How To Create A City In Roblox Studio

Create and Destroy

Learn design thinking and world building by creating a multiplayer map where players stomp cities for points.

10 and up Game Design World-Building Computer Science

English 1.5 hours

ISTE Standards: Innovative Designer 4a, 4c, 4d, Creative Communicator 6b, 6d

Learning Objectives:

Design a city using a combination of buildings, props, and terrain.
Practice coding by changing game variables in a script.
Test, evaluate, and redesign to create a bug-free and visually pleasing game.

Thumbnail of two players destroying city

Skills and Concepts:

World Builder - Role in game production; designs the environment and ensures players have a fun, fair experience.
Script - An object that holds code.

Getting Ready

Preparation:

Make sure each student has a Roblox account and knows their login information.
Print out handouts and prep presentation.

Lesson Overview

5 min	Introduction	Overview the project.
5 min	Guided Tutorial Designing a Balanced Map	Introduce map design and setup a new project.
30 min	Guided Tutorial Building the City	Build one half of the city and then duplicate to create a symmetrical design.
15 min	Guided Tutorial Terrain Tools	Use terrain tools to sculpt an environment.
30 min	Independent Work Polishing and Publishing	Add final touches, modify a script to change score, and publish the game online.
5 min	Wrap Up	Recap the lesson and concepts learned.

Lesson Plan

Introduction 5 min
Grab attention by showing the video in - Presentation: Creator Challenge - Slide 2. Game has players competing by smashing buildings for the most points. Explain students will use Roblox Studio to design the look of their own city using premade buildings and props.

Guided Tutorial - Designing a Balanced Map 5 min
Lead students through Lesson 1 - Designing a Balanced Map. When publishing the game, save time by having students use placeholder titles and descriptions (My game, my description). Can always change later when finished.

Guided Tutorial - Building the City 30 min
To minimize troubleshooting, have students check the following before building: Collisions are off. Snap to Grid is on and set to 4 studs. Using the View Selector, camera is set to the Top View. Lead students through Lesson 2 - Building and Testing. Stop at Complete the City. To ensure students finish, set strict limits on how many objects to place per section. For example: 3-5 large buildings, 8 medium buildings, 4 props. Remind students to build on half of the map; will duplicate later to create a full map.

Guided Tutorial - Building the City

30 min

To minimize troubleshooting, have students check the following before building:
- Collisions are off.
- Snap to Grid is on and set to 4 studs.
- Using the View Selector, camera is set to the Top View.
Lead students through Lesson 2 - Building and Testing. Stop at Complete the City.
- To ensure students finish, set strict limits on how many objects to place per section. For example: 3-5 large buildings, 8 medium buildings, 4 props.
- Remind students to build on half of the map; will duplicate later to create a full map.

Guided Tutorial - Terrain Tools 15 min
Lead students through Lesson 2 - Customize the Map Shape and Terrain Tools. [Optional] Show students examples of island designs in the Creator Challenge Presentation (Slide 7) for inspiration.

Independent Work - Polishing and Publishing 30 min
Lead students through Lesson 3 - Polishing and Publishing. Have students catch up on their projects. If finished, can always add more buildings, roads, and props to their city.

Wrap Up 5 min
Recap what students have created and vocabulary: world builder and script. [Optional] To showcase work, have students trade seats with a partner and playtest their game.

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