The Long Tail of Games? PlayCrafter Wants to Open the Door to User-Created Games

The world of video game making is largely reserved for only those who have dedicated a considerable amount of time to learning the tools required. PlayCrafter is looking to change that with our version of the ‘camcorder for games’, a tool that combines power with ease, enabling anyone to make a game in a matter of minutes.

PlayCrafter is a new flash-based website that lets users easily create a variety of 2D games. The games use physics and are created by dragging and dropping customizable game pieces. The site is in public Alpha. If you think you’d like to try your hand at making a video game, or just want to play games others have created, check it out at www.playcrafter.com.

Users can upload their own graphics for all of a game’s pieces, including the background of the game. Creators can build upon the ideas of others by editing or personalizing existing games and discussing their games with the community. Creators can publish their games to the site itself, and also share their creations with their friends. PlayCrafter will even allow you to post your new game on your blog or social networking site. We currently support eleven different game types including golf, breakout, shooters, platformers, puzzles, with more on the way.

Creators can earn a share of revenues generated by their games. Currently, ads are shown when games that have been published off-site are loaded. We have plans to increase revenues for creators in a variety of different ways.

PlayCrafter is changing the way games are made by dramatically lowering the cost and expertise required for game creation.