If you are a gamer then you have likely, at some point in life, thought about making games yourself. If you are like me, that dream ended around the time you learned how to program a computer to say, “Hello World” as things ramped up significantly after that. A far cry from creating your own version of Sonic or Final Fantasy, for many of us the dream ends due to the complexity of programming gaming consoles such as the Sega Genesis. Soon that may be a concern of the past as MD Engine by Two Black Cats is coming to Steam and appears to be the answer to anyone’s dream to create games, that cannot program – such as me.
From what I have seen, the amount of programming knowledge required to use MD Engine is minimal. Most things are handled through menus and placing sprites on the screen where you want them. Please keep in mind, I have only seen what you can see in the video embedded below – I am not privy to anything beyond that.
I can say the trailer does say “…zero lines of code.” That does give me the impression that this may not be for experienced programmers that want to get under the hood and tinker to eek out that last frame of performance though.
In the MD Engine Trailer, we do see a variety of game modes being shown. Action, platform, overhead, side scrolling, visual novel and more.
A very important part of MD Engine is that it can export 100% Sega Genesis 1, 2, 3 compatible ROM files as well as other formats (Windows, Linux, etc).
I don’t think it will. No more than art programs like Photoshop and the like led to a glut of poor art flooding the Internet. Even though the MD Engine is aimed at non-coders, most people are not going to pick this up then create a game of whatever quality then release it.
For one, MD Engine is not going to be freeware, it will have a price tag associated with getting started. There is currently no information on what that price tag will be.
Second, even thought his is a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) style editor, it still will require some skill in game making to make anything near a quality release.
Instead, I see things like custom games being made for fun, celebrations, etc. Anyone remember the game programmer that worked at Bullet Proof Software back in the late 80s that programmed a custom version of a puzzle game they were working on? I know it was on Game Boy, but when his girlfriend beat it she was treated to a marriage proposal (I believe she said yes).
I see things like that happening. Maybe baby reveals and such and other fun little things that would be too costly to create otherwise. Not actual games.
I am sure we will still see games created with MD Engine and I am positive their quality will be all over the place. Even professionally created, millions in financial backing, releases saw releases with quality all over the place. Gamers are used to it.
The cream will rise to the top one way or another – most likely word of mouth.
Add MD Engine to your Steam Wishlist today. In the mean time, keep dreaming up your game ideas so you are ahead of the game.
