Space game ideas, from arcade blasters to colony builders

Action in space

• Orbit shooter. Your ship at the bottom, waves from the top. Try: "vertical space shooter in Earth orbit, 3 waves, a mothership boss, friends fly wingman"
• Tiny planets. Run all the way around small planets. Try: "3D platformer, run around tiny planets, jump between them, collect stars"
• Mobs on Mars. Waves of blocky mobs on red hills. Try: "voxel shooter on Mars, waves of blocky mobs, start with one pistol"
• Asteroid miner. Drill rocks while they spin, get out before they crack. Try: "mine spinning asteroids, fill the hold, escape before the rock breaks apart"
• Space courier. Deliver parcels between stations through debris. Try: "space courier, deliver parcels between stations, dodge debris, tips for speed"

Builders and tycoons

• Moon depot. Haul cargo and grow a moon base. Try: "moon base tycoon, haul cargo from landers, build domes, hire a crew"
• Mars colony. Pick a landing site and keep a colony alive. Try: "Mars colony builder, pick a site, build air, water and homes, dust storms"
• Scrapyard rocket. Launch, crash, upgrade, fly higher. Try: "rocket upgrade game, launch from a scrapyard, buy better parts, reach a far planet"
• Station hotel. Run a hotel for aliens on a space station. Try: "space station hotel, alien guests need air, heat or water, keep them happy"
• Alien zoo. Collect creatures from planets and build habitats. Try: "space zoo, fly to planets, catch creatures, build habitats, visitors pay"

Space games on Roam

STARFIGHT is a vertical shoot 'em up in Earth orbit. Crater Crew is a moon-base collecting tycoon. Mars Colony is a colony builder: pick a site, land, build. Starfall: Tiny Worlds is 3D planet hopping. Mars Has Mobs is a voxel wave shooter. Elon Mask Space Program starts in the scrapyard and aims for Doge Planet.

Questions people ask

What is a good space game idea for a beginner?

A vertical shooter: your ship at the bottom, waves from the top, one power-up. It is the simplest space game that feels complete.

What makes a sci-fi game interesting?

One idea about the future taken seriously: a ship's AI with its own plans, a colony short on air, a planet with odd gravity.

Are space games hard to make?

The arcade kind is not. Space is mostly empty, so a shooter or a lander needs very little art to work.