Ninja Sparks: Google’s Hidden Game Maker

Hey there,

Hi there! Welcome to Issue 14 of Ninja Sparks, my fortnightly newsletter where I share interesting, creative things I’ve found online.

Next week marks the start of the school summer holidays here in the UK, so I’ll be spending more time with my wife and son, including heading off on holiday. I might miss or delay an issue or two, but I’ll still be working on my projects (like Beep8 and Brush Ninja). I’m also trying to prep some newsletters in advance so I can keep them coming.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been building a map editor for Beep8. It’s really helping me define how I want the game maker to work, and I’ve got some cool features planned. Right now I’m working on an ECS (Entity Component System) for the engine, which will make it possible to build much more complex games. It’s properly geeky, but I’m really excited about the possibilities this will open up.

In the meantime, here’s a screenshot of the map editor in action:

You can actually test the map editor for yourself on the Beep8 website. It’s still a work in progress, but I’d love to hear what you think.

Google Game Maker

At home we have a Google Chromebook that I bought for testing Brush Ninja since it’s used a lot at schools, but now my son uses it when he’s at home. We use Google Family Link to manage his account and control what he uses. One of the things he likes to do the most is browse the Google Doodles, and his favourite of those is the doodle for what would have been Gerald Lawsons 82nd birthday.

This interactive Doodle celebrates American engineer Gerald “Jerry” Lawson, one of the fathers of modern gaming.

The doodle celebrates the life of Gerald Lawson, who was a pioneer in video game technology and one of the first African American engineers in the gaming industry. This doodle is a game maker that allows you to create simple platform games or top-down Zelda like adventure games. You can create your own levels, add controllable characters, obstacles and enemies, and then play the game you made.

It starts with an interactive tutorial that guides you through the basics of editing a game, and then you can make your own. The interface is simple, and anyone can use it to make something fun and challenging.

It’s not dissimilar to Pocket Platformer which I mentioned in an earlier issue, but since it is linked to a Google account, it saves your games online and makes them easy to share with others.

Note that to play the doodle you visit the website, and then click on the doodle at the top of the page and it will open up. I found it didn’t work in Firefox (which may be down to extensions I have installed) but it works fine in Chrome.

Try Google Game Maker

Creativity at Nintendo

I really admire both Shigeru Miyamoto and Satoru Iwata so it’s great revisit this “Iwata Asks” interview on creativity. The whole thing is interesting but this part in particular stood out for me.

Iwata In the same vein, I don’t think that anyone would be able to come up with any ideas if there were no restrictions for developing games.

Miyamoto Oh, that’s very true.

Itoi That’s true with any type of expression.

Iwata That’s what it’s all about, really.

Miyamoto It’s all about restrictions. History is really just a battle against restrictions. I think that we get our energy from being able to take a restriction and make it work for us.

Itoi You’re right.

Iwata There’s no better feeling than the moment when you finally solve a problem.

Two lines from this in particular really resonate:

• “History is really just a battle against restrictions.”
• “There’s no better feeling than the moment when you finally solve a problem.”

I think this is true in all creative fields, not just video games. I often find that the best ideas come when you have to work within limitations, and the satisfaction of solving a problem is one of the most rewarding parts of being creative. This interview is a great read for anyone interested in game design or creativity in general. I linked to the page this quote comes from but the full conversation can be read here.

As an aside, I am really pleased this is still available online. I remember reading many of these interviews when they were first published (the interview I referenced is from 2011) and they are a great insight into the minds of some of my favourite game designers. There are many other interviews available on the Iwata Asks site. If you’re a fan of Nintendo or game development in general, I highly recommend checking them out.

Sparked Discoveries

Here’s a handful of links I found intriguing recently:

Clues By Sam

Clues By Sam is a daily puzzle game. You have a grid of people and have to decide if they are innocent or guilty. I have no idea what they did but you are given a single clue and have to deduce the answer. Once you have solved the first clue another clue is revealed, and you can continue working through the puzzle. The clues are not used sequentially; some of the clues combine to give answers, and some that were previously offered become relevant later. The puzzle always has correct next steps, there’s no guesswork involved. I’ve only played a few of the puzzles so far and I’m not great at them, but I enjoy the challenge. Hopefully with practice I will get better.

Arcade Machine Lego set (40805)

I love Lego that has things inside things. When I was little I always tried to make vehicles with doors that had things that opened. This set takes it to the next level with an arcade machine that houses a games room inside it. I don’t buy as much Lego as I used to but I’ll be getting this one for sure!

Dataviz Project

I’m not sure why I find this so appealing but it’s an archive of different data visualizations grouped by type. It reminds me infographics which were very popular on social media and blogs about 15 years ago.

Have you found anything interesting lately? I’d love to hear about it, just reply to this email!

Until next time,

Ben