*The Official GameSalad Guide to Game Development* is now available! This is the only textbook written in collaboration with the GameSalad development team; it focuses on using GameSalad Creator as a tool in high school and college courses covering a wide range of topics (gameplay, interface, prototyping, Mac/Windows desktop, mobile,…

My publisher asked me to provide some advice for students hoping to enter the field of game development. Here are my tips:

1. Stay informed. Follow industry blogs and other outlets such as Develop Magazine, Edge Online, Gamasutra, and GamesIndustry.biz. Keep up with the current trends, game launches, and all the “players”—including publishers, development studios (large and small), and hardware manufacturers.

2. Know…

In 2003, while speaking at the University of Southern California’s Teaching, Learning & Technology conference, I noticed more than a few visibly uncomfortable educators in the audience. I had recently completed my Master’s thesis on using massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) as online distance learning applications—and I was providing a summary of my findings. The notion of any game posing as a learning management system (LMS) was difficult enough for most to parse—especially…