How to make a video game, from idea to playable

Making a video game comes down to five steps: pick something small, make a rough version, watch people play it, change it, share it. Most first games that get finished are tiny: one mechanic, one level, a clear goal.

The roadmap

1. Pick a small genre. Obby, runner, arena duel, escape room. Avoid open worlds and MMOs for game one.
2. Write the core loop in one line. "Jump between platforms to reach the top before the lava." If you cannot say it in one line, it is too big.
3. Make a rough prototype. Grey boxes are fine. You are testing whether the loop is fun, not how it looks.
4. Playtest with someone else. Watch silently. Write down where they get stuck, bored or confused.
5. Change one thing at a time. Fix the biggest problem, test again. Repeat until people ask for another round.
6. Share it. Put it where your players are: a link, a Roblox page, an itch.io page, or a game friends can open on their phone.

Tool choices

Scratch. Free block coding, best for young beginners and 2D.
GDevelop. Free no-code engine with event sheets, on computer and phone.
Godot. Free and open source (MIT license). 2D and 3D, exports to iOS and Android.
Unity. Free Personal plan. Huge community and tutorials, more to learn.
Roblox Studio. Free on Windows and macOS. Your game lives on Roblox, with servers handled.
Roam. A free iPhone app. Describe the game in a sentence or a photo and it comes back playable, then change it by asking.

The quickest prototype

Step 3 is where most beginners stall, because a prototype in an engine can take weeks. You can test the idea first in Roam: type your one-line loop, play what comes back, and ask for changes like "faster lava" or "add a second player". If it is fun there, you know the idea is worth building in an engine. If it is not, you saved the weeks.

Play it on Roam

Create your first game with Roam

Write your core loop as one sentence and play it on your iPhone. Change it by asking until it is fun.

Try: "jump between floating ice platforms to reach the top before the lava, 3 lives, best time saved"

Create it with Roam See Roam

Questions people ask

How do I start making a game with no experience?

Pick a tiny genre, write the core loop in one line, and make a rough version in Scratch, GDevelop or Roam before learning a bigger engine.

Can one person make a video game?

Yes. Many hits were made solo. Keep the first one small so you finish it.

What is the best software to make a video game?

Godot and Unity for full engines, Scratch and GDevelop for no-code, Roblox Studio for Roblox games, Roam to make one on iPhone by describing it.

Keep exploring

More on Roam: All Roam games Games to play, by kind