What You Need Before Making Your First Game
You don’t need a powerful computer or expensive software to make your first game. A regular PC or Mac is more than enough, as long as it can run basic tools and a game engine. No prior experience is required, many successful game developers started with zero knowledge and learned by building small projects step by step. What really matters is your willingness to learn and experiment. In terms of time, be realistic: your first simple game won’t be done in a day. Expect to spend a few hours per week over several weeks to understand the basics, make mistakes, and slowly see your game come to life. Progress may feel slow at first, but that’s completely normal, every finished game starts exactly this way.
Choose the Right Type of Game for Beginners
When you’re making your first game, choosing the right type of project is crucial. While 3D games may look more impressive, they come with a lot of extra complexity: cameras, lighting, physics, and 3D assets can quickly become overwhelming. That’s why 2D games are strongly recommended for beginners. They are easier to understand, faster to build, and let you focus on the core ideas of game development rather than technical hurdles.
For your first project, stick to simple game genres. A platformer (where a character jumps and moves across levels) or a top-down game (where the player moves around from a top view) are excellent choices. These genres use straightforward mechanics, clear goals, and reusable concepts that appear in almost every game. By starting small with a simple 2D game, you’ll build confidence, learn faster, and actually finish something, which is the most important part of becoming a game developer.
Best Free Tools to Make Your First Game
You don’t need paid software to make your first game. There are excellent free tools that are more than powerful enough to help you learn and build a complete project. The most important tool is a game engine, which handles things like rendering, input, and basic game logic. Many beginner-friendly engines exist, and they allow you to focus on creating the game rather than building everything from scratch.
For visuals, you can start with free graphics tools. Simple image editors are perfect for creating basic shapes, sprites, or placeholders while you learn. At the beginning, it’s completely fine to use rough or temporary art, your goal is to make the game work, not to make it beautiful. As for coding, a basic code editor is usually enough. Many game engines include their own editor, so you don’t need anything fancy. With just these free tools, you can already design levels, control a character, and create a playable game from start to finish.
Step-by-Step: Make a Simple Game
Making your first game doesn’t mean building something big or complex. The goal is to create a small, playable experience from start to finish. Start with a very simple idea. One character, one main action, and one clear objective is enough. For example, moving a character to reach a goal, avoid an obstacle, or collect an item. Keeping the idea small helps you stay focused and actually finish the project.
Next, set up your project in your game engine. Create a new scene, add a basic player object, and make sure you can move it using the keyboard. This first step may feel slow, but it’s where everything begins. Once movement works, add a simple environment, a floor, walls, or a basic background. Don’t worry about art quality yet; simple shapes or placeholder graphics are perfectly fine.
After that, define a basic win condition. This could be reaching the end of a level, touching a specific object, or surviving for a certain amount of time. When the player can win, you officially have a game. At this point, test everything, fix obvious bugs, and make small improvements only if they are easy to add. The most important thing is to finish the game, no matter how simple it looks. Completing your first game will teach you more than endlessly starting new projects and never finishing them.
Common Beginner Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
One of the most common mistakes beginners make is starting with a project that is too ambitious. Trying to build a large open-world game or a complex multiplayer experience almost always leads to frustration and abandonment. To avoid this, keep your first game extremely small. A finished simple game is far more valuable than an unfinished big idea.
Another frequent mistake is focusing too much on visuals instead of gameplay. It’s easy to get stuck tweaking graphics, animations, or effects while the core mechanics are still broken or incomplete. The solution is simple: make the game playable first, even if it looks ugly. Good gameplay can exist without good art, but great art cannot save a broken game.
Finally, many beginners quit too early because they think they are “bad” at game development. In reality, confusion and mistakes are part of the learning process. Every developer struggles at the beginning. When something doesn’t work, treat it as feedback, not failure. Break problems into smaller steps, search for solutions, and keep going. Consistency matters more than talent when you’re making your first game.
What to Do After Your First Game
Finishing your first game is a big achievement, even if it’s small or imperfect. Take a moment to appreciate the fact that you completed a full project, something many beginners never do. Once it’s done, share it. Show it to friends, upload it online, or simply keep it as a reference for yourself. Seeing other people interact with your game, even in a small way, is incredibly motivating.
After that, the best next step is to make another small game. Don’t immediately jump into a massive project. Instead, try a slightly different idea, reuse what you’ve learned, and improve one or two things at a time. Each finished game builds confidence and practical experience. Over time, these small projects add up, and game development starts to feel less intimidating and more natural. The key is simple: keep building, keep finishing, and keep learning.