Nintendo Gamestudio lets Switch users create their own games

Nintendo presents Gamestudio, a Switch game aimed at introducing children to game making. Gamestudio contains seven lessons for creating your own games in a manner similar to visual scripting.

In Nintendo Gamestudio, or Game Builder Garage as the title is called in English, players have access to ‘dozens’ of different Nodon. These are the building blocks for making your own games, which are presented as characters in the game. Examples include Button, Stick, Person, Object, Timer, Background Music and Texture. Players can link those different elements together by drawing lines. Combining the Nodon Stick and Person, for example, produces a human-like character.

According to Nintendo, Gamestudio teaches children the fundamental concepts of making games in a playful way. The game contains seven interactive lessons, resulting in seven different games; ranging from 2d platformer to kart racer and space blaster. Lessons start simple and get more and more complex, building on previously acquired knowledge. Gamestudio supports USB mouse control when using the Switch dock.

After each step in the different lessons, players are given the opportunity to test the structure. According to a Nintendo Europe spokesperson, the first lesson lasts about forty minutes, while the last lesson takes about an hour and a half. Gamestudio also has a sandbox mode, or a blank canvas where players can make their own creations, without following a step-by-step plan. There is a limit to the number of Nodon and links players can apply, but Nintendo does not specify them. According to a spokesperson, the limit is “many times higher” than the number of Nodon and connections in the most extensive pre-programmed lesson.

It is possible to share created creations with other players, but players must pass on their Player ID and Programming ID to someone else. There is no way to browse other people’s creations. Nintendo says Gamestudio’s emphasis is on learning, not sharing created games. The game will only be available digitally in the Nintendo eShop and will have a suggested retail price of 30 euros. The game will be available from June 11.