We’ve mentioned the Experimental Gameplay Project on NAG before, namely for its focus on rapid game development. With a mandatory “one week only” rule for game creation, this project gives developers from all over the chance to explore and ever-so-slightly flesh out a lot of really cool game concepts. The Experimental Gameplay Project (henceforth known [...]

I usually reserve these pages for tools aimed at beginners or game designers who are more interested in results than nice tech. Of course, when you have two astounding game engines leaping at your face and screaming, “I’m free! I’m free!” it’s generally time to sit up and take notice. Prepare to meet the Unreal [...]

Klik & Play is one of those mysterious game creation tools that should, by all rights, be long dead. I was personally introduced to it as a wide-eyed, schoolgoing youth back in a time when accessible game creation was still rare. Countless hours, days, and even weeks were poured into dozens of small projects that [...]

Adam Saltsman is a pretty cool guy. He makes some pretty nice games here and there, maintains a pretty interesting blog on Gamasutra, and is always pretty quick to respond when I nag him for info on game development articles. This puts him very firmly in my “good books” territory. He’s also made a Flash [...]

We mentioned Python a short while back as an easy introduction to programming, but if you want something that’s aimed more at the young ‘uns and practically guarantees a gentle tutorial for game coding, take a look at Scratch. Developed at MIT for mysterious educational purposes, Scratch is an animator, simulator and game creator. If [...]

Most of us have, at some point or another, indulged in a little JRPG goodness. But have you ever considered the possibility of creating one yourself? Thanks to RPG Maker XP, you have the tools to do just that. In this article, we’re going to show you how to create a basic room, an event [...]

What, have they released the first Sims 3 expansion pack already? Not quite: The Sims Carnival is a games creator and gaming portal, and a damn accessible one at that. You can make your own games in no time, upload them to the web, check out other people’s creations, and even peek in at the [...]

Do you really, really want to become a game programmer? Do you really, really have no idea how to start? Try some Python! This easy and simple programming language is not just a great springboard for people who don’t know much about coding: it’s also a tool that’s gained a considerable following in South Africa [...]

“Sound development is scaaaary!” you think. “I can’t possibly get nice audio for my game unless I trawl the Internet for free sound effects!” Most developers wouldn’t hesitate to agree with you. But it’s rather strange when you think about it. People are generally willing to code games from the ground up, draw their own [...]

This section has mentioned Game Maker in the past, but if you’re still not entirely comfortable with getting your hands dirty, then maybe it’s time for a crash course. Here you’ll create your first Game Maker project, from download to executable, after only 500 words. To start with, grab a copy of the tool from [...]

Flash is one of the most ubiquitous and lucrative game development tools out there today, so what’s stopping you from getting into it too? In a paltry 500 words, we’ll look at Flash from the ground up and have you creating a simple application in no time. For free, too! Getting the stuff There’s three [...]

Want to get into game development, but don’t know which tools to use? Fair enough: there are a lot of options out there, and it’s difficult to tell which ones are going to do the job for you. This week, we offer you a few handy suggestions, which are all absolutely free to download. And [...]

Ever wanted to create your own super-duper adventure game in the vein of those old Sierra and Lucasarts classics? If you’re open to flexing your point-n-click muscles with the big boys, then perhaps it’s time to try out Adventure Game Studio. All the cool kids use it, and so can you. Adventure Game Studio (or [...]

Scared of game development? Don’t be! Game Maker proves that making your own amazing titles is both fun and easy to do.