How to Make a Video Game

Video games are a common source of entertainment with everyone today. The first video game, called Spacewar, was invented for the computer. However, computers were very expensive and most people didn’t own one.  Ralph Baer realized that most people owned a television, so he converted the Spacewar game to be able to be played on the television.  This invention made video games much more accessible and because people found these games fun, then they became popular (1).

As people started to play video games more often, there were some questions about the impact these games might have on people. Research in this area has shown that there are some effects of video games on the brain. The most concerning impacts are that video games are addictive and that they can change the structure of the brain (2).  But some positive impacts are that they can boost memory, slow brain decline and reduce depression(3).                                                                                                        

If someone wants to learn how to make a video game there are a number of websites that teach these skills. One amazing website, called ‘Gamefroot’, allows you to learn how to make a video game in a very easy and well explained way (4). 

First you create an account in the website using your email, then they will give you a password. Next, you will be given a game that is partially completed and you should watch the instructional videos, so you can learn the way the program works. Then you chose what kind of game you would like to create. This could either be an animal game, a cartoon game or a car game. Then with some minimal coding, you will begin to build your game. Along the way, you save your game and test it to see if all the parts are working.  If the game doesn’t work well, you will replace or change the parts that aren’t working and then you will test it again.  After repeating this process a lot of times, you will produce a game that you, and others, can play. You can then name your game and save it, so that it can be played later (4). 

I have made a fun game using gamefroot and I would love for you to play it! Just click on the link and have fun collecting items but watch out for the chicken and the dog. https://storage.googleapis.com/files.gamefroot.com/users/4286485/games/223094/gamefroot-2020-9-11T12-38-47.354Z/index.html

References:

1. https://www.history.com/topics/inventions/history-of-video-games
2. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318345#Video-games-and-brain-changes
3. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318345#Are-brain-training-games-beneficial
4. https://make.gamefroot.com/