Skip to main content
Back to path

Welcome to a Grasp lesson

Create a free account to keep studying and create your own study path.

Lesson 2

Saving Projects and Testing in Roblox Studio

Recommended resources

Welcome back! In our last session, we took a tour of Roblox Studio and learned about the key windows you'll be using: the 3D Viewport for seeing your world, the Explorer for listing everything in it, and the Properties window for changing an object's details.

Today, we're going to cover two very important steps that every game developer uses all the time: saving your work and testing your game. By the end of this lesson, you will know how to save your project safely to your Roblox account and how to jump into your game to playtest it, just like a real player would.

Saving Your Work

Imagine building an amazing LEGO creation, but then having to take it apart every time you leave the room. That wouldn't be much fun! Saving your project is like magically preserving your LEGO build so you can come back to it later. In Roblox Studio, it's crucial to save your work often so you don't lose any progress.

There are two main ways to save, but the best one for us is to "Publish to Roblox." This saves your game to your online Roblox account, which means you can open it on any computer just by logging in. It's like saving your game to the cloud.

To do this, you'll use the 'File' menu in the top-left corner of Studio.

This image shows the `File` menu, which is where you will find the options to save and publish your project.

Now, let's watch a short video that shows exactly how to publish your game for the first time.

How to make your FIRST Roblox Game (Make Robux)

The video "How to make your FIRST Roblox Game" by CodeBro29 will walk you through the publishing process.

Watch the segment from File -> Publish. It will show you how to click 'File', then 'Publish to Roblox', give your game a name, and click 'Create'. You can name your game "My First Obby".

Once you've published your game, it's saved to your account. From now on, you can simply press Ctrl+S on your keyboard (or Cmd+S on a Mac) to quickly save any new changes you make. Getting into the habit of pressing Ctrl+S often is a great skill for any creator!

Playing Your Game: Edit Mode vs. Test Mode

So far, we've been in Edit Mode. This is where you are the builder—you can fly around, add parts, and change properties. But how do you know if a jump in your Obby is possible? Or what it feels like to run through your course? For that, you need to switch to Test Mode, also called Play Mode.

Switching to Test Mode is like putting down your builder's tools and becoming a player inside your own game. You'll find the controls to do this in the Test tab at the top of Studio.

These are the main controls for testing your game. The blue triangle is 'Play', and the red square is 'Stop'.

The three main buttons are:

  • Play: This drops your character into the game at a SpawnLocation.
  • Play Here: This drops your character right where your camera is in Edit Mode.
  • Stop: This ends the test and returns you to Edit Mode.

Let's see this in action.

Complete Beginner Guide to Roblox Studio!

The "Complete Beginner Guide to Roblox Studio!" video from RoBuilder has a great demonstration of starting and stopping a playtest.

Watch the part of the video from using the test buttons. Pay attention to how the view changes from the editor to an in-game character, and then back again when 'Stop' is pressed.

Go ahead and try it yourself! Click the Play button. You should see your Roblox avatar appear on the SpawnLocation and you can run and jump around. When you're done, click the Stop button to return to building.

The Most Important Rule of Testing

There is one very important rule to remember that catches many new builders by surprise. When you are in Play Mode, you are only a tester. Any changes you make to the world while playing are temporary and will not be saved.

For example, if you build something or delete a part while in Play Mode, it will disappear as soon as you press 'Stop'. The game world will reset back to how it was in Edit Mode. Think of it like a dream—what happens in the dream disappears when you wake up.

This is a good thing! It lets you test things without worrying about messing up your carefully built world.

Getting started with Roblox Studio in the library or classroom | The Library Element

This article for new creators explains this "golden rule" very clearly.

In the article, find the section titled “5. ‘(re)Design <> play’ cycle”. Read the short paragraph that starts with "A common problem...". This will help you remember the difference between the two modes.

To see this for yourself, try this quick experiment:

  1. Click Play to enter Test Mode.
  2. In the Explorer window, find Workspace, then find SpawnLocation.
  3. Right-click on SpawnLocation and choose Delete. The spawn pad will disappear from the game.
  4. Now, click the Stop button.

Notice that the SpawnLocation is back! The change you made was only for that test session. All permanent building must be done in Edit Mode.

Lesson Summary

Fantastic work! You've learned two fundamental skills for making any game in Roblox.

Here are the key takeaways:

  • Saving: Use File > Publish to Roblox to save your game to your account for the first time. After that, use Ctrl+S (or Cmd+S) to save your changes as you work.
  • Testing: Use the Play button to enter Test Mode and play your game as a player. Use the Stop button to return to Edit Mode.
  • The Golden Rule: Edit Mode is for building, and Test Mode is for playing. Changes made in Test Mode are not saved.

You're now ready to start the fun part: building! In our next lesson, we will learn how to create your own Parts and use the Move, Scale, and Rotate tools to start building the platforms for your Obby.