For the past few months, I’ve been struggling to figure out what to do with this website. There are lots of possibilities – but I don’t have free time like I used to. Maybe I could focus on game development. Maybe I could focus on tech news. I wasn’t sure, but I’ve been frequenting the Tumult Forums lately. They make a great web design and development app called Hype. Often, people would ask if there’s a book about Hype. There isn’t, so I figured that should be my next big project. I could make one.
Apple really upped their game with the 2.3 version of iBooks Author. Just about every major problem I had with the software was resolved. Not only can .iBooks files be read on an iPhone running iOS 8.4, but now iBooks is much better at creating ePub documents. These ePub documents are not restricted to iOS. Since Hype is a Mac-only app, I was focusing on Apple devices. But now that iBooks appears to have improved ePub creation and exporting, being able to support additional platforms should help with book sales.
There’s an old saying, “A bad workman blames his tools.” I don’t agree with that. With the new version of iBooks Author, it’s a lot easier to write a book. Good tools can make a huge difference.
I’m also pleased with the progress of Hype. I’ve been using the software for about four years. The software is far more powerful today. And with the addition of physics to Hype 3 Pro, it’s just short of being an awesome game development platform.
The plan is to create interactive examples in Hype and drop them into the e-book. Hype and iBooks Author seem perfect for each other. This project should be a lot of fun. After the project is complete, book sales should determine if I’m on the right path. The Unofficial GameSalad Textbook was quite successful. The Interactive Stencyl Textbook – not so much.
So, for the next few months, I’ll be busy working on “A Book About Hype”.