Want to create a video game, but don't know where to start? Garage Games is looking to develop a tool that will bring "game design to everyone." The Torque 3D engine creator has launched a Kickstarter campaign, seeking $500,000, to fund the development of 3 Step Studio, a suite of tools and templates designed to make game creation available to developers of all levels.
"Everyone has ideas for games, especially for their iPhone or iPad, but only expert programmers can make their ideas come to life," Garage Games claims. 3 Step Studio will allow gamers everywhere, regardless of programming skill, to make their own games for the iPad, iPhone, Windows, or Mac.
3 Step Studio is targeting game enthusiasts, artists, and designers, and will include free-genre specific templates and tools. The process sounds pretty simple: Choose a genre template, customize the basic details, and share your game with the world. Should the tools reach its crowdfunding goal, the basic templates would be Physics Launcher and Tower Defense, with the Platformer and RPG "coming soon." You'll be able to import your own artwork and audio and tweak gameplay values like hitpoints and physics to make the game unique. Advanced features and additional content will be made available through micro-transactions.
"Gamers everywhere have ideas for their own games, but often encounter the roadblocks of programming and prohibitive pricing of most development tools. 3 Step Studio removes those obstacles and clears the way for their creativity,” said 3 Step Studio line product manager Kyle Miller. “We are filling that void of a game design suite specifically for the enthusiast, student, aspiring game designer or artist.”
Garage Games CEO Eric Preisz added: "The truth is making games is very hard and often costly; the majority of people never finish their first game. We set out to address this by designing the most intuitive tools to help you make a game without compromising personal expression."
“Much of our company’s history over that last eleven years has been in helping students, beginners and small teams make games. If you have any interest in being a game developer, then 3 Step Studio is where you should start."
It's an interesting concept that I'd love to see get funded. I'm sure there are plenty of game enthusiasts that would love to develop a game. Heck, I'm one of them! I don't see 3 Step Studio being the end-all for game development, but I do see it as a nice stepping stone to get your feet wet in game development. If you're looking for a place to start, this could be it.
For more information, or to help fund 3 Step Studio, visit the official Kickstart page.
