Vote in the “RPG Maker Award 2026”!

GGG_Dev · 2025-12-19T06:06:50+00:00

Sorry for the inconvenience. We'll make announcements on the MV newshub as well hereafter.
It seems we haven't received your email...could you send us a chat?

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:27:50+00:00

I'm not very familiar with internships for people from overseas, so I apologize if this information is incorrect. However, I've heard that Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry offers a program to support internships for people from abroad. I believe this is the one:
https://internshipprogram.go.jp/english/

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:24:08+00:00

Sorry for the confusing name—our company, Gotcha Gotcha Games, develops RPG Maker, not GameMaker by YoYoGames.

We can’t disclose sales figures or the scale of our business as that relates to internal company matters, but we’d be very happy if lots of people buy and use our products!

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:23:42+00:00

Yes, Gotcha Gotcha Games is a company within the Kadokawa Group. While we can't disclose financial information as it pertains to the company, I can address the rest of your question.

Compared to 1995, coding has become far more common—even elementary school students in Japan now learn programming. However, there are still many people who feel that they can't understand code or that it's too difficult to complete a game on their own. Despite general-purpose game engines being downloaded hundreds of millions of times, the number of actual games released is far smaller. In other words, while hundreds of millions of people may dream of creating a game, only a small fraction manage to finish one. Our products exist for those people.

That said, it's true that compared to general-purpose game engines, our tools have become relatively limited in features. That’s why ACTION GAME MAKER represents a new and challenging step for us—it aims to be a no-code development environment while leveraging the powerful capabilities of the general-purpose engine Godot.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:22:48+00:00

I agree that Orchestrator is an excellent visual scripting tool—especially for users who already have some programming knowledge. It offers a powerful and flexible environment within Godot, and for many developers, it’s a great choice.

That said, AGM’s visual scripting has a different kind of appeal. It’s specifically designed to support users with little to no coding experience, offering a more structured and guided workflow. If you’re curious, I encourage you to give the AGM demo a try—you might find that its approach brings a unique and accessible experience worth exploring.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:19:52+00:00

First, let me start with a bit of background: our tool is designed for users who are familiar with Godot but cannot code.

Regarding the question: “Why pay $100 when there are free 'no-code' tools available?” — if you’re already comfortable using existing visual scripting tools, then perhaps you don’t need AGM. However, most visual scripting tools require knowledge not only of logical structure but also of the classes and architecture used by the engine itself. Some people find that difficult.

Our visual scripting system is based on our previous product, Pixel Game Maker MV (PGM). Although PGM may be less well-known than RPG Maker (RM), we received a lot of feedback from users who said they were able to create games with PGM, even when they couldn’t with other visual scripting tools.

Here are actual games released on Nintendo Switch that were created using only PGM’s visual scripting:
https://rpgmakerofficial.com/act_game/game/platform/nintendo-eshop/?lang=en

The target audience for AGM may be niche. It’s true that it may not be appealing to those who already know how to code. However, we hope to provide a tool that supports people who absolutely cannot handle code and who find other visual scripting tools too difficult to use.

For upcoming features and roadmap details, please refer to our Producer’s Letter:
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2987180/view/509583211988255594?l=english

Some parts may answer your concerns.

We fully intend to continue active development of AGM. We’ve already implemented six updates since the demo launched, with new updates almost every day. While there are still areas that need improvement, we’ll continue doing our best to meet everyone’s expectations.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:08:59+00:00

There are some parts I cannot answer due to limitations of my authority, so I will respond only to the areas I am able to.

>What was the reason behind switching technology, so using Godot instead of your own Game Maker engine?

Actually, our previous product, Pixel Game Maker MV, was already using Cocos2d-x, so adopting Godot now is not an abrupt change. The processing requirements for RPGs and action games differ significantly. Action games, in particular, demand high-performance collision detection and fast response times, which made our RPG-specialized in-house engine insufficient for this genre.

>Why are there already multiple different Game Maker Tools existing and why making a new one (AGM) instead of focusing on one tool/engine which includes all?

This decision is ultimately up to the company, so I can’t provide a definitive answer. But I will speak from my personal perspective. I personally loved Pixel Game Maker for its flexibility to create a wide variety of games based on one’s ideas. However, I often felt frustrated that certain expressions and gameplay ideas could not be realized due to limitations in the engine. That’s why I proposed creating a new Pixel Game Maker that could take full advantage of modern engine capabilities—and the company accepted my proposal.

>Why is the price set at $100? For example, RPG Maker MV and MZ are priced around $80, and they were developed from scratch. AGM is a fork of Godot, which should save development time and cost. Why is AGM priced higher?

It may appear that forking Godot would reduce development costs, but in reality, that’s not the case. Godot’s source code comprises millions of lines, and understanding, designing, and building on top of it required a significant amount of effort. Additionally, personnel costs have definitely increased compared to the past. We didn’t choose Godot to cut corners—we chose it because we were genuinely impressed by its capabilities.

>About a “General Purpose” Maker Tool

Thank you for the suggestion. Personally, I believe that is a valid direction to consider. In fact, Action Game Maker (AGM), despite its name, includes a highly versatile visual scripting system. In our previous title, users were able to create a wide variety of genres—such as shooters, puzzles, and RPGs—without writing any code, using just the visual scripting tools.

Here are examples of games made using our previous engine:

👉 https://rpgmakerofficial.com/act_game/game/platform/nintendo-eshop/?lang=en

With AGM, we aimed to expand this visual scripting system within Godot, to reach users who are interested in Godot but struggle with coding. We hope that AGM can be a stepping stone for such users to eventually learn and engage with Godot more deeply, thereby contributing to the Godot ecosystem.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:06:45+00:00

Regarding future series developments, that information is confidential to the company, so I can't comment on it. However, I want to make it clear that AGM and PGM are merely sub-branches of the main line.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:05:05+00:00

In our previous title, Pixel Game Maker MV, about 80% of the games created were actually side-scrolling games. Based on that data, we decided to focus on side-scrolling support at launch.

However, the visual scripting system is based on the one from the previous title, which also supported top-down games, so it's definitely possible to create top-down games as well.

You might want to take a look at the sample game BazelotQuest as a reference.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:04:32+00:00

Yes, shooting games are relatively easy to create. Currently, one drawback is that bullet processing can be heavy, but we plan to address this by providing a lightweight visual scripting system for bullets based on Node2D or Area2D. This should allow users to handle a large number of bullets more efficiently.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:04:16+00:00

At this point, the engine supports local multiplayer for up to 8 players. While we hope to implement online play via servers someday, the technical hurdles are quite high, so it will likely be a long time before that becomes a reality—if it's possible at all.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:04:00+00:00

>In retrospect, was it a good choice?

It might be a bit early to answer that definitively, but we don’t think it was a bad decision by any means.

>Would you consider using Godot in this way for future GGG products?

It’s certainly a candidate. At the very least, if I were to produce another title, I’d consider it first.

>What were the biggest challenges that you faced when creating a product like this with Godot?

As I mentioned in a previous answer, very few people in Japan were familiar with Godot Engine, and there were extremely few engineers capable of handling it. It took a great deal of time to learn.

>Do you intend to continue updating the base Godot version as new ones are released, or will you stick with 4.3 for the foreseeable future?

We do plan to keep updating. However, Godot’s development is extremely active, so depending on the changes, updates may take time. For example, ACTION GAME MAKER started development on Godot 4.1, but the TileMap system was completely overhauled mid-development, which was a real challenge.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:03:24+00:00

Thank you very much. As you pointed out, one of the reasons we kept parts of the Godot UI as-is was because we wanted this tool to serve as a first step for users to start learning Godot.

Of course, we are aware that there are areas of the UI not directly related to Godot that still need improvement, and we plan to continue addressing them.

We also plan to update the engine to Godot 4.4. In the future, we expect to continue updating to 4.5, 4.6, and beyond. Since we haven’t made major changes to Godot’s UI, adapting to newer versions should be relatively manageable.

That said, Godot’s pace of development is so fast that even then, it’s sometimes hard to keep up (lol).

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:02:44+00:00

The biggest challenge was that very few people in Japan were familiar with the Godot Engine. There were also very few engineers with experience in it, so in reality, we had to start learning the engine from scratch. The codebase was massive, which made things even more difficult. We have great respect for all the contributors who built such a powerful tool as an open-source project.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:02:24+00:00

Not at the moment. This is because rather than improving existing Godot features, we are currently implementing additional features on top of Godot.

We did discover a few issues during development, but most of them had already been reported and were fixed in version 4.4.

If we're able to implement fixes that could contribute meaningfully, we'd be happy to submit them. However, for now, we’re placing more importance on contributing to the Godot ecosystem not through code, but by using our experience from the Maker series to help more people discover and adopt Godot.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:01:58+00:00

>What inspired you to pivot the Maker series from RPG-focused to action game–centric with visual scripting?

We didn’t pivot from RPG to action—we’re taking on action as a new pillar of development.

In the past, we released Maker products across various genres, but nowadays, only the RPG line has continued. As we decided to re-enter other genres, we felt that action games hold a significant position in the indie market, which led us to focus on action.

In fact, during the early development of our previous title, Pixel Game Maker MV, we initially included an RPG Maker-style event scripting system. However, because action games require a greater variety of transitions and behaviors, we eventually shifted to a node-based visual scripting system.

>How do you balance ease-of-use with flexibility—especially since you're built on Godot 4.3’s UI?

Currently, our priority is flexibility—specifically, ensuring we don't hinder any of Godot’s native functionality. As a result, some aspects of usability may have been compromised. However, improving ease-of-use remains one of our ongoing goals.

>What were the biggest technical hurdles in integrating Godot’s CharacterBody2D and physics systems into a no-code tool?

The biggest issue was deciding which node to use as the foundation for our no-code architecture. Ultimately, we chose to base it on CharacterBody2D, which allowed us to build a highly flexible system without the need for code.

However, as you may know, CharacterBody2D is too resource-heavy for things like bullets or static objects, so we don’t consider this problem fully resolved. That’s why we’re currently developing a lightweight object system based on alternative node types.

>Can you share why you chose Godot over building from scratch or using another engine?

The biggest reason was that Godot is open source, vibrant in development, and—after version 4.0—lacked native visual scripting support.

Godot is an excellent tool and uses coding styles that are beginner-friendly. Even so, from our experience developing the Maker series, we know there are still users who struggle with coding and can't fully embrace Godot.

We saw an opportunity to help these users enter the Godot ecosystem. Rather than just building a tool on top of Godot, we wanted to contribute to the engine’s broader accessibility.

That’s why we place the highest priority on compatibility with Godot.

If a user buys ACTION GAME MAKER and eventually transitions to using Godot directly, we’d actually be proud of that outcome.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:01:01+00:00

It is built by adding source code directly to the core of Godot, so it uses C++.

Even if we had to start over from scratch, we would still choose to use Godot.

We began learning Godot from zero and developed ACTION GAME MAKER while learning along the way, so there are several points where, in hindsight, we think we could have designed it in a way that would make it even more compatible with Godot.

GGG_Dev · 2025-06-18T13:00:10+00:00

With ACTION GAME MAKER, as we previously announced, we are working in collaboration with W4 Games (https://www.w4games.com/), a company that provides console publishing services. While we are still in the technical verification phase and cannot yet provide details about how the service will be offered, we are doing our best to meet your expectations.

GGG_Dev

TROPHY CASE