GameMakersToolkit

Game Maker's Playlist - July 2017

GAMES! VIDEO GAMES! (The cartoony bit is from Tormenter X Punisher before you ask)

GMTK Newsletter (July 2017)

Hello everyone! Time for your monthly update on everything GMTK related.

Post Script

I released three videos this month. I really wanted to prove that going monthly on my Patreon wasn’t going to turn me lazy! In fact, quite the opposite.

Do We Need a Soulslike Genre? 

So, I started with the Soulslike video. I’m generally pleased with ...

Deconstructing Ori and the Blind Forest's Best Bit | Game Maker's Toolkit

See! I wasn't lying.

New episode. Something a bit shorter, smaller in scope, and focused. Hope you like it.

The video might not go out until next week, so please don't share it until you see it in your YT sub box.

Mark

The best games from GMTK GameJam 2017

Finally, the epic GameJam saga comes to a conclusion. I'll try and write up some final thoughts on what we learned, in the near future.

Oh, and new proper GMTK video for Patrons very soon. Like, in 10 minutes soon.

24 hour exclusive - Deconstructing Ori and the Blind Forest's Best Bit

Hello!

So one of the reasons I wanted to drop my Patreon to monthly was so I would feel more comfortable making shorter videos - like this one! It didn't require huge script rewrites, dozens of games to be recorded, and 100 hours of editing. So that was a nice change.

If it goes down okay, I'll be looking to do more stuff like this in between the larger projects (of which I have many, many planned!)

As always, feedback appreciated. But now I need to record the script for this GameJ...

GameClub - What did you think of Ori and the Blind Forest?

Hello! So I hope you enjoyed playing Ori. Let's chat about it. You can leave your thoughts in the comments below, or gab with other players over on the Discord.

Also - the Discord windows for OneShot and The Flame in the Flood are also now turning to the full discussion and all spoilers are allowed so come chat about those, too. The devs behind OneShot are in the room, answering questions too.

Oh yeah, and the next GMTK ep is on Ori so you're now all caught up and ready ...

Reading List (July 2017)

Hello! Another month, another 30 articles and videos for you to devour!

This month we’ve got remasters, controls schemes, metagames, bugs, foley, web swinging, balance, and more. 

Enjoy!

How stuff gets made

2017-07-24 07:53:05 +0000 UTC View Post

We did a GameJam!

Hi everyone! At the weekend, we hosted the first GMTK GameJam - a 48 hour game making competition where developers try to quickly bash together a game, based on a theme. 

The theme was one of my videos: the Downwell’s Dual Purpose Design video, which was about how single mechanics can have multiple outcomes, leading to interesting trade...

Do We Need a Soulslike Genre? | Game Maker's Toolkit

Hello! A new episode of GMTK is out today.

This took an annoyingly long time to make. I had a small holiday and went to Prague and others things like that - but for the most part it took a long time I simply  couldn't get this episode to come together.

There are multiple scrapped versions, about 6 different scripts, and loads of games and ideas that didn't make it into the episode - but will likely show up in the f...

Video essay breakdown - Why Do Marvel's Movies Look Kind of Ugly?

Hey everyone!

So, something a bit different for you today. I often talk about my process and share behind-the-scenes stuff from my own videos. But today I want to talk about someone else’s video. 

I have so much to learn about how to make good YouTube videos. And the two best ways to do that is to just keep practicing my craft, and also to watch other video essays and try and figure out why they work. 

Patrick Willems is an underrated video essay guy. He hasn’t been d...

24 hour early access - Something something Soulslike

Okay!

Thank you so much for your feedback yesterday. It wasn't easy for me to show an episode in an early state like that. But I'm glad I did, it really helped me see the video in a new light and helped me fix a lot of the issues I was facing.

It's still not perfect. I  could rewrite it forever. But it's DONE. And I'm pleased.

This is one of those videos that is about starting a conversation. Getting people thinking. How do we build on games? How do genres change the way we ta...

Early early access - Do we need a Soulslike genre?

Hi top tier supporters!

So, I’ve been working on this video for a while now and I’d like to get your thoughts before I finish it.

As such, this is an early version with no music, some awkward transitions, some missing footage and sound effects, no game names in the corner, and various other issues.

If you’d prefer to watch GMTK as a finished product, just wait a few days!

The video will be titled something like “Do we need a Soulslike genre”, and is looking at how t...

I just hit 2000 Patrons - so you get a discount!

Hello! 

Unbelievably, I hit 2000 Patrons yesterday. 2000 people who are so generous to support me on my silly self-indulgent mission to go way too in-depth on design and dungeons and Donkey Kong. I can’t thank you enough. 

I love doing these videos. I thought I’d be bored and burnt out by now, but more than two years later and I am still enjoying the process, thrilled to put out a new video, and bursting with excitement for what I’m going to do next. 

I’ve al...

We're running a GMTK Game Jam!

(Sorry for the double post. Technical issues!)

So, some of the game devs on Discord were chatting about a game jam. And now - thanks to the hard work of Patron Aaron - it looks like we'll be running one!

Watch the video about it, here. 

A game jam, if you don’t know, is where you try and make a game that fits some kind of theme, and make it in a super short period of time.

For the GMTK jam, t...

Game Maker's Playlist (June 2017)

Here's the YouTube link 

Hey everyone

So here’s your Game Maker’s Playlist episode for June.

I think I’m going to change things up a little next month. I’m not super happy with the format - I end up half-heartiedly recommending games, and it incentivises me to play a lot of games for very little time each.

Some options would be to do mini reviews instead of recommendations (i.e. the descriptions...

Reading List (June 2017)

Hello! I've got a bumper list of goodies for you this month. I ruthlessly curate this list to make sure it's stuff I can heartily recommend you read and watch, so I hope you dig in and find some new stuff to enjoy.

I'm always looking for more, so do send stuff my way. The best way to reach me is probably a Twitter DM.

Oh Hey it's Mark

[Video] 2017-06-28 13:44:40 +0000 UTC View Post

GameClub 3 - Let's Play Ori and the Blind Forest

Thanks for your votes. Our next GameClub game is Ori and the Blind Forest.

But first - let me just say that I do hear and appreciate your feedback about famous games getting picked over less well-known experiences.

To address this right now, I will open up bonus Discord channels for the runners ups, OneShot and Flame in the Flood...

2017-06-28 08:25:43 +0000 UTC View Post

GameClub 3 - Pick our next game!

Hello everyone! Welcome to the third GameClub - a community event where like-minded game fans, game designers, and game critics can get together and dive deep into a single game.

The rules are simple: we pick a game, play it, and then chat about it. Most of the discussion happens on Discord where you can chat without spoilers for a few weeks, and then jump in and really analyse every aspect of the game after that. 2017-06-27 09:32:59 +0000 UTC View Post

GMTK Newsletter (June 2017)

Hey everyone! Doing this a few days early because I want to talk about my trip to Prague.

Post script

Looks like it will be just one video this month! It was about Donkey Kong’s level design. I shared lots of stuff about this video already, but suffice to say: I’ve played a lot of platformer...

My video making process

Hello!

I've had a few people ask about my process, in various tweets and comments. And while it seems kinda obvious to me - write a script, record your voice and record some footage, stick them together! - maybe it would be interesting to break it down.

I'll be using my most recent video, on Donkey Kong, for an example.

Step 1 - Get an idea!

Some would say this is the hardest bit, but it's easy for me. I have - literally - over 100 video ideas. I wish I could...

New episode - Donkey Kong: Mario's Level Design, Evolved

New episode for y'all!

Thanks for the help with the talk earlier. I've changed a lot, based on your suggestions so cheers for that.

Uhm... that's about it for now! I'm off to pick up my ARMS order!

Help me write a talk!

Hello! So, I’m going to Prague this month to give a talk on game design.

(If you don't care - I'll be back later with a video!)

The conference is for HTML5 and Javascript developers, so it’s going to be focused on quite fundamental design stuff that will be applicable to more simple web and mobile games

I’m calling it “10 most important things I know about game design (despite having never made a game)”, and while I’ve got about 8 1/2 I wanted to get some ideas...

24 hour early access - Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Mario's Level Design, Evolved | Game Maker's Toolkit

Gosh, that's a lengthy video title. Can't be helped when the game's name is a million words long! 

Anyway, hello - it's been a while. Patreon has changed and it's weird. I'm sure we'll cope.

Have you enjoyed E3? I've been watching the keynotes and whatnot, and working hard on this video in between! I was secretly hoping that Nintendo would mention Donkey Kong or Retro in some way to make this video more timely but OH WELL.

I'm going to Prague later this month to give a talk. I...

GameClub 2.5 - What Cavalier told us about The Sexy Brutale

Hello! So, when we chatted about The Sexy Brutale on Monday, we were lucky enough to have all three members of Cavalier join us on the Discord. Thanks to Patron Dave for hooking me up with them.

So, we spoke to narrative director James Griffiths, design director Charles Griffiths, and technical director Tom Lansdale.

Because most of this happened in a very European time zone, and because there was so much good stuff said, I thought I'd archive some of the key quotes from the discussion f...

How to link your Discord and Patreon accounts!

Hey everyone

So, if you didn't know - Game Maker's Toolkit has a Discord server, which is available exclusively for Patrons. You can access it here.

However, I'd love for you to connect your Discord and your Patreon accounts together. This way, the server will know you're a legit backer! This is useful for security, and will be handy down the line...

(For example, if we wanted to set up a public room down the line, ...

GameClub 2.5 - What did you think of The Sexy Brutale?

Hello! So, hopefully you enjoyed playing The Sexy Brutale - I know I did. 

Now's your chance to chat about the game with fellow players, and talk about what worked, what didn't, and how it could be improved. 

As always, you can post your thoughts in the comments below - but you may prefer to chat in the Discord channel  which will be buzzing with commentary on The Sexy Brutale all day.

And - if all be...

GMTK Newsletter (May 2017)

Sorry for spamming your email inbox today! Was working hard on the video and so the Patreon rewards got pushed to the very end of the month!

Hey everyone. Thank you for your support this month! Here's what's been happening with me. 

Post script

Dead Space

The Dead Space project wrapped up this month. People really liked the ending, and especially the final sentiment. The Dead Space 2 episode wasn't as well received, because some...

New episode - What Makes Good AI?

Hey!

This was a fun one to make - I did loads of research, and ended up with more info than I could fit in one episode. I plan to do a follow-up bonus video with more on how AI actually works. And I'll give you guys and gals the rest of the research, too. So, more to come on this topic.

Cheers!

Mark

Game Maker's Playlist (May 2017)

Hey, what's up? Here are some interesting, smaller games I played in May. 

MARK OUT

Reading List (May 2017)

Hello!

I have a weird and eclectic collection of things for you this month. I'm sure you can find a few things worth reading or watching, though!

I missed a comment last month from Jordy who asked "How do you find these articles?". The answer is good YouTube subscriptions, good RSS feeds, and good Twitter follows / filtering!

Prey

P...