Well, if you have experimented on a few games in the studio, chances are you want to try the famous game category: Simulator. Now, you may have read posts saying to avoid simulators all together, and you are welcome to have your own opinion, but in this guide, I will guide you through the process of making a simulator, while following criteria to try and avoid that bad “simulator” stereotype.
First Steps
Well, the first thing to do in making a simulator, is to find something in real life that you think could be fun, have upgrades, and have some sort of competition element. Most good simulators have a “training/safe zone” and a “battle/compete with other players zone” take Legends of Speed or Saber Simulator for example. Both have a lobby or safe zone, and you race or battle other players. Now please ask yourself: IS THIS ORIGINAL?! One of the reasons most simulators get a bad rap is because once one simulator comes out, 50 other people go and try to take a piece of that financial pie, and post strange flamingo adds that have nothing to do with the actual game. Here are the steps you should take when checking for originality.
- Have I heard of this before?
The first step think long and hard and try to remember if you have heard of your type of simulator. If you haven’t, move onto the next step. - Search the game on Roblox.
This may seem like the most obvious way, but using the last step saved the time. Search the game on Roblox, see if a good, popular simulator pops up. -Note!- if you find a game with your title, check it out! When the game is practically a blank empty baseplate with no game cover and a bunch of broken scripts, you could probably still use the idea you had. - Ask around.
The final step: ask around. Ask other developers, look on the bulletin board, and check scripting support. Sometimes people say their game name in scripting support. Search the entire dev forum using that little search button. If nothing comes up, it’s time to move onto the next step.
Important Details
Thinking out "All the Little Details"
Now it’s time to do what I like to call “the little details”. These are things like “What is the currency name?” “What is the way players upgrade?” Those sorts of things. For this, I recommend making a note on a notes app, a google doc, or even a whiteboard. These are the things you need to do before moving further.
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Currency
What is the currency? How is it earned? -
Tools
What tools are you using? How will they be upgraded? Here, I recommend making a list of names and tiers. Try making at least 10 for starters. -
Map
Draw out a sketch of your map. Keep in mind you will have to build this! -
Rank/Rebirth
Are you going to have ranks or rebirths? If you are, make a list of them just like the weapons. -
Purchases
An important part if you want to actually make a profit from your games. Make a list of things that you can buy with Robux like extra coins, a temporary boost, etc. Keep in mind you don’t want to make your game Pay to Win, so try not to make all of the best stuff cost Robux.
Marketing
Now it’s time to move on to the final topic in planning: Marketing
You want to give a player a comfortable, non-awkward experience. You don’t want all of those gui’s in your face about buying flight and stuff. Imagine a friend gets you to play hide and seek, but they are constantly yelling "You can PAY ME to be able to be INVISIBLE! Yeah . . . you don’t want that. So, maybe add things like a VIP door or a Robux chest. You can still have the Gui’s with flight if you want. Although things like that may label your game Pay to Win. Maybe add those in an expandable shop gui if you have to.
Good user interfaces without purchase buttons everywhere.
Now, if you have ever played a battle royale game, you will recognize the base, easy to get coins, and the harder to get can, cost money, gems. These are possible in simulators, too. Say if you wanted to make a flute simulator. Although that does not sound like the most attractive idea, you could have the easy note points, and you could have melody points that are harder to get. Try to keep this in mind when planning the marketing of your game.
Example from “Brawl Stars”, sorry for the bad quality.
Now that you have all of this planned, it’s time to go onto building and scripting your game. If there are things you would like me to add, feel free to let me know.
Keep it up.