Make your own game from your own drawings
In Game Studio, your kid draws the hero and the villain, gives them power cards, and builds the rooms of an escape game the family can play. Its first project is Escape the Haunted House.
Department by department
Watch how each department works
Six films of about a minute, one for each department. Watch them with your kid before they start.
Department 1 · Game Design · 58 seconds
Turn one idea into a game
Department 2 · Art · 52 seconds
Draw the cast on paper
Department 3 · Level Design · 63 seconds
Build five levels, one new thing each
Department 4 · Sound · 43 seconds
Set the mood with music
Department 5 · Playtest · 39 seconds
Play it, fix it, and play again
Department 6 · Launch · 47 seconds
Send it to the family
What your kid makes
One game takes four skills
Your kid uses all four on every game, from the first drawing to the premiere.
01
Storytelling
Every game needs a goal: a hero who wants out, something in the way, and a way to win.
02
Characters
The hero and the villain start on paper, in your kid's hand. The studio turns the drawings into game characters.
03
Game design
Every power is a rule: when this happens, do that. Your kid picks each character's power cards.
04
Level design
Your kid places the key, the door, and the platforms so each room is hard but fair, then plays it.
How it works
Pick it, make it, share it
- 1
Pick a project
Your kid picks a game in the studio. Each project says what your kid builds.
- 2
Make it with AI
Your kid draws the characters, picks the powers, and lays out the rooms. The AI builds the characters, paints the rooms, and checks that every room can be beaten.
- 3
Share it
The game premieres in your kid's portfolio. Other Kubrio kids play it inside Kubrio, and the family plays it from a shared link.
Who does what
Your kid designs the game. AI helps build it.
Your kid
- Draws the hero and the villain on paper and names them
- Picks each character's power cards: when something happens, what it does
- Says what goes in each room, then drags the key, the door, and the platforms into place
- Plays every room before the premiere
AI
- Turns your kid's drawings into game characters
- Suggests a starting set of power cards, and places the pieces from your kid's words
- Checks that every room can be beaten
- Paints the rooms and the cover, and makes a theme song for the premiere
Inside Game Studio
Six steps, from paper to premiere
- 1
Draw the cast
Your kid draws the hero and the villain on paper, snaps them in the app, and names them.
- 2
Give them powers
Your kid picks each character's power cards: when something happens, what it does. The AI suggests a starting set, and your kid changes any card.
- 3
Build the rooms
Your kid says what goes in each room, then drags the key, the door, and the platforms into place.
- 4
Play every room
Your kid plays each room before the premiere, and the studio checks that every room can be beaten.
- 5
The cover and the song
The studio paints the rooms and the cover, and makes a theme song for the premiere.
- 6
Premiere it
The game premieres in your kid's portfolio, ready for the family to play.
Mini game
One room
Every kid starts here: one room, one thing locked, and one way to open it.
Full game
Three rooms and an ending
It opens after your kid's first premiere.
Learn
Courses for this studio
Each course is a few short videos and ends with something your kid made. Every course comes with Kubrio Learn, $19 a month per kid, and with every studio plan.
How to make a video game
Your kid makes: a game someone else can play
See the courseHow to make a map
Your kid makes: a map of your own world
See the courseHow to make a board game
Your kid makes: a board game your family can play
See the courseHow to make an escape room at home
Your kid makes: a 3-clue escape room for your family
See the courseHow to make pixel art for your game hero
Your kid makes: a pixel-art game hero
See the courseHow to make a 3D game
Your kid makes: a 3D island adventure on a tray
See the courseHow to plan a story
Your kid makes: a beginning, middle, and end on paper
See the courseHow to draw a character
Your kid makes: a character sheet you drew
See the courseHow to make a movie poster
Your kid makes: a poster for your film, game, or comic
See the courseHow to make a paper airplane that flies far
Your kid makes: a paper airplane that flies far
See the courseHow to make a catapult with popsicle sticks
Your kid makes: a popsicle stick catapult that launches far
See the courseDesign thinking for kids
Your kid makes: a fix for a real problem at home
See the courseCartography for kids
Your kid makes: a map of your own street
See the course
Free guides
Free guides to get ready.
Draw the hero with a drawing guide, or snap blocks together in Code with Blocks. Both are free, with no account.
- How to draw a ghost
- How to draw a haunted house
- Make: The Chase Game
- Design your own level
- How do I win?
- All drawing guides
- All Code with Blocks guides
You made an action repeat. Make a power repeat again and again in your own haunted house game.
Free. No account needed. The studio project comes with Kubrio One or Kubrio Unlimited.
For parents
What you need to know
- Gear. Paper, something to draw with, and a device with a camera. The studio runs in the browser.
- Size. Your kid starts with a one-room mini game. After the first premiere, a full game has three rooms and an ending.
- Who plays it. The finished game plays in your kid's portfolio. Other kids play it inside Kubrio, and the family plays it from its public link.
Safety: it plays inside Kubrio, and on a public page you can make private anytime
- The game plays inside Kubrio. At the premiere, your kid's game also becomes public: anyone with its link can play it. You and your kid can make it private anytime.
- The hero and the villain are your kid's own drawings.
The rest of how Kubrio handles kids and AI is on the safety page.
More for parents about games and coding
- Why should kids learn to code when AI can write code?
- Can my kid make a video game without coding? Start on paper
- How Do I Get My Kid Into Coding?
- How to introduce your kid to coding at home: the first three sessions
- Halloween STEM activities for kids: five spooky STEM projects that end as a real thing
Questions parents ask
How does my kid make their own game?
Your kid draws the hero and the villain on paper, gives each one power cards, and lays out the rooms: a key, a locked door, and a villain that chases. The studio turns the drawings into game characters, paints the rooms, and checks that every room can be beaten. Then your kid plays it and premieres it.
Does my kid need to know how to code?
No. Your kid designs the game with power cards: when something happens, what it does. That is the same if-this-then-that thinking coders use. For block coding, the free Code with Blocks guides are a separate place to start.
Is it a real video game?
Yes. The game has your kid's characters, their rooms, and a theme song, and it plays in the browser. Other Kubrio kids play it inside Kubrio, and the family plays it from a shared link.
Who is it for, and what do we need?
Kids 6 to 13. You need paper, something to draw with, and a device with a camera. The studio runs in the browser.
Does the AI make the game for my kid?
No. Your kid draws the characters, picks every power card, places the pieces, and plays every room before the premiere. The AI turns the drawings into characters, suggests where pieces go from your kid's words, paints the rooms and the cover, and makes a theme song. Your kid can change anything it suggests.
How big is the first game?
Your kid starts with a one-room mini game. After the first premiere, a full game has three rooms and an ending.
Your kid's drawings, in a game the family plays
Game Studio comes with Kubrio One at $49 a month per kid, or Kubrio Unlimited at $99 a month per kid for every studio.