Product Overview of Bloxels
Bloxels is an innovative video game development platform that empowers users, particularly children and young adults, to design, build, and personalize their own video games without the need for coding skills.
What Bloxels Does
Bloxels combines physical and digital elements to create a comprehensive game-building experience. Users can design characters, art, and game levels using a 13×13 grid game board and colored blocks. These creations are then captured and brought to life using the Bloxels app, which is compatible with iOS, Android, Kindle, and web browsers.
Key Features
Physical Components
- Game Board and Blocks: The Bloxels game board is a 13×13 grid where users place colored blocks to create game elements such as terrain, water, coins, hazards, enemies, power-ups, and story blocks. Each block color represents a specific game element (e.g., green for terrain, blue for water, red for hazards).
- Character and Art Creation: Users can build characters and artwork on the board using the blocks and then capture them using the Bloxels app. These characters can be animated by creating multiple images of them in different poses.
Digital Components
- Bloxels App: The app recognizes the designs created on the game board and converts them into digital game elements. It allows users to customize their creations, add animations, and test their games. The app also includes features like power-ups, warp blocks, and story blocks that enhance gameplay.
Additional Resources
- Bloxels Workbook: Part of the Ultimate Bundle, this 48-page “Game Design Journal” provides brainstorming strategies, storyboards, and sketch grids to help users turn their ideas into games.
- Idea Packs and Card Decks: The Ultimate Bundle includes card decks such as the Bloxels Characters and Art Deck and the Bloxels Game Layout Deck. These decks offer ready-to-use ideas for characters, artwork, and game layouts, which can be mixed, matched, and captured directly with the app.
Functionality
Game Design and Creation
- Users can start with pre-built level templates or create their own levels from scratch. The app includes decorated and undecorated versions of platformer and top-down starter levels to help get started.
- The platform allows for the creation of large, complex games by connecting multiple levels together using warp blocks. This feature enables users to create a bigger game by linking different areas or even different games.
Customization and Animation
- Characters and game elements can be customized and animated within the app. Users can add special abilities to characters and create detailed pixel art tiles.
Collaboration and Sharing
- Bloxels encourages collaboration by allowing users to work together to create larger, interconnected games. The platform also supports sharing games through the Bloxels Arcade, where users can publish and play games created by others.
Educational Value
Bloxels is highly regarded for its educational benefits, particularly in enhancing critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills. It is an excellent tool for educators looking to provide a hands-on, creative experience for students across the K-12 spectrum. The platform’s regular updates and themed asset packs ensure users have a wealth of resources to keep their creative projects engaging and diverse.