Have you been trying to build your own retro games to bring back the old vibes and nostalgia but can’t do so? Well, if you want to build your own retro games, you will have to keep multiple things in your check.
Retro games can be easily built through various online platforms and drag and drop builders that too in accordance with your preferences. All you have to precisely do is gather your ideas and features to develop a good piece of art.
But wait, this does not actually end here! There are other things too that are pretty critical when it comes to building your own retro games. So let’s have a brief and extensive look at what those things are!
How To Make A Retro Game From Scratch?
Let’s get started with the things that will offer you a precise answer to your question, that is, how to build your own retro games?
1. Come up with a theme or genre
Can you really imagine a game without a genre or a specific theme? Before playing or purchasing any game, the first thing that a player checks is the genre of that particular game. Genre is what defines what type of game it is and how good it would be for you.
So the foremost thing you will have to do here is come up with a genre that you think is good for you. Well, these are actually the most popular retro genres you can consider too:
- RPG
- Action
- Action-Adventure
- Sports
- Strategy
- Role-Playing
- Simulations
If you are developing a retro game just for yourself, you will have to consider your own preferences only. But as for the public, you will have to check out what is being demanded nowadays.
Wondering why are retro games so popular? Read here.
2. Find Online Builders
Online platforms and drag-and-drop builders are definitely the easy way out. If you don’t want to learn coding along with all the essentials, this is the option you would like to go with.
Well, there are several online builders available on the internet that enable users to design games. Some might offer their services for free, as for the others; you might have to buy a plan in order to proceed.
Besides that, online builders are quite easy to use and operate. But on the very other hand, they might also have limited features and access, and that is where you will have to compromise on your ideas.
3. Designing the game
As you have found out the best online builder, now it is time to add features and design the game adequately. It does not precisely matter if you want to know how to make a retro RPG game or a game of other genres; you will have to consider the available options in order to proceed.
Do remember that if a game does not have exciting features, levels, power-ups, hurdles, and other similar things, it won’t ever be engaging or successful. This is why you will have to go all out within this aspect and use your creativity to build a unique and interesting game. You can explore other games too to get ideas of what they are implementing in their games. If you have your own, that too is a unique one; it will be an even better scenario.
How Can You Play Retro Games?
You have now gotten quite a grip on how to make your own retro games; you might now be thinking about how to play them? Well, if you want to play them, you will have to build a console. As retro games are considered old and ancient, you cannot really expect to find their consoles that easily.
This is why you can build your own console too. But to make your own retro game console, you will again have to do some things in order to succeed.
Must read: 7 best arcade retro games for nostalgia.
How To Make Your Personal Retro Game Console?
Let’s check out what you would need to make a custom retro-gaming console!
1. Buy a customizable emulation console and other accessories!
That is where you will have to spend a few bucks as, of course, you cannot build an emulation console yourself. Emulation console is what will help you make your own retro gaming console. In that instance, Raspberry Pi is going to help you a lot.
Raspberry has built various consoles just to check, run, and test different programs. But you can also use their devices for your retro console. If you want a fast operating system without any type of lag, you will have to go with the newer emulation devices like Raspberry Pi 3. You can also buy the device cover in order to keep it protected and safe for the longer term.
Along with the device, you will also have to buy an SD card in order to install an OS and games in it. Also, make sure to have an HDMI connector as most of the Raspberry Pi devices support HDMI displays. To play the games, you will need a suitable controller that would work with your games.
2. Setting up the console and configuration
The first thing you will have to do is install an OS in your Retro console. For that, you will have to choose the best Operating System for Raspberry Pi that fits your needs. If we take a look according to our preferences and the emulation device we have chosen, Retropie would be the best pick.
You can easily download the Retropie OS from their official website and install it on the SD card. As soon as you integrate the SD card in the console, it will automatically boot up with the Retropie OS.
3. Install the games
The only thing that is now left for you to do is to install the games that you built before. You can also install third-party games as per your likings and enjoy them all just as you want.
4. Customization
This might not really be necessary at all, but some games might create hassles for you to play them. You can check out their video settings along with the controller set up to sort out most of them. It is also better to look out for the recommended console for that game and see if the one you have used is good for it or not.
FAQs – How To Make Your Own Retro Games?
Here are some frequently asked questions to help you out further.
The use of nostalgic consoles, controllers, game discs, and SD cards are some of the things that make a video game look retro. Not only that, even the old design of video games themselves showcase their nature and type to the users.
Developing a video game through drag-and-drop services is not actually hard, because it does not require specific skills. If we talk about the actual scenario, you would need programming skills, understanding of different languages, designing, and many other things, making the whole scenario harder than ever.
You can simply buy a Raspberry Pi emulation console in order to build your own retro console, as suggested above.
Summary
The whole process might seem easy and straightforward, but if you want to build your own retro games that you can actually enjoy, you will have to be creative. You will have to think out of the box and bring ideas that no one has.
