Make your own space game

Three kinds of space game

• Shoot-'em-up. Waves fly at you, you dodge and fire. Galaga (Namco, 1981) is the pattern: a few enemy types, attack patterns you learn, a boss at the end.
• Base or colony. Land, gather, build, keep people alive. The fun is watching the base grow, like Surviving Mars.
• Planet hopping. Tiny planets you run all the way around, like Super Mario Galaxy. Gravity is the toy.

Write it in four lines

Play a run, then: "slower bullets," "more scrap," "add a moon base to dock at between waves."

• The ship or base. "A small ship with twin lasers."
• The threat. "Asteroids, then alien waves, then a mothership."
• The upgrade. "Collect scrap to add shields."
• The goal. "Reach the edge of the solar system."

Space games on Roam

• STARFIGHT. Galaga-like vertical shooter. Earth orbit, three waves, keep firing.
• Crater Crew. Moon-base tycoon. Haul cargo, grow the depot, build the base.
• Mars Colony. Pick a site, land, build a home on Mars.
• Starfall: Tiny Worlds. 3D platformer where you run all the way around tiny planets.
• Mars Has Mobs. Voxel wave shooter. Red hills, blocky mobs, one pistol to start.
• Elon Mask Space Program. Rocket upgrade idle game. Start in the scrapyard, aim for Doge Planet.

Other ways to make one

Kerbal Space Program lets you build rockets, but inside its own game, not yours. Unity and Godot can make any space game, and you write the movement, the waves and the menus yourself. Roam is the phone route: describe the ship and the threat, play it the same day, change it by talking.

Questions people ask

How do I make my own space game?

Pick the kind (shooter, base, planets), then the ship, threat, upgrade and goal. Roam builds it from that on iPhone.

What is the easiest space game to make?

A vertical shooter. One ship, a few enemy types, a boss. Add upgrades once the shooting feels good.

Can I make a space game on my phone?

Yes. Roam is a free iPhone app. You describe the game and play it on the same phone.