GB Studio
A downloadable tool for Windows, macOS, and Linux
NEW in 1.2.1
- Variables in menus!
- Lots of bug fixes!
- Improved translations!
NEW in 1.2.0
- Color Support!
- Local Variables!
- Custom Events!
- Menus!
- Avatars!
- Much More!
Thanks for the support everyone! I'm already thinking about the next release after this one and there's some great things to come!
I hope no one minds but I enabled pay what you want this time, I've got lots of big plans for GB Studio and any support I can get will help those goals become realised. Full color support and extra genres (I'm looking at platforming and shoot-em up for now) are the big things I want to work on next time! Feel free to set it to $0 if you want though, no pressure, and you can download on GitHub if you want too.
GB Studio is a visual game builder with no programming knowledge required allowing you to make real Game Boy ROMs in minutes. You can run the games on any emulator or you can run them on your Game Boy if you've got a flash cart!
Full documentation is available at https://www.gbstudio.dev/.
It's open source too!
Can't wait to see what you make!
- Chris
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- GB Studio 1.2.1 Released!3 days ago
- GB Studio Direct - January 2020 Progress Update15 days ago
- GB Studio 1.2.0 Released!47 days ago
- GB Studio 1.1.0 Released!May 18, 2019
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
I do tutorials on youtube
I've downloaded both the installer and non-installer version, but neither application does anything. I look in the folder it was said to install to and I can't see anything. I'm using windows 10. I hope I'm not just missing something or skipping a step. Any info to point me in the right direction would be helpful!
Your PC must be broken then, buy a new one.
You might be closer to the truth than you think haha.
Hi Admbrns, all I can suggest is checking first if you need the 32-bit downloads instead, if that doesn’t work I wonder if your anti virus software is not liking the app and maybe you need to whitelist it.
I hope this helps.
That is very likely it. I tried on a different computer and it worked wonderfully. Thank you for the reply
Hi!
Nice project! Currently, I'm working on an open-source cartridge design, so this project is a great addition.
I'm running Ubuntu 18.04 on my machine, but gb-studio doesn't launch. I tried version 1.2 and installed via dpkg, everything seemed to be fine, every dependency met, but it won't launch. Same with the nightly build. I'm kind of stuck because there is no error message. I tried ldd and noticed, libffmpeg.so was missing so I installed it. No success.
Here you can see the strace:
https://pastebin.com/9e4Z3Y6i
Hi thor171,
That's really weird! I just installed a clean copy of Ubuntu 18.04.3 on a VM and downloaded the dpkg from here then opened the file (didn't even need to use the Terminal, don't know if that's new) then ran `gb-studio` and it opened as expected. Only things I installed were virtualbox-guest-utils and virtualbox-guest-dkms packages, potentially they could have included some dependencies that made it work :-/
Assuming you followed the instructions at https://www.gbstudio.dev/docs/installation/ the only other thing I could suggest if you're comfortable is installing from source. If you have git, nodejs and yarn installed you can clone the git repository and then install the dependencies by running `yarn` and start the application with `npm start`
Thanks for you answer Chris,
I solved the problem, somehow. There was an environment variable in my .bashrc which was set "wrong". I commented it out and everything is running fine. strace gb-studio showed, that it couldn't find the needed libs, that's why I was thinking it should be something about an environment variable.
Guess I have to find another way to point to my programmer device's driver.
Anyway, thanks for your help. When my cartridge is working, we have to talk about its special functions support in GB-Studio ;-D
Does anyone know of literature that outlines the possibilities of Title Screen animations?
I know Chromebook versions might not be very easy to make, but I'd personally like one. Thanks if you do start working on that though!(Not sure why you would but...)I think 32 bit is the best you can run on a Chromebook, but I'm not sure. Thank you in retrospect!..Why not enable Linux support for this (on the Chromebook)? Get it but you could get it working on that I guess.
It kinda removes the whole purpose of a Chromebook, thanks though!
Yeah I know, but it is useful when you need that application you can't get in Chrome OS.
A Chrome OS I guess would be a web based version of GB Studio?
Okay! Thank you! Have a good day!
I must ask, does a 32-bit version of Linux work, and, if not, will there be a 32 bit version in the future? This is a great tool!
I will keep a Eye on this, looks very interesting. :) I love oldschool GameBoy Games.
That looks like a pretty cool tool! I make experimental games, and this is my kind of jam.
If it's easy enough to pickup, I might actually organize a workshop about it in my local game dev community :)
I’d like to do something here with this via workshop, no clue where to start but the manual and youtube. Maybe I will search high and low for info on rpg creation and asset design. I think it’d be cool for an export function for standalone app in win.linux.macOS and mobile one day.
Long awaited update! Thank you! :D
THANK YOU! I love this tool. I am making my first video game ever because of it.
I made a donation for version 1.2.0.
I just want to say that you are a hero to me, Chris. This is my favorite piece of software ever released for free.
Awwww yeahhhh coloursssss.
What Sprite editing tool would you recommend for making games
aseprite
Piskel is good too: https://www.piskelapp.com/download
This is truly an amazing tool! I don't usually comment stuff, but I want to encourage you to keep on developing this awesome software. I also want people out there to make tutorials, publish their games, everything you can so GB Studio grows more and more!
I've always wanted to make retro games that work on retro systems, and i was on itch.io perfect timing!
I got so excited when this was featured and downloaded without issues!
Is recommended!
Oh, and gladly it supports MS Paint, plus having the same sprite as so!
Hey Chris, I recently found this And i Loved it. Me and my friend are making a top down Metroid Game And my friend made Amazing idle And walking animations, But it seems the Animated Actor frames are limited to 2 Each Direction (minus Left) And Its annoying. Is this just a gameboy limitation? If you can, Can you let us make our own animations and assign them to directions for more control?
thanks :D
Also What Is That Empty Type Scene Option about? I Know This Engine Wasn't released too long ago, so it might be coming in the future
This is one of my troubles, but this tool is incredible so I can't complain...
I loved this program!
Been looking for a changelog for 1.1.1 - is there one handy? :)
https://github.com/chrismaltby/gb-studio/releases
Thanks, but that only shows up to 1.1.0 ?
Hi Quantum Sheep, good point. 1.1.1 was just a small update to fix an issue some people were having if they started GB Studio using the Itch launcher app. If you're able to build a game file without any errors then you can probably skip this version!
Ta!
*skips along*
:D
Great easy to make Game Boy games with out coding.
i've literally never seen a more intuitive game designer or interface, will you ever make a studio that lets you create regular 2d games and not just GB?
You can do that with Buildbox. it's pricey tho...
I always wanted to make some game with my little sister.She is always liked GBC and she like Pokemon Silver.I am very happy to find You,and make my dream come true.She is now finished 1st grade,and I was thinking what we will do this summer,because we playing a games together alot.This is simply the best software for the kids,and for as old fools.I am also a Youtuber,and I will make a video of this software.Thank you milion times for your existance!!!
WOOOWW!!! tu proyecto es una autentica maravilla. Gracias por hacer algo tan alucinante.
Just popped in to say keep up the great work, and, in sheepy dreams, I'd love something like this for ZX Spectrum games :D
QS =D
I like this, is easy to make Game Boy games without coding.
Bro, thank you so much for this! I have been looking for something to make actual Game Boy roms but I never actually found anything easy to use. Awesome, 10/10!
very good 10/10, very funt to mess around with friends with this :))) very satisfied
Are there plans to release more game types? Perhaps a Shmup type or Platformer type?
This would be wonderful. I'd *love* to make a shmup for the lovely Gameboy :D
QS =D
i have no idea how coding works and i cant understand what i am being told i tried to build and run the game but it keeps sending out the error C:\Users\Arnoh\AppData\Roaming\itch\apps\gb-studio\.itch\temp/lcc81.asm:6: Error: <q> missing or improper operators, terminators, or delimiters, terminators, or delimiters i tried checing for solutions at https://www.gbstudio.dev/docs/build/ and i was told
On macOS if you’re having trouble building or running your game you may also need to install Apple’s Command Line Tools by opening
Applications/Terminal.appand entering the following command.On Windows you may need to whitelist the application in your Anti Virus software to perform a build. now i am on windows but i still want to try apples command line tools but god if i dont know what or where applications/terminal.app is it probably does not even exist on windows idk i am not a programmer and i think it is already white listed and besides i am sure witelisting something on my anti virus has got nothing to do with operators terminarotrs and delimiters so help me pls
Hey, by any chance did you install using the Itch.io app? There seems to be some issues with installing that way, you might have better luck by downloading through the website directly or using the download from https://www.gbstudio.dev/
Terminal.app does not exist on Windows because it is only on Mac OS. It gave you the instructions for Windows, whitelist it in your antivirus.
Hi bowmaster91, I think the problem you had should be fixed in version 1.1.1 now, maybe you could try updating and have another go :-)
Could this work on Raspi, if it was compiled for Arm based computers?
I think it would be a great fit for edutcational learning on that linux-based platform :)
You can run the games if you have a GB emulator on Raspberry Pi. You can also make the games on Linux so it is compatible with Raspbian.
Hi! This is really a cool software! This is easy to get the ropes and if you have experience and motivation, you can make a prototype in a short amount of time! Amazing! Looking forward to see where it is going!
can i port old pc games into this? like, idk, fallout 1?
yes its stupid and probably not but wouldnt that be cool?
I made some videos to help you guys get started!
Its a playlist, so go to youtube for the rest...
That's really awesome!
Hi Chris, this is amazing software! I've been playing around with it and I'm already thinking of games to make. However, when I play test the game, the tiles at the top of the screen sort of 'jitter' around when my character is walking...is there a fix for this? (They jitter even in the sample project). I'm on a Mac if that makes a difference.
EDIT: Fixed! I just noticed I had version 1.0 instead of 1.1!
cool
Could it be possible to have Super Game Boy features like those charming borders and custom pallets in a future release?
Nice Tool Bro!!
Fellas this is it, the best free option for visual scripting on the market. Also you can count by the fingers of your right hand the amount of engines that deploy to the GameBoy. This is a powerful retro engine, mainly for RPG, but like every visual scripter, you can achieve most things if you are intro problem-solving.
Highly recommend, definitively my software of the year so far. Easily.
Wowzers, this is amazing.
Thank you so much! is a great tool, I can't wait to see my game in the real GB. Last improvements are really wellcome! but I would appreciate to keep it simple and don't make too complicated cause is a good point that anybody can use and make a childhood dream come true. Maybe if gets too big, the posibility of activate or deactivate options in a beginner/expert layouts of the same software can be fine, I don't know how can be that. Again, thank you very much Chris!
Can u make it for iPad? Please