How to Create a Video Game?

You don’t have to be a professional or know a lot of coding and you don’t have to have finished a game design course in order to be able to create a video game. There are a lot of independent game producers that don’t have all the resources big companies have and that still managed to make a hit in the gaming industry. All you need in order to create a video game is a little ambition and some online research. And hey, next time a game goes viral in the app store, it might be your game. Who knows?

We’re not saying that you’re going to make a viral game that will replace a classic from your first try. Making an incredibly good game is hard and it takes a lot of work, passion, exposure and fans. Just like recording a hit song, it’s not only about the talent and the money that you have to record that song, but also about the chances that you are being given.


But, if creating a hit game is not as simple, creating a game that can bring you some revenue and some satisfaction of creating a playable game is possible, even for someone that has absolutely no experience.

So, let’s see how you can become a game creator yourself.

1. Conceptualize
First thing first, when starting anything, not just a video game, is the concept. You need to create a vision over how you want the video game to be; a game plan that you will keep improving and that you will follow until you’re game is done. It’s quite impossible to create something without a plan- this will organize your ideas and will act as a puzzle- each idea you ever had about your own video game will fit into the concept.

Think what kind of game you want to make. And keep in mind that you, an amateur game designer, without any kind of resources, are not likely to be able to create a complicated 3D game. But instead start with the basics. So, what do you want it to be like? Platformer, shooter? Do you want it to be 2D or 3D? What resources do you have available? Do you want to make an iPhone game? (for that you’ll need a Mac computer in order to be able to submit your game to Apple, that’s the rule). What is the plot you’re thinking of? Keep the plot simple to medium, don’t elaborate too much for your first game. Do you have a budget or you’re just going to use what you have in home? And what’s going to be the length of your game?



2. Choose the software
Once you know how you want your game to be like, you are ready to find the proper tools for creating it. As you’re a newbie in game design, you probably shouldn’t look at expensive software, but choose something realistic. There are plenty free game making tools that not only will let you create impressive games, but will also guide you throughout the process, supporting you with online resources such as tutoriasl, how-to-s and getting started information. When creating a game with one of these programs, you’re not actually going to be alone, as you’ll have continuous guidance.

For creating 2D games, you can totally try Yoyo GameMaker, Construct 2, Stencyl or the open-sourced Flixel. For 3D game-creation, a wonderful software is Unity, that has both a quite well equipped free version and a paid one. Another good free software is GameSalad. Give them all a try and find out what works best for you and your future game’s needs.

3. Make a prototype
Before you put in all the work and effort into creating the video game of your dreams, you should first see if your story works. So, make a prototype!
Making a prototype means creating a rough version of your game- some sort of sketch, if you want to call it that way. You can draw stick men in MS Paint and then add them to your prototype, this is only supposed to show you how everything works.



4. It’s graphics time
As you finish with the rough version of your game, you are ready to dress it up! In game design terms this means that it’s time to do some graphics. You already have a story line, you already tested it and everything is fine so all that it’s remained to do is make the actual graphics. You can play a little bit with what the chosen software has to bring for you.

What you have to do is creating environment and characters. Try to create a memorable cast, this might be just the glimpse of sparkle your game needs.
For characters, you can edit them in Photoshop or any other cheaper photo editing software and then upload the .png files to your chosen game making software as .png sprites.

5. Add music and sound effects
After you’re done with the animation, you’re ready to add music. You can either make your own music in a software such as GarageBand, either upload someone else’s music.

6. Test it
Now you’re officially done. Before uploading your game to a selling platform of your choice, make sure you ask some friends to test it. This will give you another perspective over your game.

For the conclusions, making your own game is not all so hard and it can actually be super fun. Take some chances and just do it! As well, don’t expect to make a lot of money over night, take it slow.