How to Make an Online Multiplayer Game

Multiplayer games let many people play the same game at the same time. This gives you and your friends the opportunity to play together. There are many different types of multiplayer games, including strategy games and action games. Online games let you play against players around the world. Making your own multiplayer games requires understanding programming, visual design, game design and making games fun for multiple players. It requires either downloading free game software, game websites or other methods of game creation.

Things You'll Need

• Paper
• Pencil
• Colored pencils or crayons

Instructions

1. Pick a game design software to download. Take time to learn how to use the program. Experiment with different pieces of software till you find one you like using.

2. Choose the genre of game you want to design. Almost any type of game genre can be multiplayer. These games can be shooters like "Halo 3" or strategy games like "World of Warcraft."

3. Write down a list of elements you want included in the game. These items can include enemies, weapons, items and even levels. Make your list as varied as possible to make your game as diverse as possible.

4. Draw your visual elements on a piece of paper. Color them in with colored pencils or crayons. Drawing them before you design them in your gaming software helps streamline the process and make it simpler.

5. Design your visual elements in your gaming software. Stay as close to your original design as possible. Make any alterations that are necessary. Visual elements should include characters, backgrounds, levels and enemies.

6. Program your gaming elements. These elements include character movement, interactions with the gaming environment and gaming physics such as gravity. However, since this is a multiplayer game, you have to program the ability to play as multiple players instead of just one. This makes the programming more complex, as you must program different character looks and controls for each player.

7. Integrate these programming elements with your visual elements. Integration includes matching character art with the correct movement and control programming.

8. Play-test the game to find programming errors. These errors can cause the game to become unplayable. As you find errors, look through your programming code and fix the programming mistakes.

References

• Drexel: Game Making Programs
• BYond
• Free Games: Game Making Software
• Making Video Games
• MPOGD: Multiplayer Online Games