How to make a game like 99 Nights in the Forest on Roblox
99 Nights in the Forest turned a campfire into a reason to be scared. Keep it burning or the thing in the woods gets closer. It's survival and horror at once, it's better with friends, and a single fire gives every player a job. Here's how to build your own.
Why it works
Players gather wood to keep a campfire alive, craft defenses, and survive what comes out of the forest at night.
- One thing to protect. The fire is easy to understand, and it gives every minute a purpose.
- Night is a deadline. Everyone knows what's coming, so day is spent getting ready for it.
- A goal past surviving. Lost kids in caves, and keys to reach them, send players away from the safety of the fire.
1Start on a map
Dark, thick forest with room to get lost, and one clearing for the fire. Caves and cabins give players somewhere to be afraid of. A finished map means your first weeks go into the game itself. Open it in Roblox Studio with File, then Open from File. Here's how, and there are free maps too.
Maps for a game like 99 Nights in the Forest
Ready to open in Roblox Studio.
2Build it in this order
Each step is something you can play. Stop when it's fun, and let people try it before you build the next one.
- 1Day and night. A clock that counts the nights and tells the rest of the game which one it is.
- 2The campfire. A fire that burns down over time, and gets bigger when wood goes on it. If it goes out, something bad happens.
- 3Gathering. Chop a tree, carry the wood, drop it on the fire. Play this alone until it feels right.
- 4Something in the woods. One monster that hunts at night and stays away from the fire's light. Get this right before you add more.
- 5A reason to leave. Something to find out in the dark, and a way to reach it. Without it, everyone just stands by the fire.
- 6Crafting. Traps and better tools from what they've gathered. This is where most of the later game comes from.
3Get the scripts
These are free to copy and paste, each with where it goes:
- Roblox day and night cycle scriptThe clock the whole game runs on.
- Roblox tool giver scriptAn axe to pick up. Use it for any tool.
- Roblox sprint scriptRunning from the monster. Add stamina so running is a choice.
- Roblox background music scriptA low sound on a loop does half the scaring.
For what's particular to this game, ask the script generator. Press one of these to start from it:
- A campfire that loses fuel over time and goes out at zero, and gets more fuel when a player brings it a log, with its light getting bigger and smaller to match
- A monster that only comes out at night, chases the nearest player, and won't go within 20 studs of the campfire while it's lit
- An axe tool that takes 5 hits to cut down a tree, which then drops a log a player can carry
4Make it yours
- Move it. A lighthouse keeper in a storm, or a generator on a frozen base, works the same way and looks nothing like a forest.
- Make your own monster and rules for it. Ask what it wants, then build the game around that.
- Change what players are after: their own way off the island, or the truth about the place.
Don't copy it
99 Nights in the Forest's name, art, music and code belong to its makers, and copying them can get your game taken down. Leaked copies and free kits are also a common place to hide backdoors, so check anything you pick up with the free backdoor scanner.
5Earn from it
Survival games tend to sell a head start: a class with better tools, or something to bring from the first night. Keep it about fun, since players on a team notice when one person has paid to win. Start with one game pass.
The free game pass and developer product scripts get you started, and the tax calculator works out what to charge.
6Test it and publish
Try it with friends before anyone else. Then it's File, then Publish, and an age check to release it: here's how publishing works now. For the basics of this kind of game, read how to make a Roblox survival game.
Once it's out, show it on Forja so people can find it and play it.
Questions
Can I copy 99 Nights in the Forest?
Make your own game in the same style, not a copy. Nobody owns a kind of game, generally, but 99 Nights in the Forest's name, art, music and code belong to its makers, and they can have a copy taken down. Your own names and art are safer, and they give players a reason to pick yours.
Is there a free 99 Nights in the Forest kit?
Be careful with free kits and leaked copies. They're a common place to hide backdoors, which can give a stranger control of your game. Run anything like that through Forja's free backdoor scanner before you open it, or build from free scripts you can read.
Do I need a huge map?
No. It has to feel big in the dark, and that's mostly fog and low light. A smaller map also runs better on phones, where most players are.
Other games to learn from
Maps
Nature maps
Dark, thick forest with room to get lost, and one clearing for the fire. Caves and cabins give players somewhere to be afraid of.
Browse mapsFree tool
Roblox script generator
Say what you need in plain words and get a working script, checked for backdoors.
Write a scriptForja isn't connected to 99 Nights in the Forest or the people who make it. This page explains how this kind of game works, so you can build your own.