How to Make a Computer Game for Free
Formulate and create a plan of work for your project., Decide the genreof your game., Decide the Settingof your game., Decide the graphical/visual style of the game.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Formulate and create a plan of work for your project.
This step is usually neglected by most people who are seeking to create a new game, programmers and non-programmers alike.
However, it is also one of the major reasons for most of the failed first trials.
This mainly includes deciding how much time and resources will be dedicated to each task within the project and the relationship between these tasks.
The processes themselves need to be identified first of course.
Read further on this article to identify the different tasks that you will eventually need to perform. -
Step 2: Decide the genreof your game.
Game genres are categorizations of games based on game-play style and interaction.
This can be:
Action Games: where the game-play relies heavily on quick user reflexes, good timing, accuracy, or any combination of these factors to progress further in the game.
Adventure Games: where the game-play relies on non-confrontational approaches that requires little or no quick reflexes.
The game progresses through solving puzzles, performing tasks or interacting with the environment of the game and characters in it.
Action-Adventure Games: where the game-play style is a mixture of the two previous genres.
For example, there are long term goals/tasks the requires quick reflexes to be completed and the game progresses through performing sequential tasks, each or some of which is a kind of a mini-game that is action based.
Role Playing Games (RPGs): where the players take on specific "roles" in the game's setting and progress their character in-game through acquiring skill-points or experience.
Some of these games are turn based but some use a more real-time approach.
Massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) is a sub-genre of this genre, where multiple players share the same game environment and some tasks requires the cooperation of multiple players to perform.
Simulation Games: where the game-play depends on simulating aspects of real-life or some imaginary fantasy setting.
Strategy Games: where the playing style requires mostly careful planning and skillful thinking.
Board and Card Games: the game play is based on a set of cards that needs to be handled according to a certain set of rules or on manipulating "pieces" on a board. , The setting of the game includes one or more of the following components:
Location/Geography.
The location at which the story of the game takes place.
This might be the detailed map of a fictional land or the layout of a military compound.
This can be a fictional/fantasy world, a parallel universe, another dimension, a new continent, a certain country in a certain era, a specific-use compound ... etc.
History.
The back-story of the game outlining what happened so far in the location decided for the game that is of interest to the game-play.
Mode.
This decides the general theme of the game in some way.
It can be a "dark" themed game, a utopian one or a childish one even.
This is vastly influenced by the target group of your game, which you should decide during the planning phase.
Game Society.
You have to give the background necessary for the characters involved in the game-play including back-stories and features. , Will your game be a two dimensional or three dimensional game? Will graphics be fancy or crude? Will characters be rendered in cartoon-like manner, comical one, or real-life style? -
Step 3: Decide the Settingof your game.
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Step 4: Decide the graphical/visual style of the game.
Detailed Guide
This step is usually neglected by most people who are seeking to create a new game, programmers and non-programmers alike.
However, it is also one of the major reasons for most of the failed first trials.
This mainly includes deciding how much time and resources will be dedicated to each task within the project and the relationship between these tasks.
The processes themselves need to be identified first of course.
Read further on this article to identify the different tasks that you will eventually need to perform.
Game genres are categorizations of games based on game-play style and interaction.
This can be:
Action Games: where the game-play relies heavily on quick user reflexes, good timing, accuracy, or any combination of these factors to progress further in the game.
Adventure Games: where the game-play relies on non-confrontational approaches that requires little or no quick reflexes.
The game progresses through solving puzzles, performing tasks or interacting with the environment of the game and characters in it.
Action-Adventure Games: where the game-play style is a mixture of the two previous genres.
For example, there are long term goals/tasks the requires quick reflexes to be completed and the game progresses through performing sequential tasks, each or some of which is a kind of a mini-game that is action based.
Role Playing Games (RPGs): where the players take on specific "roles" in the game's setting and progress their character in-game through acquiring skill-points or experience.
Some of these games are turn based but some use a more real-time approach.
Massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) is a sub-genre of this genre, where multiple players share the same game environment and some tasks requires the cooperation of multiple players to perform.
Simulation Games: where the game-play depends on simulating aspects of real-life or some imaginary fantasy setting.
Strategy Games: where the playing style requires mostly careful planning and skillful thinking.
Board and Card Games: the game play is based on a set of cards that needs to be handled according to a certain set of rules or on manipulating "pieces" on a board. , The setting of the game includes one or more of the following components:
Location/Geography.
The location at which the story of the game takes place.
This might be the detailed map of a fictional land or the layout of a military compound.
This can be a fictional/fantasy world, a parallel universe, another dimension, a new continent, a certain country in a certain era, a specific-use compound ... etc.
History.
The back-story of the game outlining what happened so far in the location decided for the game that is of interest to the game-play.
Mode.
This decides the general theme of the game in some way.
It can be a "dark" themed game, a utopian one or a childish one even.
This is vastly influenced by the target group of your game, which you should decide during the planning phase.
Game Society.
You have to give the background necessary for the characters involved in the game-play including back-stories and features. , Will your game be a two dimensional or three dimensional game? Will graphics be fancy or crude? Will characters be rendered in cartoon-like manner, comical one, or real-life style?
About the Author
Amy Edwards
Enthusiastic about teaching practical skills techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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