Build Your First Game with Godot
Stop dreaming and start building. Learn to create playable games from scratch using the world's most friendly open-source engine.
Like Duolingo, but for Build Your First Game with Godot. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
175 levels across 8 sections, about 350 minutes end to end, roughly 70 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Make Something Move Right Now, Add Life to Your World, Master the Art of Scenes, Control the Physics, Write Smarter Code, Polish and Visual Flair, Handle Real-World Situations, and The Engine Under the Hood. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Build Your First Game with Godot
- Every functional object in Godot is a Node
- Nodes are specialized for different tasks like sound or physics
- CharacterBody2D is designed for user-controlled physics
- The root node defines the primary purpose of the object
- The fundamental nature of Nodes as the universal building block in Godot
- Choosing the correct Node type for a player character that needs movement physics
- Children inherit the transform of their parents
- The fundamental nature of Nodes
- Moving the parent moves the entire group as one unit
- Choosing the correct Node type for a player
- The physics body must be the parent of the visuals
- Collision shapes and Sprites are children of the physics body
- The process of building a character by nesting visual and collision nodes
- The Inspector is for property editing
- The Scene Tree shows the node structure
- Choosing the correct Node type
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Build Your First Game with Godot the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
If every object is a Node, how does Godot know which one should play music and which should move?
Get it right to open this lesson and 174 more in the app.
How to learn Build Your First Game with Godot, step by step
Go in order. 175 short levels across 8 sections, about 5 hours 50 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Make Something Move Right Now
- Your First Player Character
- Moving Left and Right
- Making the Player Jump
- Adding a Simple Background
- 2
Add Life to Your World
- Creating Things to Collect
- Making Enemies That Patrol
- Keeping Track of Your Score
- Adding Sound Effects and Music
- Designing a 'Game Over' Screen
- Creating a Main Menu
- 3
Master the Art of Scenes
- Thinking in Scenes and Nodes
- Reusing Your Game Objects
- Organizing Your Project Folders
- 4
Control the Physics
- Solid Walls vs. Ghostly Triggers
- Handling Gravity and Friction
- Detecting When Things Touch
- Bouncing and Sliding Mechanics
- Using Layers to Filter Collisions
- 5
Write Smarter Code
- Talking Between Different Objects
- Using Signals to Trigger Events
- Storing Data with Variables
- Making Decisions with If-Statements
- 6
Polish and Visual Flair
- Creating Smooth Animations
- Adding Particle Effects for Juice
- Using Lights and Shadows
- Screen Shake and Camera Tricks
- Tilemaps for Fast Level Building
- 7
Handle Real-World Situations
- Saving and Loading Progress
- Supporting Controllers and Keyboards
- Fixing Common Bugs and Errors
- 8
The Engine Under the Hood
- How Godot Processes Every Frame
- The Difference Between 2D and 3D
- Memory Management for Beginners
- Exporting Your Game to the Web
- The History of the Godot Project
8 sections · 35 units · 175 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Build Your First Game with Godot
How do I learn Build Your First Game with Godot?
Go in order: start with Make Something Move Right Now, then Add Life to Your World, then Master the Art of Scenes, then Control the Physics, and 4 more sections after that. On Tomo that's 175 short levels, about 5 hours 50 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Build Your First Game with Godot?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Build Your First Game with Godot is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Build Your First Game with Godot course free?
Yes. Build Your First Game with Godot is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Build Your First Game with Godot?
175 levels across 8 sections, about 5 hours 50 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Build Your First Game with Godot?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Build Your First Game with Godot is taught in the Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Build Your First Game with Godot today.
Download Tomo, search Build Your First Game with Godot, and play your first lesson in under a minute.