Video games are hard to make, especially 3D ones. Before the Internet and game maker tools you had to learn a programming language like C++ and work with DirectX to make 3D games, which could lead to several bugs. Now there are good game making tools like Unity or the Unreal Engine that can make 3D games easily, but they still take some time from the person to comprehend how they work. However making games is becoming easy enough that kids could make their own sandbox games, which Platinum Arts provides in their Sandbox 3D Game Maker.
Platinum Arts’ Sandbox 3D Game Maker was made as a way for adults and kids to make any 3D sandbox world they dream of. With the 2.8 Beta launch, Platinum Arts will release a free First Person Shooter made in the engine: Water Gun Wars. In this kid-friendly shooter game, players will be armed with water guns to drench the other players in classic (but also pun-filled) first-person shooter game-mode classics. You have your traditional Capture The Flag game, but you can also participate in a classic “Drenchmatch” where you hose down your friends with water. Team “Drenchmatch” and “Instadrench” will also be included.
Sandbox 3D Game Maker will provide designers an RPG engine so they could build their own action RPGs. This game mode will feature a variety of items to be found that could have random values, similar to a Diablo game. Trading and looting items is also possible in this system, so you can loot those cabbage golems for funny fruits (that is what they are called in the trailers). There will even be an improved user interface to show a paperdoll where you can equip various items to your character.
This would be a great tool for kids that are interested in game design. Sandbox 3D Game Maker seems to have a simple interface for designing the world and provides all the assets you need to get started. Plus the game is free to download and try for anyone, which makes it work well for school programs.
Sandbox 3D Game Maker can be downloaded for free from their main Web site. Water Gun Wars can be downloaded from a separate Web site.
