Arcade Game Construction Kit

About

Arcade Game Construction Kit is a game-building tool for Commodore 64, released in 1988. It lets players create their own arcade-style games using a joystick-driven interface. The package includes four floppy disks and a handful of pre-designed games like KANGARANG where you guide a kangaroo through jungle hazards or MUSASHI, a samurai quest to reclaim a princess. Each game uses platformer mechanics with quirky objectives from collecting sushi to dodging falling boulders. It was designed by Mike Livesay and published by Brøderbund with contributions from developers who later worked on bigger projects. Included titles range from a Galaxian-inspired tutorial shooter to the surreal Gerg’s Adventure where a tiny creature gathers orbs. The variety of themes jungle survival, pirate exploration, space conquest shows the system’s flexibility. Designers like Paul Reiche III contributed games that feel surprisingly polished for their time. While most players probably stuck to the built-in options the ability to craft custom games made this kit a curious blend of creative tool and playable collection. Its legacy lives in the folks who tried to build their own 8-bit classics decades ahead of their time.