Introduction
Fun fact: millions of both players and game developers are on Roblox. So, your game should stand out from the rest. So, here are seven very important tips that will help you have a fun, engaging, and successful game on Roblox. These are intended for new players but are also useful for experienced game developers who would like to upgrade their approach.
Table of Contents
1. Plan Your Game Before You Start Building
And I know of some of the biggest mistakes new game developers commit: to dive headfirst into Roblox Studio without a plan. I am going to go ahead and say that my first attempt at making a game was pretty weak;
just start throwing objects down on the baseplate and wait for something magical to happen. Guess what? It doesn’t work like that. What you end up with is a messy, aimless game not really much fun to play.
Why You Need a Design
A game design is, at its core, a roadmap. You’ve got to know roughly where you are going, and sometimes you can even tell how to get there. As you might recall, your game has to have a concept, mechanics, and defined goals all laid out before you start building the game.
Concept What does the game deal with? Which theme or story do you use? Bobby-game? RP? Simulator?
Mechanics What controls him? Input mechanism, game physics, and how does it feel, what is interaction style. Goals What is he doing? Scoring system? Levels to defeat? Things to do?
Take a few of that inactive time outdoors with you when you finally crack open Roblox Studio to really get your ideas down on paper. Write them on paper, use an Idea Whiteboard, or maybe in a notebook.
Start listing and recording such objects for the game, mechanics, and whatever else you’re going to put in the game. Really keeps things fresh in mind when actually building.
My Experience
So some of the first projects they worked on actually built a role-playing game set in a futuristic city. Kind of basically it was hours spent building skyscrapers, streets, and cars, but halfway through this vision just seemed very hard to complement because there was no clear gameplay loop or any kind of meaningful goals for the player.
This is where I recall wrapping things up by stepping back drawing out a quest system, defining what roles the players will be taking on, and even throwing in a progression mechanic. That really fleshed out and made the game that much more enjoyable to itself.
2. Master the Fundamentals of Lua Scripting:
Roblox Studio utilizes so much interactivity and functionality in games through scripting. This doesn’t mean you can just go grab premade models and assets; however, knowing how to script will really give you the freedom to make your game stand out.
2 Lua is Roblox’s scripting language, rather friendly as an entry into the language, not too overwhelming for developers new to it. It’s powerful enough for heavy tasks.
Getting Started with Lua
Lua is very overwhelming for a beginner, so don’t try to learn it all at once. Take your time. Here are a few basics that you might want to start off with:
My Learning Curve
When I first started playing around in Lua scripting, I thought that enough work could be done only with free models and scripts of the Toolbox.
It was, in a word, a bit too narrow for my imagination.
And I remember this: the custom script should be added in the door so that the door will open only when three particular items gathered by the players.
Since there is no such Toolbox which has free models on exactly what I wanted to do, then I spent lots of time getting familiar with the scripting language.
It took me couple of hours, and I really have tried a lot, countless trials and errors, but at last, I was finally able to write out my script.
From then onward, I began taking Lua seriously and opened up endless possibilities into my game design.
3. Start with simple projects
It only makes sense to start building your dream game from the very bottom.
Soon enough, you’ll burn out and get frustrated because you make this grand, feature-full game for your first project.
Instead, look for projects that are more manageable and smaller in scope and will teach you the basics of game development in Roblox Studio.
Types of Simple Games
Good types of games to start with:
Obstacle Courses (Obie’s): Very easy to construct and do not rely on complex mechanization
Tycoons: A bit more challenging, tycoon games will have a good education in progression systems and in-game economy.
Sims or Life Simulation Games: Pretty simple but could be fleshed out with your mastering of skills
My First Bobby
In all seriousness, the first proper good game I ever made was an bobby.
By this stage of development, I had pretty much just scripted out what my game concept was-so it consisted, really, of not much more than just quite simple pieces, a jump pads or two, and one winning platform at the end.
That project, though sounding pretty basic as of now, gave me a huge sense of accomplishment, though basic, it was an excellent learning experience that gave more boost and confidence to carry bigger projects in the future.
4. Player Experience
Player experience is the most significant aspects of a game that require success. Even if the game’s graphics look marvelous, if the game is dull or hard to play at, the players do not want to play at.
Key Features of Player Experience
Controls: Ensure that your controls are responsive and self-explanatory.
Tutorials: Any time you do something unusually different from other games, include a tutorial or hints for new players.
Ascending: Make him or her feel as though he or she has accomplished something as he or she goes through your game: leveling up, unlocking new moves, and discovering or unlocking new areas.
Testing with Friends
Testing with your friends is the very best approach you can possibly take to test and therefore enhance your game to the best possible degree.
Let them know that you would like to run through your game, A-Z then ask them what they enjoyed, found confusing, or needed improvement.
So I added some homemade movement in one of the games I was working on, but it never really felt intuitive to try when some friends came over to check it out.
So after a bit of feedback, I was able to iterate on a few controls and make it less jerky and vastly more enjoyable.
5. Use free assets but tweak them
You can use Roblox Studio for free, find many free models, scripts, and assets, and save some time to add to your game. Of course, they should be customized to make sure it stands out and yours.
Free model dependence negates the specialness of any game.
Free Models: Proper Use
Edit Scripts: Use your Toolbox to choose and play around with any script you would like. You can tamper with variables, add in some new features, mash in some other scripts, and you can get something all your own.
Custom Textures and Sounds: Add that personal touch by using free models. Upload custom textures or sounds that would fit well into the theme of the game.
Leverage free resources: You’re not just slapping a free model onto your game; you’ve built some kind of larger structure or system that you’ve developed.
Personal Anecdote
This was one of the first games I ever made, and I probably used a ton of free models. That really saved me time, but it really, really didn’t feel like its own game.
And, of course, the players knew that my game felt the same as other ones since I hadn’t found any time to personalize it for myself.
My lesson learned here is that I should take my time and always change those assets so that my games do not feel like everybody else’s.
6. Monetize Your Game Wisely
In-game purchases, premium items, and game passes will be the basis of monetization for this game. Well, how exciting that prospect sounds about making money off your game, money cannot hurt the player experience, however.
Some Tips on How to Monetize Your Game
Equilibrium Free and Paid Content Developers have to make sure the game is free to access and playable so that one does not really feel he is paying to play.
Provide cosmetic items, features, or quicker progression in the game for willing payers but at no point make them pay their way to win.
Game Passes: This developer sells the purchaser something unique: a unique item or an exclusive right to access only a portion of the game.
Dev Products are purchased one-time with replay value. Examples would be currency packs or special power-ups.
A Word of Caution
Most of its critical gameplay features were behind paywalls the first time I played the game. Players became angry at me soon, and I started receiving hate mail.
Know, in my heart of hearts, I really needed to flip how I monetized the game. So I overhauled it: now free features, far greater options for things to buy-not the key upgrades, so not essential but cosmetic. Now much more fun to play, and reviews excellent.
7. Continual learning and improvement
Learn more – the more games you will develop and win. Game development is a journey, not a destination. Tools, features, and updates are being added constantly to Roblox Studio.
So, with constant learning and improvement, you can be one of the successful game developers in the industry.
Where to Learn
Roblox Developer Hub: Tutorials, documentation, and forums where you can ask your questions, so you learn from others.
YouTube Tutorials. There are over one thousand free tutorials available to be used in Roblox Studio on YouTube, ranging from super basic to complete newbie techniques, all the way to highly advanced techniques in scripting.
Roblox Developer Community: Discuss topics, share your work, and collaborate with others.