Building a fire requires fuel, oxygen, and heat. Building a game requires time, money, and tools. Project Spark, Microsoft’s ambitious new game-creation tool, is like handing out boxes of matches to amateur game developers and then letting them build a community bonfire and carry off torches into the night.

Project Spark is a free, versatile tool set that helps you build and edit your own games. Think of it as a shortcut for prospective developers. Starting with a fantasy-themed template, players can tweak the physics, graphics, and gameplay to make wild new creations.

We asked two of the developers on Project Spark, studio manager Saxs Persson and game designer Claude Jerome, to share with us the craziest creations that players have come up with in just two months of the Windows 8 open beta. Any of these can be downloaded, altered, and incorporated into different creations, allowing the community to remix and build on each other’s work. Nobody profits from a successful design on Project Spark, but notoriety and public acclaim are the primary incentives.

If these designs have you feeling inspired, the latest Project Spark beta hits Xbox One today. On the console, players will be able to to turn Project Spark into a motion-capture studio by recording original animations with the Kinect. With these new tools at their disposal, amateur game designers can make the gaming equivalent of a roaring fire without having to gather the wood.

Check the gallery below for the developers’ favorite user-generated creations and read more about Project Spark in our interview here.

Project Spark
Victorian Mishaps by Wertandrew2: “You’re able to switch between members of a ragtag crew of adventurers seeking gold and loot in a wild, post-apocalyptic world.”
Project Spark
CJ’s Apocalypse Island by NeighborhoodGMR: “You find yourself in a town ravaged by escaped prisoners. Arm yourself to survive in this dark, urban adventure game.”
Project Spark
The Poem’s Sprite by TheOnlyPoem: “This amazing representation of ‘pixel art’ shows that the possibilities are endless in Project Spark.”
Project Spark
Zoo Of New Creatures by Hugin and Mugin: “Explore an intriguing exhibit showing off a variety of assembled creatures created by using a variety of Project Spark’s creation elements.”
Project Spark
This sky island is one of the things Project Spark’s player-creators have made so far.
Project Spark
Rascal Racing by Ekho66: “How cool is it to be able to hop in a hover jet and race against A.I.-controlled opponents on a crazy course filled with twists and turns?”
Project Spark
King’s Landing by CaptureCloud: “Soak in the grand scale of this epic re-creation of King’s Landing [from Game of Thrones].”
Project Spark
Aqua Reef by CaptureCloud: “Swim for your life in a stunningly beautiful but equally dangerous underwater world.”
Project Spark
Gearhead by CaptureCloud: “A moody steampunk shooter set in Tinkertown, where you play as a Gearhead that battles the GearDevils in order to find the Gear of Hope.”
Project Spark
Colour by NieNieChu: “An experimental ‘trip’ through highly stylized visuals shows the power of Project Spark to create dazzling art. NieNieChu has been bringing an artistic eye to every level she’s added to our collection. In Colour, her first draft of her color level, animated crayons are writing across diverse landscapes. We can’t wait to see what this will become.”