You’ll Soon Be Able To Make Your Own Games For Wii U…Sort Of
If Super Mario Maker isn’t enough, and you’d like to try your hand at creating a full-fledged video game from scratch on the Wii U, you’ll be interested in this news: Japanese app developer SmileBoom is creating a version of BASIC for the console.
Those who didn’t grow up in the 80’s may not be as familiar with BASIC, but it’s a programming language intended to be simple enough for the average person to understand (hence the name). It’s not the kind of language professional game makers use, but don’t sell it short. SmileBoom originally released BASIC on the DSi under the title “Petit Computer,” and users were able to do things like recreate Mega Man 2 or program a portable version of Minecraft. This wiki has an archive of Petit Computer programs, to show you what it was capable of (and still is; the app is still being sold and will run on a 3DS).
This weekend SmileBoom released SmileBASIC, the updated version of Petit Computer, exclusively for the 3DS. It has a larger memory capacity and is capable of more tricks, but there aren’t as many programs floating around for it yet since it’s so young. That’ll change quickly once the Wii U SmileBASIC app is released — it will be able to share games with the 3DS version. And here’s the real gamechanger: you’ll finally be able to use a USB keyboard with the thing.
Even if you lack the smarts to make your own game, downloading Petit Computer or SmileBASIC is worth it just to see what others come up with. SmileBASIC for Wii U will be released in Japan in Spring 2016, and in these parts later.
[Source: NintendoLife]