Planet Gideros - the monthly video + e-zine in production :)

Ninjadoodle · June 2016

Hi guys,

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I would like to start something like a podcast or a video hangout. The other option is also some form of Gideros newsletter / magazine.

I think this would be a really cool way to engage the Gideros community, and attract new users.

This could include games made with Gideros, interviews with creators, handy tips, random inspirations and so on.

Currently, I'm just throwing around ideas, but I would like to know what you guys think.

If I go ahead with this, what would be you preferred format?

- Video seems to be the most attractive format today. People have the opportunity to see faces and learn a little bit more about the characters. Making this a 'Hangout' style recording makes it easy, as very little editing is required, and the 'hick-ups', are a part of the charm. This would however need people to participate. In episode there could be a selected topic or a person interviewed.

- Podcast is the easiest to digest while on the run, or doing some work. Personally I like them a lot, but question the user base for this kind of format. I also believe that videos (especially Youtube vids), have a much wider reach and the potential for going viral.

- Magazine is easiest to start, but the hardest to do well. Things have to be planned and checked over and over again. A hick-up in a video is funny, yet in a magazine it is unprofessional. I also think that in this day and age, it is a little 'old school'. I personally love magazines and books, but I think the general public finds videos more approachable.

As you can tell for the above, I am leaning towards a Google Hangout style show (similar to Corona Geek).

Would you guys be interested in something like this?

What are your thoughts and opinions?

Thank you in advance!

ar2rsawseen · June 2016

I think Video is one of the best, cause you can show examples, articles, etc and in the same time, extract audio and use it as podcast for listening on the run.

At least that is what we do with Manual Lemos on PHP and JS podcasts.

antix · June 2016

I like your idea, especially if you're going to manage it

I'm happy to contribute in any way I can, you just let me know what you would need from me and I'll try to do it

I was searching recently trying to find a program to make recordings of the windows player and I came across this you tube video..

It's a good watch and shows the importance of good sound and lighting.

I think I'll go and see what Corona Geek is all about

Ninjadoodle · July 2016

Hi guys

Thanks for the replies! I'm still thinking about this idea, but would like to see how many people would be interested / watch something like this.

I know this post has only been up for a couple of days, but I don't want to commit to something unless there is some potential.

If you guys would like to see something along these lines, please post your thoughts

antix · July 2016

It will be a lot of work I reckon but I'll watch and as I said before, contribute too.

simwhi · July 2016

@Ninjadoodle I'll watch and contribute too.

hgy29 · July 2016

@Ninjadoodle, I'd be delighted to contribute to it too.

hgvyas123 · July 2016

i Watch although not contribute for now or near future

Ninjadoodle · July 2016

Hi guys

Thank you all for your replies

I'm exited to announce that I've decided to start work on a monthly publication called - "Planet Gideros". This will take form of a Youtube video series (possibly google hang-outs), accompanied by a small monthly e-zine.

I've bought the domain (planetgideros.com) and have hosting all sorted as well.

I'll post more details in a couple of days.

simwhi · July 2016

@Ninjadoodle Wow!

I'll be happy to proofread anything or contribute.

simwhi · July 2016

@Ninjadoodle

I also think a basic tutorial series on Lua would be useful for new developers, but with emphasis on game development.

antix · July 2016

That's not a bad idea @simwhi but I feel most people aren't going to arrive at Gideros with zero programming knowledge at all. Those who do will be in for an uphill battle, no matter what language they choose.

the best LUA guide I have found so far is.. https://awesome.naquadah.org/wiki/The_briefest_introduction_to_Lua

It's such a fantastic introduction to Lua. It has mostly everything you need to get you up to speed with how Lua works. Then you can just concentrate on the real meat.. Gideros

Ninjadoodle · July 2016

Hi guys

Here is a rough outline of what I'm thinking ...

"Gideros Planet" will be a monthly Video + E-zine publication. It will be 100% free and include ...

- interviews
- reviews
- tutorials
- prototypes
- snippets
- inspirations
- tips
etc.

Every month I will organise to hold a Google Hangout, where any participants can introduce themselves, and we can talk about a selected topic. If, in the early days, there are not enough participants, I will start with a different format - such as a one on one interview etc.

I'm really exited about this, and I think it will be an awesome way to ...

- bring the community together
- attract new users
- provide an awesome resource
- inspire people to make more games
- and at some stage in the future - help fund Gideros.

Since I will be investing a substantial amount of time in this project, I will be using Google Adsense for both the website and videos.

- Half of any profits made, will be used to pay for domain and hosting (or any other costs that might arise), and (at some stage in the future) hopefully help reimburse some of the time I will be putting into this.

- The second half will be donated straight towards further development of Gideros.

At this stage, I'm not expecting any advertising revenue to be made at all, and that's completely ok. I do believe however, that over time, more and more users will find out about the publication, and in turn, it will become more substantial, and I will be able to invest more time into it's production.

In the first issue, I would like to announce a 'Gideros Game Jam', as I firmly believe that there need to be more Gideros games floating around.

For the sake of easy judging and the possibility of some of the games going viral, I would like the games to be playable in HTML5.

There is a lot of things to organise, such as judges, prizes etc.

I'm a big believer in the K.I.S.S rule, and therefore I will start with a small publication, and easy rules for the contest.

If you have any ideas, on what could be used as prizes etc. please let me know

What do you guys think?

antix · July 2016

I'm excited already. Can't wait to find out more about the game jam, it should be super fun!

simwhi · July 2016

@antix

I have never come across that site before. I'll check it out.

I think that we could attract developers that have little coding knowledge because they have come from another platform that is based on some drag and drop mechanism. At least, we could point complete novices to great resources. The online editor could come in very handy here.

Just some ideas.

antix · July 2016

@simwhi, yep. If you have a little knowledge about other languages, that page (which is pretty short really) will have you hitting the ground running

If I ever wrote a Gideros book, that would be the Introduction To Lua chapter (a short chapter). All specific things can be explained as you encounter to them in Gideros.

Ninjadoodle · July 2016

Hi guys

I'm slowly narrowing down my ideas, and I would like to start putting together a 'panel' of Gideros Game Devs, to join me for a Google Hangout style show.

Ideally, at least 3 of us wold be awesome - and apart from turning up and having a chat / maybe answering or asking some questions, there would be no other work on your part.

I estimate the hangout would be 30-60mins long and I think it would be a fun way to inspire devs, and involve the community.

If this excites you and you would like to join me once a month (no commitment), let me know here, so I can see whether I can get enough participants.

If I can't find enough people to participate, the second option, is to do a 1 on 1 style interview, with a selected dev.

The third option would be to host the show by myself and talk about selected topics.

Let me know if you are interested

SinisterSoft · July 2016

If it's an ezine - see how much it would be to buy the pdf in print from Amazon. They have a self-publishing system and they do things like comics/magazines as well as books.

Your magazine would hen be available from Amazon.

Ninjadoodle · July 2016

@SinisterSoft - Thats a cool idea! I REALLY like the idea of an e-zine, because I grew up with Zzap64 / Commodore Force (best magazines ever), and I now regularly buy Retro Gamer.

I am thinking of doing both an e-zine and some sort of video show. I might however start with the e-zine and start the videos later, as I there haven't really been any 'hand up' as far as getting together and having a Google Hangout (Corona Geek style).

I'm definitely exited about doing this, but still thinking about the best way to go ahead.

antix · July 2016

I will put my hand up for being on video but I'm a bit of a lump so I'd need a lot of prompting I think

Ninjadoodle · July 2016

@antix - cool man, don't worry you can wear a mask or a big hat to cover your face if you want lol.

PS. - I accidentally 'accepted' your answer, and now I don't know how to undo it haha.

hgy29 · July 2016

@Ninjadoodle, I am thinking of starting a series of articles about gideros coding, I don't know about what topic exactly, maybe shaders, maybe threads, maybe just lua programming. Tell me what you think would be good for a start and I'll send you what I can for your e-zine.

Ninjadoodle · July 2016

@hgy29 - Nice, that's really cool! Let me think about this, and come up with a plan for the first issue, and I will get back to you

So far, here is what I am thinking ...

- Intro

- Latest Gideros News

- Latest Gideros Games (released in the last 30 days)

- A tutorial series for beginners (a really simple game from scratch) - this would lead nicely, into the Game Jam, which I'd like to organize (I would then try to spread the word).

- Snippets / classes / tips for more advanced users - or a tutorial on a more advanced topic.

- A comic strip - because it adds colour + every good magazine has one lol (possibly game related). I'm happy to do this, but if there are other artists here, that would like to contribute - sweet!

- A game feature? Maybe a developer interview? For example, @totebo could talk about MinerZ (This could also be done in the Video Chat if he was interested).

- A guest article, in which we could have a person write about their first memories of gaming, or their first computer. This could happen in each issue, from different peoples perspectives.

- Some links to cool / helpful stuff.

This is my list so far, some of it might be cut or changed and other ideas might be added.

If anyone else wants to Google Hangout (as a part of the show) or contribute something to the e-zine, please let me know

SinisterSoft · July 2016

You are going the right way about it, a good, planned, regular, layout is essential.

Ninjadoodle · July 2016

I've had a good look around the forums, and noticed that not a lot of games are being release using Gideros - which is really surprising, as It's such a brilliant tool (but so far an underdog).

So, instead of posting the latest games created, I will be focusing on a single game in each issue. I will pick a great Gideros made game, and do a nice write up about it. Hopefully, this will bring some of the older games into the spotlight, (once enough people read the mag), and inspire new users to create their own.

When more games start being released, I'll re-evaluate this

antix · July 2016

I know it's a bit of a jab and not at all politically correct but I'll do it anyway.. Maybe if it was easier to actually get from concept to published product there would be more L-)

simwhi · July 2016

@antix I think it's getting a bit easier to finish a game using Gideros now, but there are still a few hurdles to remove.

I know that you've had issues with plugins. We've also been trying to solve plugin issues for the last couple of days. It's a bit frustrating, but I've also learned a lot.

We have to take into account that the main developers have day jobs and their own projects, too.

We are very committed to Gideros now, as we have invested an incredible amount of time using this framework.

I personally would like to see a roadmap, or some post about what needs to be done. There's a lot of tidying up to do. Maybe it's in our interests to get more involved.

antix · July 2016

@simwhi I agree, there should be a road map (prioritized by features required for a basic game to be published)

Like you I also have invested a lot of time into Gideros. I took a year off from a real job to live on my savings and create games. Now when I am nine months in and ready to make games I am falling over with the last bits which in my opinion are key and need to be easy to use.

I'm sure in the end i will publish and get better at this part of the process as time goes on but this will be a very large brick wall for new users and they will most likely get scared off to other frameworks, which is a great shame because Gideros is so good (except plugins heheheh) and of course Gideros needs new users

simwhi · July 2016

@antix I completely understand your frustration. We've found that the last 10% of a project seems to be the longest and most frustrating!!

I'm pretty lucky as I am a university teacher. I get a lot of holidays!!

antix · July 2016

Holidays sound good @simwhi

Ninjadoodle · July 2016

@antix I'm sure once you get over your hurdle, it will get easier. I know how frustrating this stuff can be. As, soon as more tutorials are out, and the process of using plugins gets easier, I'm sure more games will start being released.

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