[NOW AVAILABLE!] The Interactive Stencyl Textbook

Photics ,
i say go for it! gamesalad textbook was successful for you and helped a lot of people , i think stencyl textbook will do the same and will help this community .
cheers.
Roy.

I personally don't think so the textbook has gotten 13 ratings of all versions. A book I do not think is worth 25$. Wouldn't it be better if you just wrote articles for stencylpedia? People put lots of time into kits and articles and don't expect money why should you? Note I'm probably just saying this since I'm poor.

Lots of people don't seem to like to leave reviews on iTunes. I don't know why that is. Feedback is not just from iTunes though. I've seen messages on the forum, and sent to me personally, that were very nice

As for free stuff... I have produced some free guides at my site.
None yet for Stencyl, but I imagine that could change if I get seriously involved with the creation of a textbook.

I'm not really sure that StencylWorks requires a textbook - the documentation and (sort of) live support is usually enough for most users, and the only use I can see in this is as Jon said, in classrooms.

That's what this post is about... to determine the need. Not everyone needs a textbook and the free documentation here is in pretty good shape. Yet, there are those that look for a good book. The plan isn't just to have a dry instruction manual. The idea is to write a book that can help people become better developers. My previous textbook has a chapter on Math and another on Physics. With that information, you don't just become better at the software... you can become better at game development in general... perhaps life in general too.

As for the educators that need a good book for their classes, that's also what this thread is about. This thread lets the educators know about me.

Photics ,
i say go for it! gamesalad textbook was successful for you and helped a lot of people , i think stencyl textbook will do the same and will help this community .
cheers.
Roy.

Hey P-O-M you're over here now?
How do you like Stencyl?

Stencylpedia is no substitute for a textbook.

I think that brings the count up to three! 

I agree with a textbook. Anything that helps our users.

I would like to see one too. There is no question the average user will need a textbook or a thorough guide to help them through learning SW (in addition to the crash course, forum help, video tutorial  and stencylpedia). I think the only current place as comprehensive as a full textbook is the video tutorial set made by Sunrisekingdom and that does not deal with all the nitty-gritties.

I am curious that how long (just a rough estimate) it would take to produce one?

I am curious that how long (just a rough estimate) it would take to produce one?

I'm thinking about a month and a half for the writing. Research and game development might also add significant time to the project.

I think the count is up to five. That's good... halfway there!

Right now I'm researching e-commerce systems. If I do publish this book, it will likely be a digital download... probably through Photics.com. So, the shopping experience should be nice.

Hopefully this is a case of "Where there is a need it will be filled" instead of "When you have a hammer everything looks like a nail".

But I think a well-written textbook/guidebook/reference could find a market for the people that need it. How much they're willing to pay though? I have no idea.

Yes give as an option to get to because I would like a digital download right away, but would also like a hardcopy because some tutorials are easier to follow that way. is that possible?

When I first got gamesalad, I didnt have the right version of leopard and no decent net connection to update, so I bought photics book app and read it all the way through to tide me over until I could actually open gamesalad... but when I did, I had a pretty clear footing on how GS worked and especially how the maths side of things could be dealt with.

I would love to see a stencyl version as I think there is a lot more depth/flexibility to what stencyl can do...if you understand whats going on. Its a little harder to pick up on the surface though so having that explained well is invaluable.

Do it! as for format... id probably go for app as an ebook would be copied in no time and you could do android/ios ports.

The book did feel a tiny bit on the expensive side though... Im happy to pay, but maybe not that much next time... It was only initial excitement at game creation that spurred me to do it and I think lowering the threshold a bit will actually make more money via exponentially more sales.

So... why not a classroom textbook that is typed up in a .doc form and is released as a textbook for classrooms, and as a free (or low cost) download PDF or other digital file that we could open using free tools?

Free tools such as Libreoffice, Open Office, Adobe Acrobat. I don't know other file formats that would be suitable for a textbook, but I"m sure there are more!

I am also from GameSalad and I am looking for a good place where I can get all of my info from the basics to the advanced stuff. I think photics is a great developer and writer. BOT was very impressive. I think you should go for it.

Youngster9

That's great. It seems that we have seen enough good feedback from community of Photic's work.
Now, I am really looking forward to the book.

Thanks to those who responded.

Yes give as an option to get to because I would like a digital download right away, but would also like a hardcopy because some tutorials are easier to follow that way. is that possible?

Digital versions can usually be printed.
Even the app version of my books on iTunes can be printed, with a little trick

Do it! as for format... id probably go for app as an ebook would be copied in no time and you could do android/ios ports.

It's still a tough decision. I could port a book to Android, but I'm not sure if an app version is best. If I make it a PDF, it's pretty much ubiquitous. And yet... much easier to rip off. I haven't figured out the e-commerce part yet.

The closest I found is http://getdpd.com ...which will personalize a PDF.
...and perhaps Woocommerce, which is a plug-in for WordPress,

...but New York State is tricky for sales tax. So, I'm not sure if either version will work yet. (Woocommerce is new and doesn't support Google Checkout yet. Also, there's a surprising bit of drama surrounding the origin of that software.)

The book did feel a tiny bit on the expensive side though... Im happy to pay, but maybe not that much next time... It was only initial excitement at game creation that spurred me to do it and I think lowering the threshold a bit will actually make more money via exponentially more sales.

There is another alternative, make the new book bigger

StencylWorks is a bit more complex, and can do a lot more, so there's more to write about.

If I do get my e-commerce system set up, the book will likely be $19.98. That's the year I founded my website/business.

That's great. It seems that we have seen enough good feedback from community of Photic's work.
Now, I am really looking forward to the book.

Thanks to those who responded.

I'm not quite sure that's 10. 

I think it's close enough. 
(There are others that have expressed interest in this book already.)

So over the three-day weekend, I'll be promoting Arch Fiery. And then, I'll be working on this book. It's exciting stuff!

Are you interested in updates on my progress? I can post updates here.

Are you interested in updates on my progress? I can post updates here.

Yes, please do!

I really liked An Unofficial GameSalad Textbook. And I would love to see The Unofficial Stencylworks Textbook, cause Stencyl sure need one!

I vote for PDF over an app if it is primarily going to be text. I don't own any mobiles, but I guess I would be the exception.

I haven't figured out the e-commerce part yet

Thanks for the getdpd link. Looks like a decent service.

Of course there are other, better know DD eCarts: e-junkie, payloadz, shopify and others. Lulu just reduced their cut to 10% for a limited time:
http://www.lulu.com/blog/2011/08/23/earn-more-90-revenue-for-a-limited-time/