As a parent, you’ve most likely heard of Roblox. Unlike Minecraft, another popular game among kids that inspires creativity, Roblox is more of a platform that allows users to create their own games and share them with the community.
If your kids have ever wondered how to make a game in Roblox, we have the guide you need to help them express their creativity and get started on their projects.
Here’s all you need to know!
Download Roblox Studio
Roblox Studio is a separate program from the game launcher that allows the player to create their games using different assets, objects, and coding to build out experiences they can share with other Roblox players.
To download Roblox Studio, you’ll need to visit this site.
The home page should look like this, and you’ll have to log in to your child’s account. Roblox Studio is free to download.
Once you’ve downloaded the studio, your child is ready to start creating! Here’s how you’ll help them learn the program.
Familiarize Yourself With The Program’s Tools
When you launch Roblox Studio, you’ll be met with the following menu. You can start a tour of the program or begin with a game template.
We recommend the tour alongside this article so you and your child can learn the basics.
Once you’re in, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the explorer panel. This is where you’ll go to change what game objects look like and how they act.
The toolbox is another important part of learning how to make a game in Roblox. This is where your young creative will find things like models, images, meshes, audio, and video made by the Roblox community. This is the easiest way to import objects into your game, perfect for your child’s first project.
Creating Parts
Parts are physical objects that interact and move with other parts. To begin placing parts into your world, navigate to the part tool (next to the toolbox) and choose from blocks, spheres, wedges, corner wedges, and cylinders.
Selecting a part — in this case a sphere — makes it appear in your project.
Scaling the objects is as easy as holding control (Windows) or command (Mac) and the number key 3. Alternatively, you can use the scale button.
You’ll also see the rotate and move tools. These allow you to move your objects around the X, Y, and Z axes and change the object’s angle.
Control (Windows) or Command (Mac)+D lets you duplicate your object. To delete an object, all you need to do is click on it and hit backspace.
Here are some other helpful hotkeys:
- Undo actions: Control/Command + Z
- Redo actions you’ve undone: Control/Command + Y
- Rotate the parts you have selected: Control/command + R
- Focus the camera on the object you’ve selected: F
- Group objects together: Control/command + G
Using Premade Parts and Objects
Learning how to make a game on Roblox takes practice, and as mentioned before, using premade objects is a great way for your child to learn the basics.
Let’s go back to the toolbox.
Searching the toolbox for premade objects based on your child’s goals is the best way to get the foundations for their game created. For example, the cars category has several objects that are ready to use if your child is looking to build a city simulation or racing game.
All you have to do is select the object you want to use, and it’ll appear in your place, similar to the sphere we spawned earlier.
As you begin to add more objects to your place, you can find the ones you’ve used under the “recent” tab. This makes it easy for your child to keep track of their favorite objects and add more if necessary.
Creating Spawn Points
Your child will need to create spawn points for their games. Spawn points are where other players will begin the game, and there are two options to choose from: neutral spawns and invisible spawns.
An invisible spawn can be created manually, but there is a premade one available. If your child wants to learn how to make an invisible spawn, check out the video here.
Roblox Coding For Kids
When your kid learns more about how to make a Roblox game, they can begin to add custom functionality to certain parts and models. For example, creating objects that make the player lose if touched on obstacle course (obby) games.
These functions require more experience, and if you’re interested in helping your child learn more about coding games, a summer camp geared toward game design can be beneficial.
Right now, Roblox uses Lua for coding in-platform.
How to Finalize Your Child’s Game
Once your child’s game is complete, the last step is publishing it to Roblox for others to enjoy!
To do this, all you have to do is save your game and select publish under “file” in the top left corner.
Before you finalize, you can test your game to make sure everything is working as it should. To do this, click on “play” in the top right corner.
This car is ready to drive!
More On Templates
If you want to start your child on an expedited path to creating their first game in Roblox, templates will build out most of the game while your child focuses on removing, adding, and changing existing objects.
There are many templates available to choose from.
Once you’ve selected one, the objects in the template are all editable, allowing your child to change the spawn point, add more vehicles, and change the terrain, for example.
Help Your Child Embrace Their Creativity
Roblox has been facilitating children’s creativity for more than a decade, and it’s a great way to introduce your child to the wonders of coding and game production.
If you’re looking for a more engaging way for your kids to get involved in STEM, consider the Roblox Camps available at Lavner Education. Kids will learn how to make a game on Roblox while focusing on programming and coding techniques, and friendly competition will help your child put their knowledge to the test and engage with fellow programmers for a fun-filled summer of learning.
Reach out today and learn more about our summer camp options.
