if you’re wondering why it isn’t the Foxian guide to map making it’s cause @Blackfox45666 already used it multiple times and I want to avoid confusion.
Game ideas
While idea-catalog has some wonderful ideas you’ll find most of them have been done already so if you take an already made idea you have to improve it in someway so people will like it more than the other already existing games. So when thinking of game ideas try to think more original and out of the box. For one think of what you want to play and not what others want to play often you will be able to make these games the best. Also playing other games on discovery is a great way to gain more ideas just remember to credit them in your description to keep your map running.
Thumbnails
The first thing people see for your game is your thumbnail, the better it is the more likely people will click on it and maybe play. so what makes a good thumbnail? First of all screenshots and pictures from gimkit and the internet aren’t the best, the ladder can get your map taken down or your account suspended for copyright. Some of the nicer ones are cartoonish with the gims while I do not like the mass of thumbnail requests there are some great artists here listed below. I will say that making thumbnails isn’t actually that hard you can try for yourself! First choose what to make it on google slides, canva, and kleki are popular choices but there are other great drawing sites you can find. There is the gimkit wiki where you can find every single gim even the unrealed ones for the peeps who are on school chromebooks and can’t you can find most of them here EVERY Image in GKC 2.0
here are also thumbnail tips from other forums users
M1dnight's Ultimate Guide to Thumbnail Design
Tips n' tricks to WHEN MAKING THUMBNAILS! - By your average artist
My favorite thumbnail artists
(do not be offended if you are not here there are many great artists here these are the ones I prefer and suggest to others)
@Morepeko8
@Kat_aronii
@M1dnight
@VoidFluffy
@I_Like_Props
do not turn this into a thumbnail requesting chat PLEASE
Descriptions
Many people don’t realize this but searching in discovery goes off of descriptions and not title; way too many of you complain that you can’t find your game. Lots of people find this annoying but it can easily be used to our advantage. The first thing you should do is put both your username and the game name in the description so people who definitely want your game can find it. Next make sure to credit everyone who helped or where you got your inspiration and also add what it is similar to this will not only help people understand what kind of game they are playing but increase the chances of it showing up when they search for something like battle royal. Now don’t go typing random words in your description to get more plays that’s going to look weird make it flow and make sense and spend actual effort on it the more they linger reading your description the more likely they are to play so make sure it explains your game well and makes them want to play it.
Appearance
Make the game look pretty and include lots of little details to make people want to see more and so they stick around for the story. Themes in maps need more details there are tons of maps with themes used way too often with not enough detail the top 2 are underwater and space. Here are some guides to improve the visual appearance of your game.
Cool ways to spice up trees! (the props)
Cool Ways to Use Props [Dificulty ⬜ or 0/10]
Cool ways to use props 2.0 (Difficulty ⬜ or 0/10)
Mapmaking: the little things
Full Guide to Terrain: Layers and Erasing tips (🟩)
How to make a good looking Palm Tree in Gimkit Creative (Difficulty 2/10 or 🟦 )
Gameplay
This is the most important part obviously, you need the actual game to be fun and engaging. There are a few things you need to do for your game to be fun here are a few,
- Lore! Does your game have interesting lore? Lore makes users want to stick around and play more so they can fully understand it. This is great for all games no matter the theme and how you play.
- Difficulty! While some games can be fun hard like some platformers it can be very frustrating for more casual players like me. This is also a problem that can easily be reversed if your game is too easy there isn’t a challenge and players will get bored.
- Length! you want a game that isn’t too short so it’s not finished in like 10 minutes but also a game that won’t take hours. If your game is really long then you will want to insert a save file so players can finish it later How to Create a Save File For Your Players.
- Mechanics! these are little things you add to a game like power ups and sprinting. These can add a fun little twist to your game and make it more enjoyable to play. While I consider trolling a mechanics I would suggest limiting the amount you do as too much makes it way too frustrating. here are some guides for things you can add to make your map more fun:
The Ultimate Guide to Traps, Tricks, Pranks, and Trolls [LENGTH WARNING 😈 ]
How to make sprint button that doesn't require energy and stops after a certain amount of uses. 🟨
How to make a Level/EXP System! (IN GAME ONLY!), and the illusion of getting stronger! 4/10 or 🟨
When are you ready to publish?
I can’t tell you how many maps that are published that shouldn’t be; some break the guidelines and some are incomplete there isn’t a time limit to publishing guys. here is some stuff to think about.
- what do you think of the map? If you don’t like it why are you making it?
- what do others think of it? Try to avoid people who just want to make you feel good you’re better off with someone who can tell you exactly what’s wrong guilt free. The forums can help you look at pics they cannot go play it that would either be advertising or a c0de both are off-topic.
- what bugs are there
? Bugs are things we see in all types of games some are awesome like the duplication glitches in zelda(we did find one here in gimkit as well) and there are the sucky ones that lag and crash your game/server. Check your game multiple times and have friends check you can also use the WIX to find people to playtest it by posting it in code sharing just make sure to delete the post once the link no longer works you don’t want to get banned. - is it finished? There are way too many wips(work in progress) published on discovery way too many. The problem with wips is less people want to play a unfinished game and often users forget about these maps. Fun fact! there is no time limit to publish your map chill and if you really do plan when you will finish it and add the date inside the description or game itself so the users know when to come back to see the finished product if they liked it so far.
- does it look good? Yes yes there is a section for this but it is pretty important the visual appearance is the first thing people see once they open your map make sure it is nice so they stick around and continue playing your game.
After you publish
Once you publish you aren’t done you should still be playtesting and updating it please don’t advertise on the forums for more plays though. Keep update logs and inform the players when you update so they can see you are still paying attention to the game and fixing things. While you should test for bugs before you publish you need to continue testing whenever you update to make sure you don’t miss anything. Another way to keep having players come back to your game is events, events is when you add something but only for a limited time if you play roblox or any other game you’ve probably heard or seen one. Events help build up hype for your game and keep players coming to see what you’ve added.
similar guide because people will kill me if I don’t credit:
also there have been a bunch of guides recently about publishing and what to do should we have a tag for it? like publishing-tips or smth?
- yes
- no
I’ll read the rest of this later, and perhaps I should make a guide like this.
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