Gamefroot lowers entry level to game development

Gamefroot is a free online game development tool, released last month by Wellington-based firm Instinct Entertainment. It's aimed at artists, storytellers, junior game developers, “noobs”, and people who can’t code.

Instinct Entertainment director Dan Milward and programmer Vlad Wolstencroft spoke at last weekend’s NZ Game Development Association conference, showing Gamefroot in action and giving attendees a few tips on game design.

Milward said that the service “aims to democratise game creation”, lowering the entry level to game development.

The tool is entirely browser-based, implemented in HTML5 and Javascript. There’s no need for game developers to download or install any software, and Gamefroot works in modern web browsers on any platform (Windows, Mac OS, Linux or even Android).

It may not be as comprehensive as the Game Developer Degree at the Media Design school, but it has simplicity in its favour. Programming knowledge is not required to create games using Gamefroot: instead, a drag-and-drop system is used to define events and behaviour of objects within the game world.

Gamefroot can currently be used to build platform, puzzle and top-down-perspective games.

Finished games are stored on the Gamefroot website, and can be played there as Flash games, or via the Gamefroot iPhone app. Gamefroot can't be used to create standalone Flash games or iPhone apps; the only way to play your games is via Gamefroot. Despite this limitation, games remain your property if you're the developer.

Try Gamefroot’s Game Creator (http://gamefroot.com)