Congratulations on wanting to make your own point and click game!
Point and click games, also known as graphic adventures, have been getting a bit of a second coming. In my opinion, they never really went away! To this day, I still love a good point and click game. I’m glad to see that next to new-age AAA games, they are now regarded as being a standalone genre instead of a type of game that failed to keep up with technology and expectations.
In this post, I wanted to cover some of the methods and tools I have used to make my own point and click games. These have ranged from e-learning projects to hobby projects. Here is what you need to make a point and click adventure.
You need to have a good idea, a lot of patience, and the appropriate software in order to make a good point and click game. The types of software you will need in order to make point and click games are the types of game engines that are tailored toward the creation of point and click games, such as Adventure Creator or Visionaire Studio. You will also need decent graphics software too in order to make your artwork. However, it should be noted that having the software, does not guarantee good artwork!
You’ll also need sound editing software to make the ambience and sound SFX for your point and click game. That is the short answer to what you will need to make a point and click game.
Here is a bit more on the tools and methods you can use when creating a point and click adventure video game.
What do I need to make a point and click adventure | Checklist
Aside from the theoretical steps you’ll need to take in order to create your own point and click adventure, You will need to know what types of software to use when creating your indie video game.
This is a brief checklist of how to approach what you will need.
A Strong Idea
When considering what you need to make a point and click adventure, one of the easiest steps to overlook, is creating a strong idea. You can buy and use all the software you want, but if you are intending on making a commercial game, a strong story and game concept is important.
If it is just a case that you are wanting to make a point and click game as a hobby, it is still good practice to make a game that is enjoyable for others to play.
Game Engines Suited to Making Graphic Adventures
There are so many game engines that can be used to make graphic adventures it would be almost more confusing to list them all. Some of the most popular engines around used for creating graphic adventures are:
- Adventure Creator ( With Unity )
- Construct
- Godot ( With Escoria )
Visionaire also allows you to make 2D and 2.5D adventure games without being able to code. In my personal experience, I have used Adobe Animate, Stencyl, Winter Mute Engine, and my now – Adventure Creator with Unity. It is a powerful tool.
If coding isn’t your thing, you may also wonder if you can make a 2D game without being able to code.
What Platforms Your Game Will Be Played On!
When considering what you would need to make a point and click game, you should also consider what platforms you distribute your game to.
It’s important to know it early on in the project what platforms or devices it will be played on. For example, on Android for Smartphone, or PC. You don’t want to spend all your time using the wrong tools and engines only to discover later on that you can publish the game the way you had hoped! Consider both platforms of distribution and hardware.
For those of you who intend on using Unity, you might find this blog post helpful – platforms where you can publish your indie Unity game for free.
Create Engaging Characters
When creating a point and click adventure game, you need to have engaging and interesting characters! The players will be paying close attention to the characters and the narrative of your game.
When creating your characters take into consideration the look and feel of characters, how they will animate, or whether they will be 2D or 3D. You need to make your adventure characters compelling! Also, consider who will be playing your game.
You can use various programs pieces of software to draw characters such as Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or free software that allows you to draw.
You Will Need To Make Your Game Art Look Good
This is a major part of creating a graphic adventure, however not as important if this is just an exercise or a hobby. Make Sure the visual styling of your game suits the person who wants to play the game. For example, if you’re making a creepy gothic game, make sure the artwork represents this.
In order to create game artwork you need to see what graphics programs you’re using to create the artwork. There is a whole range of tools whether it is for 2D or 3D game art.
Whether It Will Be 2D or 3D
If you’re making a point and click adventure game, you need to consider whether you’re going to do a 2D or 3D game. The vast majority of point and click games are 2D, but there is nothing stopping you from bucking a trend and doing it in 3D.
Ambient Sounds & Music
Unless you intend to make a silent point and click adventure, you will need to look at adding the sound effects and the music to your game. You will need to look at sound editing software.
Gameplay & Game Mechanics
You need to consider how your game will be played. You do not necessarily need to create these from scratch, as many engines will come with some pre-made formats in how their game mechanics work. this can save you a lot of time and headache if you are just starting out.
You Will Need Good Puzzle And Challenge Design
When creating a point and click game, you will need to create compelling puzzles and challenges. Gamers playing a point and click adventure game will most likely expect a decent puzzle or two. Get your puzzle thinking cap on and see what you can come up with!
Bug Test Your Point & Click Game
Don’t leave it to the general public to find every single one of your bugs for your games, nobody wants to play a broken game. Before you distribute your game to various platforms, do some extensive debugging and playtesting on your game, if you can find other people to help with your play testing this is advisable too. Especially if you want to make money from your game.
What do I need to make a point and click adventure | My personal experiences
When working on small-scale graphic adventures or small-scale point and click games, I have worked with a range of methods and tools. Before Unity was a big player on the scene, I was formally trained in using Adobe Flash, which is now Adobe Animate to create web browser-type games. Adobe Flash used to be hugely popular before going with a rebrand and becoming Adobe Animate.
This page here discusses ( external websites ) how I made an e-learning game
back in the day. Or if you prefer, you can play this little rough and ready game I put together in the Lockdowns to teach myself Adventure Creator.
Play a mini-game on Itch.io.