Codex
The Toolsmiths Codex
Last update to the Codex - August 27, 2025 by Victor Stepanov
The Codex is a warehouse of information that is constantly curated by the Slack to hold reference information about best practices in tools. These topics are perennial at the Technical Issues in Tools roundtables at GDC, and by having this information available on the website we can focus more attention to trends and changes in the state of the art instead of calling out known solutions.
Also, the codex is an excellent resource to link to tools related lectures available on the GDC Vault, Twitch, Youtube, etc…
Information about contributing to The Toolsmiths Codex
GDC
GDC Vault links to tool related talks and Tools SIG (Special Interest Group) round table Notes.
Tools Development Wisdom and Best Practice
Best Practices in UX, architecture, patterns, programming languages. What works well and what doesn’t and why. Finding the right tools for the job.
Glossary
Knowing the right words is like having the right tools for the job.
Game Tools History
‘Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.’
Learning Paths
Helping to become masters of the trade
Tool Development Resources
Books, Websites, blogs, youtube, twitch etc.
The Toolsmiths Toolbox
The Toolsmiths need tools too :)
The Toolsmiths Arsenal
Solutions for game development problems
Game Engines and Their Tools
Tools play a major role in the success of a game engine.