Build Your First Game: 1 Screen • 1 Mechanic • 1 Win State

You swipe across the screen. A small ship darts left, narrowly avoiding a descending obstacle. A point appears: SCORE: 1. The challenge is simple yet engaging. We'll guide you through creating this exact top-down avoider mini-game, a complete playable experience from concept to launch. It’s a focused project designed to teach you the core principles of game development, helping you build foundational skills for future creations.

Imagine finishing your very first game: a responsive, top-down avoider where you control a character with touch or keyboard input. Your goal is to dodge falling objects, with your score increasing the longer you survive.


When a collision happens, the game cleanly resets for another round. This entire process is broken down into five distinct, manageable phases. We will start with a solid concept, build the core gameplay loop, assemble a working prototype, add satisfying polish (or 'juice'), and finally, prepare your game to be shared with the world. This phased approach ensures you have something playable at every step, making the journey feel achievable and rewarding.

This structured pathway demystifies development, turning an idea into an interactive reality.

Engine Selector: Getting Started
  • Unity: Open Unity Hub, create a new 2D Core project. Create a new C# script and attach it to a GameObject. Place game logic inside the `Update()` method.
  • Godot: Open Godot, create a new project. Add a 2D Scene (Node2D) as the root. Attach a new GDScript to it. Place game logic inside the `_process(delta)` function.
  • Unreal Engine: Launch the Epic Games Launcher, start Unreal Engine. Create a new Blank project with Blueprints (or C++). Create a new Actor Blueprint. Place game logic in the Event Tick node.
  • HTML5 Canvas: Create an `index.html` file and a `script.js` file. In the HTML, add a ` ` element. In the JavaScript, get the canvas context and create a `requestAnimationFrame(update)` loop for your game logic.

Phase 1: Concept

The first step is to define the rules of your game on a single screen. We are making a top-down avoider. The player controls a ship at the bottom, moving only left and right. Enemies will spawn at the top and move downwards. The goal is to survive as long as possible, which defines the score. The game ends upon collision.

Milestone Reached: The game's rules and goals are fully defined on paper.

Phase 2: Core Loop

The core loop is the heartbeat of your game, running every single frame. It consists of processing input, updating game state, and rendering the result to the screen. Understanding this cycle is fundamental.

Core Loop Builder

  • Input: Check if the player is pressing 'left' or 'right' (or touching the left/right side of the screen).
  • Update:
    • Move the player's position based on input.
    • Move all enemies downwards.
    • Check for collisions between the player and any enemy.
    • If no collision, increase the score. 
     // Example of frame rate independent movement position.x += speed * deltaTime;

    Using 'delta time' (the time since the last frame) ensures your game runs at the same speed on different computers, preventing characters from moving faster on more powerful hardware.

  • Render: Draw the player, enemies, and score to the screen at their new positions.
  • Reset: If a collision was detected in the Update step, show a 'Game Over' message and provide an option to restart the loop.
Milestone Reached: A controllable shape moves on screen based on input.

Phase 3: Prototype

Now, we build the core mechanics into a playable experience. This phase focuses on functionality over aesthetics.

Prototype Milestones Timeline

  1. Milestone 1: Player Movement. Implement the code to move your player character left and right within the screen boundaries. Test: Can you move the player from one edge of the screen to the other?
  2. Milestone 2: Enemy Spawning. Create logic that spawns enemy objects at random positions at the top of the screen and makes them fall. Test: Do enemies appear periodically and move downwards?
  3. Milestone 3: Collisions and Scoring. Add collision detection between the player and enemies. Implement a scoring system that increments over time. Test: Does the game stop when you hit an enemy, and does the score increase while playing?
  4. Milestone 4: Restart Flow. Create a simple 'Game Over' state and a button or key press that resets the game to its initial state. Test: Can you play, lose, and start a new game without relaunching the application?
Milestone Reached: A complete, playable game loop exists with a start, play, and end state.

Phase 4: Juice (Polish)

'Juice' refers to the small additions that make a game feel alive and satisfying. This can include simple particle effects when an enemy is destroyed, a subtle screen shake on impact, or responsive sound effects for movement and scoring. Even minor feedback makes the experience more engaging.

Milestone Reached: The game feels more responsive and satisfying to play.

Phase 5: Ship (Exporting)

The final phase is preparing your game for others to play. This involves building an executable file for different platforms. A comprehensive 'Guide To Build Your Own Game' should always include how to share your creation.

Export Targets

Platform Build Action Test Tip
Web (HTML5) Export as HTML5/WebGL build. Upload to a web host and test on different browsers and mobile devices.
Android Generate an APK or AAB file. Install the file directly on an Android device to test touch controls and performance.
Desktop (PC) Build an executable (.exe) for Windows. Run the executable on a machine other than your development PC to check for dependencies.
Milestone Reached: The game is a standalone application that can be shared and played.

Bug Clinic

Problem: Game stutters or has inconsistent speed.
  1. Diagnose: Check if your movement logic is multiplied by delta time.
  2. Adjust: Ensure all movement calculations (player, enemies) use delta time. Profile your code for performance bottlenecks.
  3. Re-test: Run the game and observe if movement is now smooth and consistent.
Problem: Fast-moving objects pass through each other (tunneling).
  1. Diagnose: This happens when an object moves so fast it clears another object in a single frame.
  2. Adjust: Switch your physics from discrete to continuous collision detection (an option in most engines). Alternatively, use raycasting to predict collisions.
  3. Re-test: Increase object speeds to confirm they now collide reliably.
Problem: Noticeable delay between key press and action (input lag).
  1. Diagnose: The issue could be in your code logic or render pipeline.
  2. Adjust: Process input as early as possible in your game loop. Disable V-Sync to reduce rendering latency, but be aware this may cause screen tearing.
  3. Re-test: Perform quick, repeated inputs to feel if the response is more immediate.

References

For further learning and engine-specific documentation, consult these primary sources:

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