LiveCode Game Academy Kicks Off
Excitement is building in the Game Academy, with the first Webinar being a huge success

by Mark Taoilinn

The LiveCode Game Academy is proving extremely popular and registration has been strong. If you are in the Academy and new to LiveCode: welcome to your first edition of RevUp, our regular roundup of news and events for the LiveCode Community. Thanks too to existing community members who joined the Academy, it's great to have so many diverse people on board. And for anyone who's not signed up yet, there's still time...

As most of you know by now, the LiveCode Academy kicked off earlier this week. The first webinar aired on Tuesday with resounding success. We were joined by people from all over the world, and everyone was keen to chat, share knowledge and ask questions. The US, UK, Canada, Russia, Japan and every country in mainland Europe were represented. So too were South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritius, Australia and New Zealand. Let's not forget China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Nepal, or Egypt, Israel and Syria. Brazil, Puerto Rica, Colombia... The list goes on and on. A special shout out to user PABS who got up at 4 in the morning to watch the webinar, and went immediately back to bed afterwards. Now that's dedication! I can't wait to see what stories come out of the next six webinars. Here's a list of what is happening, and when:

LiveCode Game Academy Webinar Schedule

Webinars are broadcast live on Tuesdays at 5pm GMT, 12 Noon EST and 9am PST. They are available to watch on demand shortly afterwards.

Refer a friend
Lots of you have been telling us that you have friends and colleagues who would be interested in the Academy, and you have been asking how you can sign them up. Having as many people as possible in the Academy will make it much more exciting, fun and rewarding. We all learn from each other, so the more engaged people that we get involved, the better it will be for everyone. Here's some ideas:

Tweet	Add a note on twitter.	Just click on the tweet button.
	Tell your friends by Liking us on Facebook.	Just click on the Facebook button
	Drop them an email	Remind them that you get credits if they sign up.
	Invite them to the webinar	There are share buttons within the webinar interface. Click tweet while you watch.
	Tell them	A little old school I know, but there's always the option to chat about how great the academy is over coffee, or by the water cooler.

Did you know that as a new customer to LiveCode, you can earn credits for referring a friend. Just tell your friend to give us your email address when they sign up (be sure that it is the same address that you used to enroll in the academy).

screenshot of signup page, with box to enter referrer's email address

Academy Competition

Want to win an iPad? Of course you do, who doesn't? We're giving away two iPads in our Academy competition. During the Academy we are going to teach you how to make a game, called Galactic Gauntlet. To win the first iPad you'll need creativity and skill - whoever can take this basic game the farthest and improve on the game play and user experience will be the winner. Don't worry if that sounds too hard for you; our second iPad will go to one of our beginners who re-skins (i.e. changes the only the look of ) the game in the most fun or exciting way. Experienced people - what can you do to make the game more exciting, more action packed or more difficult? Make it sing! Beginners, what can you use instead of a rocket, what can it fly through instead of space and if not flying saucers then who will your enemies be? Put your thinking caps on folks, and have fun!

Game Academy Credits
Referring a friend isn't the only way to earn credits. You can earn credits in all of the following ways:

• Watching the Webinars - Attending a webinar live, or watching it later on demand, can earn you one token.
  
• Posting in the forums - 10 posts will earn you one token.
  
• Completing the coursework tasks - you will find tokens embedded in the course materials which you return to us to earn a token.
  
• Recommending a friend to join the course - one token

Tokens can be exchanged for free addons to your LiveCode license. If you purchase a LiveCode license before January 31st you will activate your credit tokens. You need 10 credit tokens to claim your free add on license (max two free addon licenses per customer).

Forum and materials page
If you are an Academy student be sure to keep a regular watch on the Academy Resource Page. This will be updated regularly with recorded webinars, sample stacks and assets, reading materials, course work and Q&A documents.

The Academy forum is already up and running. This is for Academy members only, so if you are not registered in the Academy you won't be able to access it. The forum is starting to heat up nicely, and I can really see this being an invaluable learning tool as we move forward with the course. Remember - participation in the forum earns you credits. More importantly, the forums are a great way to ask questions, share knowledge and thrash out ideas. Be sure to use this resource as much as possible.

Registration Still Open
If you've not signed up the Academy yet, why not? You're missing out on all the fun. Don't worry, you're not too late, and registration is still open. As we said earlier, it doesn't matter where in the world you are, or what timezone, the Game Academy is 24/7 the world over. Come join us...
Sign up now.

About the Author Mark Taoilinn is Sales and Marketing Manager for RunRev Ltd.