Jeff Johnson is the author of Godot 4 Game Development we got the chance to sit down with him and find out more about his experience of writing with Packt.
Q: How did you become an author for Packt? Tell us about your journey. What was your motivation for writing this book?
Jeff: I was approached by Packt about writing a Godot 4 cookbook. I was already excited about Godot 4 and I had always wanted to write a book, so I said yes.
Q: What is the name of your book?
Jeff: Godot 4 Game Development Cookbook: Over 50 solid recipes for building high-quality 2D and 3D games with improved performance
Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?
Jeff: When I started writing the book Godot 4 had just gone to Beta from Alpha so I had to research and write at the same time. I used the Godot website to look at the documentation about Godot 4 while I created prototypes for the recipes I was writing.
Q: What key takeaways do you want readers to come away with from the book?
Jeff: Godot 4 is an amazing game engine that is only going to keep getting better. Use it to create great 2D and 3D games.
Q: Can you share any blogs, websites and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?
Jeff: I can recommend reading https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/
Q. Did you face any challenges during the writing process? How did you overcome them?
Jeff: Writing the book while Godot 4 was still in Beta. I had to learn while I wrote and hoped that when Godot 4 was released that my recipes didn’t break, which they didn’t.
Q. How would you describe your author journey with Packt? Would you recommend Packt to aspiring authors?
Jeff: Everyone was great to work with and very helpful. I would highly recommend Packt.
Q. Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?
Jeff: This book covers a variety of new Godot 4 features for 2D/3D games and has something to learn for all skill levels.
Q. What is/are your specialist tech area(s)?
Jeff: Indie game development
Q. What advice would you give to readers jumping into this technology? Do you have any top tips?
Jeff: If you are new to Godot, I would go to the Godot website and look at the learn tab where the documents are located. Follow the beginner tutorials, then buy this book and follow the recipes.
Q. What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?
Jeff: I think Godot will be used in bigger studios and not just used by indie studios and hobbyists.
Q. How did you organize, plan, and prioritize your work and write the book?
Jeff: I worked full-time on the book on weekdays and part-time on my current project on weekends. I tried to get the book done before Godot 4 was released, so I tried to stay ahead of the deadlines.
Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?
Jeff: I go to the Godot website to check to see if there is any news or updates.
Q. Would you like to share your social handles? If so, mention them below.
Jeff: You can reach out to me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-johnson-game-dev/
Q: What is that one writing tip that you found most crucial and would like to share with aspiring authors?
Jeff: Follow a consistent schedule and write. Once it becomes routine, it’s easier to go back and write day after day.
You can find Jeff’s book on Amazon by following this link: Please click here
