How to Make a Game

Got Game banner showing icons for developers, composers, and artists

When I was in college I created a game development club to bring together the various game developers, artists, and composers from across the campus. The focus of the club was to push everyone to make a game each month for the three months we would me. Doing so would help everyone not only learn what it takes to make a game, but also allow to have games that they could show off instead of just concepts and partial games.

I’ve decided to release the slides and resources that I used in the club so that others can learn from them. Most of the information found in the slides are quotes and summaries taken from various articles from other game developers. Feel free to use the slides in your own groups/clubs.

In this slide I discuss what it takes to start and finish a video game in only one month.

How to Finish a Video Game in One Month – the MVP from straker503

In this slide I discuss the parts of a game and how each part plays an intricate role in the success of a game.

Elements of Play – Ingredients for a Video Game from straker503

In this slide I discuss what it means to add polish to a game and how it relates to how a game feels.

Video Game Polish from straker503

In this slide I discuss what it takes to collaborate on a video game by creating a design document.

Video Game Collaboration from straker503

(on a related note, this article was recently published which talks about how game design documents don’t work well and suggestions alternatives instead.)

This is a list of resources I’ve found very helpful over the years in making video games. It lists game tutorials and sites, where to find free assets, how to market a game, and has a ton of HTML5 game development links.

The Big List of Video Game Development