Nintendo realized long ago that its hardware can be used for creation alongside entertainment, and that’s why we got Labo kits and Super Mario Maker. But next month, Nintendo is offering every Switch owner the opportunity to make their own games.
As the trailer below reveals, Game Builder Garage is a visual programming tool for the Switch, which allows you to quickly design and create your own games to share with others. To aid in the creation process, Nintendo includes seven games and guided lessons on how to build them. After that, you should have a good grasp of the different components and can let your creative juices flow.
Games are formed by connecting creatures called Nodon, which as Nintendo explains, “Nodon are creatures with big personalities that are used to help build your games from the ground up. There are dozens of Nodon in Game Builder Garage, each with a unique function, and you can learn how to build games just by connecting them in various ways.”
“For anyone who has always wanted to make their own video games, Game Builder Garage is the perfect place to start,” said Nick Chavez, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Through the use of guided lessons and memorable Nodon characters, Game Builder Garage helps make creating video games just as much fun as playing them!”
Game Builder Garage will support mouse input (via USB) if your Switch is docked. You can, of course, use the touch screen and Joy-Cons to create in handheld and tabletop modes, and there’s support for the Switch Pro controller. It’s also not going to take up all the space on your Switch internal storage of memory card as the game is only 995MB in size. As for game sharing, it will be done by exchanging codes and anyone playing your game can also view the visual programming behind it to help them learn.
Nintendo is set to release Game Builder Garage on June 11 for just $29.99, which places it squarely in between Miitopia launching on May 21 and Mario Golf: Super Rush launching on June 25.
