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!78 days ago
- GB Studio Direct - January 2020 Progress Update90 days ago
- GB Studio 1.2.0 Released!Dec 03, 2019
- GB Studio 1.1.0 Released!May 18, 2019
Comments
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Hi Chris!
I would like to thank you for all the work you have put into developing GBStudio. For the last few weeks (after my work) me and my wife made a first game ever! That was a fun! We made it for our kids and they love it! My wife did not believe that we can make it, but here it is!
You can have a look here: https://it2.itch.io/humptys-trouble
One more time I want to thank you for a great piece of software!
Keep up a good work!
Michał
Tried to download on windows but kept getting an error that says "entry point not found" Could someone maybe do a video walkthrough on how to install on windows so I could see what i'm doing wrong? Thank you.
macbook pro os 10.15.13 can't play any sound in Rom or Web.
I tried to install it on xubuntu (Linux) using the itch client, but it didn't run when I clicked on the 'Launch' button because the itch client can't run .deb files.
please, distribute the Linux port as a directory tree in a zip file like GDevelop (at least optionnally) so the client would intall it in
/home/"name of the user"/.config/itch/apps/gb-studio/ (in the /home folder, without altering anything in the operating system, perfectly safe)
and not just download a .deb file in /gb-studio and leave it there.
And most importantly: It would launch when the user lanches it from the itch client, as expected
And thank you so much for making for making such a cool cross-platform software , you are awesome!
Wow, thank you very much for this amazing tool! It is super easy and there are so many possibilities. I made my first game with it and it is so much fun to try it on different devices that can emulate GB games!
When will platforming games be a possibility?
I’m still working on it, a bit too early to set a date just yet but I’ll definitely be sharing more information as I get a bit closer :-)
patiently waiting for this aswell, i hope all if not some aspects of a megaman / castlevania are in the mode.
I have made a 3 levels game using GB Studio. - https://rebateman.itch.io/gb1
I credit yous in the built in credits (at the end of the game).
I made a small game for my wedding party using GB Studio, and planning a new project now. Can't thank you enough for the joy on my friend's faces (and helping make my wife cry in the best way)!
Amazing!
Hi everybody, this software is amazing, congrats! I have one question: sure you all remember the collisions in Link's Awakening; they seem not to be limited to 16x16 tiles. Instead, the collisions in that game are pretty precise: pixel by pixel. Could any of you enlighten me in that matter, please? Thank you very much in advance!
I'm making a game based off of the sample project
I would like to make a money system in a game, but the variables do not pass 255, is there a way to exceed this amount? because 255 is limited for a game with shops. Thank you
You could have it so that you get 2 sets of 255. 1 set is the wallet and the other is the Bank Bags (once you get to 255 in wallet, it adds 1 into this and it would reset the wallet). But I did't mess around with that. Also if you want to have it so that it keeps going, make it do it one coin at a time and have it read the random number and do it that many times.
e.g. you have 250 gold in wallet and 0 bank bags. You get 15 gold from an enemy. It counts up and now you get 10 gold in wallet and 1 bank bag. You reset back to the 250 gold, 0 bags state. You kill the same enemy but this time, you get 5 gold. You now have 0 gold and 1 bag.
But I haven't made a game with a money system yet so... i don't now about this.
The best software ever!I am big fan of Game Boy Color games,and now I can make my own game?!I am so excited!This is so awesome!!!!!!
If I set My HP to value $01$ =10
and set if i interact Enemy
math functions = Subtract $01$ 15 Value
and set
if value $01$ Less then or Equal to = 0
it must change to Game Over scene
but it's not working
But i Subtract $01$ 10 Value
it's work!
(I must subtract 10 only? )
(I'm sorry for my english is not good but
i hope someone understands )
You’ve got an Underflow.
10 - 15 = 250.
When a byte goes below 0 it turns into 255.
You should check that the HP is greater or equal than the damage, if it is, substract 15 from hp, else, set it to 0.
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