Why not make your own games?

1Jan/101

Why not make your own games?

Do you know the feeling?

Running down a corridor, crawling through the vent-system, standing face to face with the end level boss only to get blown to pieces for the twentieth time. Or the racing game where your car is simply too slow to compete with the best racers who constantly outrun you. What about that game where the timer runs out every time you have the solution. Games that used to be fun sometimes turn into frustrating experiences.

You think for yourself that you could make a much better game. So why not just do that?

Years ago games had to be coded by specialist programmers and professional game companies guarded their development tools from outsiders. Beginners who wanted to make their own game creations had to work really hard in order to get just a few pixels to move or blink on a monitor. A simple moving object could take days to make.

Today things have changed. User friendly game development tools are freely available and most of these tools have big online communities that are ready to help you if needed. Many modern tools have a graphical drag-and-drop approach to game development. Perfect for non-coders, like myself. If you have ever dreamed of making a computer game there is really no excuse not to give it a try.

But where do you start? Well, here on Your Game Design there are already tutorials for Game Maker. In thirty minutes you could have your first complete game running! You can also have a look at FPS Creator or the Platinum Arts Sandbox Game Maker. I made my first game in Adventure Game Studio together with a small team but this tool requires a bit more programming during development.

So take a look at the tools and see if they fit your ideas. Remember that Rome was not build in a day so don't aim to make the next Quake game before the week has ended. Set small realistic goals and build from there.

I wish you the best of luck on your new journey!