Microsoft unveils ‘Popfly Game Creator’

Microsoft has added a Game Creator application to its Popfly ‘mash up’ site.

Launched last year, Popfly allows users to create web pages and small apps using user-generated content and powered by Microsoft’s Flash-like Silverlight runtime.

Popfly Game Creator goes one step further that Microsoft’s XNA Game Studio in widening the net on who has the tools to make games. The simple software is currently available to try in alpha with more features being added soon.

In a post on the Popfly team blog, the company explained: "Popfly is about more than mashups and web pages. It’s about making it fun to build things and share them with your friends. And one of the things we’ve heard loud and clear is that games are the kinds of things that people would like to try to build."

Microsoft says you can make games like Super Mario, Frogger, Asteroids and other old arcade and casual games using the app, which already has 15 pre-built templates included such as a shooter, platformer, maze game and the like.

Games can then be embedded on a blog, Facebook profile or Vista Sidebar – provided the creator and intended user have Silverlight installed.

You can have a nose at the app here.