Game Builder Garage launched on the Switch last Friday. In less than a week, users have already used Nintendo’s visual programming tool to craft their own takes on Sonic the Hedgehog, Doom Eternal, and the obligatory remake of Kojima’s P.T. demo. And don’t even get me started on screaming event presenter Toad.
In Game Builder Garage, the building blocks of game programming come to life as little characters called “Nodons.” If you want an object to appear on the screen, you drop in an Object Nodon. If you want that object to hurt the player when they touch it, you go into that object’s settings and set it to “Destructive.” If you want to press the B button to jump, you drop in a Control Nodon and link it to the B button input on the Person Nodon that represents your in-game character.
It’s a simple programming language that can get really complex in the right hands. For example, here’s a small peek at what’s going on under the hood of the “Doom Eternal Garage Teaser” created by Game Builder Garage user MrTiffles!.
Looks pretty complex, right? The cool thing about Game Builder Garage games is that once a creator shares their game code, as MrTiffles! did on Twitter, you can download their creations, make a copy, and fiddle about with their code. Tweak their game to add your own spin or mine their code for tricks to use in your own projects.
Here are some of the best creations I’ve come across in Game Builder Garage so far.
