GameMakersToolkit

24 hour exclusive - What Makes Good AI? | Game Maker's Toolkit

Hey! A new episode for you. This time, I'm looking at Artificial Intelligence and all the different ways games can feature "good AI".

I plan to follow this up, maybe next week, with a free bonus episode on the basics of how AI actually works. I learnt so much when researching this episode and would love to share what I found with everyone.

Cheers! As always, feedback is very welcome.

Here's the YouTube link

Skyward Sword behind the scenes - now open to all

Hey! Last week I made a special Behind the Scenes article about the Skyward Sword Boss Keys episode, and gave it to $5 Patrons for a bit. That article is now available to all, right here.

While I'm here, I'll let you know that the next GMTK episode is well under way and should just about squeeze into a May release! Want to get it out before E3 mania, at the very least.

It's a chunky episode, and I'm planning t...

The GMTK canon of really neat video game levels

Hey everyone!

In his most recent video, on Edith Finch's cannery level, Super Bunnyhop started the show with his "canon of super neat & super influential levels".

They were:

1-1 (Super Mario Bros), Chemical Plant Zone (Sonic 2), Rainbow Road (Mario Kart, unspecified), E1M8 (Doom), Mario 64 Hub, Unatco (Deus Ex), City Escape (Sonic Adventure 2), DE_Dust2 (Counter Strike), The Silent Cart...

2017-05-24 07:41:12 +0000 UTC View Post

GameClub: Transistor debrief / Sexy Brutale begins!

Hey everyone!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Transistor on here and on Discord. I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on the game. 

We had a bit of a mixed reaction to the game, but if I was trying to find a consensus for our thoughts on Transistor's gameplay, it would be this:

Transistor allows the player to find their own way to play the game. Through mixing and matching different functions, an...

2017-05-19 08:32:20 +0000 UTC View Post

Skyward Sword Boss Keys - behind the scenes

So, this Skyward Sword video has a lot of motion graphic fun in it. From 3D maps to graphs to composite videos to silly gags, a lot of work went into it.

I thought it might be fun to share my process, so you can get a better idea of what goes into a video like this.

How I research Zelda dungeons

So, the first thing to do is to actually play the dungeons. My approach is to get to the dungeon as quickly as possible, doing as little in-between stuff as I can get away ...

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword's dungeon design | Boss Keys

Hello! 

A bit of a snafu with this one - you might have already seen it! But, that's all fixed up now. (And $5 Patrons - watch your inbox this week, I'll have a goodie to make up for the mix up).

Okay, so this is my video on Skyward Sword. I really don't like this game but I had to admit that the dungeons are pretty excellent. They're like an evolution of the mad and ambitious stuff Nintendo was doing back in Majora's Mask.

It's just a shame that there was so much to slog thro...

24 hour access - Skyward Sword Boss Keys

YouTube Link 

As promised, you guys get early access to this Boss Keys ep 

(Ignore  The fact I accidentally uploaded it and 800 people saw it before I pulled it. Whoops!)

Lots of stuff in this one, enjoy!

GameClub - What did you think of Transistor?

Hey everyone! 

So, today's the day to start talking about Transistor. Hope you enjoyed the game - or at least found it interesting to think about. 

If you didn't finish the game, that's okay - just be wary that spoilers will be fair game in the comments section and on Discord. 

So, this is a game about a silent singer called Red, and her talking sword buddy Transistor. As they venture through the futuristic city of Cloudbank, the duo will fight countless rob...

Thoughts on Prey (2017)

Hey! So, I finished Prey.

If you don't know, Prey is a new immersive sim from developer Arkane. After making Dishonored, the studio split in two with one side (in France) working on Dishonored 2 and the other (in Texas) on Prey. 

The game is designed as a spiritual successor to the System Shock games so expect space stations, RPG elements, psychic powers, dead bodies, emails, and artificial intellige...

My Favourite YouTube Channels

Hey!

One question that I get asked a lot is "are there any other channels like Game Maker's Toolkit?" and I always answer "no. I invented the idea of making video essays about games, and no one else is doing it. Please don't search YouTube, just watch me forever".

But because you're my Patrons, I'll let you in on a secret: there are loads of people talking about games on YouTube! And I subscribe to a whole bunch of them. 

These are my favourites, in some loose categories. Chec...

The Design of Dead Space - Part 3

Okay! Let's wrap this bad boy up. As promised, no charge on this one.

I'm pretty pleased with this whole thing. But I think in future I will try to follow a single element from game to game (more like Boss Keys) because otherwise it just starts to sound like a review.

But I'm pleased with the overarching point. There are lots more games I could fit in the last section (with Hitman and Splinter Cell) but decided to let the commenters fill in the blanks!

Cheers. Next: Skyward Sword.&...

Early access - Dead Space 3

Hey everyone. Here's the final part of the Dead Space video. We wrap up by looking at the action heavy, co-op blaster Dead Space 3, and talk about the pressure to change game design to find mainstream appeal. 

As promised, backers only pay once for this three part episode - so no charge this time :)

I must apologise that I couldn't get this third part to you 24 hours early. It took longer to make than I anticipated and, because I had already said that it would be released on May 8th...

Quick Premiere Tutorial - Circular Gauge Thing

Hey guys. was just making a motion graphic for the Dead Space 3 video and realised that it could make a nice quick premiere tutorial. 

It's a circular gauge that fills up, to show the metascore for each dead space game. There's a mix of clever stuff and dumb brute force stuff. Hopefully it's readable - best in 1080p. 

this tutorial video was easier to make than I thought (I was overcomplicating it last time) so I'll try to do more in future. 

g'night. 

2017-05-06 22:52:22 +0000 UTC View Post

Early access - The Design of Dead Space: Part 2

Hey! This episode's going out to everyone tomorrow.

Oh, and I hit two big YouTube milestones yesterday: 200,000 subscribers and 10 million views. Wow! Very pleased, thanks for your invaluable help in getting to where I am today.

Early release - The Design of Dead Space. Part Two

Here's the next one, out on Monday! Dead Space 3 neeeeext Monday. 

The pick for GameClub 2 (A) is Transistor!

Wow! Okay. I didn't see that coming! Transistor and The Sexy Brutale were absolutely neck and neck during that poll - and as I ended it this morning there are only 3 votes between them. 

So, here's what I propose. Because the two games are quite short (How Long To Beat has them at 6 hours each), let's just do both! 

We'll start with Transistor and play 'til May 15th. Have a chat. And then play The Sexy Brutale until May 31st, and chat about that game. You can take part in both,...

Game Maker's Playlist (April 2017)

Hey everyone! Here's your Game Maker's Playlist episode for April. Enjoy!

GMTK Newsletter (April 2017)

Hey everyone! Here's the newsletter for April. 

Post Script

So, because I finished the Psychonauts episode quite early in the month, I decided to spend the rest of it on a more substantial project: playing, finishing, analysing, and comparing the Dead Space trilogy. 

I've put nearly 50 hours into all three games. I didn't just play through the games but also played bits again on higher difficulties, played the games in different orders to remind myself of...

Reading List (April 2017)

Hello!

Thank you for your support this month. Here's what I've been reading and watching: 30 articles and videos that I can recommend. Grab a drink and settle in for essays, reviews, interviews, and analysis.

[Video | CC] Analysis: Taunting and Mind Games - Core-A looks at the psychology of mind games in fighting games. Like how you can goad opponents into doing certa...

The Design of Dead Space - Part 1

This is the first episode in a three part series on the Dead Space trilogy.

Episode 2 will be out on May 1st, and Episode 3 on May 8th. You're only paying for one (this one!)

Watch it on YouTube here.

Not much has happened since the last paid post (This Dead Space stuff has kept me busy), but GameClub round 2 is now open for votin...

GameClub 2 - Voting begins!

Hey everyone! GameClub is back for another round!

If you missed the first one, here's how it works. We vote on a game, and then take about a month to play it. We then come back and have a good ol' chat about what we thought.

For this one, I'll be setting up an (optional) Discord server so we can also chat about the game in a live IM session (as well as a normal post where you can leave more detailed comments and discussions).

For this round, I went with an indie game theme. Some ga...

24 hour exclusive - The Design of Dead Space (Part 1)

Hey everyone. As promised, I've been playing the Dead Space games for a special three-part episode of GMTK. This is the 50th episode, so deserved something a bit different.

This is part one, on Dead Space 1. The other parts will come out in the following two weeks. Like I say, Patrons will only pay for one video.

It's a little strange for me because this video is very much part of a trilogy and the overarching narrative won't wrap up until the Dead Space 3 video. But hey, gotta keep the ...

Quick Update - Next Video / GameClub

Hey everyone. Quick update on what I'm up to.

So I've finished all three Dead Space games. Phew, that was a lot of zombies! I also had to go back to games to play bits on harder difficulty modes, and remind myself how the older games played.

I might have to play some more still, and would also like to check out Extraction, as well.

Anyway, I took so many notes and have so much to cover that I've decided to split the video into three, roughly-10-minute-long episodes. I hope to relea...

What Made Psychonauts Special | Game Maker's Toolkit

Hey! Thanks again for your GameClub support - it really inspired me to make this episode. We'll do another GameClub soon. I'll look into a Discord server for that, so we can chat in real time. And I have a great list of potential games - just gotta wait for the new releases to die down. Anyone else playing Persona 5? 

I've been working hard at the Dead Space episode. I've finished 1, am closing in on the ending of 2, and have purchased 3. I have reams and reams of notes, and absolutely no...

I'm gonna talk about Skyward Sword's dungeons

Hey everyone.

So I just finished Skyward Sword's dungeons, and I thought I'd share the graphs with those who are interested (a Patron recently asked me to share some graphs).

I won't be releasing this episode for a bit as I'm focusing on Psychonauts and Dead Space, but wanted to get some notes down while the dungeons are still fresh in my memory. 

This blog post will only be discussing dungeon structure, but the actual video will touch on combat, puzzles, the lack of ...

24 hour preview

Hello! 

So, our recent GameClub expedition to the Whispering Rock summer camp inspired me to do a piece on the way Psychonauts weaves characterisation into its level design. I think I'll call this one "What made Psychonauts special".

I'm hard at work on the Dead Space trilogy video. I've finished the first game and am wrapping up the third. I've bought DS3 (my first taste of EA's Origin!) and will check out Extraction too.

I'm not sure what the video will entail exactly, but I...

GMTK Newsletter (March 2017)

Hey everyone!

Post Script

So, it's not every day that your favourite developer releases a critically acclaimed game in your favourite franchise, on a brand new console. So yes, much of March was spent playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 

I adore this game. Its sense of mystery and discovery, its adventurous heart, its melancholic vibe. I can pick out criticisms and nit picks, sure, but overall I just loved this game. And I was pleased to get to ta...

Boss Keys - Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks

Let's take a breezy look at a pair of DS games. I didn't want to go over the same structural stuff I've been repeating for the past few episodes, so decided to look at information and experimentation instead.

Game Maker's Playlist - March 2017

Four games for you to check out! And a bonus one to forever avoid.

There are a couple more games I'm interested in - Snake Pass and Rainworld - but I haven't got to them yet so maybe look out for them in April.

Cheers!

Reading List (March 2017)

No prizes for guessing which game this Reading List would focus on! It's Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash, of course! No wait. The other one. Zelda. 

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

[Video] Breaking Conventions with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Make sure you've seen this GDC talk from the ke...