create your own video game assignment

Make a video game in Unity: start here

One dream is all it takes to create a new world. Unity gives you the tools to make that dream a reality. You’ll find plenty of tips here on how to start making your first video game. Your background or skill set doesn’t matter: what counts is your drive to create! 

Make a game, in a game

Start creating with ready-made Unity Microgames. Each Microgame comes with its own collection of Mods: fun and easy customizations that also introduce you to game design, logic, visuals and more.

LEGO® Microgame

Start creating games with virtual LEGOⓇ bricks in our latest Microgame!

FPS Microgame

Blast cookies, add cute-but-deadly enemy robots and decorate your dungeon. Make the FPS Microgame your own.

2D Platformer Microgame

Get confetti everywhere, trip the light fantastic and put a spring in the step of your 2D character in this cute Platformer.  

3D Karting Microgame

Plunk down some gummy bears, get the sparks to fly and add some bounce to your ride in this fun Karting game. 

Your first game jam with Unity

Every new game maker needs a community

The global Unity Community provides many ways for creators to connect with each other. For newcomers, we provide game jams , challenges , and Creator Groups  (one each for the Karting, 2D Platformer, and FPS Microgames) that help you feel confident about sharing your first creations. Everyone is welcome!

Made with Unity — Norman’s Island by Little Mountain Animation

Start creating with Unity

Unity is the most widely-used game creation platform in the world – 50% of all mobile games are made with it, 60% of Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality content is powered by Unity, and "Unity developer" is #7 on the list of fastest-growing jobs in a recent LinkedIn U.S. Emerging Jobs report.

New creators can download Unity for free and begin with ready-made Unity Microgames and Mods. Learn with hundreds of free and affordable tutorials, courses, terms , and game kits, from both Unity and our amazing community.

Get inspired, learn & create

Create a 2D video game

Unity is the #1 platform for creating both 2D and 3D video games. If your heart yearns for 2D, then learn more about how to make them here. 

Code a video game in Unity

Are you curious about how to program games? We have plenty of resources that will teach you the basics of C# coding in Unity.

Make a 3D game in Unity

Unity offers a suite of tools to help you build your first 3D game. Start here to find out more about building the next immersive world for players to explore.

Sykoo Sam: Get started making games

Sykoo Sam is an online Unity evangelist who also has his own popular game dev channel. Here are his tips for new creators.

Thomas Brush: Watch this before making your first game

Thomas Brush has been making games for over 10 years and has oodles of wisdom to share with both beginner and experienced creators.

Dani: Game developer and student

YouTuber Dani shares snippets from his everyday life as a game dev student along with tips for creating games in Unity.

Blackthornprod: “I made a game in one week with Unity”

In this video, Blackthornprod shares how he made a game in one week in Unity.

Brackeys: How to make a video game

Check out this series from uber-popular Brackeys that takes you through the basic stages of making a game.

Mix and Jam: Recreate cool stuff from real games

Mix and Jam takes elements from his favorite games and shows you how to recreate them in Unity.

Game development tools

We have a few suggestions for some basic tools to start your journey into game development.

Become a successful game developer

It takes a certain mindset, some basic skills, and a few great resources to begin building your reputation as a game developer.

Level design tips

The path to designing top-notch levels for your games involves attention to detail and familiarizing yourself with some important concepts.

Getting into the game industry

The barrier for entry into the gaming industry is not as high as you may think. Here’s how to work your way towards it.

Is Unity good for 2D games?

Let’s talk about what makes 2D game development feature-rich, intuitive, and fun in Unity.  

Using Blender and Maya with Unity

Blender and Maya are two popular pieces of animation software. Here’s how to use them with Unity.

5 Unity tutorials for new game developers

Some of our best content creators show you how to start making games in Unity.

Video game terminology

We've created a comprehensive list of terms from game development, Unity, and the gaming world to help you become an industry pro.

5 common new game developer mistakes

Becoming a game developer is exciting and rewarding. Doing things correctly from the start will save you headaches in the long run.

10 game design tips for new developers

Tips for every new video game developer as they begin their game design work.

Five compelling video game character types

We’ll talk about what makes a video game character compelling enough to make players feel attached to them.

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How to Make a Video Game – Create Your Own Game From Scratch Tutorial

Game development is a popular field within the software industry. But what does it take to start building games from scratch?

In this article, I will talk about the different game engines and tools that you can use to build your own games. I will also provide you with dozens of resources and tutorials to help get you started.

There are many tools and game engines out there but I will cover a few of the popular ones.

• Unreal Engine

GameMaker Studio

Amazon lumberyard, ren'py visual novel engine.

This is a cross platform video game engine that is popular with game developers. Unity supports many platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux and game consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox.

Some popular games that have been built with Unity include Cuphead, Pillars Of Eternity, Ori And The Blind Forest, Escape Plan, and Hearthstone.

Unity provides you with the opportunity to create your own 2D and 3D games. You can create shooter games, platformer games, educational games and more with Unity.

The programming language used with Unity is C#. If you are new to C#, you can take this freeCodeCamp YouTube course .

To get started with Unity, you can sign up for a free plan on their website. They offer free plans for both students and individual use.

Unity also provides hours of courses, project tutorials, live training sessions and certifications. All of this education is available on their website .

freeCodeCamp also provides many resources to help you get started.

• Game Development for Total Beginners - Free Unity Course
• Learn Unity Multiplayer Basics with Mirror
• Learn C# and Unity by Making Digital Tabletop Games
• Unity Game Engine Guide: How to Get Started with the Most Popular Game Engine Out There

Unreal is a game engine where you can build 3D games. Unreal supports many platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux and game consoles such as PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch.

Popular games built with the Unreal game engine include Fortnite, Yoshi's Crafted World, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Street Fighter 5, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

The programming language used with Unreal is C++. If you are new to C++, you can take this freeCodeCamp YouTube course .

You can download the Unreal game engine for free on their website . They also provide 100's of hours of free online tutorials .  

• Learn Unreal Engine 4 by Coding 3 Games - A Free 5-hour Game Dev Video Course
• Unreal Engine Course: Create a 2D Snake Game
• How to Build A 2.5D Platformer Game With Unreal Engine – a Free 3-hour Course

Godot is a free open source game engine designed to create 2D and 3D games. Godot supports many platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Some popular games that have been built with Godot include Carol Reed Mysteries, Commander Keen in Keen Dreams, and Cruelty Squad.

Godot supports a few programming languages but the main ones are GDScript and VisualScript. To learn more about supported languages, please visit the documentation .

To get started working with Godot, you can go to their download page . Godot provides many free tutorials in their learn section .  

freeCodeCamp also provides this YouTube tutorial on Godot.

Phaser is a free open source platform where you can build HTML 5 games for mobile and desktop. Phaser supports iOS, Android, as well as like Apache Cordova and phonegap.

Phaser provides you the opportunity to create your own shooter games, platformer games, educational games, and more. The primary languages used are JavaScript and TypeScript.

If you are new to either of those languages you can look into these freeCodeCamp beginner tutorials.

• Learn JavaScript - Full Course for Beginners
• Learn TypeScript - Full Course for Beginners

To get started working with Phaser, you can go to the download page on their website. Phaser offers dozens of free tutorials to help you get started creating your first games.

If you have experience working with Node, Express, Vue or Socket.IO, then you can look into these tutorials.

• How to Build a Multiplayer Tabletop Game Simulator with Vue, Phaser, Node, Express, and Socket.IO
• How to Build a Multiplayer Card Game with Phaser 3, Express, and Socket.IO

GameMaker Studio is a cross platform video game engine where you can create your own 2D games. GameMaker supports many platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and game consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox.

Popular games made with GameMaker Studio include Undertale: Overwhelmingly Positive, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove: Overwhelmingly Positive and Katana Zero: Overwhelmingly Positive.

GameMaker Studio uses the GameMaker Language and you can learn more by visiting the documentation .

They also offer dozens of tutorials to get you started making games. Gamemaker has a free option and you can create an account on their website.

CryEngine allows you to create interactive 3D games and supports platforms like Windows, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, and Oculus Rift. You can create shooter games, platformer games, educational games and more with CryEngine.

Some popular games that have been built with CryEngine include Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Far Cry, State of Decay, and Ryse: Son of Rome.

Programming languages used for CryEngine include C#, C++, and Lua. If you are not familiar with those languages, then you can look into these resources.

• C# Tutorial - Full Course for Beginners
• C++ Tutorial for Beginners - Full Course
• Lua Get Started Guide

CryEngine has dozens of tutorials to help you get started building games and it is free to download on their website.  

Amazon Lumberyard is a free cross platform video game engine where you can create your own 3D games. Amazon Lumberyard supports many platforms including iOS, Android, Windows and game consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox.

Some games using Amazon Lumberyard include New World and The Grand Tour Game.

Programming languages used for Amazon Lumberyard include C++, and Lua. If you are not familiar with those languages, then you can look into these resources.

Amazon Lumberyard is free to download and there are dozens of tutorials to get you started building your own games.

Ren'Py Visual Novel Engine is a free engine where you can create interactive visual novels and games. Ren'Py supports many platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Some popular games and novels created with Ren'Py include, Doki Doki Literature Club!, Zero Deaths, and UFO Swamp Odyssey.

The programming language used with Ren'Py is Python. If you are new to Python, you can take this freeCodeCamp YouTube course .

You can download Ren'Py for free on their website. They also provide a Quickstart guide to creating your first game or novel.

freeCodeCamp also has a walk through tutorial on how to make a visual novel game using Ren'Py.

Pygame comes with modules, sounds, and graphics to allow you to create video games using Python. Pygame supports platforms including Linux, Mac and Windows.

Popular games built with Pygame include Frets on Fire and Dangerous High School Girls in Trouble!

The programming language used with Pygame is Python. If you are new to Python, you can take this freeCodeCamp YouTube course .

To get started with Pygame, you can go through their Getting Started guide on their website. freeCodeCamp also has a YouTube course on getting started with Pygame.

LÖVE is a free game engine where you can build 2D games. LÖVE supports many platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Some popular games that have been built with LÖVE include Blue Revolver, Move or Die, and Warlocks Tower.

The programming language used for LÖVE is Lua. You can learn about Lua in their get started guide on the website.

Kaboom.js is a library that allows you to build computer games using JavaScript. If you are unfamiliar with JavaScript, then you can take this freeCodeCamp YouTube course .  

To get setup, you can use their CDN, NPM or official Replit template. All of the information to get started can be found on their website .

Kaboom.js also provides a walk through tutorial to building your first game. You can recreate classic games like Mario and Space invaders using Kaboom.js.

You can also go through this freeCodeCamp YouTube course, to get started building classic games.

I hope you enjoy my list of popular game engines and tools to get started learning how to build your own games.

I encourage to keep exploring and find even more game options that were not mentioned in this article so you can continue your learning.

Best of luck on your game development journey.

I am a musician and a programmer.

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• Get Buildbox
• Make Your Own Game

Everything You Need. No Coding Required. Get Started Now.

In this 10-part video course, you’ll learn how to make your first game from scratch with Buildbox. We’re supplying you with all the art, sound and tutorials you need… and there’s no programming required. Here is a document you can use to easily follow along:  Make Your Own Game Handbook

R eady to get started?  The first thing you’ll need is Buildbox.  If you don’t already have Buildbox, click the button below to get Buildbox and tons of game art, sound, music and more:

1. Creating the Basics

For this entire ‘Make Your Own Game’ series, led by instructor, Heath Close, we’re going to learn how to make a wall jumper game called ‘GLTCH’ from start to finish.

In this first lesson, a lot of information will be covered to provide you with a solid foundation to work with. We’ll explain exactly what Buildbox is and how you can use it to build your own game without using a single line of code. Then you’ll get a detailed tour of the software’s options and settings, which will help you become more familiar with the features and editing tools that you’ll be using.

You’ll learn about the creator tool and how to use it to make a playable skeleton of your game ‘GLTCH.’ We’ll also cover how to use the scene editor to customize your game with different backgrounds, characters menu screen graphics and more.

2. Collision Shapes and Object Settings

Although, we’re not going to start building levels until part 3 of the ‘Make Your Own Game’ series, everything that you’ll learn in this video will give you a good basic knowledge of level design. Understanding the components necessary to make a game app flow correctly will ultimately make the process much easier when you’re actually building out levels in your game.

In this course we’ll explain what are collision shapes and how they affect your game’s gameplay. You’ll learn how to use the options available in the collision shape editor to resize, add points, and reset an image.

You’ll learn how to change object properties to get an enemy to behave how you want them to within your game. We’ll also reveal how to make a game more fun by designing it in a way that let’s players experience those exciting ‘close-call moments’ without ever feeling cheated.

3. Build Your First Levels

As discussed in the previous lesson, we’re going to take a closer look at world settings and how they affect your game. In this video we’ll show you how to customize and edit your world settings to make your levels interesting. You’ll learn how to play around with various properties to adjust the gravity, time warp, bounce settings and more within your game.

We’ll also further explain the different character gameplay settings, the art of layering and how to test out your levels in the debug mode.

In this hands-on tutorial, you’ll get to watch and follow along with the instructor as you build the first game level in ‘GLTCH’ together. There’s a bonus time-lapse segment that plays immediately after of 10 more levels being built. Pay attention and watch closely to learn how to effectively build out levels.

4. Making it Unique

Our goal in this course is to help you create a game that could potentially be featured by Apple or reach the top the charts. To accomplish this, you have to make your game unique. There are hundreds of games released on a regular basis across every single platform. This makes originality crucial for not only visibility in the App Store but overall player engagement.

In this fourth video of the ‘Make Your Own Game’ series, you’ll learn how to make a game app that’s truly unique. We’ll go beyond graphics and explore game characters and the way they interact. Watch and learn as we add a new gameplay element to ‘GLTCH’ to set our game apart enough to make it memorable and fun.

You’ll learn how to add a barrier obstacle into your gameplay and a new way to add a fun twist to the element. We’ll also show you how to easily create a ‘taking damage’ animation in Buildbox.

5. Actions Effects and Logic

In this fifth video tutorial, we’ll cover actions, effects and logic pieces in-depth. You’ll learn how to add actions like coins, invincibility, power-up magnets and action animations.

Creating an in-game economy with coins and other actions such as power-ups is an excellent way to give your players goals and reward them. When you make your own game with this in mind your overall gameplay experience and player retention will be much higher. The option to collect coins also empowers users to unlock characters and other special items you decide to include, which can lead up to an in-app purchase generating real money.

We’ll cover how to import coins for players to collect, how to add a coin tracker to your game’s UI, invincibility power-ups and the use of path logic pieces.

You’ll also learn how to add beautiful light effects and particle effects in creative ways to make your game look really professional.

6. Animated Menus and Game Sounds

No game is complete without music or sound effects. Music and sound are principal elements in gaming. Good background music sets the atmosphere and tone. It can help users connect emotionally with the game as well. Sound effects at crucial moments or during specific actions can inform players and give them direction on the next move to make.

In this lesson we’ll cover how to not only animate the menu sections like the game title or start button but how to load music into your game and trigger specific sound and animation effects. You’ll learn new ways to integrate sound and music throughout your game.

When you’re a game developer it’s important to get your music and sound effects in your game just right. So, included in this lesson is also some bonus material that focuses on how to add defeated sounds and animations properly to your game over menu. The secret to making a good game great is in the details, like sound and effects.

7. Making Multiple Game Modes

Balance is crucial when you make a game app. You don’t want your game to be too easy but at the same time you don’t want to make it so hard right off the bat, that your players feel cheated. It’s important to find a balance. This can be easily managed when you implement multiple game modes.

In this lesson you’ll learn how to make a game with multiple game modes for your players to choose from. Watch and learn how to make an exciting turbo mode and a hard mode all within Buildbox.

You’ll also learn how to make multi-level menu navigation for ‘GLTCH’ that can be used to navigate players to the new game modes. We’ll show you how to add locked start buttons and share a few tips to make the entire process of adding multiple modes into your game super easy and quick.

8. Coin Shop and Multiple Characters

Adding coin shops with unlockable characters and items can significantly improve your game’s replay value. Players are more likely to continue playing in order to earn enough coins to purchase or unlock a new cool wacky character that may have caught their eye. It’s also a great way to ease monetization options like in-app purchases into the mix.

In this video, we’re going to show you exactly how to set up and customize a coin shop. We’ll also explore what you can put in your game shop and different ways for players to buy characters.

You’ll learn how to add character purchasing features to your shop, and we’ll explain the various character settings available further as well. The lesson will also teach you how to add unlock buttons to each item or character for advanced monetization later down the line.

There’s also a really effective trick included in this lesson on creating multiple characters via duplication that will make it easy to fill up your shop with unique unlockable characters.

9. Exporting

After you make your own game it’s vital that you take the time to review and prepare it for exporting. In this lesson we’ll further explain the settings options and explore the general tab section.

You’ll learn how to get your game ready for export and all the necessary information you need to fill out to get your app up and running in your chosen platform’s marketplace.

With Buildbox you can easily export your game to any platform including Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, Steam, Apple TV and more. Our game engine also automatically adjusts button and interface positions as needed for different devices so your game will look great on any device family you choose to export it to.

In this brief tutorial you’ll learn how easy it is to fill out the necessary information, choose export target, and let Buildbox automatically export all files in code for compiling in the platform of your choice.

10. Tips Tricks and Hacks

Now that you know how to make a game app without coding, we’re going to backtrack and reveal some of the best tips and hacks to get the most out of our software. We’ll revisit some of our previous lessons and show you a few new tricks to help take your game to that next-level.

In this last video, you’ll learn a clever tip to get your collision shapes precise. We’ll show you how to give your character an exploding death, so it looks like he shatters into tiny little versions of himself.

We’ll explore some of the other notable features in Buildbox like the menu jump and event observer and show you how you can integrate timers within your gameplay. You’ll also learn a secret tip about making secret worlds unrepeatable.

After you’ve completed the tenth and final video in our course series, we encourage you to join our official forum to learn more about how to make your own game using Buildbox.

BONUS: POLISHING YOUR GAME

There’s one more aspect of creating games that we haven’t covered yet in this series. Polishing your game. Virtually every successful game is polished in one way or another. In this special bonus video we’ll teach you exactly what polish is and how to properly add it to your game.

We’ll reveal some of the late stage design decisions we made with GLTCH and provide some core tips that you can use to build your own game. We’ll cover several effective strategies to use when you’re adding the final touches to your app to make it appear more polished. You’ll also learn the steps necessary to make your game publisher ready.

Polishing your game is all about finding that perfect balance between minimal and simple but sleek. Throughout this bonus video from the Make Your Own Game series you’ll learn a faster way to make design decisions. Watch and follow along as we clean up the UI of GLTCH.

We’ll share some essential game design principles like elegance and tips that you can use to make your own game appear more minimal yet sleek. You’ll also learn the most important rule you need to follow in order to make your game publisher ready and much more.

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Course info, instructors.

• Mikael Jakobsson
• Sara Verrilli

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• Comparative Media Studies/Writing

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• Game Design
• Digital Media

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Introduction to game design methods, assignments, example student work.

Final project - “I’ve Got a Feeling” (PDF) . (Courtesy of Gregory Cartagena, Maddie Cain, Nischal Bhandari, and Neil Borja. Used with permission.)

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• Entertainment /
• 11 tools to get you started making video games

It has never been easier to make your own video games

By D. M. Moore

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Making a video game is much less daunting than it might seem. While you likely aren’t going to go from having no experience to making the next Grand Theft Auto , it has actually never been easier to get started making games. Game development tools and resources have become increasingly accessible to the average person, even if they have no programming experience. Often these tools are also available for free.

To try to make things easier for those looking to get started making games, we’ve put together a list of 11 game engines / editors. Some are designed for a specific genre of game or to be incredibly easy for newcomers. Others are professional development tools for AAA games, but are effectively free to use for hobbyists and still offer a lot of learning tools to help those with limited programming experience get started.

There are, of course, a lot of things that go into game development — music, animation, sound, writing, texturing, modeling, etc. — however, the game engine / editor you choose is going to have the biggest effect on what kind of game you can make. If you have suggestions for other engines, software, or learning tools for the other aspects of development, post it in the comments.

A cross-platform commercial 3D engine developed by Crytek. It has been used for games like Prey (2017) and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture .

Intended for: 3D games

Editor available for: Windows

Scripting / markup language(s): Lua

Cost: Free until the project earns over $5,000 in a year, afterward there is a 5 percent royalty fee.

Learning tools: CryEngine has a number of free tutorial videos that cover everything from installing the editor and walking you through making a simple Flappy Bird -like game to more complex things like compiling a custom configured version of the engine.

Website: https://www.cryengine.com/

Getting started: https://www.cryengine.com/tutorials  

A cross-platform commercial 2D game engine developed by YoYo Games. It has been used for games like Undertale , Hyper Light Drifter , and Minit .

Intended for: 2D games

Editor available for: Windows and macOS

Scripting / markup language(s): Uses a proprietary scripting language called GameMaker Language (GML) and a visual scripting language called Drag and Drop (DnD).

Cost: Free for 30 days, and then licenses start at $39 / year.

Learning tools: A few free written and video tutorials that cover the basics and some that dive more into how to make specific genres of games like turn-based RPGs, tower defense, and farming games. There are also links to some external sites and communities that have scripts and guides to help people get started.

Website: https://www.yoyogames.com/gamemaker

Getting started: https://www.yoyogames.com/learn

An open-source 2D game engine designed for ease of use.

Editor available for: Windows, macOS, Linux, and web

Scripting / markup language(s): None, uses a drag and drop interface.

Learning tools: There are a variety of guides and tutorials available on the GDevelop wiki, and also more than 80 example files of how to make specific genres of games and specific game features.

Website: https://gdevelop-app.com/

Getting started: http://wiki.compilgames.net/doku.php/gdevelop5/getting_started

An open-source 2D and 3D game engine designed to be powerful, easy to learn, and for team collaboration.

Intended for: 2D and 3D games

Editor available for: Windows, macOS, and Linux

Scripting / markup language(s): GDScript, C#, and visual scripting.

Learning tools:  Godot has an extensive step-by-step guide to using their editor, along with a bunch of free text tutorials covering more specific aspects like implementing VR, using skeletons for 2D animation, and generating procedural geometry.

Website: https://godotengine.org/

Getting started: https://docs.godotengine.org/en/stable/getting_started/step_by_step/index.html

A commercial cross-platform 3D game engine developed by Amazon that is based on an older version of CryEngine. It has been used for games like Star Citizen and The Grand Tour Game .

Intended for: 3D games, with Twitch integration and multiplayer games that use Amazon Web Services 

Learning tools: There is a free series of getting started tutorial videos and video talks on more specific features in the engine. There is also a free training course on how to use Lumberyard with AWS. 

Website: https://aws.amazon.com/lumberyard/

Getting started: https://aws.amazon.com/lumberyard/gettingstarted/

An open-source visual novel game engine. It has been used for games like Doki Doki Literature Club , Butterfly Soup , and One Night, Hot Springs .

Intended for: Visual novels

Scripting / markup language(s): Ren’Py script language and Python

Learning tools: There is a free text walk-through of how to make a simple game in Ren’Py and additional text-based guides for more specific customization.

Website: https://www.renpy.org/

Getting started: https://www.renpy.org/doc/html/quickstart.html

A commercial game engine developed by Degica. It is designed specifically for making classic JRPG-style games without needing to know how to program. It has been used for games like Corpse Party and Rakuen .

Intended for: 2D roleplaying games

Scripting / markup language(s): JavaScript

Cost: $79.99

Learning tools: There are some free tutorials for older versions of the engine, which likely are still applicable. However for the most recent version, MV, it seems the best resources are community created .

Website: https://www.rpgmakerweb.com/products/programs/rpg-maker-mv

Getting started: https://www.rpgmakerweb.com/support/products/tutorials

An open-source editor for interactive storytelling. It has been used for games like Lionkiller and The Uncle Who Works For Nintendo .

Intended for: Interactive fiction and text-based games.

Editor available for: Windows, macOS, and web

Scripting / markup language(s): Proprietary markup language, but also allows HTML, Javascript, and CSS.

Learning tools: There’s a guide that covers the basics of their markup language and offers some samples of more advanced scripting.

Website: https://twinery.org/

Getting started: https://twinery.org/wiki/start

A cross-platform commercial game engine developed by Unity Technologies. It has been used for games like Untitled Goose Game , Ori and the Will of the Wisps , and Hollow Knight .

Intended for: 2D and 3D games.

Scripting / markup language(s): C#

Cost: Free to students and hobbyists for personal use and to small companies that generate less than $100,000 a year. Outside of that, there are annual plans starting at $399 / year or $40 / month.

Learning tools: Unity provides some free resources to help those new to the engine. But it provides a lot more under its Unity Learn Premium program including classes, tutorials, and even certifications. Unity Learn Premium is currently free until June 10th, 2020, but is normally $15 per month.

Website: https://unity.com/

Getting started: https://learn.unity.com/tutorial/create-your-first-unity-project

A cross-platform commercial game engine developed by Epic Games. It has been used for games like Fortnite , Final Fantasy VII Remake , and Octopath Traveler .

Intended for: 3D games.

Editor available for: Windows.

Scripting / markup language(s): C++ and Blueprints Visual Scripting

Cost: Free, but with a 5 percent royalty owed on the game’s gross revenue over $3,000 per game per quarter.

Learning tools: Epic Games offers a number of free online video courses that cover some introductory aspects to using the engine’s editor and some more advanced topics like post processing effects and creating asset pipelines. 

Website: https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/

Getting started: https://docs.unrealengine.com/en-US/GettingStarted/index.html

A commercial game engine developed by Degica. It is designed specifically for making visual novels without needing to know how to program.

Scripting / markup language(s): JavaScript and CoffeeScript

Cost: $69.99

Learning tools: There’s a free extensive guide that covers a wide range of topics including the basics of the editor, how to structure the story you’re writing, how to customize your visual novel without scripting, and a whole separate guide just for scripting plus documentation.

Website: http://visualnovelmaker.com/

Getting started: https://asset.visualnovelmaker.com/help/index.htm#t=Beginner_s_Guide.htm

Turns out the Rabbit R1 was just an Android app all along

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The Editor: a serious game on learning how to create your own video games

Do you want to turn your training content into fun, exciting video games? It’s not as hard as it may seem. “The Editor” is the serious game that walks you through the entire process.

Creating custom training video games has never been easier. Gamelearn’s new authoring tool lets anyone develop their own professional-quality serious games in just four easy steps. To help people understand how the tool works, the company has created The Editor, an online course that helps the process along

How does the video game work?

Over 3 levels, students will learn, step by step, how the Editor tool works. After playing, they’ll have the skills to create their own games without having to write a single line of code. Throughout the game, your virtual assistant Elsa will guide you as you uncover the tool’s features.

Build scenes, script interactions, create scoring systems, and more. From start to finish, the game walks you through, the 4 steps to creating a video game with the Editor:

• Access Gamelearn’s resource library then choose the settings, characters, and objects you want to use. You have dozens of options, and that list is constantly being added to.
• Specify what you want to happen when the player interacts with certain characters and objects.
• Easily link together in-game actions.
• Publish your game with the click of a mouse.

Target audience

The Editor is a simple and intuitive course that all profiles (from instructional designers to companies to institutions) can use to learn how to create their own training video games.

The course’s cloud-based format allows people to access their training content from anywhere in the world. They’ll learn everything they need to use the tool but also get the opportunity to explore their skills in designing video games. The Editor is a part of Gamelearn’s training catalog available via subscription and can be played in Spanish, English, and French.

Why The Editor?

The Editor gives you all the tools you need to create the perfect serious game for your training content. The game, which lasts around 20 minutes, features Gamelearn’s virtual assistant Elsa, who guides you around showing you how to use the Editor tool, even if you have no prior knowledge or know-how.

The Editor game lets you:

• learn how to turn your training materials and courses into high-quality video games using Gamelearn’s authoring tool.
• practice the key actions you’ll need when creating video games with Gamelearn.
• discover how to publish your games on the Gamelearn platform for your employees or clients to play.

Start creating training video games today

With the Editor, the possibilities are endless. The only limit is your creativity.  

Put it to the test ! Create your first video game with the Editor, and the results will speak for themselves.

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• My Storyboards

Games Worksheet Templates

Customize games templates.

If you're assigning this to your students, copy the worksheet to your account and save. When creating an assignment, just select it as a template!

What are Games Worksheets?

Games worksheets are educational resources that combine traditional worksheets with elements of games, making learning fun and engaging for students. These worksheets are designed to teach various concepts and skills through interactive and entertaining activities, such as board games, puzzles, and mazes. They can be used in a classroom setting or at home to help students practice and reinforce their knowledge in a fun and exciting way. With games worksheets, students can develop problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, and teamwork skills, all while having fun and staying motivated to learn. There are various types of worksheet games available above, all of which can be tailored to suit different grade levels and subject areas. Looking for something bigger than a worksheet? Check out our poster board game templates !

The Benefits of Using Game Worksheets in the Classroom

Game worksheets are a fun and engaging way to teach and reinforce concepts in the classroom. By using game sheets, board game templates, and worksheet games for kids, teachers can create a dynamic learning experience that captures students' attention and makes learning enjoyable. Here are some of the key benefits of using game worksheets in the classroom:

• Student Engagement: Game worksheets can be played by one student or by the whole class, making them a versatile teaching tool that can be adapted to meet the needs of different students and classrooms.
• Saves Time: By using pre-made game worksheets and board game templates, teachers can save time that would otherwise be spent creating their own games and activities from scratch.
• Covers Different Topics: Game worksheets can be created for a wide range of topics and subjects, making them a flexible tool for teaching and reinforcing a variety of concepts.
• Develops Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Skills: Game boards require students to use problem solving and critical thinking skills to win the game, helping to develop these important skills in a fun and engaging way.
• Encourages Collaboration and Communication: Game worksheets can be played individually or in groups, providing opportunities for students to collaborate and communicate with each other while learning.
• Makes Learning Fun: Game worksheets are a fun and interactive way to teach and reinforce concepts, making learning enjoyable and engaging for students.

Try to create classroom games and incorporate game worksheets in your classroom. With a variety of board game templates and worksheet games for kids available on our website, it's easier than ever to create your own game worksheet. Start using our free game worksheets today and see the positive impact it has on your students' learning and engagement!

Ten Fun Board Game Ideas for Classroom Activities: Using Board Game Templates to Make Your Own Games

Looking for fun and interactive ways to engage your students in the classroom? Why not create your own board games using our collection of editable board game templates! These templates allow you to customize the game boards and cards with your own words and images, creating a unique and engaging learning experience for your students. In this part, we will share 10 fun board game ideas that you can easily create using a blank board game template or any of our pre-made board game templates available. From language arts to math, these games cover different topics and are sure to save you time while making learning fun for your students.

Here are ten board game ideas that you can use to engage your students in the classroom:

• History Trivia: Challenge your students to a game of historical trivia. Create a board game template with historical questions, and have students compete against each other to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
• Math Challenge: Make math more exciting with an editable board game template. Students must solve equations to move their game pieces along the board.
• Vocabulary Quest: Help students expand their vocabulary with a board game that incorporates blank spaces. Have students fill in the spaces with their own words and challenge them to define each other's words as they move around the board. Alternatively, you can use a bingo card with vocabulary words or concepts related to the lesson.
• Crossword Puzzle Board Game: Combine a classic crossword puzzle with a board game for a fun and challenging activity. Students can move around the board by answering crossword puzzle clues, and the first to reach the end wins.
• Geography Adventure: Take your students on a journey around the world with a geography-themed board game. Create a board game template with a map, and have students answer geography questions as they travel around the board.
• Science Quest: Test your students' scientific knowledge with a board game that challenges them to answer questions related to different topics, such as biology or chemistry.
• Art Race: Introduce your students to different artists and artistic styles with a board game that asks them to identify famous works of art.
• Literature Challenge: Use a blank board game template to create a game that challenges students to answer questions related to famous works of literature. For an added challenge, you can incorporate point of view worksheets into your literature board game. Have students answer questions about the point of view of different characters in the story, or ask them to identify the point of view being used in a particular passage.
• Cultural Exploration: Help students learn about different cultures with a board game that explores traditions, customs, and famous landmarks.
• Language Learning: Make learning a new language more fun with a game that helps students practice speaking and writing. Create prompts and questions related to vocabulary and grammar.

Make your own classroom games to have a fun and engaging learning experience for your students. Give these board game ideas a try, and see how they can help your students learn and have fun at the same time!

Looking for more related resources to enhance your classroom activities? Check out our matching worksheets templates , circle chart worksheet templates , images and text worksheet templates , and teacher templates . With our variety of resources, you can create engaging and interactive activities that are tailored to your students' needs and learning goals.

Make Your Own Board Game Using Our Board Game Maker

Are you looking for a fun and engaging way to teach your students? Creating your own board game is a great way to do just that! With our board game maker, you can make a board game online for your classroom in just a few simple steps.

Our board game maker offers a variety of printable board game templates and printable game templates that you can customize to fit your lesson plan. You can also use our board game template maker to create your own unique game board from scratch.

The best part is that our board game creator is completely free to use! You can create fun worksheet games that align with your curriculum and provide your students with a unique and enjoyable learning experience.

To get started, simply choose an editable template from our library of free resources. Then, customize the board game template by adding your own questions, images, and instructions. You can even choose the colors and fonts to make your game board truly unique.

Once you've created your game, simply print it out and start playing! Your students will love playing the game and learning at the same time. You can also share your board game with other teachers or students by uploading it to your website or social media accounts.

So what are you waiting for? Start creating your own board game today with our board game maker and make learning fun and interactive for your students!

You can also try our handwriting worksheets creator , a great tool for creating customized handwriting practice sheets. Choose from a variety of templates and input the text you want your students to practice, and our creator will generate a personalized worksheet.

How to Make a Board Game

Choose one of the premade templates.

We have color, black and white, portrait, or landscape templates. Take a look at our example for inspiration!

Click on "Copy Template"

Once you do this, you will be directed to the storyboard creator.

Give Your Worksheet a Name!

Be sure to call it something related to the topic so that you can easily find it in the future.

Edit Your Worksheet

This is where you will include directions, specific questions and images, and make any aesthetic changes that you would like. The options are endless!

Click "Save and Exit"

When you are finished with your worksheet, click this button in the lower right hand corner to exit your storyboard.

From here you can print, download as a PDF, attach it to an assignment and use it digitally, and more!

Happy Creating!

Frequently Asked Questions about Games Worksheets

How do i create my own game worksheet.

You can use board game templates or board game creator tools that are available on our website. We offer customizable templates that you can fill with your own questions and instructions. Once you have customized your template, you can print it out for your students to play.

What is a board game creator?

A board game creator is a tool that allows you to create your own custom board game from scratch. With a board game creator, you can choose your own game board, pieces, cards, and rules, and then save and print out your finished game for use in the classroom.

Are there free game worksheets available?

Yes. Storyboard That offers a 14-day free trial during which you can access all of their premium features, including their extensive library of customizable worksheets for games and activities. With a free trial, you can create and download worksheets for your classroom without any cost.

Can game worksheets be used for all age groups?

Yes, game worksheets can be used for all age groups, from elementary school to high school and beyond. The key is to choose games and activities that are age-appropriate and engaging for your students, and that help them to develop important skills and knowledge in a fun and interactive way.

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A game studio in your browser, with everything you need built in. Get started making games without programming, for free. the Flowlab game creator has the tools you need, all included and easy to learn. Everything is stored online, so sharing your games is simple. Publish and sell your games on the Apple, Google, Steam, &.io App Stores!

Great for teachers &. Flowlab is being used all over the world to teach game design , along with critical STEM skills. Flowlab runs in the cloud, so there is nothing to download or install …which is perfect for Chromebooks!

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How to Design a Video Game

Last Updated: January 31, 2023 Approved

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 149 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article has 20 testimonials from our readers, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 497,854 times. Learn more...

Now is pretty much the best time there's ever been to be a game developer. The market is extremely open to newcomers and people are playing more games than ever. But if you're not already knee-deep in the industry, it can be confusing. It's like entering a dungeon without a map and compass! Well, let wikiHow be your map and compass. Below, we discuss what you'll have to design to create a complete game, give some basic pro tips on how to do it well, and show you what to do to take your career and game pro. Get started with Step 1 below or see the sections listed above for more specific advice.

Designing Gameplay

• One of the things that you'll have to think about when designing based on genre is how you want the UI to look. Different types of games will have the UI more or less visible, depending usually upon the complexity of controls.
• Another consideration is that while some genres lack it almost entirely, other game genres have become synonymous with dialogue. Will your dialogue need to be recorded? Will you do it text based? How interactive will it be? Planning ahead for dialogue is important, as you'll have to not only design the system itself but also the dialogue trees.
• You'll need to decided on a combat system for many types of games, or find the equivalent if your game does not have combat. Think of this as the "game" part of the game. It is arguably one of the most important parts of design and having a model to work from is very helpful.

• Some games give the appearance of having choice, for example, but actually have very little choice involved. This can be done well or it can be done poorly.
• An example of choice done well would be the Bioshock series or Witcher 2. An example of choices done poorly would be something like Old Republic.

Covering the Components

Designing Visuals

Designing the Audio

Designing Your Story

• Act structures are commonly used in plays, movies, and books to help get the pacing correct. Look up act structures if you're feeling unsure about your pacing.
• Monomyth or the Hero's Journey is one of the most common story-telling philosophies, arguing that most stories conform to an overall pattern. You can exploit this pattern to help it play on inherent human psychology. Journey is one of the best examples of the use of monomyth in games, but it can be found in most of them.

Designing Your Characters

Expert Q&A

• Always get permission from the official developers before creating a fan-game if the game it's based on is copyrighted. This will prevent lawsuits, bankruptcy, your website being shut down, or even a fine or jail-time. Copyright infringement is illegal. [8] X Trustworthy Source United States Copyright Office Part of the Library of Congress, responsible for maintaining copyright records Go to source Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• If anyone starts stealing assets from your game, you should file a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Takedown notice against them. [9] X Trustworthy Source United States Copyright Office Part of the Library of Congress, responsible for maintaining copyright records Go to source Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Keep a small notebook and pen with you or a notepad app on your phone at all times so you can record any good ideas you may get for your game when you are doing other things. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

Things You'll Need

• A video game maker. There are many kinds out there, but RPG Maker XP or VX or Scratch by the MIT media lab are good for beginners. They contain everything you need right from the start and allows you to add on custom graphics, music, and other things.

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://medium.freecodecamp.org/from-zero-to-game-designer-how-to-start-building-video-games-even-if-you-dont-have-any-experience-5e2f9f45f4bb
• ↑ https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/how-to-make-a-video-game/
• ↑ https://www.dummies.com/programming/programming-games/designing-video-games/
• ↑ http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132341/the_13_basic_principles_of_.php?page=3
• ↑ https://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html
• ↑ https://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

About This Article

1. Determine your goals and audience. 2. Create incentives for the player. 3. Balance difficulty with playability. 4. Design the world. 5. Design the mechanics and levels. 6. Design the content and interface. 7. Design the controls, visuals, and audio. 8. Work on characters and story development. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Export as HTML5 for gaming platforms or websites, as a mobile app (Android automatically, iOS with development tools), or as an installer for Windows/macOS/Linux and for stores like Steam.

• Fully featured, open-source game engine
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Make Your Own Video Game for Kids!

• How to Teach Variables to Kids
• Python for Kids: A Beginner’s Guide to Learning Programming with Python

Kids love to play video games. That much is obvious. But wouldn’t it be cool if they could make their screen time less passive and more productive? With Tynker, they can. By learning to code their own games, kids become creators instead of just consumers. And not only will they be having fun, but programming video games has proven to accelerate kids’ academics in math, science and reading, while giving them a skill that will open up countless future job opportunities.

At Tynker, kids and teens of all ages and skill levels can video game development with programming activities, built-in tutorials, online support, coding puzzles , mini-games, and more. So let’s learn more about making your own games for kids.

How to Make Easy Games for Kids?

Kids can make their own video games with coding platforms designed for kids! Children can use user-friendly game development tools like Scratch , Tynker , and GameMaker to build their own video games. These platforms are designed to be accessible and suitable for all skill levels, making it easy for kids to learn programming and game design without feeling overwhelmed

Children can develop their creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills through engaging tutorials and interactive interfaces as they make games. As they gain experience, kids can graduate into more advanced video game coding tools like Unity or Unreal Engine to create increasingly sophisticated games.

Collaborating with others, either online or in-person, can further enhance their learning and foster teamwork. When encouraged to “build your own video game,” children have fun and develop a valuable skill set that can translate into future opportunities within the growing gaming industry. Plus they experience the pride that goeas along with being able to say, “I know how to create my own video game.”

Where to Begin When Your Child Wants to Create a Video Game?

If your child is interested in creating a video game, start by researching age-appropriate game maker online platforms like Scratch , Tynker , or Kodu , which are designed to be accessible and engaging for young learners. Please encourage your child to explore tutorials, examples, and community projects to familiarize themselves with the platform and gather inspiration. Next, help them brainstorm and plan their game concept, including characters, storyline, and game mechanics. As they develop their game, provide support and encouragement and celebrate their progress. Encourage collaboration with friends or online communities to enhance learning and teamwork.

What is the Easiest Game to Code for Kids?

One of the easiest games for kids to code is a block coding game using Tynker. Tynker is a fantastic platform designed specifically for young learners who are new to coding. It utilizes a block-based coding system, which means that instead of typing out complex code, kids can use colorful blocks that snap together like puzzle pieces. This makes coding accessible and fun for children, as they can drag and drop blocks to create their own games, characters, and interactive stories. With Tynker, kids can explore their creativity, learn coding fundamentals, and see their ideas come to life in the form of fun and engaging games. Whether it’s designing a maze, creating a character that jumps, or making a simple storytelling game, Tynker provides a supportive environment for kids to embark on their coding journey while having a blast along the way.

5 Great Reasons to Make Video Games with Tynker

Empower your kids to make their own games paving the way for endless creativity and fun. Experience the thrill of making your own video games for free, and watch as your children unlock their true potential with Tynker.

• Award-Winning Platform – Over 600 hours of unique content.
• Self-Guided – Your child will make games on their own, at their own pace.
• Support – Step-by-step instructions, how-to video guides, and online classes.
• All Ages – From block coding to text coding like Python and JavaScript.
• Mobile Apps – take Tynker Junior, Tynker, and Mod Creator on-the-go.

*All for a fantastic price! Our annual plan breaks down to just 33 cents per day .

Game Design Courses on Tynker

Intro to coding:.

Glitch Manor – (Ages 7+) Explore a haunted mansion, fight off zombies, solve mysteries, and more with 80 programming activities and 16 coding puzzles.

Turing’s Tower – (Ages 9+) Scour the globe and repair a flying tower to fight off a giant robotic dragon in this steampunk-styled platformer game with 56 programming activities and 16 coding puzzles.

Intermediate Game Design: Ages 8-13

Star Runner – Build 8 fun arcade games to advance your coding skills and learn 2D motion, pen drawing, and animation.

Goblin Quest – Use code to explore secret worlds, solve dungeon puzzles, and program armies to follow your commands.

Advanced Game Design: Ages 14+

Drone Menace – Program a multi-level arcade game with a scoring system, win-loss scenarios, and special effects.

Gravity Sling – Build an Angry Birds-style physics-based catapult game while learning to program gravity and collisions and even create a black hole!

Ninja Runner – Use advanced physics engine commands as you program a platformer game with your own hero and enemy A.I.

How Kids Learn to Code while Building Games

Building a game is an involved process, touching on a variety of left brain (logic) and right brain (creativity) functions while designing and programming scenes. All the planning that goes into game making increases kids’ ability to focus on tasks for long periods of time and see projects through to completion while developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

• Interactive Scenes – place characters, make animations, and add effects. Kids can even draw their own characters and animate them with multiple frames.
• Sound – set the mood for any kind of scenario with music. Whether they want a dramatic intro sequence or an exciting duel, kids can choose from a variety of music clips and sound effects from our library. They can even compose their own music using our built-in MIDI interface and Tynker’s Synth Blocks.
• Character Motion – use loops to program the motion of characters and coordinate geometry to move sprites across the screen. For example, when programming a Pong or Brick Breaker game, kids have to use angles and speed to move the paddle and the ball.
• Game Play – program whether to detect user input from a mouse or the arrow keys and write code to handle these events. For example, press the spacebar to jump or click and the mouse to pop a balloon.
• Keeping Score – use variables and counters to keep track of the score, health, and number of lives, increasing and decreasing them based on key events during gameplay. Advanced users can even build leaderboards to rank players in the community.
• Detecting Win/Loss Conditions – use conditional logic to determine if a player won or lost a game.

How Can Video Game Coding Help Develop Programming Skills?

• Video game coding is engaging and motivating for developing programming skills.
• It keeps individuals invested in coding through fun and interactive games.
• Real-world challenges like character movement and collision detection reinforce programming concepts.
• Game development fosters problem-solving and logical thinking by breaking complex problems into smaller tasks.
• It combines technical and creative abilities through storytelling, art, and game mechanics.
• Debugging games teaches attention to detail and effective error-handling.
• It often involves teamwork, improving communication and collaboration skills.
• Coding games exposes programmers to various technologies and platforms.
• Completed game projects can be showcased in portfolios for job or academic opportunities.
• Overall, video game coding is a practical way to develop a broad spectrum of programming skills applicable to computer science and beyond.

Tynker’s Global Community

Check out these great block coding projects from our global community to see how kids are creating stages, animating characters, and producing sound with a variety of activities and interactive games.

For support, check out our Tynker Toolbox blog where we show kids how to design their own platformer game using two great tools:

• The Level Editor lets you drag-and-drop game elements visually and create fun levels super fast.
• The Platformer Blocks help you code platformer actors to move left-and-right. Many of the props and characters in the Level Editor come with prebuilt code, which can be customized as needed.

Tynker Summer Code Jam

Here are a few game gifs designed by our code jammers:.

We also have an incredible 8-week Summer Code Jam in which young coders from around the world compete for up to $10,000 in prizes by creating their own projects.

This is the perfect time to unlock your child’s potential with a subscription to Tynker.

We can’t wait to see what your child will create with code!

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Game Design for Kids: Free Exercises, Tools, and Ideas

Video games today are not only fun, but they’re also fantastic creative outlets for kids to let their imaginations go wild. Much like math and science, designing a video game requires kids to think in different ways as they solve problems and come up with new ideas.

Whether you’re looking for a fun classroom project or something that you can do at home with your own children, here are a few game design exercises, tools, and ideas, to help.

Game Design Exercises for Kids

Game design exercise 1: creating a video game character.

Coming up with a character is a great starting point when it comes to designing a game. For this exercise, I recommend creating a worksheet for kids to fill out the information I’ve provided below.

If you’re doing this exercise with younger children, you might consider providing coloring pencils or crayons so they can draw a picture of their character once they’re done.

What, When, and Where, is Your Character? 

One of the appeals of video games is how they allow you to visit places and do things that you might never get to do in real life. For this question, encourage kids to think of a time, place, and job that they’re interested in.

The goal is to establish a setting and vocation for a character. If you like, you can create a list with a few ideas to provide them with some inspiration. Here’s a sample list you might use:

• A futuristic pirate in outer space.
• A medieval knight trapped on a deserted island.
• A detective in a large city in the 1920s.
• A time-traveling submarine pilot.
• A modern-day magician that discovers another realm.

What Special Skills or Abilities Does Your Character Posses? 

The skills and abilities of a character will translate directly into the game mechanics, so they should be chosen with care. The best video games provide just enough challenge to keep players from becoming bored but are simple enough to keep players from becoming frustrated.

With this in mind, encourage your kids to choose abilities that lend themselves well to balanced gameplay. Here are a few examples of abilities they might choose:

• Superhuman Strength – This ability could let the character break through walls, lift and throw heavy objects, and jump really high.
• Supergenius – This skill could allow the character to fix and create things throughout the course of a level in order to access new areas and create defense systems.
• Shapeshifting – This ability could give the character the ability to hide from enemies and traverse a level in interesting ways.

What is Your Character’s Backstory in One Paragraph? 

The goal with this question is to establish a simple backstory for the character. The backstory should explain their job, abilities, and location. At this point, the character should also be given a name.

Here’s a sample backstory for my earlier example of a futuristic pirate in outer space:

Captain Neon Beard was an orphan living near a busy starship port on earth.  One day, he stowed away on a starship, and since then he has roamed the galaxies in search of a legendary treasure. He uses his large mechanical peg-leg to enhance his jumping and combat abilities.

What Does Your Character Look Like? 

Now that we’ve determined a setting, backstory, and abilities for a character, it’s time to make decisions about their appearance. Their clothing and features should match the setting and time period that’s been selected.

Here’s a list of what you should decide for this step:

• What is the character wearing?
• What color are their hair, eyes, and skin?
• How long is their hair and how is it worn?
• How tall and built are they?
• What other distinct features do they have

Once this exercise has been completed, your kids should now have a basic video game character that they can use as a starting point for conceptualizing their own video game.

Game Design Exercise 2: Conceptualizing a Basic Game Level

For this exercise, we’ll be coming up with the core concepts for 4 part video game level. Before we start making the level, you should first have a clear idea of what your game mechanics are.

Game mechanics are the tools players have been given to help them progress through a game. The challenges in a game should be designed around these tools. A great example of this would be the Portal series.

In Portal, you’re given a tool that can create entry and exit portals on designated surfaces. Using this game mechanic, players must solve puzzles in order to access the next level.

With this example in mind, come up with your own game mechanic. If you’ve completed the first exercise and already have a character with abilities, try using the ability you’ve selected for them to determine your main game mechanic.

Once you’ve settled on a game mechanic, you’re ready to start building your level.

The level will be divided into 4 sections:

Section 1: Introductory Challenge 

The introductory challenge is essentially a basic tutorial that gives players the opportunity to learn what tools they have at their disposal.

For this challenge, there should be a clearly defined objective, coupled with clues as to how that objective might be achieved.

To give you an example, let’s say that the objective is for a player to reach a ledge that’s out of reach by simply jumping. However, there is a cube nearby that can be pushed beside the ledge to create a step.

Since the player hasn’t been taught yet that they can move objects by pushing them, we can have the cube sitting in a carved out track that only allows it to be pushed forward or backward. To make it even more clear, we could include scrape marks on the ground to help players put two and two together.

Now it’s your turn. Come up with your first challenge and answer the following questions:

• What is the clear objective?
• What clues are there for achieving the objective?

Once you’ve answered these questions and have helped the player progress, you can move to the next section.

Section 2: Advanced Challenge

Now that players have an idea of what tools they have at their disposal, it’s time to give them something a little more challenging that builds upon what they’ve previously learned.

The easiest way to increase the difficulty level is to increase the number of game mechanics. In my previous example, players learned that they can push a cube to reach new areas.

In the advanced challenge, they might learn that the cube can also be used to hold down pressure plates that can activate doors and other mechanisms, and they can also be used as a wedge between moving objects to prevent them from moving.

The advanced challenge should require players to think logically to figure out the solution based upon what they were taught in the 1st challenge.

As you determine what the challenge is for this section, be sure to answer the two questions we addressed previously:

• What clues are there for achieving the objective? (The clue might simply be their experience with the previous challenge.)

Section 3: Moderate Challenge

By this point, the player has just completed a more difficult challenge. After players have done something difficult, it’s good to reward them with a breather.

Section 3 should be a fairly easy level for players by repeating some of the elements you’ve introduced them to previously. By allowing them a level to repeat what they’ve just learned, you are reinforcing in their minds that they’re getting the hang of the game, which in turn, boosts their confidence for what’s in store in the next section. 

As you’re designing this section, ask yourself:

• Am I introducing any new concepts or challenges that might prove difficult? (If so, you might want to save them for a future level.)
• Does this level reinforce in players what I’ve taught them in the previous sections?

Section 4: Intense Challenge

The last section for our level is the intense challenge. This challenge should require that the player use everything they’ve learned so far while increasing the stakes for them.

For this section, you might introduce a couple of new elements that follow the logic of your gameplay mechanics, but avoid changing things too much. The last challenge is an opportunity for players to master what they’ve learned so far.

Here are a few ideas for how you might make this challenge feel more intense:

• Put the player on a timer.
• Have the room slowly fill with water.
• Take something away from the player that makes them feel vulnerable.

Once you’ve designed your last challenge, the only thing left to do is reward the player. Perhaps they gain a new ability, access to a new area, or an additional life. The main thing is to choose a reward that matches the amount of effort that went into gaining it.

Matching the right reward with the right challenge will keep players engaged and want to continue playing.

Game Design Exercise 3: Creating a Video Game Level Map

When you’re ready to sit down and begin designing the actual environment of your game, there’s nothing more helpful to have than a video game level map.

Having a good map of a video game level before beginning the creation process will help ensure that the level flows correctly and feels right once it’s done.

Determine Your Sections

If you completed the exercise for conceptualizing a basic game level, you can use what you came up with as the foundation for your level.

The first thing you should do is determine the various sections that make up your level. Here are some examples of sections:

• A long hallway with navigation puzzle at the end.
• A large room with numerous enemies and lots of cover.
• A stockpile room with resources for the player.
• A small room for a faceoff with one powerful enemy.
• A reward room with a prize for the player.

Once you’ve broken up your game into different sections, you can move onto the next step.

Create a Buble Diagram Linking Your Sections Together 

Using the sections you’ve decided upon you can now begin linking them together in a logical order, and start playing with the physical layout of the space by means of a bubble diagram.

For this step, you might consider coming up with abbreviations for your different sections so you can create your bubble diagrams faster. Come up with a few different versions of the layout for your level.

Once you’ve landed on one you feel good about, you can move onto the last step.

Create a Detailed Version of What You Determined In You Bubble Diagram

The last step is to take the layout you decided and transcribe it into a more detailed map. In your detailed map, each section should be connected to one another the way that they need to be when the game is being created.

You can use colored pencils, graph paper, or even online software to create the final version of your map. Having a detailed map comes in especially handy if you’re working with a team.

Tools for Teaching Kids Game Design 

Today, there are countless tools that can be used to teach kids about video game design. Here are some of my favorites:

• Minecraft. The basic graphics, simple design, and creative mode of Minecraft make it the perfect tool for helping kids learn about video game design.
• The Little Big Planet Series. The Little Big Planet games by Media Molecule come with a level creator that allows you to make beautiful sidescrolling games in a beginner-friendly way.
• Dreams. Dreams , also created by Media Molecule , expands upon the creation tools they included in Little Big Planet, allowing you to make anything you can imagine using a visual coding system as well as a plethora of other tools.

While there are certainly plenty of other tools out there, these are my go-to options for beginners and kids interested in video game design . For more helpful resources about video game creation and design, you can go here .

gamedesignlounge

Hello there! My name is Collin. I’ve spent hours studying game design via podcasts, articles, and videos. This is where I share the helpful information I’ve learned about creating and marketing great games.

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What's New in r388.2

Release r388.2 was published on 24 Apr, 2024

A late change for an essential bug fix in r388 accidentally caused another issue, which was resulting in a blank screen for projects using the 'Progress bar & logo' loader style. This issue should now be corrected in this hotfix release so hopefully that sorts it out.

There is loads new in the r388 release - the release video has been included again above, and in case you missed it, see the r388 release notes here .

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End of Year Project: Create-Your-Own Review Game (with FREE Workbook)

As part of your end-of-the year traditions and projects, consider this Create-Your-Own Review Game project! (We’ve also included a project workbook with FREE RUBRIC + game templates)

I don’t know if you could tell, but over here at Fun in 5th Grade, we love games. We love competition games and collaboration games.

We love games that teach and games that review, and we even like games that are just fun for the sake of being fun!

So, if there is one way that we suggest finishing off the school year in your upper elementary classroom this year, it is with a Create-Your-Own Review Game project!

Yep, we aren’t giving you a game this time, instead, we are encouraging you and your students to make your own games covering skills, topics, and standards that align with your class goals.

Clear and Easy Steps

Now, we want to make this as easy as possible, so we are going to lay out clear steps for setting up this Create-Your-Own Review Game activity with students, AND we are giving you a project workbook to help you and your students get started. This project workbook includes teacher info, game ideas, workbook pages for students, a rubric, and several templates students can use as they create their games!

Are you excited? We definitely are, and we can’t wait to see what your students come up with.

Step #1: Picking Topics, Skills, or Standards

Begin by brainstorming a list of topics, skills, or standards you want to cover at the end of the year. 

At this point in the school year, we aren’t introducing any new information, and we want students to have enough background and knowledge in the topic, skill, or standard to be able to create a game based that can act as a review of that standard or topic.

If you really want to get students involved, do this brainstorming as a class, and let students vote or pick which topics, skills, or standards they are most interested in creating games for.

Step #2: Assign the Topics, Skills, or Standards

Once the topics, skills, or standards are chosen, assign them to students. You can decide if you want several students working on the same topics or if you want to try to have a game created for every idea on the list. This can be an individual project, or students can work in groups or pairs.

When assigning topics, you may consider using one of these methods…

• A random draw
• Assigning based on student strengths or areas students need improvement
• A lottery-style drawing
• Make ‘em play for it. Use some of the task cards from your many decks of task cards and play a game to determine who gets to pick their topic first.

Step #3: Creating Questions

As students begin to create their games, they will start by creating a list of questions that could be used within their game.

As your students brainstorm, consider giving them this list of types of questions for inspiration.

• Fact-based 
• Definitions
• Theme-based 
• Short Questions
• Long Questions
• Nonexamples

Step #4: Planning the Game

Once students have brainstormed questions, they will start developing a game. The game can be a completely new invention, or they can model it off of something they already know. Don’t forget that the project workbook comes with templates students can use to create things such as cards, gameboards, spinners, etc.

Special Note: Now that many students are more familiar with digital products allow students to create digital games if they want, or they can create good ol’ paper, pencil, and poster games.

Step #5: Creating the Game and Instructions

Spend a couple of days creating the games in class. As part of the game, students will need game pieces, questions or cards, a board or way to play, and (most importantly) instructions!

Reminder: In addition to creating questions, students also need to be sure to include answer keys!

Step #6: Testing Games and Providing Feedback

One step students frequently forget when creating a game is creating good instructions. For this reason, taking the time to test games before students are done creating is important. Have one day dedicated to exchanging games with other groups, playing each other’s games, and providing feedback.

Make sure to find some time for students to implement the feedback before playing the games during the last few weeks of school.

Step #7: Playing the Games

Once the games are completed, spend the last few weeks playing the games created by students. You don’t have to play every day but set aside a few days for students to rotate through and try out the games created by their classmates.

Remember, within the project workbook, we have included a FREE RUBRIC for you to use with this Create-Your-Own Review Game project!

Bonuses and Benefits

This activity serves a number of purposes and positives. 

• Students review information they learned throughout the year.
• Students are engaged in the last few weeks of the school year ( even though the weather is nice and the excitement of summer break is looming )
• Students are creating!
• Students are demonstrating knowledge.
• Students are helping others learn and review.
• Students are collaborating.

Bonus Benefit: If any of the games are particularly good, ask students if you can use them in class the following year s, or if their idea or examples are good, but their gameboard is just so-so, ask if you can use their ideas to create additional classroom resources in the future.

Students are awesome creators, and when given the chance, they can really surprise us with their creativity and innovative tendencies. This Create-Your-Own Game Activity is perfect because it graduates students from being consumers and players of games to being creators of games.

Want to add even more options for your students? You could try some of my editable templates for Game Show game s and U-Know games . You could have students making you games that you could use for years to come!

We would love to hear about your students’ games, so if you have any pictures of students’ games you want to share or any really cool ideas from students, please send them our way or post them in the comments below. Find out more about using games in the classroom in this post .

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