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| How to Make a Dress-Up Game in 2025 |
So, you want to make a dress-up game? You've come to the right place.
You can still do it the old-fashioned way: draw a paper doll, cut out some outfits, and hope your pet or sibling doesn’t eat the boots. But if you want to make a digital dress-up game in 2025, here's how:
There are a few ways to go about it, depending on your goals, your art, and how much tech you want to tackle. This guide will walk you through everything, step by step, from artwork to launch.
Dress-Up Game vs. Character Creator
A dress-up game has one fixed character. You swap clothes, accessories, hairstyles, maybe backgrounds. A character creator (or doll maker) goes deeper: not just outfits, but customizable genetics. Face shape, skin tone, gender, body type, and more. This tutorial will cover both, since the method is the same; you're simply adding more options.
Most dress-up games assume one gender, and that’s totally fine! But the most powerful character creators and image makers allow for multiple genders and/or body shapes, which is amazing, but also a lot more work. These complex games will be covered in separate tutorials.
Step 1: Make Your Art
Use any drawing app that exports a .PSD file with layers. Popular choices include:
• Photoshop
• Clip Studio Paint
• Procreate
• Paint Tool SAI
• GIMP (free!)
• Krita (also free!)
Tips:
• Put every item (shirt, skirt, bow, etc.) on its own layer
• Separate colorable parts onto separate layers as well
• Never flatten your PSD!
Step 2: Choose How to Build + Share It
1. Meiker.io
Meiker is the fastest and easiest way to publish a modern dress-up game.
• Tag your layers (for example, [fixed] for items like eyes, where one set is always visible
• Upload your PSD file
• Meiker will flag any errors (usually missing brackets or typos)
• You can preview and test your game immediately
• Re-upload your PSD as needed to tweak things
• Once you’re happy, submit it for moderation
If it’s not obscene or broken, it will go live! You’ll get a shareable link. Basically just a one click process. Your game will be fully mobile responsive and work on both mobile and desktop.
2. Picrew.me
Picrew is a popular Japanese platform. Instead of uploading a PSD, you upload each image individually as a PNG.
• Create a Picrew account
• Start a new “Kisekae” project
• Upload assets into categories (e.g. Hair, Eyes, Clothes)
• Manually define layer order and color options
It’s more tedious than Meiker, but still cute and effective.
3. Unity (or Godot)
Unity is a full game engine that can be used for 2D dress-up games.
• Create a 2D project
• Import your assets as sprites
• Set up buttons to toggle visibility and swap parts
• You'll need to write some scripts (in C#)
Heads up: Unity is made for 3D, so it can feel a bit heavy. Godot is a lighter, open-source alternative that works well for 2D-only games.
Bonus Tip: Keep It Simple
For your first game:
• Use 1 character
• Offer 5 outfits
• Add some hair and shoes
Once you've nailed the basics, you can always expand later.
FAQ
Can I make a dress-up game with my own art?
Yes! All of the methods mentioned support artist-uploaded content.
What’s the best site for dress-up games with OC options?
You’re on it! Doll Divine, Meiker.io, Picrew.me, DressUpGames.com, and Y8.com are all good options.
Why did all the old dress-up game sites disappear?
Flash allowed webmasters to create powerful games that worked right in the browser, without the need for apps. Corporations take 30% of ALL revenue that apps generate, so they couldn't have this type of competition.
Can I make a furry, centaur, or weird blob dress-up game?
Yes. Please do. And send me the link.
I look forward to seeing your amazing game!
~OLa
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