We’ve had two very busy Planet Kodu members building some fantastic games this month.

Tomy, has uploaded several variations of his Super Trix world, and it’s been particularly interesting to watch the game develop as he uploads successive variations.

One of the key ingredients in developing a great game is ensuring that you test and retest, layering the game with complexity as you progress.

It’s a subject that we explored in the Planet Kodu Course presented free earlier in the year. In week 1 of the course, we explored this process of refinement and discussed how important it is not only to game development, but for the Kodu gaming community.

It’s a good idea to offer up progressive versions of your game creations for the assessment of your peers. With each new version you can more easily see where improvements have been made, and how successful your updates have been.

You can revert to previous attempts if you have to, and try different approaches to find out what the Kodu community thinks of your improvements.

Other users will also benefit from being able to keep track of your progress and understand how you improved your games, enabling them to replicate your achievements in their own games.

SARS2509 is another Planet Kodu member that’s been busy building games. The new series (currently in three chapters) is called the Soviet March and is narrative based. In the first game your challenge as a rookie Soviet pilot is to capture a blimp filled with enemy intel!

Each of the three games are different, with their own unique challenges. Each requires something different of the player, and offer another piece of the story. Drawing your players into the game with a story is a powerful way to ensure they remain hooked! It’s a subject we explored in detail in the Planet Kodu course in week three, and you can access the week three course guide on the site. The Soviet March game series is a great idea, unique and challenging, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next!

You can still access all the course material on Planet Kodu. There are five weeks of videos and instructional material, as well as comments from the participants to explore. Whether you’re new to Kodu Game Lab, or an old pro, you’ll find the course offers a fresh perspective on the art and process of game development.

Just wanted to say if you got stuck on the gray platform, try to go back towards the white floor to win. I know, you can’t see because of the wall, but otherwise you would lose the game!