RED Tiled or the importance of Tools

When programmers create games, they usually like to focus either on the technical side (engine, network, you name it) or on the creative side (vfx, gameplay, AI - sure this one is pretty technical too).

And then you have the fifth wheel that nobody in game development wants to deal with. Tools. Yes TOOLS. So let's talk about tools development for a minute!

Let's be honest, tools are difficult to make. Tools development consists mostly of tedious UI and UX work, while carefully listening to the main users feedback: other programmers, artists and designers who, guess what, are never happy. To make things worse, tools development is shadow work. There isn't a single John Carmack of tools in the history of video games. And Doom would not be Doom without Doomed.

So why am I talking about tools in a RED dedicated post? Well simply because the final version of RED would not be possible without a fantastic tool that I could customize to meet RED needs. And this tool of course is Tiled from Thorbjørn. Creating a dozen of levels directly in code is certainly acceptable for a game jam, but not for a full scale game with over hundred levels!

So please next time you play a great game, praise the designers and the artists... but don't forget about their fellow Tools programmers! They are the shadow workers, who thoroughly empower the creative people to play their magic!