How to make a survival game in Roblox Studio

A survival game gives players a need that never stops (hunger, warmth, safety) and a world that pushes back. The fun is in the trade-off: gather now and risk the dark, or play safe and run out of food. Survive-the-nights games, zombie survival and wilderness games all share this core.

The core loop

Every survival game comes down to one loop that players repeat. Build this first, in grey blocks:

1. Gather wood, stone and food in the day
2. Craft tools and build or repair a base
3. Survive the night's threats
4. Wake up stronger and go further out

Systems you need

Build order

1. 1

   Map and day/night

   A forest area with a clear safe spot (a campfire). Add the day/night cycle first; it sets the rhythm for everything else.

2. 2

   Hunger and food

   The script below. Play for five minutes: if you starve before finding food, slow the drain.

3. 3

   Gathering and inventory

   One tool, two resources, a simple inventory shown on screen.

4. 4

   Night threats

   Enemies that spawn at dusk, head for players and despawn at dawn. Reuse a pathfinding monster script.

5. 5

   Crafting and building

   Three or four recipes that clearly help survive the night: a better axe, a wall, a torch.

6. 6

   Progression

   Count nights survived and show it on the leaderboard — it's the score players brag about.

The key script: Hunger that drains, food that refills it

Where it goes: ServerScriptService > Survival (Script).

• Make a few food parts (berries, apples), anchored, each with a ProximityPrompt inside, and tag them Food (Properties → Tags).
• Optional: give a food part a number attribute Restore (how much it fills) and RespawnSeconds.
• Show hunger on screen with a LocalScript that reads player:GetAttribute("Hunger") and listens to GetAttributeChangedSignal("Hunger").

local Players = game:GetService("Players")
local CollectionService = game:GetService("CollectionService")

local MAX_HUNGER = 100
local DRAIN_PER_SECOND = 0.5 -- full to empty in about 3 minutes
local STARVE_DAMAGE = 5 -- per second at zero hunger

Players.PlayerAdded:Connect(function(player)
	player.CharacterAdded:Connect(function()
		player:SetAttribute("Hunger", MAX_HUNGER)
	end)
end)

local function setupFood(part)
	local prompt = part:FindFirstChildOfClass("ProximityPrompt")
	if not prompt then
		return
	end
	prompt.ActionText = "Eat"
	prompt.ObjectText = part.Name
	local visible = part.Transparency

	prompt.Triggered:Connect(function(player)
		local hunger = player:GetAttribute("Hunger")
		if not hunger or not prompt.Enabled then
			return
		end
		prompt.Enabled = false
		player:SetAttribute("Hunger", math.min(MAX_HUNGER, hunger + (part:GetAttribute("Restore") or 30)))
		part.Transparency = 1
		task.wait(part:GetAttribute("RespawnSeconds") or 60)
		part.Transparency = visible
		prompt.Enabled = true
	end)
end

for _, part in CollectionService:GetTagged("Food") do
	setupFood(part)
end
CollectionService:GetInstanceAddedSignal("Food"):Connect(setupFood)

while true do
	task.wait(1)
	for _, player in Players:GetPlayers() do
		local character = player.Character
		local humanoid = character and character:FindFirstChildOfClass("Humanoid")
		local hunger = player:GetAttribute("Hunger")
		if humanoid and humanoid.Health > 0 and hunger then
			hunger = math.max(0, hunger - DRAIN_PER_SECOND)
			player:SetAttribute("Hunger", hunger)
			if hunger == 0 then
				humanoid:TakeDamage(STARVE_DAMAGE)
			end
		end
	end
end

How it works

• Hunger lives in a player attribute set by the server. Attributes replicate, so your hunger bar can read it, but a client can't refill itself.
• Hunger resets to full on each respawn. For a harder game, keep the value on death and only reset it at the start of a new run.
• Add thirst or warmth the same way: another attribute, another drain rate. Make warmth drain only at night or away from a campfire.

How survival games make Robux

• Cosmetics: outfits, campfire styles, tool skins.
• A private server option for groups who want to play together.
• Keep survival itself fair: selling food, health or stronger weapons for Robux makes the challenge pointless for everyone.

You receive 70% of what players spend on game passes and developer products; Roblox keeps 30%.

Common mistakes