On the one hand, Giphy is a website that hosts hundreds of thousands of GIFs. And it is in charge of providing them to applications such as WhatsApp and Instagram among others. It is positioned within the best places to find animations to share.
On the other hand, for create a video game from scratch needed years of study and experience. Knowledge of animation, programming and design they are only the base to be able to make a product like games.
And as a third item we will say that the titles that bring more nostalgia to the players, at least to the less young ones, are those of Arcadian. This whole introduction comes to the case that now it is possible to create our own video games. Customizing them with GIFs, without having any specific knowledge and completely free.
What is “Giphy Arcade” and what is this platform for?
Giphy Arcade is a section of one of the most important pages of animations in .gif format. It also contains simple games that we can have fun with, but that’s not all, within the possibilities of this platform we will agree to create our own mini games. From simple steps we can make games worthy of the eighties or nineties. The realizations of the same ones are made through templates inspired by the most famous titles of yesteryear.
Each with one has different game mechanics. This platform also allows us to personalize our protagonists with many of the GIFs that the site hosts. So far we can only use those that are cut and with transparent backgrounds (stickers).
Another of the peculiarities of this website is that it allows us share our creation through a link. The person we sent it to will be able to enjoy our game just by copying this address to their browser. If we take into account that Giphy allows to upload our own animations, means that the end result of our game can be almost completely customizable.
Steps to create your own retro arcade video game with GIF on Giphy
We know what are the possibilities that this platform offers us. We will show you below what are the steps you must follow to be able to create a completely original video game and with the characters you choose.
Go for it:
- The first What you should do, after opening your browser, is to enter the address “Arcade.giphy.com”.
- In first view We will observe the most used games on this new platform. For the moment, let’s not get distracted by that and enter the button “remix “ located in the upper right corner of the screen.
- The site will direct us to a new address where we will have to choose between ten game modes. We bear in mind that each of them can be personalized to our liking. Press the option you like the most and press the button “next step “.
- According to our choice, the site will give us the possibility to customize it with more or less animations.
- Choose which GIF will serve as the hero, obstacle or finish line. If you don’t like the recommended options, we can do a search by name in the top bar.
- Once we decide which were our characters we pressed again, the button “next step “
- Done the previous step, we should choose the environment where our game will take place.
- It is important to say that as we personalize the game, on the left we will have a preview of the result Until now.
- Our creation could not be complete without a musical backdrop. It is because of that Giphy offers us 21 different songs to give our game sound.
- Here we must choose the one we like the most or the one that best suits the style of the video game.
- The final step is to add a name to our creation.
Press the button once more “next step” and you can finally play your newly created video game. It is important to say that in this window you will find the address Url what can we share with friends and what will lead them to our game. On the left you will find a button “Remix” with which you can make the changes you want to this or any game on the screen. When you manage to overcome the obstacles, the site will take you to a new game. In this sense it is important to say what you can access the credits from each of them.
And if you consider that it has inappropriate content, you can report it using the buttons listed at the bottom Yes by navigating between games created by other users, if any of us caught our attention, we can animate it with our own gifs. For this we will only have to press the button remix. If creating an animated video game with just a website wasn’t enough. Giphy It also offers us to do it from our mobile. There are small differences to do it from here.
To achieve this do this:
- Login to “arcade.giphy.com “
- Press the button “Remix”
- Choose the type of game among the options offered by the site.
- On the next screen The main difference is found with doing it from the computer. To choose the game characters we must fill in the corresponding space with your name.
- The site will use the GIF that most closely matches the description. This means that we will not be able to visualize it until the game is finished.
- Press “make my game”.
- Your game will be ready and you will be able to share or modify it in the same way as doing it from the PC.
What kind of video games can I create with this new platform?
While the characters, obstacles and others items they can be chosen from thousands of options. The game types are only 10 as we said before.
Next, we will explain what the game mechanics of each of them are about:
Floppy bard
As the name implies, it is inspired by the game Flappy Bird. That if we remember it had a great success in 2013. Some sources say that it raised $ 90,000 per day. After its closure (less than a year), hundreds of clones of the game appeared that offered the same mechanics.
Which is about fighting gravity (fictional) dodging obstacles. They appear continuously from the right of the screen. In this case, the main character can move only vertically by pressing the screen or drop down automatically.
Balls and Walls
The modality consists of three levels. In each of us we must make one object touch another. For this to be possible we have to go drawing lines where the first object will bounce. In the last two levels a third object will appear that will be positioned independently on the screen.
Center Defended
The objective of this type of game is to defend the “GIF 1” of the “GIF 2”. The first is in the center of the screen and cannot be moved. However, serves as a point of propulsion of the “GIF 3” It will work ammo to eliminate the attacker.
runner
Here the goal is esquivar the obstacles that are approaching our hero (this movement makes the character appear to be running). To win we will not have to let any of the enemy GIFs touch us, until we reach the goal. To make this game more realistic, it is advisable to choose animations that appear walking or running.
Blast ’em up
To the best style of Space invaders (a popular game from the 80s), our remix will feature a hero, an enemy, and a projectile type. The latter fires constantly and automatically. To move to protagonist we will hold down the pointer (or finger) on it. The objective is to avoid the enemies that descend on the screen and eliminate as many of them as possible.
Get ‘Em All
One of the simplest game modes. We must catch all objects before time runs out. To make this game more interesting, we recommend that you use GIFs with your face or that of your friends.
Slingshot to Goal
A kind of mini golf. Although in this case the obstacles are in motion. You must get the main object through two obstacles that move laterally and reach a third GIF. The direction and the force to move will be given by the way you drag the pointer.
Wall bounder
An ideal option to emulate the mythical game Road fighter of the year 1984. Do you remember? Like this game mode, the protagonist had to move from side to side within two limits. In turn had to dodge oncoming obstacles. The objective: to cross the finish line without crashing.
A curious fact is that the Japanese car brand Akura has created two ideal animations for this game. The famous yellow and red cars.
Airdrop
The dynamics of this modality are the most entertaining. Its about place one object inside another. To do this, you can move a third element that holds the first one through a thread. The challenging thing is that the connector emulates an elastic. If this is not already difficult enough, the obstacles also move. And if they reach you, you lose.
Brick buster
A classic game of Pong in which we will have to eliminate all the bricks by hitting them with a ball. At the base we must slide a platform that will provide you bounce. To win we will have to break every last brick. If the ball falls, we lose. The fun thing is, you can replace any of these elements with a GIF. The not so funny thing is that every time you eliminate a target, the projectile picks up speed.