Kickstarter Launching for 3 Step Studio!
by Kyle N. Miller · 12/27/2012 (1:25 pm) · 28 comments
GarageGames Launching Kickstarter Campaign for 3 Step Studio
We are excited to announce we will be launching a Kickstarter campaign for 3 Step Studio!
For those who may not recognize me, I’m a programmer at GarageGames and I’ve recently stepped into the Producer role for 3 Step Studio. I’ve been spending most of the past year on that product, but I’m always closely following the community here as well. We have one of the best game development communities on the web, and I can’t wait to see what we can do together on this campaign.
What is 3 Step Studio?
3 Step Studio has been discussed many times on this site, but it’s never been formally introduced. 3 Step Studio will allow gamers everywhere to make their own games for the iPad, iPhone, Windows, or Mac. No programming required. It revolves around 3 simple steps:1. Choose a Template
Choose a template in your favorite game genre - Physics Launcher, Tower Defense, Blackjack, Platformer, RPG, and more!
2. Make it your own
Design your game to make it unique; express your creativity. You can customize and import your own artwork and audio and tweak gameplay values. It’s amazing to see how much you can do with the right tools.
3. Share your Game!
Publish your game to iPad, iPhone, Windows, and Mac.
You can check out the alpha version of the 3 Step Studio site here, and there will be many more details on the Kickstarter page.
Why We Need Your Help...
We’ve embraced the open-source community with the recent announcements of Torque 3D and Torque 2D under the MIT license. We support these efforts with service work and with projects like 3 Step Studio.3 Step Studio is also our primary client for Torque 2D, driving development of our 2D technology this year. The improvements are incredible, which you’ll see in the coming updates to iTorque 2D and Torque 2D, and the pending release of Torque 2D MIT. The contributions from the open-source community will be folded into the product, and feature requests from 3 Step Studio will drive development from GarageGames. It’s a mutually beneficial development relationship that will build up two great products.
We need you to help us:
- Fund development. Your contribution will help us push toward release of the initial product and templates and continue to build upon that base. We want to provide as many templates and features as possible. We’ll have some great rewards!
- Make it free. We don’t want price to stop anyone from making their game a reality.
- SPREAD THE WORD! We need the power of our community to help this thing go viral! Please do not spam, but we encourage you to talk about it in forums and chat, and to share the news with your friends on Facebook and Twitter!
The Launch
We plan to launch the Kickstarter campaign next week, and will post another blog (with the Kickstarter link) once it’s live!
#3
12/27/2012 (1:51 pm)
I'd like to reserve that for the launch next week, but we'll need all the help we can get! 
#4
I also do not think you guys should waste your time with creating a marketplace when you have Steam and the Steam Workshop.
12/27/2012 (2:32 pm)
I think 3 Step Studio is awesome but I can't really get behind it unless we can make our own templates and use Torque Script. This was the downfall of GameMaker for the longest time and now you can make extensions to the editor and program with GML, JavaScript, or C++ DLLs. We don't need all of that but if we could plugin some Torque Script into events or whatever to make our games a little different besides just the art, 3 Step Studio would be the GameMaker program to go to.I also do not think you guys should waste your time with creating a marketplace when you have Steam and the Steam Workshop.
#6
I can tell you, though, that we have already been discussing all the points you raise. We are strongly considering allowing 3rd parties to create their own templates, and Steam is definitely on our radar.
The great thing about Kickstarter is that it promotes community involvement in the development of a product. I'd kindly ask that you would consider backing the project and then help shape it into something we can all get behind. Lastly, please keep in mind that a successful 3 Step Studio benefits our other products as well.
12/27/2012 (2:44 pm)
Thank you for your feedback, Jeremy. First of all, I would say that one of the surprises of 3 Step Studio to me, especially as a programmer, is how much I could really do by simply swapping art and tweaking gameplay values through the tools. It's actually quite possible to do some really creative and unexpected things.I can tell you, though, that we have already been discussing all the points you raise. We are strongly considering allowing 3rd parties to create their own templates, and Steam is definitely on our radar.
The great thing about Kickstarter is that it promotes community involvement in the development of a product. I'd kindly ask that you would consider backing the project and then help shape it into something we can all get behind. Lastly, please keep in mind that a successful 3 Step Studio benefits our other products as well.
#7
But you know what, I'll back it as soon as you link me to the kickstarter. I'm very excited, though admitedly I'm not sure what game I'll be making with it XD
12/27/2012 (3:41 pm)
Just letting you know, I can't download the alpha, because registration for new accounts is closed. :(But you know what, I'll back it as soon as you link me to the kickstarter. I'm very excited, though admitedly I'm not sure what game I'll be making with it XD
#8
12/27/2012 (3:46 pm)
Yes, we are planning to offer private forum and Beta access via the Reward tiers :-) 
#9
I have seen the Kickstarter page and it blows me away. This is the kind of software the industry needs. Something that will allow anyone to make a game, regardless of their skills. Some people just do not have the means or time to learn code or 3D software packages. True democratization of game development.
Whether you believe in the cause or you just want to see Torque 2D succeed, please consider backing this project when it goes live.
12/27/2012 (7:09 pm)
It goes without saying that I am a strong supporter of this project, as much as I am behind the Torque 2D MIT project. It's been asked in previously blogs how GG will continue if we open source T3D and T2D. The answer involves 3 Step Studio. As a primary client for the technology, 3SS will be as important to the growth of Torque 2D as the rest of the open source community. I have seen the Kickstarter page and it blows me away. This is the kind of software the industry needs. Something that will allow anyone to make a game, regardless of their skills. Some people just do not have the means or time to learn code or 3D software packages. True democratization of game development.
Whether you believe in the cause or you just want to see Torque 2D succeed, please consider backing this project when it goes live.
#10
12/27/2012 (7:48 pm)
As a stretch goal can you add android and window's phone support ? I agree with what Jeremy said we need ways to add our own plugin's to this system. I'm planning a making a game and monetizing it with ads or whatever just haven't decided yet. 
#13
12/27/2012 (9:19 pm)
@Jimmy - We have listed Android as a potential stretch goal, and I'm personally a big Windows Phone fan, so I'd love to add that in the future. It's really about getting funded initially, and then working with the community to add features if we're fortunate enough to exceed our goal. 
#14
12/28/2012 (3:51 am)
will the 3step studio templates be available as T2D templates? I can see an immediate market for them, plus it will bring new programmers to the T2D MIT if they can play with 3Step then progress to T2D
#15
12/28/2012 (6:35 am)
Also will there be any templates for T3D? Maybe you covered it and I missed it but just curious.
#16
@Kory - 3 Step Studio is 2D-focused at the moment, but we've definitely talked about adding 3D in the future. Torque 2D and Torque 3D are not completely isolated; there are many elements which are and may be shared across code bases. In fact, Dave Wyand has contributed a great deal to the work we've done leading up to this Kickstarter, and we continue to work closely with him to determine which features from 3 Step Studio and Torque 2D would benefit Torque 3D and vice versa.
12/28/2012 (8:17 am)
@David - Actually, Mich and I were just discussing this possibility last week :-)@Kory - 3 Step Studio is 2D-focused at the moment, but we've definitely talked about adding 3D in the future. Torque 2D and Torque 3D are not completely isolated; there are many elements which are and may be shared across code bases. In fact, Dave Wyand has contributed a great deal to the work we've done leading up to this Kickstarter, and we continue to work closely with him to determine which features from 3 Step Studio and Torque 2D would benefit Torque 3D and vice versa.
#17
3 Step Studio sounds like it would be a great tool for an introductory course for game design. If it works with your revenue model, you could work with Udacity, Coursera, or Kahn Academy. You'd get massive amounts of people signing up and the course could work as tutorials 3 Step Studio (if it even requires tutorials). Might be a great coming out strategy. If it is license based, students could get trial version of 3 Step Studio during the course's length and then have them choose for the full version at the end. If they've made small games and want to release them, then they probably would.
You could do a series with more in depth game design with Torque 2d and then Torque 3d.
I will be supporting your kickstarter (if it accepts my money). I wish you guys luck!
12/28/2012 (9:19 am)
I think this is a great idea, but how does the payment work? Do users pay a one time fee or do you get a percentage on sales? 3 Step Studio sounds like it would be a great tool for an introductory course for game design. If it works with your revenue model, you could work with Udacity, Coursera, or Kahn Academy. You'd get massive amounts of people signing up and the course could work as tutorials 3 Step Studio (if it even requires tutorials). Might be a great coming out strategy. If it is license based, students could get trial version of 3 Step Studio during the course's length and then have them choose for the full version at the end. If they've made small games and want to release them, then they probably would.
You could do a series with more in depth game design with Torque 2d and then Torque 3d.
I will be supporting your kickstarter (if it accepts my money). I wish you guys luck!
#18
Thanks for your support!
12/28/2012 (10:11 am)
Yes, we agree that 3 Step Studio will be a great tool for education, and are discussing ways to get it into the hands of teachers and students.Thanks for your support!
#19
Clearer audio, better camera work, show the staff smiling and working so that potential donors can see they are helping more than one person. Get people on camera who are really excited about working on it or what people will be able to make. Maybe you could show a kid, or an older person, or a beautiful woman using the software to emphasize it's ease of use (you could have the same adult male play all three if you wanted to be facetious). You could then have actual nonprofessionals using it.
12/28/2012 (1:13 pm)
Great to hear. Also, please make a more polished video for the Kickstarter. The indiegogo video was kind of weak.Clearer audio, better camera work, show the staff smiling and working so that potential donors can see they are helping more than one person. Get people on camera who are really excited about working on it or what people will be able to make. Maybe you could show a kid, or an older person, or a beautiful woman using the software to emphasize it's ease of use (you could have the same adult male play all three if you wanted to be facetious). You could then have actual nonprofessionals using it.
#20
12/28/2012 (1:20 pm)
I think the guys did a great job capturing the indie feel for the audience they're targeting on Indiegogo, but we have taken a slightly different approach with the Kickstarter video. I think you will be pleasantly surprised :-) 
Leozin