How to make all sorts of games. How to create an Android game from scratch - mastering the basics of game development

There is hardly a person who has not played at least one computer game at least once in his life, no matter on a laptop or mobile device. Well, which of you, dear reader of our blog, did not dream of creating your own game and, if not becoming a millionaire thanks to your project, then becoming famous at least among your friends?

But how to create an Android game from scratch, without special knowledge and without even knowing the basics of programming? It turns out that trying yourself as a game developer is not such a difficult task. This will be the topic of our today's material.

1. idea or scenario.
2. Desire and patience.
3. Game constructor.

And if the first two components of success are more or less clear, then the third component needs to be discussed in more detail.

What is Game Builder

We are talking about a program that greatly simplifies the development of games, making it accessible to people who do not have programming skills. Game Builder combines an IDE, a game engine, and a level editor that works like a visual editor ( WYSIWYG– English. abbreviation "what you see is what you get").

Some constructors may be limited by genre (for example, RPG, arcade, quests). Others, while providing the ability to design games of various genres, at the same time limit the imagination of a novice developer to 2D games.

Even after reading only what has already been written, it becomes clear that for a novice developer who decides to write a game for any operating system, including OS Android, choosing a suitable constructor is the main task, because the fate of the future project depends on the functionality and capabilities of this tool.

How to choose the right designer

You need to start by assessing your own level of knowledge in the field of programming. If it tends to zero or is absent altogether, then it is better to try the simplest options. And even if you do not have the necessary knowledge of English, then in this case you can find a program that suits you.

And the second important point when choosing a designer is functionality. Here you need to very accurately analyze the scenario of your project, because the more difficult the game is, the more various tools will be needed to create it, respectively, and the designer will need a more powerful one.

To help with the choice, below we will present to your attention the best programs-constructors, which, in general, does not exclude the fact that you, having thoroughly rummaged through the forums or specialized sites, will choose something else for yourself, since the assortment of this range of programs pretty wide.

Top 5 Best Game Builders

Construct 2

This application consistently occupies the first lines in the ratings of game designers. With Construct 2, you can create 2D games of almost any genre for various platforms, including Android, as well as animation games targeted at browsers that support HTML5.

Given the huge number of auxiliary tools, even novice users will be able to master the program.

To master working with Construct 2, there is no need to buy a license, the free Free version offers ample tools and the ability to export the finished project to some platforms. However, coding the finished product to mobile platforms and access to the full scope of functionality will give a Personal license for $129. If your skill in creating games has reached its climax, and you have already begun to receive more than $5,000 in income from your project, you will have to fork out for the Business option, which will cost $429.

And now, watch some practical video tutorials on creating game applications with Construct 2:

Clickteam Fusion

Clickteam Fusion is another example of a great full-fledged game builder that helps even a beginner to create a full-fledged game. The program provides the ability to export created applications to HTML5 format for free, which means that it will be possible to publish browser games and, in addition, convert them for publication in various mobile markets, such as Google play.

Among the main characteristics, one can note the simplicity of the interface, support for shader effects and hardware acceleration, the presence of a full-fledged event editor, saving projects in formats compatible with various platforms, including Android.

The paid Developer version of the program is not available to residents of the Russian Federation, but its licensed disk can be ordered from the same Amazon, easing the personal budget by an average of $100. It is possible to Russify the menu through a third-party Russifier.

How to work with the application, watch a special video course:

Stencyl

Stencyl is another great tool that allows you to develop simple 2D computer games without special knowledge of codes, as well as programming languages ​​for all popular platforms. Here you have to work with scripts and diagrams, which are presented in the form of blocks, and you can drag objects or characteristics with the mouse, which is very convenient.

The program developer also offers the opportunity to write your own code in blocks, but this, of course, requires knowledge in the field of programming.

The presence of an excellent graphical editor Scene Designer allows the user to use their imagination to draw game worlds.

The optimal set of functions will help create high-quality games of different genres, but the most tiled (tiled) Stencyl graphics will be relevant for shooters or rpg games.

The program is distributed free of charge, but exporting to desktop formats requires a subscription, which will cost $99 per year, and a license for mobile games costs $199 per year.

Watch a crash course on working with Stencyl:

game maker

The program exists in paid and free versions. The budget option allows you to create solid two-dimensional games for the desktop. While the paid version makes it possible to write quite "fancy" 3D toys for Windows, iOS and Android. We are still interested in a free opportunity to learn how to realize yourself in the gaming industry, and Game Maker is the very option that will allow you to create games with your own scenario without restrictions in choosing a genre.

The program offers a selection of ready-made location templates, objects, as well as characters, sounds and backgrounds. So, all creative work comes down to dragging selected elements into the working area and choosing conditions - location and interaction with other objects. Although knowledge of a programming language is not required, but users who are “in the know” will be able to use GML, something similar to JS and C ++.

Game Maker is distributed in English, so those who do not know it well enough will need to download the crack file.

For those who are interested in this program, we suggest watching the training video:

Unity 3D

Unity 3D is perhaps the best thing to offer for creating a quality 3D project. Completely finished models are integrated into the program, as well as textures and scripts. In addition, it is possible to add your own content - sound, images and videos.

Games created with Unity are compatible with all popular platforms from iOS or Android mobile devices to SMART TV receivers.

The program is characterized by high compilation speed, easy-to-use interface, flexible and multifunctional editor.

All game actions and behavior of the characters are based on the sound physical core of PhysX. Each object created in this game constructor is a certain combination of events and scripts, controlled by the developer himself.

It is important to understand that although the program is positioned as a game designer designed for beginners, a certain level of knowledge is still needed to work with this application. Well, working with 3D graphics requires a fairly modern computer equipped with a hardware video card.

A series of lessons on creating games with Unity 3D:

So, you have decided to fulfill your dream of creating your own unique game. We have tried to provide information that may help in this. Pay attention, if you carefully read the material presented, and at least briefly watched the video tutorials for each program, then you probably noticed that working with each game designer is based on the same principle. Therefore, it is quite possible that you will be able to pick up something that is more suitable for your needs. We at least hope that at this stage the question of how to make a game on Android is closed. Good luck!

Harsh criticism immediately after release - such is the fate of many modern video games. Whether it's small but exciting online applications or global projects with a budget of more than a million dollars, they all cause dissatisfaction with one category or another of users. That's just most of the criticism today, unfortunately, is not objective. Far from the basics of creating computer games, people scold that even theoretically it is impossible to present it differently than the developers did. We will try to correct this injustice today. So, let's begin.

Let's form a concept

The first step in creating any game is defining its concept. What will the project be about? What genre and theme will it belong to? What audience should be targeted? By answering these questions, you can set the direction for the development of your creation, understand what goals you want and can (with due diligence) achieve. So, focusing on fights or competitions guarantees increased interest among gamers, on learning or logic - the absence of serious competitors. The choice in favor of a fantasy or post-apocalyptic world will contribute to the comfort and quick adaptation of players (because these universes are familiar to them), comics or anime - a narrower (but also more devoted) audience that will not run away when a similar project is released.

Decide on the possibilities

The next step in creating a gaming masterpiece is to realize your own capabilities. As a rule, at this stage, developers determine the maximum allowable budget for the project, choose the engine on which the development will be carried out, or select the most suitable programming language, and also evaluate the available resources (both technical and human). It is necessary to decide on all these nuances in advance. Otherwise, you may encounter a situation where, after developing, for example, a spectacular super-hit with an original eyeliner from a whole chain of quests, it turns out that there is no way to implement this brilliant idea within the framework of this project.

A variety of engines and platforms - there is something to think about

Let's calculate the mechanics

In-game mechanics is one of the most important components of any project. While the graphic component is designed to attract the attention of players, to interest in a new project, the task of the gameplay is to forever leave a mark on their hearts. A striking example of this is Stardew Valley, a pixel-art farming simulator that topped the top sellers on Steam from the first days of its release. It is necessary to understand that attention should be paid even to trifles. For example, if the game has a class division, a clear bias in favor of one or more factions is unacceptable, and the more opportunities the project provides to the player (quests, pumping, puzzles, etc.), the longer he will not want to leave the game world. Moreover, not only the character himself needs to be worked out, but also all the objects surrounding him, such as: NPCs and enemies (), scenery and objects (physics engine), levels and everything else.

Come up with a plot

If earlier the development of online and offline projects was approximately similar, now at this stage the first cardinal difference appears. Thinking through the plot of the game, you must be clearly aware of its time frame. While single player focused projects rarely take more than 1-2 months to complete, online multiplayer games tend to have no end. Therefore, the plot here should not have a logical conclusion, but be served with an open ending, which can be delayed weekly / monthly by adding new quests, items, skills. In single-player games, the ending has been worked out almost from the first days of work on the plot. At the same time, it should not leave open questions (unless, of course, you plan to release a sequel to the game) and some omissions, although it can be alternative (as in Silent Hill 2).

Let's create a design

Having thought through all the nuances of the project frame, you can move on to its graphical component (interface, sound, backgrounds, art, special effects, animations, etc.). Particular attention should be paid to the direction of the game. If it is assumed that updates for it will be released quite often (for example, once a week), it makes no sense to create art with detailed elaboration and animation, numbering several tens (or even hundreds) of movements. The simpler the characters are designed, the less jambs you will get when introducing them and the less effort you will spend on regular releases. In the case of rarely updated or offline projects, as a rule, the opposite is true. The more developed the virtual world and the player's spectacular movements / skills, the more chances the game has to attract the attention of a wide audience.

We understand that the work has just begun

Do not think that work on the game is completed after its pre-release. On the contrary, from this moment on, the developer acquires additional responsibilities. He must test his product, detect and eradicate bugs in it, adequately advertise his creation and create a certain image in the minds of the players, start developing possible add-ons, DLCs and localizations, think over the system of sales and player support.

As you can see, the work of creating a game requires a lot of effort. Therefore, before scolding the next release, think about whether it is really that bad, or you yourself endowed it with unrealizable features.

Games for a modern person are a significant part of everyday life. Today there are just a huge number of them - for the most demanding taste. At the same time, the range of such entertainment is very wide: from the smallest audience to adults. They are also divided by genre and size. But among the countless variety of the most diverse and diverse games, it is sometimes quite difficult to find your own. But it's always easy to find a guide on how to make your own game. It's not that hard if you're willing. The main thing is to tune in and find a good step-by-step instruction.

A bit of gaming history

In any form, they have accompanied man since the day of the creation of our world. Games served for entertainment and development. Children were distracted with homemade toys to do numerous household chores. And adults used them to cheer up. They found many ways to make a game with their own hands. And each had its own characteristics and charms. To this day, several items that served for gambling as far back as 3500 BC have been well preserved. But the most ancient are ordinary six-sided bones. They were made from various materials: bones, ceramics, wood.

For many centuries in several people at once. And only in the 21st century, thanks to automation, it became possible to do this one by one. Roulette and "one-armed bandits" emerged. Over time, games, instead of uniting, began to alienate people. Now almost the entire heritage of mankind has been digitized and adapted for computers.

How to make a game for the little ones

The development of children under the age of one is very important. And how can you teach your baby mindfulness, logical thinking and ingenuity? Of course, with the help of games. This is the only way to easily, without moralizing and strength, develop in a child many talents inherent in nature.

Many children's stores offer a huge variety of games, but sometimes it's better to develop them yourself. This is both useful and very interesting. Everything you need can be found in special editions that will tell everyone how to make your game.

The most popular children's entertainments, even at a “non-intelligent” age, are modeling and drawing. For this, mom can independently make plasticine and paints. Plasticine is the usual sweet dough. For it you will need flour, salt, lemon juice, water and multi-colored food colors. For drawing, you can also make safe, and most importantly, delicious paints from carrot or beetroot juice. All you need is flour, salt and a little vegetable oil.

It will also be interesting for the child to collect special puzzles. Here, before you make your game, you need to choose your favorite heroes and stick them on cardboard. You can cut it into two or more parts.

We make games for a fun company

Gathering with friends, what could be better and more fun? But, in addition to friendly gatherings over a cup of tea, properly selected entertainment will help create a good mood. For these purposes, you can choose both table and outdoor games. If there are no suitable copies at hand, you can easily make them yourself.

Before you make your game for a large company, you need to decide on some points: the venue for the meeting, the number of people and their preferences, as well as the presence of game elements. After that, you can start looking for suitable options.

If board games are popular among your friends, then you can make your own, for example, Sea Battle, Monopoly or ordinary Fanta. To create them, you will need colored paper, felt-tip pens, cardboard and a little imagination.

Every company should try the fun game "Twister". At the same time, it is interesting not only to participate in it, but also to watch. Making it is easy enough. You need two Whatman paper, adhesive tape, self-adhesive film of four colors and several auxiliary tools. Whatman papers are glued together, and multi-colored circles are glued on them (4 vertically, 6 horizontally). Then the dial is constructed.

All these games can be made by hand. You just need to set a goal and find or come up with an answer to the question "how to make a game." On a computer, in a special program, you can draw everything so that it is even and beautiful. This way you can save time and your own energy.

Modern technologies give us the opportunity to constantly develop, and with the help of a computer you can do anything on your own. Therefore, the question of how to make a game on a computer can be solved by finding step-by-step instructions.

It is worth noting that this business requires good skills and abilities in computing. But a simple toy can be made, if you try, even a “teapot”. To simplify the process, you will need a special program, for example "scirra construct", "FPS Creator". You can choose other options. By adding your own pictures, sounds to the program, building a story and possible actions, you can create a good toy. In order to do a more or less decent thing on your own and without these utilities, you need to be a very advanced programmer. Therefore, it is worth practicing and starting with the simplest.

and create?

The most interesting and at the same time simple is a variety of cartoons. Now they are made more even for adults than for children. And what could be more interesting and exciting than a cartoon, invented and created by yourself. A flash game is the same cartoon, with its own characters, plot and obstacles. That is why they are so popular today. But how to make a game on a computer in this genre on your own?

To create it, as for any program of this level, an ignorant beginner will need special utilities. Finding them is pretty easy. As a rule, such online constructors as "GameBrix", "Stencyl" are used. All such programs are created using the "ActionScript" language. The main tools for designing any Flash game are the Flash interface, creating text and buttons, importing multimedia elements into Flash, organizing and preparing a video for publication. At the same time, you need a good fantasy for an interesting plot and characters. If you do everything according to the instructions, then you end up with a pretty decent toy.

Online game. Learning to create programs

Here it is also easiest to use a ready-made service and simplify your task several times. All online games are created in the browser. Therefore, to resolve the issue of how to make an online game, you can choose several options. But the most effective one is to register on a specialized site and use the proposed constructor. There are several paid and free sites for this, for example, "MMO Constructor", "Kvester", "Clic.ru", "Ternox". There, step by step and in a simple and accessible form, any online game is created. You just need to find pictures and clearly imagine the plot and the main characters.

Social networks are a place where almost every person who has free access to the Internet spends the lion's share of his free time. Odnoklassniki is one of the most popular sites of this genre. Here they correspond, upload videos and photos, discuss events and play. By the way, with the help of the latter, you can also earn. But how to make a game in Odnoklassniki on your own?

First of all, you need to design any flash game of a certain genre: arcades, shooters, racing. Then you need to go to your page in Odnoklassniki. In the "Games" section, you need to click on the "Place a game" button. After that, follow the step-by-step instructions to download and distribute your own program.

Creation of games for Android

A phone is a device that we use almost constantly for entertainment or work. Now there are many paid and partially free applications for every taste. But sometimes you want to make a program yourself, for yourself. The question is how to make a game on Android.

The most popular engines for creating your own applications on this platform are "Unity3D", "Shiva3D", "AndEngine" and "Instead". With their help, you can design a game of any level without knowledge of programming languages. Each program helps to create its own project.

Greetings. Do you want to learn how to create a game yourself and what are the stages of creating a game? Nowadays, in order to create a simple game on a PC or phone, it is not necessary to be a great specialist in this, there are special programs that allow you to create games from scratch alone.

In this article, all my personal experience

Of course, the quality of such a game, if you do not have experience and knowledge, can be very low, but everyone started somewhere. In this article, you will learn what you need to create a game and what are the main steps in creating a game.

Much more materials you can find on a special page in this blog:

I have identified 7 main stages of creating a game.

How to create a game yourself?

To create a game, you need to know the programming language, and now they are all in English, and they are complex, they have their own so-called syntax, which you also need to know. This is how you imagine making a game, right?

Not really.

Of course, almost all high-budget games are made using one of the key languages, but for a beginner, even this is not necessary to know.

There are special programs for creating games, one of which is Game Maker. They were created specifically for creating games (the program is called so - the creator of games). Personally, I work in Game Maker and it allows you to make quite high-quality games for any platform, from android to ios.

You can also advise Unity or Construct 2, as good alternatives.

In my personal opinion, Game Maker is one of the most user-friendly game creation programs for beginners, while Unity can take much longer to master from scratch.

If you choose Game Maker, then my blog and channel will help you a lot in mastering it, but if you choose Unity or something else, there is also a huge amount of free high quality training materials in Russian.

In any case, the first (zero:) stage is the choice of a program for creating games.

First stage - design document

Next, you need to create a design document for the new game. In other words, you need an idea for a game. What will the game be about? What will happen there? What genre will it be? How much time and money will development take? There are a lot of such questions, and before starting to create a game, it is very useful to draw up some kind of rough plan.

You can find the basics on how to write a design document for a game here:

Well, that's not exactly horror, is it? Bad of course, but not right here?

Well, I drew this with a computer mouse in a very simple graphics editor, and I learned to draw for 1-2 months, drawing 1 picture per week, maximum.

I think in a year you can reach a very good level if you allocate 1-3 hours a day for drawing and studying the theoretical base.

I have a video (16 minutes):

There I tell my thoughts about how to learn to draw and why you need it.

Fourth stage - sound

The sound and soundtrack in games is a very important part, which, however, is very often ignored by novice developers. Think, the player, like any person, has only a few basic senses, and the more senses are involved in the game, the better the player's immersion in the process.

How many sense organs does the player have?

Smell? No. Touch? Sometimes, which is related to some control systems in games. Vision? Everything is built on vision, this is the basis.

Therefore, such a high importance of graphics and visual elements. And in fact, in addition to vision in games, you can use only one more sense - hearing.

If you have played computer games before, then you probably have favorites, as well as some favorite OST (Music from games). And you could remember the game precisely due to the music. I wrote about my favorite OST here:

Sounds are another blow to the senses, the sound accompanying the action can, as it were, enhance the effect of this action. Just a shot and a bullet departure is boring. The correct sound of reloading, shooting, bullet collision with the surface (different for different surfaces), the case falling to the floor, and so on significantly increase the player's immersion in the process.

You know about all sorts of special sounds and phrases in games like Unreal Tournament and how much they increase the fun of the game.

In other words - the right sounds and music make the game atmospheric, emotional, human and much more interesting.

I had a little experience when I made the Lonely Dude game.

Then my friend wrote a unique OST for this game, and I just took the rest of the sounds from free sources.

What do I want to say? For a simple game, it is not necessary to bother much with the sound, it is enough just to put sounds into the game for the main actions (shooting, taking a bonus, completing a level, jumping, etc.) and this will already significantly enhance the overall impression of the game. Of course, writing music is much more difficult, but sometimes you can buy a track for some $ 1-5, or sit with programs like FL Studio in order to write a couple of simple tracks for your game.

The more you test (you and your friends, if you're an indie developer), the better the game will be at release. Just one bug somewhere at the beginning of the gameplay can ruin the whole experience of the game, forcing players to write negative reviews.

Therefore, the game needs to be finished with a file as carefully as possible and this must be done before the release. How should the game be tested?

Just play it as much as possible and try different options. Think like a player would think, not like a developer who knows everything thinks. Put your girlfriend in the game and let her play, write down what problems she has and how she solves them, if at all. Where are the plugs, where is the imbalance and where are the bugs. Everything needs to be fixed.

Seventh stage - sale of the game and distribution

In any case, sooner or later, you will finish your game if you have enough strength and perseverance. Well, then you sell it, or distribute it for free, in any case, do you want people to play it?

How this can be done, I already wrote in my old article:

The general principles are the same for almost any game.

VK publics, your own YouTube channel, a trailer, a basic understanding of promotion and search engine optimization, and so on.

All this (Like every step here)- a completely separate and large topic, but the purpose of this article is to get acquainted with the process of creating games, nothing more.

That's all. I hope I answered your question - how to create a game yourself and highlighted the main stages of creating a game. Making games is a very exciting job (or hobby), as well as a real opportunity to earn money.

Good luck with this difficult task!

Every year the number of people playing computer or mobile games increases. People call them gamers who cannot imagine their life without toys. Many consider them sick people who need to be treated. But at the same time, there are people who have learned to make money on gamers by creating new games. In this case, many gamers think about creating a game on their own.

Today, creating games takes less time and effort than 5-10 years ago. For this, various programs for modeling three-dimensional graphics and engines for creating games have been developed. You just need to be patient.

If you want to create your own game, you need to have some gaming experience. If the user plays very rarely, it will be quite difficult to make a quality product. To create the right game, you must follow the game logic and be aware of all aspects of the game world.

To make a good enough game, you need to imagine the gameplay and come up with new ideas. If you create a unique game, it will be easier to find players. It is worth remembering that in order to create a game, you must have certain knowledge in this area. You need to learn programming languages, learn how to use three-dimensional editors. To do this, you can find many different articles and programs on the Internet.

Creating a game

Initially, you need to select the genre in which the game will be created. The core idea is an important part of every game. The most common games are based on the first-person shooter genre. Racing is also very popular. To find out the popularity of a particular game, just count their number in a certain category.

Action games and shooter is a shooting game in which you have to kill all the enemies. Strategies and RTS are also very popular. In addition, there are still a huge number of genres that also have the right to life.

After choosing a genre, you need to start creating a script. This is a very important part of creating a game. The script should have a plot, a main character, enemies or rivals, an ending. It is also worth working on the interface and graphics of the game.

If a beginner starts creating a game, it will be a rather complicated process for him, since this requires an engine that a novice user cannot make. To do this, you should use a special game designer. You can try to learn programming languages ​​and write an engine yourself or use a ready-made one.

Beginners are encouraged to use the constructors. This is a special program that has the structure of a future game. Elements and objects must be placed and scripts must be included. Such constructors are constantly expanding the number of their functions, while the price of the program is growing. If there is no desire to spend money on a game designer, then you can use free utilities.

If you use game engines, you need to have some knowledge in programming. Since the engine is a collection of functions and objects, the developer does not need to create any actions. Everything you need is already in the engine. You will have to use special editors to make graphics and connect them to scripts.

Creating your own game is a very complex and lengthy process. A novice user is not recommended to take on this, but if there is extra money, you can order a game in specialized studios. At the same time, programmers will take into account all wishes.