BuildBox is a game engine that focuses on no-code game development, providing a drag-and-drop interface for developers to quickly add blocks of code into their game. Although BuildBox focuses on mobile games, its engine is capable of producing both 2D and 3D games. Using BuildBox requires a subscription, and the engine takes a slice of the profits a game makes with the engine, but a few game developers have found incredible success with it.
The best games made with BuildBox revolve around key game genres. Platformers, puzzlers, and arcade games are among the most popular, and since BuildBox favors mobile games, these genres do well for that platform. Developers who are uncertain where to start with making a game in BuildBox have plenty of educational resources to rely on.
To see whether BuildBox is the right game engine for the team, it’s worth knowing popular games that teams have already made with BuildBox. Read on to see what popular platformer, FPS, puzzle, arcade, rhythm-based, and visual novel games have been made with BuildBox.
1. Color Switch
Color Switch is a platforming game that was made by David Reichelt in BuildBox on December 6, 2015. Color Switch received over 50 million downloads on the Google Play Store. In Color Switch, players have to make it through a series of obstacles by matching their character’s color to the obstacle’s color. The player controls a ball, which they must jump and roll through the various obstacles, using power-ups to change the color of the ball to make it through certain challenges. David Reichett stated that it only took him one week to make Color Switch with BuildBox.
2. BuildBox 3D:Playground Unknown
BuildBox 3D:Playground Unknown is a FPS world simulator developed by playducky.com with BuildBox. BuildBox 3D:Playground Unknown received over 1 million downloads on the Google Play Store. In the game, players are able to explore destructible user-made worlds from a first-person perspective. BuildBox 3D lets players create their own mini games for other users to play, too. BuildBox’s FPS template helped drastically reduce the game’s development time.
3. Multi Impact Smash
Multi Impact Smash is a platformer fighting and action game made in BuildBox by developer Dmitrii Kolesnikov. Multi Impact Smash has received over 5,000 downloads on the Google Play Store. BuildBox was an ideal engine to make Multi Impact Switch with because the engine has a platformer template that helps developers quickly implement game logic. Its drag-and-drop interface even allows developers with no coding experience to make a game that’s functional on all mobile platforms.
In Multi Impact Smash, players control a high-powered cannon as a demolitions expert. The goal is to hit balls and make them knock down various structures. Timing and precision are key to mastering the game, with the most successful demolition experts tearing down several structures with a single strike of the ball.
4. Last Pocket
Last Pocket is a puzzle game built in BuildBox by developer Vikas Pawar. Last Pocket has received over 50,000 downloads on the Google Play Store. Unlike many other game engines, BuildBox has several unique and niche game templates, allowing developers to simply switch out what they don’t need and adopt logic into the game that they do. Using BuildBox’s more niche pool template to make Last Pocket, or a game similar to it, speeds up development. Last Pocket has players quickly arranging planes and walls to steer a ball toward the victory area. Each level provides a different twist, requiring the player to stay on their toes to beat the game.
5. BuildBox World
BuildBox World is a mobile game maker and marketplace built with BuildBox by App Onboard Inc. that allows players to make their own mini games as well as play games made by the community. BuildBox World has over 100,000 downloads and acts as a sort of portal to user-created games built with BuildBox. The user-created games are small and short, aiming to be quick and fun experiences instead of long narrative games. BuildBox World benefits from using BuildBox as its game engine due to the hundreds of game templates available for users to quickly make short games that feed into BuildBox World. It provides hours of entertainment with a huge content library.
6. Drop Out
Drop Out is an arcade game made by a community member of BuildBox who didn’t disclose their name. The number of downloads for Drop Out is unknown since the game was delisted from the app store. Before it was delisted, Drop Out was a game where players controlled a ball, keeping it from touching the destructive elements of the level. Players were able to collect gems along the way, which enabled them to use specialized balls to advance through more challenging levels. The benefit of using BuildBox for a game similar to Drop Out is its Jump Tower game template, which features many of the same mechanics as Drop Out, allowing developers to quickly make their own version of the game.
7. Slip Away
Slip Away is a casual puzzle game developed by Fabmika Games and made in BuildBox. It’s unknown how many downloads Slip Away received, but developers looking to make a game similar to it are able to benefit from using BuildBox’s platformer template. As a platforming puzzle game, Slip Away requires players to tap their screen either on the left or right side to steer their character away from obstacles that cause them damage.
8. Wire Bounce
Wire Bounce is an endless arcade puzzle game developed by Tastypill and made in BuildBox. The number of downloads Wire Bounce received is unknown, but since it’s a bounce-puzzle game, BuildBox provided a clear advantage with its Jump Tower game template. A game similar to Wire Bounce is able to use the same game template to quickly prototype or even finalize the game in a short amount of time. In Wire Bounce, players must bounce a ball to hit tiles and score points, while avoiding landing on spikes and falling into pits.
9. Juju on the Beat
Juju on the Beat is a casual rhythm-based arcade game developed by Anonymous Inc. with BuildBox. It’s unknown how many downloads the game received, but when it first released, it ranked #3 across different mobile app stores. Building Juju on the Beat was made easier thanks to BuildBox’s platformer and rhythm template, allowing the team to quickly put together the game while the Juju on the Beat song and dance was still trending. In Juju on the Beat, players must tap their screens to the rhythm and jump, while collecting gems. As players advance, they’re able to unlock new characters.
10. Nite Fighter
Nite Fighter is an action-packed 3D flying arcade shooter made in BuildBox 3 by Ben Scriven. Although the number of downloads the game has received is unknown, Nite Fighter is known in the BuildBox community for its AAA graphics. In Nite Fighter, players become a fighter pilot and have to take down enemies while navigating the busy city skies. Players must avoid colliding with buildings and other obstacles while engaging in turbo speed to race through the cityscape. BuildBox’s arcade shooter game template benefits games similar to Nite Fighter by providing the base game logic, allowing teams to quickly customize what they need and finish the game rapidly.
11. Bloom!
Bloom! is a casual puzzle game made in BuildBox by TapMen Games. The number of downloads the game has received across various app stores is unknown. Bloom! features pixel art and a relaxed, casual, style of play that has players tapping on an image’s outline to fill it with color and reveal the final image. The benefit of using BuildBox for Bloom! is speeding up development by using the puzzle game template. BuildBox provides AI asset generation tools, too. Using its AI asset generator, developers working on a game similar to Bloom! are able to quickly create prototype or final assets in minutes.
12. Cyber Drive
Cyber Drive is a casual platformer built in BuildBox by developer, TapMen Games. Cyber Drive received over 50,000 downloads, with the team stating that BuildBox was their engine of choice because of the speed of development they experienced. BuildBox has a Car Collision game template that’s similar to Cyber Drive, making it possible for other developers to quickly make a similar game, too. In Cyber Drive, players have to steer their car through a busy city to get to their destination on time. Players are able to unlock more cyberpunk cars as they advance through the game.
13. Toboggaining
Toboggaining is a platformer developed by Sonmez Sogut/Ponyom Games with BuildBox 3D. It’s unknown how many downloads Toboggaining received. In Toboggaining, players sled through a 3D space, avoiding rocks and other obstacles to make it down the mountain. Players are able to unlock new animals to play as, including a dragon. BuildBox was an ideal choice for an engine for Toboggaining because of its platformer template and drag-and-drop interface editor. Toboggaining was Ponyom Games’ first project with BuildBox 3D, and its no-code editor made development swift and easy.
14. Kaduma Quest
Kaduma Quest is a visual novel game built with BuildBox by an unlisted developer. It’s unknown how many downloads the game has received, too. Kaduma Quest benefited from BuildBox’s visual novel template, allowing other creators to quickly put together a game similar to it. In Kaduma Quest, players must assist Chef Ladybug, who is heading off on a cooking adventure. As players explore gardens, caves, and other areas, they’ll bring back resources that Chef Ladybug is able to use in her dishes.
15. Typographical
Typographical is a puzzle arcade developed by Nanovation and Coyowl Games and made with BuildBox. Making Typographical in BuildBox has its advantage by using the puzzle template. The puzzle template comes with a lot of logic already built in, reducing the amount of work that the developing team needs to handle. In Typographical, players control a character through a series of mazes based on the letters of the alphabet or by numbers. Players are able to unlock new characters as they progress through the game.
How to learn to make games with BuildBox?
Learn to make games with BuildBox by understanding game design with Game Design Skills, following official BuildBox tutorials, watching video resources, and experimenting with templates provided by BuildBox. BuildBox is an engine meant to make creating games accessible, so it has several resources for new developers to learn how to use it. The engine focuses on using no-code tools, such as a drag-and-drop editor, and even has an AI asset generator. Developers are able to use JavaScript to make more complex games in BuildBox if they know how to code. I played around with BuildBox when it first emerged as a no-code engine to see what it offered. Although it’s limited to mobile games, BuildBox makes prototyping game ideas fast with very little previous knowledge required.
Start learning how to make games with BuildBox by understanding game design with Game Design Skills. Making a game is challenging when there isn’t a clear picture of what the game is, how it works, and the type of challenges that make the game enjoyable and satisfying to players. Game design is a key part of game development and must happen before writing code or developing logic. Game Design Skills provides bootcamps and educational resources that teach game design across different game genres. From actual professional game designers who have worked in studios such as Riot and Blizzard Entertainment, Game Design Skills has lessons grounded in actual industry experience.
Follow officially published BuildBox tutorials to learn how to make games with BuildBox. BuildBox has documentation that explains how to use its engine. The documentation describes how the engine works, what developers are able to do with each tool in the engine, and even has a few examples where developers are able to play the game, then see the code or logic powering it.
Watch video resources on YouTube for genre-specific game tutorials. YouTube is an effective educational resource when it comes to making a specific game genre in BuildBox. Experienced developers take beginners through step-by-step tutorials on how to make a platformer or shooter game. While developers must change assets or add their own logic to the game, YouTube tutorials assist in learning how to use the engine and provide a solid foundation that developers are able to launch off from.
Experiment with game templates that BuildBox provides to learn key mechanics for a specific game genre. BuildBox has hundreds of templates, a few of those templates officially made by the team behind the engine itself, and others by users. Game templates enable the developer to speed up development by having core game logic already built into the game. From there, developers are able to just change or add the logic they need, swap out assets, and they have a game ready to play. Besides speeding up development, using a game template lets developers understand how to make core mechanics and other blocks of logic to use in a game they make from scratch.
