# How to make a simulator game

Source: https://roam.new/how-to-make-a-simulator-game/ Roam is our app, and the Roam team wrote this page.

Simulator means two different games. On Roblox it usually means a collect, sell, upgrade loop with pets, as in Pet Simulator 99 by BIG Games. On Steam it often means a job sim, like PowerWash Simulator, where doing a chore well is the fun.

## The Roblox simulator loop

- **Collect**: Click, swing or walk over things to gather them: coins, snow, honey.
- **Backpack limit**: The bag fills up, which forces a trip back. Bigger bags are the first upgrade people want.
- **Sell**: Stand on a sell zone to turn the bag into cash.
- **Upgrade**: Better tools collect faster, bigger bags hold more.
- **Pets**: Buy eggs, hatch pets, stack their multipliers. Rare pets give players something to chase.
- **New zones and rebirth**: Lock areas behind cost, then offer a rebirth that resets for a permanent boost.

## Job simulators

- **Shop sims**: Stock shelves, set prices, serve customers. Supermarket Simulator made the genre a hit on Steam.
- **Delivery sims**: A route, a timer and tips for speed. The fun is the rush.
- **Cleaning sims**: Remove grime and watch a progress percentage climb. PowerWash Simulator by FuturLab is the reference.
- **What every job sim needs**: A visible progress meter, a little time pressure, and one twist, like customers who are aliens.

## Build it

In Roblox Studio, the loop runs on Luau: a value for bag contents, a sell part that pays when touched, a shop GUI for upgrades and DataStores to save progress. Studio runs on Windows and macOS.

Job sims suit Unity or Godot if you want first-person 3D. Start with one job done well before adding a second.

On iPhone, describe the sim to Roam: the job, the place and the twist. It comes back playable, and you tune it by talking, for example "customers get angrier faster" or "add a pet that helps sell".


## Play it on Roam

- [Rush Order](https://roam.gg/play/rush-order/): Shift started. Tap the order, floor it, get there hot.
- [Aliens Want Hookah](https://roam.gg/play/aliens-want-hookah/): Opening night in a neon space lounge. Goal: $70.
- [DEEP CLEAN](https://roam.gg/play/deep-clean/): Meet Bruce. Great white. Bites first. Asks never.
- [Don't Flatline](https://roam.gg/play/dont-flatline/): A full waiting room and five days to prove you can handle it.
- [Eat the Customers](https://roam.gg/play/eat-the-customers/): Stock the shelves. Smile at the fish. Eat the fish.
- [Pressure Wash](https://roam.gg/play/pressure-wash/): Point. Spray. Watch the dirt go.

## Create your simulator with Roam

Pick the job and the twist. Roam makes it playable on your iPhone, then you change it by asking. Roam is rated 13+ on the App Store.

Try: "car wash simulator on Mars, aliens bring weird ships, clean them before they get angry, upgrade hoses"

[Get Roam on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6745489251?pt=126889634&mt=8&ct=rnew-htm-simulator)

## Questions people ask

**How do you make a simulator game on Roblox?**
Build a collect, sell and upgrade loop in Roblox Studio with Luau: a backpack value, a sell zone, upgrades, pets and DataStores to save.

**What is a job simulator game?**
A game where the fun is doing a job well, like running a shop, delivering orders or cleaning, with a visible progress meter.

**What makes a simulator game fun?**
Clear progress you can see, a short loop, and upgrades that make the same task feel faster and bigger.

Product names belong to their owners. Roam is not affiliated with them.

## About Roam

Roam ("Roam - Make Games" on the App Store) is an iPhone app where you play games and make your own by describing them or from a photo. It is free to download and play, and making games works without a subscription; optional Spark and Reality plans and credit packs add more creation. Android: pre-register on Google Play. https://roam.gg