GarageGames®, LLC, an advocate of indie games and developer of the Torque® product line, today announces its 3 Step Studio™ suite of tools and templates, and the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to help fund its development and ensure that the basics may be offered for free. 3 Step Studio is being created for game enthusiasts, artists and designers who wish to make and share games for the iOS, Windows and Mac platforms. 3 Step Studio requires no programming experience, making the process ‘as easy as 1-2-3’.

The 3 Step Studio suite includes free genre-specific templates and tools that help aspiring game designers create and share their game for iPad, iPhone, Windows and Mac in three easy steps: Select a template, customize the game play and art – or upload your art to ‘make it your own’, and then publish the results for others to play. The basic tools and templates will be available for free to use, with advanced tools, templates and additional content available through micro-transactions.

"Gamers everywhere have ideas for their own games, but often encounter the roadblocks of programming and prohibitive pricing of most development tools. 3 Step Studio removes those obstacles and clears the way for their creativity,” said Kyle Miller, product manager for the 3 Step Studio line. “We are filling that void of a game design suite specifically for the enthusiast, student, aspiring game designer or artist.”

Initially, 3 Step Studio will launch with templates for a physics launcher, tower defense and blackjack-style gameplay. Future plans include templates for platform-style, RPG and many other popular game genres, depending upon funding support and community demand.

The GarageGames leadership team boasts more than three decades combined of game development experience, is known for its robust Torque engine and tools – recently made open source and available on GitHub via the MIT license, and has long been an enabler of innovation and the independent, community-driven game movement. As such, they have embraced the DIY trend that has emerged with the rise of the mobile, tablet and social platforms as the game industry has evolved and redefined itself to reach a broader audience.

"The truth is making games is very hard and often costly; the majority of people never finish their first game. We set out to address this by designing the most intuitive tools to help you make a game without compromising personal expression," said Eric Preisz, CEO of GarageGames. “Much of our company’s history over that last 11 years has been in helping students, beginners and small teams make games. If you have any interest in being a game developer, then 3 Step Studio is where you should start."

While being an affordable and accessible solution for students, enthusiasts and non-programming designers and artists, 3 Step Studio is also a great prototyping tool for more experienced developers, allowing them to quickly test game ideas and play balance new features without significant resource investment.

GarageGames is hoping to raise enough money through Kickstarter to help offset the development costs for 3 Step Studio, to enable work on additional genre templates, and, most importantly, to ensure that the basic templates and tools are available for free to everyone. The 3 Step Studio Kickstarter campaign launches today and runs through February 2, 2013. For additional information or to view the 3 Step Studio introduction video, please visit Kickstarter or the 3 Step Studio website.

About GarageGames, LLC:

Based in the Summerlin community of Las Vegas, Nevada, GarageGames is an independent developer and provider of the 3 Step Studio suite of tools for game enthusiasts and aspiring designers, the recently released open-source Torque 3D and Torque 2D, and the full-featured Torque product line that enables independent developers, beginners and hobbyists to create games for platforms, including iOS, PC and Mac. For more information, visit www.garagegames.com.

3 Step Studio™ is a trademark, and GarageGames® and Torque Game Engine® are registered trademarks of GarageGames, LLC. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective companies.

Additional Resources:

3 Step Studio Kickstarter campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/garagegames/3-step-studio
3 Step Studio on Facebook: facebook.com/3StepStudio
3 Step Studio on Twitter: http:/twitter.com/3StepStudio
GarageGames website: www.garagegames.com
GarageGames on Facebook: facebook.com/GarageGames
GarageGames on Twitter: http://twitter.com/GarageGames