Make a fighting game where your friends are the fighters

Why 1v1 fights are fun

A good fighter is a conversation. You attack, they block, you wait, they swing and miss, you punish. Every round is short, and every loss tells you what to do next time.

Three parts carry it. Reads: an attack that beats a block, a block that beats an attack. A special move: one big hit with a clear wind-up, so you can see it coming and dodge. Best of three: a loss in round one is still a story.

Build your fighter in five lines

• 1. The fighters. "Me and my brother," "a knight and a sumo wrestler," or a photo of your group.
• 2. The arena. "A sky island," "a school cafeteria," "a boxing ring on a roof." Add a hazard if you want: "falling off loses the round."
• 3. The special move. "Ground slam with a one-second wind-up." One per fighter is plenty.
• 4. The format. "Best of three, 60 seconds a round."
• 5. The fixes. Play two rounds, then: "blocking is too strong," "slower special," "bigger hit flash."

Other ways to make a fighting game

M.U.G.E.N is a free 2D fighting engine on PC that people have used for years, but you build characters from sprites and config files. Unity and Godot can do it too, with hitboxes and frame data you set by hand. Roam skips that: you describe the fight and play it. You give up frame-by-frame control and get a game the same day.

Fighters on Roam

• Skyshard Duel. Pick a fighter, best of three on a sky island, Street Fighter-like.
• Crimson Hunt. Side-view swords. Parry the white attacks, roll from the red.
• Iron Lists. Medieval melee duels: swing, kick, dodge, For Honor-like.
• Split Second. One arena, one skeleton, strike first.
• Rubber Chicken Duel. Party knockout fight, push everyone off to win.
• STREET BRAWL. A side-scrolling beat-'em-up if you want a crowd, not one rival.

Questions people ask

How do I make my own fighting game?

Pick two fighters, an arena and a special move. In Roam you describe that in a sentence and play the result.

Can I put my friends in a fighting game?

Yes. In Roam you can describe your friends or use a photo, and they become the fighters.

Is there a free fighting game maker?

Roam is free on iPhone. On PC, M.U.G.E.N is a free 2D fighting engine, but you build characters by hand.