Title: Kodu Game Lab
Platform: 360 (Also on PC)
Community Rating: Violence=1/3, Sex=0/3, Mature Content=0/3
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Microsoft Research
Review by: Kevin Haverty
With XNA Creator’s Club and the newly re-branded Indie Games, Microsoft has done a great job giving wannabe game designers the tools and resources needed to make games for the Xbox 360. I was able to get some ugly and rudimentary (due to my skill level, not XNA limitations) things running on my Xbox with only a handful of programming classes, a book and the XNA Creator’s Club website. Now it is even easier to get into making games with the release of Kodu Game Lab.
Kodu Game Lab was released as an Indie Game through the Xbox Marketplace for 400 points. It is a game-creating tool made simple enough that anyone can use it. There is no coding; everything is done via the simple menu interface.
Unfortunately, the included tutorials are lackluster. They give the user objectives but don’t hold their hand through how to work the menu system and assign attributes. Along with the tutorials, there are quite a few games and environments included that the player can use as a reference or make adjustments for his own version.
Once the designer is ready to jump in, he can create his own world with an environment editor. The amount of space for a game is impressive, but remember to keep the scope limited. Users can’t design characters; instead the game includes many items that can be used as playable and non-playable characters.
The rest of the programming is done in a series of “when this, do that” loops. When “Player 1 presses A,” do “motorcycle jumps.” When “Player 1 presses B,” do “motorcycle shoots blue rocket.” The options are selected from a wheel that pops up and the actions depend on the type of object. It may seem tedious to have to do this for every object, but it is a hell of a lot simpler than the code executing behind the scenes.
Conditions for winning are set in this manner as well, and are wide-ranging. Winning objectives can be who has the most points, who reaches the finish line first, who is the last player standing, etc. The camera is also programmable. The camera can be fixed for a game based in a small arena, or the camera can follow a player or even be placed for first-person perspective.
Games can be created by multiple players at once, a la Little Big Planet. Unfortunately, only one player can navigate menus and create at a time. The biggest disappointment to Kodu is that creators can only share games with people on their friend lists.
Kodu Game Lab is cheaper than a game rental and has endless possibilities. For those interested in making games, Kodu is a great starting point to learn some basic concepts of game design without learning a programming language. Just make sure to take the time to “tighten up the graphics on level three.”
For more info, www.xbox.com
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August 17th, 2009 at 11:49 am
I’m a bit annoyed that they’re charging for this since I recall reading that it was going to be a free tool for all 360 users. It sounds good but it would have been nice if they had incorporated an extra mode which showcased the programming language in a way because while the basic stuff is good it’s the language which goes a long way to learning how to make a game. I also believe that’s the most difficult part so it would have been nice for them to have considered that.
August 17th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I gave the trial a handfull of run-throughs and couldn’t get into it. Really needs a real tutorial system if they want to get more people to buy.
The limited character, object, and terrain options, along with the blocky look just aren’t compelling to me.