For those of us who spend 95% of our time in front of our consoles, the video game is a vital part of daily life. We proud gamers have particular tastes; we hate some, we love some. How many times have you dreamed of making a video game of your own? To tailor a custom gaming experience to your own desires?

After a rather lackluster gaming experience (I won’t name the game, to protect myself form possible hate-mail), I decided to make my own game. It was a challenging, yet incredibly fun experience.

This insctructable is a documentary of my journey from player to programmer. (For the record, I did not use one line of gaming code!) Instead, I created a sort of demo for a longer game I hope to publish in the future.

Ready? Here we go!

Step 1: Things I Used

To create the game demo, I used several programs:

Blender

Windows Movie Maker

GIMP

Inkscape

I also used a computer mouse, which REALLY saves time and energy.

I used Blender, a free 3D modeling and rendering program, to create the actual demo animation. After rendering the images, I complied them in Windows Movie Maker and made a movie.

The character itself was drawn in Inkscape. Another free program, Inkscape specializes in 2D vector images, not 3D renders.

I created the backgrounds and other various effects in GIMP, yet another free program, but GIMP is like a free version of Photoshop, for those of us who create on a budget :).

Step 2: What's the Deal???

The premise of my game, Zippy the Zebracorn, is a RPG (role-playing game) about a magical horse who is traveling across a magical landscape. Zippy can fire a rainbow from his horn, and destroy obstacles taller than he is. However, Zippy has to beware of obstacles below him. Hit a rock, and down he goes!

Below, I have a few demos of the gameplay. Enjoy!

Homemade Video Game - Step #2
Download

Step 3: Screenshots and Stuff

I have also included some rough sketches of Zippy and screenshots of the game while still in Blender. I have also uploaded the intro to the game I made! Enjoy!

Thanks for viewing the Instructable!