Official Phaser 2.0 Book - Looking for feedback

[StrykerKKD]

@jerome

Thanks for the page about states in Phaser. I was thinking about how to make my game more structured.

It looks like i need to use states to organize my game better.

 

I think your doc is really good, because it has a good amount of theory and small examples, which covers the theory.  

[Fishrock123]

Something really important to put in it would be very clear "links" to both the forums here, and the #phaserio channel on irc.

[Luis Felipe]

YES! I also think this is an excellent idea! Tell us what could we help with? Donations? Artwork? Snippets? Word of mouth? I'd be more than glad to help!

 

I don't know if anyone has look at Eloquent Javascript by Martijn Heverbeke. I found it was interesting to read but also in the same browser be able to do the actual examples, so theory and practice interwoven

 

EDIT: Also, prior to switching to Phaser, I gave Gamesalad a few shots and found that the best way to learn it was through video, there's this guy called "teeshirtbooth" I think, had an excellent voice for tutorials and really took it step by step. Of course you can't compare Gamesalad to Phaser and video alone wouldn't be all that effective, but it could be a really effective and fun way to get people interested and "pumped" that might be discouraged at first. 

 

Something like "making an 'title goes here' game with phaser in 30 minutes' but also having that video explain very basic notions like gravity, etc. That's just a quick idea, but in any case, I reallt like the idea of a book/reference source

[mwatt]

I'd rather see one very good, very complete book about how to build several types games with Phaser (and not a collection of "one module wonders").  As has been said before, taking the time to detail the documentation in the book would be a mistake because the library, like all things technical, will be a moving target.  Such documentation belongs online, not as part of a book.  Indeed such documentation is important to the success of Phaser.

[Meowts]

I agree that a reference manual might not be the best way to go, again because of the docs that already exist. Adding little examples of how to implement each of the functions might be nice... a bit more like the MSDN kind of thing.

 

In my opinion, it would be better to have one book with bigger, more encompassing tutorials (say, 5 projects) that explains each aspect, rather than two books with smaller projects that tackle smaller components. Or maybe both? Book 1 - Individual modules, Book 2 - A few fully built tutorials, tips, practices, etc.

 

The "getting started" example with the dude was a really good example of an easy to follow tutorial, where I found I learned very easily. The part that I think a lot of new developers could benefit from (myself included) is having some full examples that use best practices (such as using modules, separating game objects/logic into classes, etc). That was the toughest curve for me - going from the first example (single page) to figuring out the best way to implement structure. Also learning some of the nuances of JS OOP was tricky, but that's obviously out of scope (although through example might make it easier).

[adamyall]

From the looks of it, Phaser has evolved so fast that Option 1 isn't even remotely useful.
 

My ideal solution would be a set of official video tutorials that can be updated each release, maybe only have one for 2.0.X.
Each video tutorial could be a guide to its own fully functional game.

You could write a step-by-step PDF first and it would act as a printable "script" and further reading for the video.

Then you bundle the pamplet and the video and sell them digitally on iTunes etc.

 

So you'd buy "My First Phaser Space Invaders Clone" PDF, open it and start the included video. Then as you read, you continue the video as it progresses.

 

The only downside is that people who want their paper would still want their paper. But I'd imagine the book would still get deprecated so fast that the majority of people who sit down with your book will get frustrated with porting issues or be stuck on an old version.

[pat]

For me, a very important point is to use typeScript in all the projects.

You have a lot of developers that use Flash AS3 and want to use a new development kit without loosing the typed vars.

[blackgames]

Are there already plans when the book will be published?

 

I would structure it like the following book:

http://www.amazon.de/JavaScript-The-Definitive-Guide-Guides/dp/0596805527/ref=pd_sim_sbs_eb_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1T0M4DXY9S28WRD7YDSM

 

- Core functions of Phaser with examples

- Related programming

- Reference (Like Doku and Links)

[mwatt]

The last paragraph of the response by Meowts above is spot on (aside from some of us not needing an JS help).

[Noid]

Option 2. A task-based approach would be nice. The goal would be to make a finished game, with each lesson adding a layer of complexity to the game while teaching a new topic until you have a finished project(Udacity's "HTML5 Game Development" course is a good reference). This book will flatten the learning curve so many people can start making games with phaser. Then you can start working on a reference manual and much more people will benefit from it.

[luschn]

option 2, of course

 

class references should be available online, it would be a waste of time to put them in a book. after all, those things usually change a lot. so it would be better to have a book that explains the principles of phaser. because even if the classes change a lot, the main principles will stay the same or very similar.

[Adi]

I am still wondering why The BigShots of book publishing industry have not made a book about phaser yet.

There are books on enchant.Js but not on Phaser.

 

I really like this idea and I just wish it is a lot more in-depth about some specific topics of the engine.

This was the only thing missing from Discover Phaser book apart from that I really enjoyed it and in fact, it felt like as if a pro writer wrote this book.

[rich]

I am still wondering why The BigShots of book publishing industry have not made a book about phaser yet.

There are books on enchant.Js but not on Phaser.

 

I've lost count of the number of publishing deals I've been offered for a Phaser book.

 

But having the offer available doesn't magically triple the amount of free time I have available to me, which is what would be needed to author such a book

[lewster32]

Is it even realistic given the pace of development to be able to release a book that'd be relevant by the time it was published?

[rich]

No, I don't believe it is, which is why I've given up trying to start one at the moment.

 

Instead I'm focusing on building a web site that can cope with constantly changing content, and authoring lots of small and focused tutorials.

[c023-dev]

No, I don't believe it is, which is why I've given up trying to start one at the moment.

 

Instead I'm focusing on building a web site that can cope with constantly changing content, and authoring lots of small and focused tutorials.

 

You surprise me with each step sir! For the sake of further education, it may help if we open source and document our work to certain standards and share that in a digestible sorted way.

 

As a phaser n00b coming from flixel, I must say that it is already pretty easy to get started the way things are. I've had a great pleasure getting things to work and found answers too everything up to date. So I see no need for even more efforts on the 'getting started' side, yet actual use cases/case studies that can grow with the framework sound like a great idea and I do see some demand for that! So, rather bigger bundled tutorial environments (kind of like the games tutorials that you already have, but community powered) maybe with git tightly integrated? Like ranked community workshops... in a way that doesn't demand too much effort to maintain on your side! Since I see your community want's to contribute, some even without charging money! Nice work, all of you here!

[szocske]

I can think of 3 very different possible audiences with completely different needs:

- Someone just starting programming at all. You'd have to start with explaining what a variable is and how "if" works.

- Someone who is a developer, but in other languages and domains, not JS and browser games. You have to start with event loops and sprites and prototypes and "this" magic.

- Someone who wants to switch over from a different game framework: just point out the differences from other common ways of doing things.

[Paul P]

book is paid

[hoskope]

I loved that chapter on Interphase 1 where writer went through how new Loader works. I wish there was book, which would cover 'everything' like that.