The ultimate video game sandbox! Create, explore, and survive across a retro gaming universe. Gather heroes, forge weapons, and build worlds - the adventures are endless!
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Release Date:
Nov 8, 2022
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Early Access Game

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Note: This Early Access game is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

The Video Game Machine has lots of untapped potential, so it's important to have players - like yourself - giving honest feedback and suggestions throughout development.

  • What's fun? What's not? Any speeling errors?
  • Do the different genres feel good?
  • Are we providing the tools you want?
  • Are we providing the hats you want?
  • What needs polished? What needs added? What bugs need to be fixed?

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“I see this as being a 18 month project with an additional 6 months of polish, so VGM should be in early access for 2 years.

However, since you can currently create, play, and share game files, this pre-release version of VGM should already be enjoyable. An extra long development cycle ensures we have the time to make v1.0 amazing!”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“There are several features and content that we'd like to add over the course of Early Access:
  • Story Driven Campaign
  • New Genres
  • New Heroes, Environments, Enemies, and Items
  • New Music
  • Full Workshop Support

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“VGM is just over the half-way mark (v0.6) with the core features in and working:

  • VGM will use template levels to create a game for you.
  • Pick from 3 different genres - Sidescroller, Top-Down Adventure, and Runner.
  • A powerful editor gives you full creative control of level design.
  • An extensive rulebook lets you toggle features: from Double-Jump to Camera Rules to World Maps.
  • Games are saved in a lightweight XML file, easy for sharing!
  • Hundreds of heroes, items, weapons, enemies, music tracks, and environments to make use of.

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Price will not change once VGM leaves Early Access.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Game development is best when done as a team, and I consider all Early Access players a part of that team. Here are some of the ways players will be involved...

  • Suggesting new Content: This includes heroes, enemies, items, weapons, and features.
  • Creating Levels: There are many places where player-generated content can be used directly in the final game.
  • Feedback Sessions: I look forward to open-ended community threads where players give feedback on any anything and everything. I'll do my best to communicate with players to discuss my prioritization methodology for bugs, content, and features.

Nothing like a healthy dose of player feedback and community collaboration to ensure VGM reaches its full potential!”
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Notice: The Video Game Machine is no longer available on the Steam store.
 
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About This Game



The Video Game Machine simplifies the joy of game creation into 3 clicks...

  • Pick a Genre. Click!
  • Choose your Hero. Click!
  • Name your Game. Click!

And that's it! VGM takes your input and builds your own retro adventure, blurring the line between playing and creating.

If mid-game inspiration strikes , simply pause the action to bring up VGM's feature-rich editor. With hundreds of enemies, environments, items, NPCs, and more, the editor lets you create your very own game worlds to explore and enjoy.

Current Features

  • A Generation system that builds a game from hand-crafted template levels.
  • 3 Initial Genres: Sidescroller, Legendary Adventure, and Runner.
  • A fully functional Game Editor that can be brought up at any time, letting you take the generated game and make it your own.
  • Hundreds of heroes, enemies, environments, music tracks, items, and rules to play (and create) with.
  • An easy-to-share XML format, that lets other VGM players enjoy your creations.
  • Several sample games to play, enjoy, and learn from.

Feature Roadmap

  • Story Mode: We need a campaign that takes the player through a hand-crafted adventure. This mode will unlock unique content that can be used in the 'Make a Game' portion of VGM.
  • Additional Genres: The more genres VGM has, the less work required to make the games you're envisioning. Every new Beta build will have at least one additional Genre to build from.
  • More Content: Whether its heroes, enemies, items, or mechanics, every new EA build will add additional gameplay goodies to build with.
  • Workshop Support: Once the mechanics and data formats are finalized, we will be hooking up Steam Workshop support so players can digitally share their creations.

System Requirements

    Minimum:
    • OS *: Windows 7
    • Processor: 2 Ghz
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Storage: 1 GB available space
* Starting January 1st, 2024, the Steam Client will only support Windows 10 and later versions.

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