Nintendo announces visual programming suite ‘Game Builder Garage’

Players will be able to make and share games

Nintendo has announced Game Builder Garage, a new game development platform for aspiring programmers.

Releasing on June 11 for Nintendo Switch, Game Builder Garage is a new piece of software from the team at Nintendo behind Nintendo Labo, a game where players build their own peripherals out of pre-designed cardboard kits.

Watch the launch trailer below:

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The software uses a visual game programming language that lets players learn the basics of game programming by connecting together characters called “Nodon” that have different properties.

As an example, linking a Stick Nodon to a Person Nodon, players would create a character that can be controlled by the analogue stick.

“For anyone who has always wanted to make their own video games, Game Builder Garage is the perfect place to start,” said Nick Chavez, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

“Through the use of guided lessons and memorable Nodon characters, Game Builder Garage helps make creating video games just as much fun as playing them!”

Game Builder Garage Share Screen. Credit: Nintendo

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Game Builder Garage comes packaged with two different modes. The first is Lesson Mode, which guides players through interactive lessons, interspersed with small puzzles and tasks to solve in order to demonstrate an understanding of the mechanics learned.

Free Programming mode lets players make their own game ideas a reality, allowing them to swap between programming and play modes with a press of a button in order to test their creations quickly and seamlessly.

Players will be able to upload their own games to a central hub where they can also download games made by others. All of these games can be taken into Free Programming mode, where players can see the programming behind them, in order to understand how games have been created.

Alongside using the traditional Nintendo Switch Joy-Con controls, Game Builder Garage can support a mouse connected via the Switch dock’s USB port.

Game Builder Garage will be available via the Nintendo eShop, and costs $29.99 (no UK price has been confirmed yet).

In other Switch news, Nintendo’s most recent release, New Pokémon Snap, has reportedly sold four times more physical copies at launch than its predecessor did over a decade ago.

The Pokémon photography game has taken to the top spot in the UK charts, beating out PS5 exclusive Returnal.

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