Table of Contents
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Published in the United States of America by
Cherry Lake Publishing
Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.cherrylakepublishing.com
Reading Adviser: Marla Conn MS, Ed., Literacy specialist, Read-Ability, Inc.
Photo Credits: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock, 8; REDPIXEL.PL/Shutterstock, 10
Copyright 2021 by Cherry Lake Publishing
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
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Printed in the United States of America
Corporate Graphics
Want to play a game where you are a ninja? Thats just one of the
almost endless options on Roblox .
Building Your
Own World
Roblox isnt like a regular video game. All of
the different games in Roblox are created
by other players. You can make your own
Roblox games, too. Your creations will be
seen by millions of other players around the
world. Maybe youd like to be a pro game
developer one day. Or maybe you just
want to play around and have fun. Either
way, Roblox has what you need to get
started!
If you use a template, you can set up a basic Roblox game in just a
few minutes.
Starting Out in
the Studio
The first thing you need to do is download
and install a program called Roblox Studio.
Youll need a desktop or laptop computer to
use it. This free program has everything
you need to make your own Roblox games.
Making a very basic game is easy. You can
start with a template . Then you can click
and drag some new objects into your game
world.
Have you ever written code before? Many schools teach students
basic programming skills.
The Next Steps
Want to make more complex Roblox
games? Youll eventually need to learn
how to write scripts. Scripts are an example
of code . They are written using computer
programming languages. A programming
language is a way of talking to a computer.
And a script is a series of steps that tells a
computer how to do something.
Ask for Advice
Is there something specific you want to put in your game? If you
dont know how to do it, look online. There are tons of helpful
tutorial videos on YouTube and other sites.
Learning to write Lua scripts could be the first step toward a
career as a professional programmer.
Speaking a New
Language
People can speak many different languages.
So can computers! Each computer
programming language is a little bit
different. Scripts in Roblox Studio are
written using a language called Lua. But
Roblox scripts arent the only thing Lua is
used for. Learning it will let you create all
kinds of computer software .
From One Language to Another
Many of the skills you will learn in one programming language
also apply to other languages. If you learn to program in Lua,
you will be able to learn other languages more quickly.
There are many objects you can add to your game. But right now,
just look for the one called Script.
Adding a New
Script
Lets try adding a new script to a Roblox
Studio project. Look at the Explorer window
on the right side of the screen. Right-click
on Workspace. Place your cursor over
Insert Object. Now choose Script from
the list. A new script called Script should
show up in the list of objects in your
Explorer window. Double-click it. The game
view in the center of the screen should
change to a text box.
Scripts dont always have to be complicated. This one is just a
single line of text!
Your First Program
Your script should already have one line
written in it:
print(Hello world!)
This one line is a complete script on its
own! Press the Play button to test your
game. Look at the Output window at the
bottom of the screen. The words Hello
world! will appear.
Feel free to make your message as short or as long as youd like.
Making Changes
Now lets try making changes to the script.
Look where it says (Hello world!). You can
change the words inside the quote marks to
anything you want. Type something in. Then
press the Play button to test your game.
You should see your words pop up in the
Output window. Congratulations! Youve just
written your own script.
Starting Early
Its never too early to learn programming skills. The creators of
Roblox made their first games when they were very young. So
did many other famous game developers!
Scripted menus are a great way to add features to a Roblox game.
The Power of
Programming
Scripting can do a lot more than just make
words appear in the Output window. You
can create scripts to control the actions of
non-player characters in your game. Or you
could write scripts that give players special
abilities. Or create custom menus for
your game. And thats still just the start. The
possibilities are truly endless.
Believe it or not, the game shown here was created in Roblox . With
clever scripting, you can make almost anything.
Little by Little
You wont learn everything about scripting
overnight. It takes time to become a skilled
programmer. But if you keep at it, you will
succeed. Try to learn something new with
every Roblox project you create. Combine new
skills with old ones to create more and more
complex projects. Soon, you will be creating
some truly amazing Roblox games!
Try a Tutorial
Want to learn how to do something specific with Roblox
scripting? Try looking for a tutorial online. Helpful Roblox users
post these videos to help others learn new scripting skills.
Glossary
code (KOHD) instructions for a computer written
using a programming language
custom (KUS-tuhm) specially made to meet
someones tastes or needs
developer (dih-VEL-uh-pur) someone who makes
video games or other computer programs
software (SAWFT-wair) computer programs
template (TEM-plit) a pre-built level you can change
and build upon in Roblox Studio
tutorial (too-TOR-ee-uhl) a video where someone
explains how to do something
Find Out More
Books
Cunningham, Kevin. Video Game Designer . Ann Arbor, MI: Cherry
Lake Publishing, 2016.
Powell, Marie. Asking Questions About Video Games . Ann Arbor,
MI: Cherry Lake Publishing, 2016.
Web Sites
Roblox
www.roblox.com
Sign up for a Roblox account, download the game, and start
playing.
Roblox Support
https://en.help.roblox.com/hc/en-us
Find answers to common questions about Roblox and check out
some guides to getting started.
Index
abilities,
changes,
characters,
code,
custom menus,
developers,
downloads,
Explorer window,
installation,
Lua programming language,
menus,
non-player characters,
objects,
Output window,
Play button,
practice,
programming languages,