Looks like another 2D engine has added it's own cloud service

bowerandy

I just saw this: Corona Cloud and it did make me feel relieved that I didn't look to use Game Minion with my own Gideros projects.

best regards

atilim

interesting news.. @bowerandy - now what's a good option for a cloud backend? For example, I know Parse and Kinvey allow developers to create their own logic on their servers.

Johannes

hm... reading around I didn't find that none Corona users wouldn't be able to use corona cloud, still looks like it's open for everybody when its done.

" Existing Game Minion customers shouldn’t see their service change, ... " http://tinyurl.com/absxpns

Also read something similar somewhere else but can't find that link...

Mells

Maybe we can ask @GameMinion directly?

Hi Mohamed, you know people here have been very interested in using Game Minion.
- Can you clarify what will happen to your existing users?
- Is the service now exclusive to Corona users / can non-Corona users still subscribe now that you have been acquired?
- What alternatives (competitors or dev friends that are working on similar projects) do you recommend, if Game Minion is not an option anymore?

Thank you!

GameMinion

Hi,
You are 100% right Mells, the service even after the rebranding will still be available with all its glory (no exceptions) to any SDK or developer out there.
Further more, as some of you might be aware, Game Minion is based on a full Rest based API, so as this was initially started here by Ndoss to make a GiderOS friendly lib, will still be available.

I hope this clarifies where we stand.

-Mohamed

GameMinion

@bowerandy, can you elaborate a little more on why you were put off from using Game Minion with GiderOS?
I am sure others will have the same concerns, so it would be great if you share with the rest of the community, and give me the opportunity to address (if I can).

-Mohamed

Mells

@GameMinion
I am pretty sure other members here (inluding me) will appreciate the fact that :
- you were so quick to answer (greatly appreciated)
- you keep the service open to other Sdk

I am still wondering how the acquisition (not a partnership, right?) will affect your services though : GameMinion will be integrated into Corona Sdk, but how does CoronaLabs use this advantage over the competition? That would be easy for them to make it exclusive to their sdk.
I feel that I am missing something, and any clarification wouldbe greatly appreciated

GameMinion

@Mells, the acquisition really made sense for us as a startup company that is looking to grow and aims to deliver a great service for *all* mobile developers.

A large percentage of our current users are from other SDKs and many are native developers, so being able to cater to the whole developer community is something we feel strongly about.

As far as integration within the Corona SDK, this is without doubt something that will happen. Is this going to make developing on the Game Minion service within Corona faster? Without doubt, it would be disingenuous of me if I said otherwise.

Now saying this, there is nothing stopping GiderOS or any developer to create a similar library and integrate into their SDK.

-Mohamed

OZApps

@Mohamed, congratulations

deniz

Congratulations @Mohamed,
We wish the best for you and your company.

techdojo

I saw this news the other day and whilst it didn't initially register with me that @GameMinion was a member of the forum, my first thought was why?

Corona made a BIG thing earlier this year with their integration with the flurry analytic service and also their gameNetwork api's which wrap services around OpenFeint (Gree) and GameCenter, plus there was already support for Moai as well.

Side note : Moai is another example of a competing cloud based product with their own SDK yet isn't exclusive to that SDK - so I doubt any new or exisiting non-Corona based GameMinion customers have much to worry about.

Maybe they're looking for new ways to entice developers back, but for me the biggest single advantage of Gideros was and always will be the Desktop and Local device Players and NOT having to upload to a server to make a native build.

And not forgetting plugin support - Hot Wax - duh! if Ansca / Corona Labs had any sense they'd be banging on @BowerAndy's door commissioning him to include it natively in to Corona right away, although granted it'd potentially impact on their enterprise edition.

However, regardless of all of that - in true Gideros style "CongoRatz" to GameMinion and his crew, I hope you all got a big fat payout just in time for Christmas

gorkem

Countly is an open source analytics server/service in which @Gorkem has a large contribution, while it can be used with Gideros in a very tightly integrated manner, they have not pushed it that way as yet. My point is that if they add/extend a cloud based service for scores, data, etc most of the developers using Gideros would rather have confidence in that service.

Jayant, our dream is to develop a robust mobile SDK and cloud services on top for mobile developers and small companies, and we expect those services as robust/bug-free/attractive/easy-to-use as Gideros Studio. Open-source Countly was the first step towards reaching a mobile services and products ecosystem. When we are ready to roll it, Gideros Studio will also support Countly. However, analytics alone is not enough to build a sustainable business, e.g you cannot find an analytics-only company but companies providing more services (database as a backend, gamification, advertisement, push notifications, etc). I suspect more gaming companies buying BaaS and Analytics-as-a-service companies instead of building up from scratch as analytics needs some domain knowledge.

GameMinion

Thank you all, I know there is no love lose here with Corona, so appreciate the good words.
As I mentioned before, I am more than happy to work with the GiderOS team, and at the end of the day, these are tools to achieve a task. Some we like, some we don't, we just need to find one that we are comfortable with.

OZApps

On a side note, with what happened with OF and GREE, why should developers not create their own little services? In-App requires that you set up your own servers, Push notifictions require you to set up your own servers, so why not with such services? There was an Open Source replacement for OpenFeint a couple of days ago from the creator of Open Feint (http://www.openkit.io) . That way the service lasts as long as the developer wishes to support the service not the provider.

GameMinion

@OZApps; makes sense, and I think many have, and in some case it makes more sense.
The idea is that getting your service from a vendor such as us for example, has benefits in the case of economies of scale to reduce cost, expertise to make sure the service scales and is stable, and continuous development to add new features while the developer focuses on their game, and not the tool, amongst other benefits.

To further add to your point, Amazon's AWS is nothing special, can you do it on your own? Sure you can, would you want to, do you have the time, skills etc., thats the harder question.

But a valid point for sure.

OZApps

@GameMinion, you are correct in most of the things you mention, however the only fact is that there is a difference between trying to set up personal Hotmail Servers, Amazon AWS or Google stuff in comparison to creating a simple PHP based REST service for a simple game. I mean in the most basic form, CakePHP can bake a solution in 5 minutes flat with complete REST and JSON functionality and the backend db can be altered dynamically within seconds and can be served from any server including personal machines.

I am not dissing professional services, I love to eat at a restaurant even though we can cook good food at home. Plus it is not about your service, but in general the way things have been in the industry, where good tools and services are purchased and then made inaccessible or lose their focus/diluted. There are many examples in the industry be it Hardware, Software, products, services, etc.

I am merely suggesting that for a simple service like this If I were to use Moai, would like to use the MoaiCloud, with Gideros the local service that they would offer (in the future) and Game Minion if I were to use C*SDK, however I still have the option to make my own little service so that I do not have to rely on change of terms and conditions and data-gate like the launchpad and tracking fiasco (ansca-gate big brother and the California law with collecting personal data). It's just a matter of trust with what has happened in the past. That is my personal view.

As I have said earlier, your product is good and congratulations, I might not use it just because...

SinisterSoft

This has now reached beta...

http://openkit.io/beta/

MobAmuse

Was just going to post that myself

atilim

I'm also waiting for openkit impatiently. Do you know if there is a time estimation?

GameMinion

openkit is by the same person who founded OpenFeint.

OZApps

BTW, I got an invite for OpenKit today with details soon in this month.

fxone

ok, they have started:
https://github.com/OpenKit
http://openkit.io/docs/

SinisterSoft

Looks like the docs have gone for openkit. Does anyone know if the server is still opensource? If so, does it have all the features of the paid for version?