For most of us, though, there's been one little obstacle -- we have enough trouble programming  a VCR, and writing miles and miles of computer code seems completely out of the question. 

      That's where Pie In the Sky Software's Game Creation System comes in.  The GCS 
is a complete game authoring program that lets non programmers create their own 3D shoot-'em-ups with a series of point-and-click tools.  The games you create are stand 
alone programs that can run on just about any PC, which means once you've tried your hand at design, you can try your hand at marketing -- if you think your game is good enough, you can sell it without worrying about any licensing fees or legal entanglements.  But before you get too deep into a dream of writing the next Doom and driving a Ferrari just like John Romero's, let's just say you're not likely to find fame and fortune with the sort of games the GCS lets you produce.  It's not a high-end development tool - not by today's standards, anyway. 

      The basic game engine -- the program that displays and animates the 3D mazes you design and plays back the sounds and music you create -- is a pretty good one, but when compared to current games like Doom or Dark Forces, its limitations become obvious.  Its graphics fall somewhere between the classic 3D shooter Wolfenstein 3D and the slightly more advanced Operation Body Count.  It does, however, feature support for a variety of controllers and sound cards, and its graphics move very smoothly even on the minimum recommended system.  And the GCS gives you a library of ready-made objects, wall textures, and enemies to work with, so you won't have to worry about creating or importing your own graphics until you're ready to. 

      The World Editor, the program where you'll do most of your work, has a pretty intuitive, mouse-based interface; you just select a wall texture, then click and drag on a grid to create a top-down view of your maze.  There's no online help or tutorial to guide you through the trickier aspects of the process, so you'll want to keep the manual handy and pay close attention to the tips and instructions it offers. 

      There are a few demo levels you can jump in and tinker with right off the bat, but with all the tools the GCS gives you, you'll want to start building bigger and better games before long. 

      Of course, there are some elements of game design the GCS can't handle for you. The best set of tools in the world can't keep you from making a bad game. After hurriedly slapping together my first few levels, I took a test run through them and realized they were not only terribly short and poorly organized, they were something much worse -- boring.

     While animation, music, and sound files go a long way towards making your game a unique and personalized experience, not everybody wants to just run around and shoot stuff. So if you're interested in creating something with a bit more depth than your average shooter, you can import text strings to turn your virtual world into a mini adventure game. You could create hostage situations, bank robberies or perhaps even a nice Sunday school sermon that's interrupted by a group of leather-clad bunnies spouting their radical propaganda. 

     While this feature opens up a lot of creative ideas, there is a limit to the number of text files you can display in a given game, but unless you're planning a first-person version of 'War and Peace', this probably won't be a problem. 

     Pie in the Sky is also offering additional libraries of ready-made wall textures, enemies, etc., but since the option to modify the basic library of textures or design your own from scratch is already built into the system, it's doubtful many users will need them. 

     Still, as customizable as the GCS is, there are a few elements you won't be able to change. Unlike 'Doom' or 'Wolfenstein', the game screen isn't resizable, and the status bar (where your health and ammo stats appear) takes up a significant portion of the screen. These things detract from the game, and they instantly label every game that's created with this system.  Also, the basic game engine doesn't include the popular modem or network options that seems to be a near requirement for any first-person shooter released today. 

     While there's little chance of seeing any retail games created with the GCS, it'll probably inspire more than a few ambitious gamers to release their creations online as share- ware or free ware.  It'll be interesting to see how far these would-be designers can go with the tools GCS provides. 
                                                                        -Todd Vaughn