MagiCats Builder is a free game by indie developer Dreamz Studio. Released in July 2018, MagiCats is equal parts platformer game and design simulator for the player’s own levels . 

Build your own level

Akin to Nintendo’s Super Mario Maker, here players are given access to (most of) the game’s assets as well as a heavily streamlined coding mechanic that allows players to move objects, create enemies, or even create and edit terrain. In a platformer game, that’s huge. Refreshingly intuitive but with a deceptive complexity, gamers who want to try their hand at designing their own platformer couldn’t ask for a better way to begin.

Share with your friends

MagiCats allows players to share their work and connect with the community on practically every screen of the game. With side tabs opening up to reveal sharing options with Reddit, Twitter, or FaceBook, it’s clear that Dreamz Studio is trying to encourage people to stretch their creative muscles and interject their own personality into the game. Build Mode is accessible from the very start, and immediately drops the player into the level construction process. After you’re done you can save and publish your level right then and there.

How does this work?

Upon booting up the game, you can ‘adventure’ which takes you through the game’s tutorial levels. Here the game teaches you its movement mechanics, building, and eventually object coding. The levels become progressively more challenging as one might expect, but it’s decidedly different from most platformer games in that the difficulty spike isn’t because of spinning blades or moving platforms, but because players are gradually given fewer objects to add to the levels, forcing their choices to become more economical. If you’re looking for ideas for your own map, clicking ‘play’ from the title screen brings up a constantly refreshed list of new player maps, challenges, and ‘hall of fame levels’ made by the community.

Is it worth your time?

Short answer: Yes. Especially if you’re a fan of platformer games. If you’re the more creative type who likes to build and share your designs, MagiCats has that more than covered too. For the low, low price of ‘free,’ what’s to lose? Aside from being just plain fun, we can’t stress how great an introduction to level design this is. The streamlined, simplified approach is an excellent gateway for players interested in making games like this themselves. Keep at it and we might see you on the MagiCats’ hall of fame map list!