Gamelab makes mobile games in under 48 hours on new engine
By Francis Cook
Gamelab recently launched an initiative called Gamedash2D in which they develop and release mobile games within 48
hours. I spoke with founder and CEO Dan Milward about the project and took a look at their latest game.
They have developed their own mobile game engine called Gamefroot. The 48 hour challenge has been a way of demonstrating
to themselves and others how efficient it is. Dan said he hopes to use the engine as a learning resource for high school
students.
The engine is designed to be so simple anyone could make a game and learn about programming. “Once you’ve learned how to
make a game in Gamefroot picking up a traditional language such as Javascript will be a lot easier.”
Dan believes that teaching code through game design is a strong educational tool. “Coding is an integral part of modern
education,” he told me, “those not learning how to code at school will be at a disadvantage.” Not only are the students
learning game design, they are learning programming fundamentals while they do it. The games themselves can also be
educational – he gave one example of a teaching students about Isaac Newtown’s theory of gravity by having them creating
the necessary in game physics to make an apple fall from a tree. This approach means the students are learning about
history, science, coding and game design in one model.
The Gamelab team - Dan centre
Dan told me that they wanted to break the barrier to entry for game design. In the past making games took a long time
and a lot of hard work. With the Gamefroot engine, it takes 48 hours and they normally make two games a week. I asked if
they work long hours. “Not even,” he said. He acknowledges that others won’t be as quick as his team – they have an
intimate knowledge of the engine after all – but will be able to pick it up very quickly.
Dan demonstrated their latest game, I’ll hold em off, which will be released later this afternoon. The player must hold off a horde of zombies as civilians board a train to
escape while the main character hurls out quotes from old zombie movies. Even in an early build, the game looked pretty,
with great sprite design, smooth, and most importantly, fun.
The next step for Gamedash is brand partnership. They have are in discussions now with various brands and agencies they
could not disclose and are currently trying to get a partnership deal for a snowboarding game.
Their games are available on Google Play. I for one, will be looking out for the release of I’ll hold em off later today.
Make your own game: http://make.gamefroot.com
ENDS