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Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
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Noodle-Works
07/11/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
LBP pulls this off better. game/level creation is never going to be flawless on any system just because of the technical side of things. thats why there's game studios game make games, not your friend down the street. the easiest level creator i've ever used is got to be the Unreal Editor. its just so clear and crisp and simple considering all the things you can do in a FPS. LBP is up there, maybe if you could get some mouse and keyboard controls working, it'd be even better. The hardest thing for me about LBP is that you're ALWAYS creating your level with the physics and game mechanics turned on. there's a lot of work arounds you have to do just to set up switches and machines to work correctly. Even when you "pause" the world, it wont help if you need to get a block or something inside a different part of the game. you cant float things through walls at all. its more like a level editor game you play rather than an actual level editor.

I'd love to see LBP on the PC!
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NoBullet
07/11/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
The coding is much more deeper than at first glance. You just have to spend extra time on it. People have been making complex codes to replicate RTS game mechanics, transporting, hidden button combos. Stuff like that which isnt obvious when you first see the stuff you can work with.

This game is a great example. Its a Shmup/DDR/GH combination

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apoloimagod
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
@ AJ Glasser: I can't believe you wouldn't mention the fact that this game doesn't have a sharing channel/room/server (like LBP), instead you can only share games with those on your friends' list. This alone is the only reason that has kept me from buying this game. It sounds to me like something very important to mention in a review... and I would have definitely placed it in the games' cons.

When you say "... you're basically buying an eternal ticket to whatever games other users can come up with." it sounds like you're implying you can have access to the levels created by all other users, which is misleading, basically implying this game's sharing system is similar to LittleBigPlanet's, and it isn't.
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Edited by apoloimagod at 07/10/09 10:37 PM apoloimagod was starred apoloimagod was unstarred

Vin St. John
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
I can't wait to drop $5 for this, especially because I like to promote the kind of work that Microsoft Research does.

Interestingly, this software wasn't really created to be the sort of "like games? Well now you can MAKE THEM" hobbyist software that we've seen before. And please understand, I'm not using that as a criticism of those packages.

This is intended to be a sort of gateway drug for young kids to get into programming and game design. You can give a kids crayons and they'll grow up to be master artists, and you can give them a box of Legos to inspire their inner engineers. Now you can let kids discover the joys of creating games, too.

Of course, that doesn't mean it won't be fun for me to try to create Pac Man RPG when I get my hands on this. Haha just kidding.... but seriously.
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tehdorkz
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
I've toyed around with Kodu a bit. It's definitely a cool idea, though is intimidating at first, I scanned through all of the options of what I could do with a specific item, and got a little confused. Building worlds is definitely tough for people who are inexperienced (or have no idea what they're doing like me) but seems like something can is doable with enough trial and error. I get a little frustrated with how sensitive some of the land making options are (namely the raise land option) but I see a lot of potential for people with skill and a great imagination. Definitely going to be spending some time on this "game" to continue to learn and start making my own little games.
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Verno77
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
I enjoy Kodu quite a bit, except for the part where all my worlds I've made are unloadable now, but the patch will fix that.

BTW, I think the small dev team for this game really respond to the community, because the first patch doesn't just fix bugs, it includes a few things the community been asking for. They're also very active on the fansite(s)(probably, because they don't have their own popular forum).
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Edited by Verno77 at 07/10/09 8:49 PM Verno77 was starred Verno77 was unstarred

gunluva is prepared to drop.
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
I like Kodu, alot, but did they change the fact that you can only share games among friends? I haven't had the time to fire it up since I got it on its release.
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NoBullet
07/11/09

@gunluva has given up piracy: No its still a friend share thing. But the devs have hinted at setting up an ad supported server to share games with everyone.
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gunluva is prepared to drop.
07/11/09

@NoBullet: I think Bungie's content sharing system would be a good example to learn from. IE, see a game on the website, cue it for download to your 360.
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QualityJeverage
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
I haven't played with it yet (Though I plan to), but judging from this review it sounds like it's got the same problem I had with LittleBigPlanet; A lot of compelling tools for creation, but you're restricted to the rather inefficient and clunky controller.

Controllers work fine for PLAYING a game, but for doing anything creative beyond the very, very basic, they just aren't adequate. This was one of the major reasons I couldn't get into LBP.
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VAKinc
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
Kodu is pretty great. Thus far, I've created a "Starcatcher" game where you chase a magical turtle that drops stars. While being shot by missile turrets. As time goes on, more missiles are tracking you, making it insanely frantic. I also recreated a 4-player version of Space Invaders, and made Tower Defense. I even made an RTS. That's right, an RTS. It's crazy.
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Kobun
07/11/09

@VAKinc: How in the world can you create an RTS from Kodu? Does control basically still rely on moving the player character to the unit and having it upgrade if certain conditions are met with a bump?
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Ben Nadler
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
I haven't had a chance to mess around with Kodu since I have been on vacation, but the concept of it truly makes me happy. I love the experience of playing on a console more than a PC, but I am also drawn to user generated content like a bug to a light. I constantly end up buying games twice so I can play the original on the console while playing my own mods and others on the PC. I can only hope that this will lead to more robust games of this type. Or, Microsoft, how about you let Xbox users get custom UT3 maps? Please?
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Ben Nadler
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
I haven't had a chance to mess around with Kodu since I have been on vacation, but the concept of it truly makes me happy. I love the experience of playing on a console more than a PC, but I am also drawn to user generated content like a bug to a light. I constantly end up buying games twice so I can play the original on the console while playing my own mods and others on the PC. I can only hope that this will lead to more robust games of this type. Or, Microsoft, how about you let Xbox users get custom UT3 maps? Please?
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Dayvan Cowboy
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
"it's hard for users to figure out what's breaking their world when they go to run it since there's no way to tell if it's the trees spitting coins or a mistake in the blimp's "express love" behavior programming"

Ahh, welcome to the glorious world of game development and the limitless land of debugging...
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Cloral
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
Well for $5 it might be worth looking at for the user-generated content. It just always seems to me that finding good user-generated content is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
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Brodka: regrettably
07/10/09

@Cloral: Don't count on it. Finding any content is difficult because you can only share with friends. There are sharing groups but it is a big oversight.

That said, I love Kodu. My motorcycle racer is an old school isometric race game with a working volcano that spits out flaming rocks and jumps and mountains and it simply rules.

Easily the best $5 I spent on XBL. Not for everyone, but if building your own game from scratch sounds like your cup of tea, you can't pass it up.
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DaFron
07/10/09

In reply to Kodu Game Lab Micro-Review: Baby’s First Game Development Kit
I agree that the interface could use a little work, but it's a pretty amazing tool. Especially for $5.

My sons (5 & 7) and I have made some fun games (and quite a few lame ones). Even though the interface isn't great my 5 year old can create games on his own.
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Michael Dukakis
07/10/09

@DaFron: The fact that you called you kids games lame made me laugh, in a good way.
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DaFron
07/10/09

@Michael Dukakis - Mets fan:

It's OK, they don't read Kotaku, yet.
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dsectric
07/10/09

@DaFron: my 5-yearold brother can barely play Bomberman Live, how the hell does your son manage to handle Kodu?
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Herabek
07/11/09

@DaFron: Yes, but when they do, they may click your profile and see your comment history... Remember, the internet shows no mercy.
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DaFron
07/11/09

@dsectric:

He's not very good at Bomberman either, but Kodu requires a different set of skills. Bomberman is more about reaction time and accuracy. Kodu is about planning and logic; he's pretty good at those things. He works much better with less stress.
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UltimatePancakeSensation
07/01/09

In reply to Xbox Game Creator Software Now Out, Available For Download
I just happened to stumble upon this last night, and since it's found in the XNA section I thought it was a community game.

Played the demo 3 times in a row before I knew I had to buy it. I can't wait to go home and fiddle around with it more. I'm really looking forward to how many different genres I can stretch out of the engine.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants to create games. At the very least, give the demo a try!
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