Course Reflections
I entered this course with high hopes. I have wanted to learn to use the GameSalad program since I discovered its existence. After completing the course, I must say that, while I love the program, the collective knowledge about the program appears somewhat fragmented and the texts available to study the program are woefully inadequate.
Let's start with the material available. There simply are no good text books available to teach GameSalad. Normally, this wouldn''t be an impediment as numerous video tutorials exist, however, I found the quality and content of these videos severely lacking. The vast majority of the videos teaching the program have been done by an individual calling himself, "T-Shirt Booth." T-Shirt waxes poetically about the great capabilities of the game and the ease of use, however, herein lies the problem. T-Shirt is a verbal Magellan who continuously circumnavigates the point. While such loquaciousness can be avoided in a textbook, in a video, it's simply impossible to ignore or skip over.
This complaint may sound petty given the fact that the program is free to download and use, but the fact remains that there is a fairly steep learning curve for the program and only the ramblings of a twenty-something acting as a Sherpa to guide the user along that curve. The fact is that this program desperately needs a text that concentrates on the programming aspect of the software and less on the game building that one can accomplish.
Let me preface this point by admitting I'm jaded. I am an IT major. This means that I understand programming concepts. I don't want tutorials telling me how to create each different type of game. Rather, I'm looking for a demonstration of techniques and tools so that I can combine my own creativity with these tools to fashion a usable product. Programming using GameSalad, without these fundamental concepts, proves very difficult. Without a good text to guide the student, they are forced to focus on the brush strokes thus missing the bigger picture which was how to create an educational game.
For all its faults, the program is a wonderful tool. It provides educators with the ability to create germane content while also offering a great introduction to programming concepts, but without a coherent text explaining the programming concepts, it remains a source of untapped potential.
