Create A 2D Game - Introduction

This is a screen shot from a 2D game made using scratch by a user called GriffPatch

How To Design And Create A 2D Game

This 5 part series will guide you step by step through the stages of developing a 2D game. Two-dimensional games were most frequently developed in the early years of video games with the main reason for this being that the technical limitations of game hardware prevented the ease of creating three-dimensional graphics. When technology developed sufficiently to allow easier and more effective use of 3D graphics there was a temporary decline in 2D gaming. ( For more on games design history click here)

The wheel has now turned full circle however and the rise in popularity of mobile devices such as the iPad, iPhone and Android Phones are now mainly populated with easy to play 2D games. This renaissance in 2D gaming is partly due to the sentimental memories of early gamers joyously reliving their youth on their new gadgets. In reality though it is mainly a decision by developers to meet the demands of the consumers for quick, easy to play, fun games that they can pass 5 or 10 minutes with on the bus or train to work that 2d games are the ideal format.

These 2D games and Apps are made in a variety of ways including the Apple or Android SDK (Software Development Kit), Adobe Flash, HTML5 etc. However, if you are a games design student and are just starting out or you only want to make a game for fun or one to share with your friends then the best option is Scratch. Scratch is a simple, freeware game engine software that is easy to use, edit and publish so it can be easily shared with your friends.

The Scratch website hosts all the games made using it's editor and can sometimes put people off because of this as some of the games can appear childish or low quality (because they are made by children!). The reality is it is an excellent games engine for 2d game development and if you would like to see some examples of quality 2D games using Scratch then click here.

The Scratch Game Engine Interface

Lets Get Started...

There are 5 main stages in the 2D games design process and this series will guide you through each one step by step. We will start with stage one - Game Concept Development.