Nintendo’s Game Builder Garage lets you build your own Switch games

Nintendo has given us a pre-E3 treat out the blue and announced a brand new piece of software for the Nintendo Switch – yes, not quite a game.

Game Builder Garage allows you to program your own games, everything from creating the music to the logic and programming behind it. The software looks very much like a Labo game, both in the game creation and with the characters. The Nodon are new to Game Builder Garage, and they’re what will help you stick your game together.

Nodon are creatures with big personalities that are used to help build your games from the ground up. There are dozens of Nodon in Game Builder Garage, each with a unique function, and you can learn how to build games just by connecting them in various ways. For example, you can create and move a human-like character with an analogue stick just by connecting Stick Nodon with Person Nodon! Thus you will get to learn the basics of game programming in a fun and intuitive way.

When you first start up Game Builder Garage, you’ll be in Lesson Mode. You’ll use Nodon in a guided way to help build your first game, learn the basic concepts of visual programming and are great for people of all ages. Free Programming mode then lets you take everything you learned in Lesson Mode and bring your own game idea to life. You’ll be able to make a platform, kart racer, horizontal shooters and more.

You’ll be able to share and publish your game once it’s done. People will even see the programming behind your games, and you can use this feature to get other people to help you out. Game Builder Garage is so serious you can even use a USB mouse to help build your game.

Game Builder Garage will launch on June 11th, just a couple of days before E3 2021. Perhaps we will see it at the show as well. It’s also available digitally and physically in Australia with a suggested retail price of just AU$49.95.