Apple eduction press event was just a few minutes ago and part of it was an eBook authoring tool. I'm still up updating my 10.7 development system so I not sure what format it outputs yet. Looks like ePub3 with some Apple twists. Hopefully this won't lock it excusively to iBooks on iPads, but it's early yet.
The demonstration make it look like it could actually be useful in producing books and materials more appropriate for your hobby. One part that has me most intrigued is the option for people who know JavaScript to build their own widgets.
I thought I'd open up the thread now. iBook Author is free to Mac users with 10.7.2 Lion, iBooks 2 is open to iPad iOS users of 4.2/5.
*edit*
Foo, it spits out iBook propriety variant ePub. Although it can also export PDF so it isn't a total dead end for layout and production at the amateurs level.
ePub isn't Adobe's, not by a long shot. It's backed by the International Digital Publishing Forum which as wide membership for a bunch of different companies, including Apple. Yes Adobe is part of as well.
I've had more time to fiddle around with iBook Author. The container and XML structure is most defiantly borrowed/based from ePub but references Apple's proprietary variant. Likely there's some stuff they're doing rendering wise that falls outside of ePub3. The almost seamless integration of Keynote presentation files as an insertable object kinda makes that's clear.
You can actually even rename it .epub and run it through any valid epub reader. You lose a chunk of the specialized formatting tricks Apple's put in place, but the structure is there.
The XML may be open to viewing but that doesn't mean it's Open in the sense that ePub or HTML5 is open. Apple still has copyrights and patents that deal with actually rendering their "APXL". We won't see it "opened" to 3rd parties to create readers for example. When was the last time you saw a 3rd party Keynote/Pages/Numbers viewer on the market?
The real fly in the ointment, and one I don't expect any RPG publisher to like, is Apple's license agreement.
B. Distribution of your Work. As a condition of this License and provided you are in compliance with its terms, your Work may be distributed as follows:
(i) if your Work is provided for free (at no charge), you may distribute the Work by any available means;
(ii) if your Work is provided for a fee (including as part of any subscription-based product or
service), you may only distribute the Work through Apple and such distribution is subject to the following limitations and conditions: (a) you will be required to enter into a separate written agreement with Apple (or an Apple affiliate or subsidiary) before any commercial distribution of your Work may take place; and (b) Apple may determine for any reason and in its sole discretion not to select your Work for distribution.
Here's how they define "WORK" in an important note above the EULA
"any book or other work you generate using this software (a 'Work')."
I really haven't seen anything this really poisons since the GSL, and badly written at that.
Plus the terms for publishing to the iBook store for actual sale require an ISBN number.
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On a hobbits level it could be useful if you mainly use an iPad as your GMing tool, but it'll really have to wait on HTML5/Javascript widgets that better match up with the needs of an RPG.
In an actual book, an advantage would be animated or partly interactive examples of combat situations. Or a built in character/npc builder assistant. What I haven't figured out yet is if it can call on the HTML sqlite database and actually store entered information for later use. I hope it's in there somewhere as there was talk about adding quizzes to iBook based textbooks and what good is a chapter quiz if it resets all the answers every time you exit the book?
As it stands right now I personally wouldn't use for more then home-brew adventures or player handouts (for the NONE of players that use iPads).
My next goal is to see how Hype generated HTML5 material integrates. Likely not cleanly, it's rather messy on the coding end.
It iBA really feels like the return of iWeb. A nice interface but really lacking the kind of utility more seasons publishers expect. Not to mention the lock-in on the end output.
I dont know if VMWare Fusion 4 would be a solution for you in this instance. My MacPro was covered for Lion anyways but thats how I'm running it, currently on the 30 day trial. Almost had it running in VirtualBox, but the final adjustments to get it up are well over my head. I've also seen a few... posts about on how to get iBA installed and running on 10.6.
Apple put out an FAQ and the blog-o-sphere seems to agree, that it is only the actual file(s) generated by iBooks Author (iBA) that must be sold through iTunes. The content (words, images, HTML5 custom widgets) are still yours and can be used and reprinted elsewhere. Still nasty EULA thats going to keep many smaller publishers/authors away. Ones that don't have the time/money to make two different eBook layouts. Kinda leaves the door open for Adobe to make a better more generic ePub3 WYSIWYG editor.
Keeping to the hobby side of things, I sometimes use an HTML5 Canvas animation maker called Hype by Tumult. Kinda like an older Macromedia Director before Adobe bought it. I went poking about and found that it is fairly easy to take the Hype built animations and insert them into Dashcode to build Widgets which can be placed in the iBook. Almost no coding skills required.
What I'm going to do with it... I'm not yet sure.
I'm still learning my way around the iBA and Dashcode interfaces. iBA is a tricky bugger with its different Portrait and Landscape layouts. I can just hear people saying "well, did you turn it sideways? Oh, that's where that graph is."
Since the tool is free, it's not surprising that files you make from it can only be sold in the iBooks store. The tool is clearly aimed at iPad only, not iPhone/iPods.
I wouldn't count on Adobe sell us a product that is strictly a ePub3 WYSIWYG editor. Man smaller developer were waiting to see what Apple was releasing before working/releasing there own product.
Well there is Sigil as an option currently. Open source ePub 3 WYSIWYG. I really do want see someone "do it better" then Apple has, which has been their snide dare to the industry as whole. Not ape but genuinely make something better with the tech and tools out there. Almost everything Apple has iBooks could be done with HTML5 and a touch of WebGL(for 3D models) but I wonder what the performance hit would be.
VMWare choked hard on iBA. It's fake graphics drivers aren't up to whatever iBA is using to render pages. Very odd. I've had to partition off a drive to install Lion full (using a USB external wasn't cutting it for serious work).
It's taking time to slowly work through the features but it seems Google SketchUp is all you need to create 3D models for it. That's some good news considering how easy to use SketchUp is. There is a whole warehouse of stuff to use for in-house hobby documents. It would make city guides more interesting.
I think what's really the amazing thing is the number of fairly easy to use tools out there for what used to be rather hostile tasks for non-computer people. iBA is just a convienent collection/viewing point for lots of things we can already do.
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In an actual book, an advantage would be animated or partly interactive examples of combat situations. Or a built in character/npc builder assistant. What I haven't figured out yet is if it can call on the HTML sqlite database and actually store entered information for later use. I hope it's in there somewhere as there was talk about adding quizzes to iBook based textbooks and what good is a chapter quiz if it resets all the answers every time you exit the book?
This is what I am interested in too. If you can have persistent storage (and modification) of a HP total, you have all of the ingredients necessary to do a Fighting Fantasy style story, all contained within the book. Jumping to p97 or p123 is easy to do, as is dice rolling. You just need to persist state across widgets on different pages.
So far no joy there. The quizes aren't really database based, just perset multiple choice and matching.
Granted my HTML and JS skills very outdated and under-used, but I can't get the widgets to talk to each other inside iBooks. I've been trying to get one to link to another (it can open hosted HTML pages). Its either sandboxed not to, or I'm just being at total neophyte.
Things still to try:
•. Use one widget in multiple places (see what remains between uses)
• Learn how to setup a web database (Web SQL?) and see if data sticks
The RPG uses are starting to take a back seat as I work on getting "basic" tutorials for EdTech use put together.
A Fantasy Fight style book would likely have to go without permanent stats such as HP, or make assumptions in pre-built widgets.