Look out gaming world – Roblox is on a tear. Exploding in popularity over the last few years, Roblox now boasts over 64M monthly players, and is poised to overtake Minecraft as the #1 sandbox style game in the world.
While it’s fun to play other people’s games on the Roblox platform, increasing numbers of players are learning to create their own games on Roblox Studio, Roblox’s unique game engine. Developing games on Roblox is something that anyone can learn, it’s free, and in fact there have been numerous articles about even teenagers who have become millionaires making games for the Roblox marketplace.
In this blog, we are going to discuss 5 Roblox games that even complete beginners to game design and coding can make at home. As a special bonus, we’ve even included a link to our step-by-step Obby video tutorial that will teach you how to make your own custom obstacle course using Roblox Studio and the Lua programming language.
Table of Contents
1. Obby
The first on our list of Roblox games you can make at home is an “Obby.” An Obby or Obstacle Course is a great beginner game that will teach you the basics of Roblox Studio and the Lua scripting language. An Obby presents the player with a 3D Mario style game in which the player must proceed through a series of obstacles without perishing. Obstacle courses present a number of micro-challenges that get progressively more difficult as the player advances through the course.
In an Obby you will learn how to use game elements such as Jumps, Kill blocks, Challenges, Checkpoints, and Level Advancement. In the Roblox Level editor you will need to learn about parts, scripts, materials, and transform tools in order to build a professional quality Obby.
In order to make an Obby work properly, you will need to write some scripts using the Lua scripting language. While it may seem intimidating at first, Lua is an elegant, easy-to-learn programming language, and there many tools and resources that can help you master it.
One concept that you will see in Lua while make your Obby is a conditional statement. In the example below, we tell the computer to set the player’s health to zero (thereby killing the player) if the player touches a block.
There are a number of free resources on YouTube and several tutorials on the excellent Roblox Wiki that can build your Obby-making skills.
For a Free Obby Tutorial from CodaKid, you can check out our blog tutorial here. In this tutorial we show students how to create an Obby structure, design obstacles, program kill blocks in Lua, and set up checkpoints. If you enjoy it and would like to explore CodaKid’s Roblox, Minecraft, and other game design and coding courses, you can try them for free here.
2. Adventure Game
The second on our list of Roblox games you can make at home is an Adventure Game. An Adventure Game is a story-based game with quests and items, providing the user’s character with a series of challenges to solve. Adventure Games usually feature tools, weapons, power-ups, enemies, and more. In the Roblox Editor, you will learn how to use the tool creator and the terrain editor – and you’ll also work with humanoids.
In Adventure games, one common Lua concept that you will see is a function. A function is a computing procedure or routine that contains instructions used to create the output from its input. In the example below, we are changing the players jump value to an abnormally high value of 200 (giving the player greater leaping ability) whenever the player grabs a wand.
If you are interested in step by step instructions on how to make an Adventure Map, you can try the CodaKid course for free. In the CodaKid Adventure Maps course, we show students how to design adventure tools such as lanterns, we create a Lava Shield that makes the player invulnerable to deadly lava terrain, we create a Jump Wand (illustrated above) that makes the player jump abnormally high, and we show students how to create a trophy prize that awaits all who finish your map.
3. Tycoon
The third on our list of Roblox games you can make at home is a Tycoon Game. A Tycoon is a popular business simulation game in which Roblox players build bases or factories and progressively upgrade their production facilities to earn in-game currency. The objective? To build an empire of course!
In designing your Tycoon game, you will learn about player progression, part generation, purchasing items, and about base/factory creation. In Roblox editor, common things that you’ll use are click detectors, textures and materials, humanoids, and scripts.
In building your Tycoon game, you will use a slightly more complex function than the grabWand function illustrated above. In the example below, the function spawnCash () will create a cash payout when the Cash button is clicked.
There are several free Roblox Tycoon tutorials on the web that can get you started. If you’d like to take your Tycoon Game to the next level, CodaKid offers affordable online courses that will teach you how to design tycoon factories, program the automation and factory machinery, create and program automated droppers that create cash blocks that the player uses to purchase more advanced factory pieces, and more.
4. Racing Game
The fourth on our list of Roblox games you can make at home is a Racing Game. Roblox racing games involve racing cars or other vehicles against others to see who can reach the finish line first. Racing games are multi-player affairs, and to create a good one you’ll need to learn how to program in Lua.
When designing your racing game you will use game elements such as cards, checkpoints, timers, obstacles, and leaderboards. In the Roblox Editor you’ll likely use vehicle seats, the terrain editor, server scripts, the Roblox toolbox, and more.
When building your Roblox racing game, one Lua coding concept that you’ll use is a loop with a timer to track how long the player has been racing. In this code snippet, Lua checks to see if a condition is true (if player.raceStarted.Value) and it progressively adds 1 second the timer.
In CodaKid’s Racing Course Tutorial we create our own cards, program a timer, set up a leaderboard system, and set ordered checkpoints that players must follow to win the race.
5. Infinite Runner
The fifth game on our list of Roblox games you can make at home is the Infinite Runner. Infinite Runner games are games in which the objective is to dodge obstacles and stay alive the longest.
When design your Roblox Infinite Runner game, you design with hazards, timers, terrain, and leaderboards. Things you’ll likely use in Roblox Editor include the Terrain Generator, Lighting, and Fog. 3D Infinite Runner games are always more fun in multiplayer, so you’ll further develop your skills with ServerScripts which will allow you to play your game with friends and family.
When making your Infinite Runner game, one Lua coding concept that you’ll likely use is a Nested Loop to generate terrain. In this example, we show an example nested For Loops someone might use to generate terrain.
In CodaKid’s Infinite Runner course, we teach you how to program and generate terrain, use kill blocks, use timers, set up leaderboards, and create a super fun multiplayer experience.
If you would like step by step instruction on how to make games for Roblox, we encourage you to try CodaKid’s Game Development with Roblox series for free. All CodaKid courses are self-paced, but also include messaging and screen share support with our team of friendly teachers. CodaKid’s courses all come with a free trial and feature affordable monthly subscriptions that can be cancelled anytime.
Are there any Roblox games that you think we should add to our list? Please leave your ideas in the comments below!
