starting a new project
from scratch is quite daunting, having to stare at an empty canvas, I couldn’t think.
Thank god that my team and I had developed a thorough game idea already, except that only
helped a little bit, I then had to worry of choosing which part to design first. I have adjusted to
using apple computers and common authoring tools. I find Gamesalad more comfortable to
design with on Macs because they have a much more personal appearance and are blessed
with vibrant screens.
What’s good about Gamesalad?
I like that Gamesalad has an endless supply of templates. There are templates for every single
game type, including a vast amount of actual games published on the GameSalad Market, that
are available as DLC’s for other Game Designers. I feel that GameSalad.com is a growing
community of passionate Game Designers. It shows in their forums that they are just as
welcoming to new users by helping them with tricky assets and getting them through the difficult
parts of their game design.
What went wrong with using the program?
I sometimes would find out the hard way that GameSalad slows down my other programs, when
I am multitasking. So I understand now that It’s always better and safer to save your game file
and close down gamesalad, before opening any other programs, including google chrome to
avoid losing anything and save a lot of time. Although it’s not that big of a deal, I more than often
need to switch in between programs, so having that go, I found it uncomfortable working without
the privilege of opening more than a few programs. A tip for the future, I may need to purchase a
larger computer so that I can maneuver freely between programs.
Another thing that irritates me about GameSalad is the publishing process.
After spending weeks designing a game, to have to go backwards, spending another week to
configure out a secure way to make it available online, something so simple appears to be very
difficult.
When publishing my game, I am greeted with almost too many options, why couldn’t there be a
universal choice? or a file conversion. So if I could change one thing about GameSalad, it would
have to be the publishing process. Once I had figured out how to upload my game to the Market
place, I felt silly for not noticing it before. But I realise now that it wasn’t completely my fault, the
logo for the GameSalad Market isn’t actually clear enough and isn't mentioned at all. The only
ones that GameSalad promotes is the App purchasing methods, with a subscription fee of £60 a
year. I think it would be worth mentioning straight­up, early in the publishing time. that whoever is
publishing their game, that they have the option of uploading their game free of charge to the
market. Somebody should not have to go, so far out of their way to find realise that they had
overlooked their answer, and that it was right in front of them this whole time.

2. I’ve now published my video game Coffee Run into the Marketplace, which is great to finally have
it reachable by other computers around the world. The only downside is that it’s displayed in a
Widget, a HTML screen; a screen that is quarter of it’s original size. This is either my fault
because I didn’t check the resolution before publishing, or it’s because I don’t have an App
Developers contract and can’t publish my Coffee Run to the app store. But it feels good to know
that if I have an issue with anything, I can go to GameSalad.com’s forum and simply ask for their
help/advice.
Would I recommend this program?
I may have more negative experiences regarding the program GameSalad, but it doesn’t mean
that I didn’t enjoy the creative side of the program. The Scene Editor, it’s real­time editing and the
integrated physics were all brilliant and fun to test.
I would say that that if the publishing method is improved, I would absolutely try all over again.