Game Builder Garage

The mere notion of creating a video game is tantalizing. Being able to take inspiration from a litany of titles in order to construct a product that represents your ideal is something many gamers have only been able to fantasize about. Due to the clear gap in the market, developers have experimented with accessible, controller-based creation suites that shatter video game development barriers. Pioneers like Little Big Planet, Project Spark and Dreams have shown that players can create extraordinary things with user-friendly tools. Although Nintendo has flirted with the concept in Labo Garage a...

A powerful creation tool that is extremely impressive, Game Builder Garage represents a great way for players to understand development without being overwhelming. However, it is a shame about the lack of online support.

Game Builder Garage seems to want to showcase just what it’s like to make a game, albeit in a simpler way. It’s sometimes challenging to the point of being headache-inducing. It is unrelentingly complicated. When it clicks, however, it’s fun, magical, and incredibly rewarding.

Game Builder Garage is a great way to learn the basics of game programming through an easy to use visual language. The tutorials may be overbearing for some, holding your hand through each step, but the engine is surprisingly robust and will let you create whatever you want. However, there is no active sharing or receiving interface in the game itself which is incredibly frustrating and limits learning opportunities.

Making games might be an appealing concept to you so learn the ropes with Nintendo's impressively intuitive Game Builder Garage.

Game Builder Garage is a frighteningly powerful game creation tool dragged down by a few limiting factors. The lack of an object creation tool (and pyramids) means that most games are going to look like they were made in a game creation suite, but the sheer scope of what’s possible helps to take the sting out of the tail. This will actually teach you how to make games, the tutorials that lead you through are by-and-large excellent, and the inclusion of USB mouse support is a godsend. We’re probably unable to even conceive of half of what Switch owners will be able to create using this software...

There are a few parts of Game Builder Garage that require some polish, however. The largest issue is that there is no way to search for games created by other players. Half the fun of the similar Dreams is exploring the player created projects that others have spent time designing. With Game Builder Garage, the only option to play someone else's game is to share it with them locally or have the specific code for their creation. What may turn a lot of people away from Game Builder Garage is that it is very limited in both complexity and customization options. This means that those who have alre...

Instead, Game Builder Garage feels like a pedestrian effort. The scope of games across different genres that users can assemble is amazing, but there just isn't enough in terms of assets or customization for users to put a truly unique stamp on their work. Plus, if anybody does manage to create something incredible and worth sharing, actually sharing it is a pain.

Educational games have been thoroughly out of style since the early 2000s, which I have always thought to be a crying shame. They’re useful learning tools even for adults, which is why it’s so great to see a game like Game Builder Garage. This game developing program by Nintendo is seemingly a way to get more people thinking like a video game designer, using its trademark charisma and style to keep the infamously frustrating task of programming enjoyable. And while it succeeds on that fro...

Game Builder Garage is a novel and wonderfully-designed visual programming suite, but its tutorials are far too rigid and there's little else to do outside of them if you find your creative juices have run out. It's got the Nintendo charm in spades though, and it's definitely something that parents of budding bedroom developers should see good value in.

If you have aspirations of making your own video game but haven’t taken that first step, Game Builder Garage is for you. Just keep your expectations in check. You probably won’t be able to make your perfect game with just this software, but it could provide the creative spark that pushes you to turn your game developer dreams into a reality.

BYOGBGGG. The extra G is for games. The second one is a typo.