A first side-scroller should prove one short journey: move, jump, avoid, collect or pass a checkpoint, reach the finish and restart.
These prompts and test stages are original Build Creator editorial guidance, not a Roblox requirement or a guarantee of a particular generated result. Stop expanding the first version until its core loop and restart pass the checklist.
Start with one level
Creator Hub lists side-scrollers as a current best-fit Build format. One short level already tests controls, camera, collision, obstacle spacing and finish state. Multiple levels multiply those dependencies before any of them is trustworthy.
Sketch three beats: a safe movement area, two readable obstacle patterns and a finish. Keep the camera and route consistent. The game-types guide helps reduce a larger platformer idea to this slice.
Prompt 1: movement and finish
Create an original sky-bridge side-scroller with one short level. The player can move left and right and jump. Use a side-view camera that follows smoothly without hiding the route. Add a safe start platform, three wide gaps, a clearly marked finish beacon and a restart button. Falling returns the player to the start. Do not add enemies, checkpoints or multiple levels.
Test short and full jumps, turning near edges, falling and reaching the finish. The player should never spawn inside an obstacle or outside the camera.
Prompt 2: obstacles and collectibles
Preserve controls, camera, start, finish and restart. Add two types of static obstacle: low blocks to jump over and moving platforms with slow predictable motion. Place five floating stars on the main route; each star counts once in a 0/5 display. Do not add damage, enemies or a second currency.
Obstacle silhouettes and motion must be readable before the player commits. Collectibles should encourage the intended route without requiring invisible jumps.
Prompt 3: checkpoint and completion feedback
Keep all working level behavior. Add one checkpoint after the moving platforms. When touched, change its color and make later falls return the player there with collected-star progress preserved. Reaching the finish should freeze the timer, show stars collected, and offer Restart level, which resets the checkpoint and all stars.
Test failure before and after the checkpoint. The two respawn locations must be distinct, and a full restart must clear the checkpoint even though a normal fall preserves it.
Collision, camera and restart
Most first-level failures are state problems, not a need for more content. Describe the exact platform or edge where collision fails. Ask for one correction and preserve controls and layout. If the camera loses the player, define the desired framing without redesigning the level.
- Movement and jump work from every platform edge
- Camera keeps the player and next obstacle visible
- Falling returns to the correct start or checkpoint
- Each star counts once and reset restores all five
- Finish state reports the correct collection result
- Restart clears checkpoint, stars and completion state
Common side-scroller failures
- Unfair gap: shorten the distance or improve the visual landing cue.
- Sticky collision: identify the exact obstacle and requested passable boundary.
- Camera jump: preserve level geometry and repair follow behavior only.
- Checkpoint always active: require a default inactive state on full restart.
- Finish can trigger twice: lock the round after first completion.
Compare the short-round logic in the arcade recipe. If Build changes working systems during a correction, follow the bad-generation workflow and request one focused repair.
Tune a level without making it longer
Record where each tester fails and whether the next safe landing was visible before the jump. Adjust one gap, platform speed or checkpoint at a time. Difficulty should come from applying a learned movement rule, not from concealed collision or a camera that withholds the landing area.
Before adding level two, require three clean start-to-finish runs, one deliberate fall before the checkpoint and one after it, and a complete restart. Then reuse the same control and reset contract in a short second level with one new obstacle pattern. Preserve a clear finish instead of turning the project into an endless course.