2021.6.10
Content pre-recorded in accordance with current COVID-19 health and safety guidelines. This article has been translated from the original Japanese content.
The Joy of Programming
What should players do next, once they finish making games using the interactive lessons?
As the next step, we offer the Free Programming part of the game. Of course, you can decide that you want to make your own game from scratch, but we recommend that you start by copying and playing around with the games you’ve made in the interactive lessons. The games you make in the lessons are also saved in the Free Programming area as your own games, so you can use them to make new games as well.
I think it’s good to play experimentally at first, combining the various Nodon from the lessons to see how they function. If you get confused, you can always go back to the lessons or the Nodopedia or check the functions in Alice’s Guide.
I see. I guess it's better to start with preset configurations and work your way up, rather than trying to create something amazing from scratch. However, as I get better and better at making, I might wonder how far I can go to create something more advanced. In fact, some people have wondered whether they’d be able to create actual games, like the ones sold on the market.
I don't think it's possible to create something on the same level as the games sold as software for Nintendo Switch. In Free Programming, there is a limit of 512 Nodon and 1024 connections linking the Nodon... However, I think you’d be able to take a part of your favourite game and try to create a similar system. For example, you could try to recreate one of the mechanisms from The Legend of Zelda series(5). So, I hope you will enjoy thinking about how you can make it work within these parameters.
(5) The Legend of Zelda is an action-adventure game series in which players solve puzzles while adventuring. The first game in the series was released in Japan in 1986.
It might be fun to think of whether you can recreate your favourite game within these parameters.
As for how much development can be done with Free Programming, this software includes physics operations(6) from the beginning, so it is good at creating action games such as jumping and breaking things.
(6)Physics operations are used to make objects move in accordance with the laws of physics in the real world. Physics calculations enable the realistic representation of actions such as rolling, breaking blocks, and blowing in the wind.
I see. So, you don't have to create complex operations by yourself.
On the other hand, players can't put a lot of text in one game, so this is not good at making RPGs(7) or text adventures(8).
(7)An abbreviation for Role-Playing Game. Role-Playing Games are a genre of games in which the player controls a character who projects themselves in the story and experiences growth through adventure.
(8)A genre of games in which the player reads a story that changes according to the player's choices, mainly through text told with illustrations and music.
No, no, no, maybe there is someone who will break through with a combination of various Nodon. (laughs)
It's true that even with the Toy-Con Garage VR, there were a lot of things that were created by players that surprised the developers. It was like, "I didn't know you could make something like this!”. (laughs)
Even with restrictions, someone might show up who will be able to devise ways to overcome them.
I'm looking forward to seeing any games that surprise the development team.
By the way, when you make something yourself, you want people to see what you've made, but in what way can you share it with others?
You can share your creations via the internet(9) or local wireless communication(10). If you use the internet, you can upload your game to Nintendo's servers, where each game will receive a game ID. You can then give the ID to others and have them enter it into their Nintendo Switch console to download the game.
(9)Online play requires a paid membership to Nintendo Switch Online. (Nintendo Switch Online is unavailable in your region.)
(10)Additional accessories, games and systems required, sold separately.
Will I also be able to see how the downloaded game is programmed?
Of course. That point is important to us.
I'm sure that there will be many people who create appealing games, and I think that just downloading and playing them will be enjoyable enough, but I would like people not only to play them but to see how they work and to imitate them.
Could they also come together and work together to improve the same program little by little?
The downloaded games can be copied and arranged in the same way as the lessons, so you would be able to add Nodon to them or to reduce the number of Nodon in the same game to build it up more efficiently.
So, challenging yourself to see if you can make a complex program simple is also a learning experience.
Although it opens up a wide range of possibilities, the goal of the games created in Game Builder Garage is not to compete with games sold as products, and I hope that people enjoy creating whatever they want without being bound by the framework of "what a game should be like”.
I agree. I think there will be various things uploaded on the internet. But I don't think that a game must have rules or action to be a game.
For example, you can draw a lot of pictures of your favourite flower to create a field of flowers, and you can add an animation of a UFO flying over and enjoy it in that way. I think that’s wonderful enough. Of course, showing others what you created, hearing their opinions, and then getting that motivation of “I want to make a better game!” I think is also important. But more importantly I would like people to take pleasure in the inventions and discoveries gained from using their own hands.
In other words, you would like everyone to finish making their games, each in their own way.
Yes, anything is a game as long as the creator thinks it's a game! I hope everyone will enjoy creating their own games and making their own discoveries.
I see, I now understand that you should feel free to make whatever you can think of.
Most programming software seems to focus on the fun of what kinds of final products can be made. However, when we were planning this software, we thought it would be good to have the fun of trial and error and discovery during the programming process, as well as the fun of completing the steps of the lessons, and the joy of programming itself. Therefore, Game Builder Garage focusses on the fun of programming and we hope it supports that in a fun way.
Now in closing, do the two of you have any comments about who you would like to play this game?
Those who know nothing about programming, those who know the word "programming" but don’t know what it does, those looking into programming education for children… I would like to ask those people to please try it once. Just by playing Game Builder Garage and having fun creating a game, I feel that they will naturally start to understand what programming is.
I think there are many people, when they hear the word “programming”, they think, “I don’t know where to start” or “I’m kind of not into it”. So, for those people, we have prepared interactive lessons that will enable them to complete making a game to the end. I hope that it will be useful as a place to experience programming for the first time.
Thank you very much.
Game Builder Garage is out now on Nintendo Switch.
