Have you clicked on an online game expecting something intricate and addicting only to find yourself disappointed and thinking “I could make a better game than this;” well why not try? It’s not as difficult as you may imagine. You don’t have to be a professional designer or a graduate of a game design school. With a few internet searches, a download or two and the willingness to sacrifice hours of your time fiddling with programming software a new game of your own design is right at your fingertips.
Step 1–Just like filmmakers need a script and storyboard before shooting the first frames of a movie, you’ll want to begin by visualizing. What type of game is it going to be: a shoot-em-up or a story based action/adventure? Having the basic ideas and designs in your head will become indispensable when the actual game making process comes around. Remember as a beginner you’ll want to start small.
Step 2–Find the right software and tools. There are endless numbers of free sites that allow downloads of game making software for free. You simply need to do a few searches and try some demos of different game creating software and a video editing creative suite to find the right one for the program you imagine. If you’re willing to pay a fee higher functioning tools will become available to you, but the free programs are more than enough for the beginning designer. After finding the right tools online you’re ready to begin the designing process.
Step 3–Practice and don’t get frustrated. Depending on the software the programing process will vary, but the basics will be the same. If illustration is not you’re strong suit there are plenty of free models out there to fill your game. There is no secret instruction to game design; you’re going to have to learn how to code and depending on the software you’re using this can be a simple point-and-click or infinitely complex process. The only way to learn the concepts of programming and game design is full immersion. Spend time with your software, toy with every feature and before you know it the process will seem far less complicated.
There is little more to tell. Finding the right software for your ideas and using it until your mouse finger bleeds is the only sure way to designing a game. Good luck.