How to make a game about yourself
Start with one thing you do every week, like your commute, your job or walking your dog, and turn it into a goal and a way to lose. Then put yourself in it: Roam can build a game around a photo of you. Below are the steps, ideas from real life, and your other options.
Find the game in your life
- Pick one routine. Not your whole life story. One morning, one shift, one walk.
- Find the pressure. What makes it hard? The bus is late, the boss is watching, the dog pulls.
- Make it a goal. Get to work by 9. Serve ten customers. Get home before the rain.
- Add your habits. Your real quirks become the mechanics: always losing keys, never saying no to snacks.
- Exaggerate. The bus is a dragon. The inbox is a flood. It is still you.
Ideas from real life
- The commute. Your train ride as an obstacle run. Try: "my morning commute as a game, catch 3 trains, the doors close fast, me from this photo"
- The job. A shift at your actual work. Try: "a shift at my coffee shop, 20 orders, customers change their minds"
- The pet. Life from your dog's side. Try: "I am my dog from this photo, steal socks, don't get caught"
- Moving out. Pack a flat before the van leaves. Try: "pack my flat before the moving van leaves, the cat hides in boxes"
- The gym. Finish your workout as everyone hogs the machines. Try: "finish my workout at a crowded gym, grab free machines before others"
- Exam season. Stay awake and study as distractions pile up. Try: "study for my exam, dodge phone notifications, coffee is a power-up"
- Family dinner. Answer every relative's question without a fight. Try: "family dinner, answer my aunt's questions, wrong answers start arguments"
Your options to build it
Roam is a free iPhone app. You describe the game in a sentence, or start from a photo of yourself, and it comes back playable with world, art, characters, sound and rules. You change it by talking, then play it or send it to the friends who are in your life.
Other routes: Twine is free and good for a text story about your life. Scratch uses code blocks and suits a simple 2D version. RPG Maker suits a story game with maps, but takes time to learn.
Make a game about yourself with Roam
Take a photo of yourself, write one sentence about a routine and what makes it hard, and play your own life as a game.
Try: "me from this photo, my morning commute as a game, catch 3 trains before 9, the doors close fast, coffee is a power-up"Questions people ask
Can I make a video game about my life?
Yes. Pick one routine, find what makes it hard, and turn that into a goal. Smaller is better.
How do I put myself in a game?
On Roam you start from a photo of yourself and describe the game. Other tools need you to draw or model a character.
Is there an app that turns you into a game character?
Roam builds a playable game around a photo, so you can be the main character. It is a free iPhone app.
Keep exploring
- Make a birthday game starring the birthday person
- A personalized video game where they are the hero
- How to turn a story into a game people play, not just read
- I have an idea for a game. Now what?
- Make me a game: how to ask so you get the one you want
- Can AI make a game for me? Yes, two very different ways
More on Roam: All Roam games Games to play, by kind