Microsoft's Project Spark

[sined13]

Anyone following this thing?

I've been following it since its announcement at E3. I really like the approach (or at least, their intended approach).

in short:
- It's for making games -- seemingly, not standalone...it's more akin to a level editor than an actual game maker
- Runs on XBox 360, XBox One and Windows 8 (only) systems (not RT).
- it's free (although not yet available)
- Beta in October
- Uses a visual programming approach (using tiles) based on Kodu
- Cannot import your own content (can only use (buy) Microsoft-created content)

The last bullet really has me worried that they will nickel-and-dime users for obtaining additional content. That being said, you can build new objects using existing objects (e.g. in one demo, they have a giant mech-type robot built from an existing house model, or a piano made from tree trunks, coins and pipes).

Anyway, check out the videos on their Youtube channel. I really like where they seem to be going, but there is still a lot they haven't mentioned yet.

Here is their Youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/JoinProjectSpark/videos

I am hopeful, but I do have some reservations. At the very least, it will be a fun little toy for experimenting.

EDIT:
For those who don't want to sit through all the videos mentioned above, here's a shorter one that summarizes some of what it can do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zEnKgmXjeo

[phobossion]

I attended their presentation on Gamescom, seems quite nice, although I did not delve into it much so I have no idea how deep it actually is. However, I support any idea that could result in broader access to DIY games The more developers are there, the better ideas and thus games we will see in the future as their ideas get incorporated into the industry. Thumbs up!

[sined13]

Yeah, my first impression was that it would be a very limited sandboxed gadget, but the more they show, the more it looks like they might actually be able to pull off something pretty flexible.

Even for those who prefer using an actual API, it looks like this is a worthy tool for doing (at least) quick experiments or proof of concepts. In the videos on their channel, they show (or talked about) different kinds of game style that were made (side-scroller, RPG, FPS, etc...). They're using voxels, which allows to build/destroy the terrain in-game. Also, the game world is said to support 25 cubic km and supports level linking, so pretty much endless space. They also mentioned that someone had made a 30 minute corny "movie" in a Miami-Vice genre, which showed very good support for all kinds of camera work, cut scenes and narratives...so a nice tool for those into machinima.

They often sound like they're trying to bite off more than they can chew, but so far (from what has been shown), it looks like they're on the right track to deliver.

Anyhoo, I've never followed closely anything from Microsoft before...so this feels a bit weird for me.

[TheSHEEEP]

Somehow it reminds me of Gary's mod.
But less flexible.