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Creator Academy · Lesson 4

Cast yourself in a game

One selfie in, you as the hero out, starting with the ready-made playables anyone can cast into.

By , AI Engineer at MakermintUpdated 7 min read

Zine-style collage: a taped-down instant photo frame on an amber ground, with a cut-paper pixel adventurer stepping out of the blank frame toward three coins and a cloud.
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TL;DR

Casting puts your face on a game character from a single photo. Star in a ready-made playable today; casting into a game you built yourself is a preview, with the controls switched on for the Makermint team while we finish it. The whole preparation is one clear, front-facing photo, and a playable you cast is a game of its own, so nothing you already own changes.

The same chibi baker boy twice on a plain paper background: on the left the character the game was built with, holding a baking tray, on the right the same character after one cast, wearing the face from a beach selfie, dark hair and a short beard, in the same paper hat, striped shirt and apron.
Before and after one cast. Same character, same costume, same art style; the face is what casting replaces.
The character the game now runs on, frame by frame. Idle, run, catch: every move rebuilt around the new face.

Two doors

There are two ways to end up in a game, and they share one step: a photo of a face.

Star in a ready-made playable. Pick one of the mini games on the front page, add your photo, and Makermint casts you as its hero. Nothing to build, nothing to design.

Cast into a game you made. A game you built in the Studio can swap its character for you, when that character is one the game can redraw. The moves, the style and the level stay; the face changes. This one isn't open yet: the controls are switched on for the Makermint team while we finish it, so you won't find them on your games today. It's here because it shows what casting does when it isn't starting from a template.

Casting is optional both ways. Every game works without it.

Door one: star in a ready-made playable

Everything below happens on the front page, before you have an account.

  1. Get started

    Tap Get started and pick your playable. As you swipe, the card in the middle may play a short clip of the game, so you can see what you're signing up for.

  2. Add your photo

    Upload a photo or take a selfie on the spot. Your photo is used to make your character.

  3. Line up your shot

    Drag the square so your face fills it, then tap Cast me in.

  4. Your game is waiting

    Leave your email. One message arrives with a link that signs you in and starts the build.

  5. You're in the game

    On your profile, the new playable shows Casting while your character is made. Then it's ready to play and share.

Four screens of the front-page flow: Pick your playable, Add your photo, Line up your shot with a square crop over a selfie, and Your game is waiting with an email field.
The front-page flow, start to finish. Four screens, one photo, one email.
The Hopstronaut title screen: pixel-art snowy mountains under a night sky, with a chibi character in glasses and a beard standing on a wooden platform, drawn from the author's photo.
What door one actually makes: play Hopstronaut, starring me. One photo, through the same four screens above.

Door two: cast into a game you made

The controls are still team-only, so this is a look ahead rather than something to follow along with. It lives in the Studio, on a game whose character the game can redraw.

  1. Star in your own game

    The first time you open a castable game, Scotty offers it in the conversation. Tap Cast yourself, or find the same thing under Cast a character in the assets panel.

  2. Pick the character

    The game lists who's in it. Choose the one you want to become; the player is usually the obvious pick.

  3. Add a photo and crop

    One front-facing photo with decent light. Frame your face and tap Crop & continue.

  4. Let it run

    The modal shows three stages and a clock. Closing it doesn't cancel anything, and the game stays playable the whole time.

  5. Cast complete

    Your look lands in the game itself. The character keeps its original, so you can switch back from the assets panel any time.

Two crops of the Studio side by side. On the left, a card in the conversation headed Star in your own game with a Cast yourself button. On the right, the assets panel with a Cast a character button above the baker boy's three poses.
Two ways in: the card in the conversation, and Cast a character in the assets panel. They open the same flow.
The Cast a character modal listing the game's one castable character, the baker boy, with his portrait and a Player badge.
Who can be cast. A character the game can't re-generate is greyed out, with the reason under its card.
The Cast a character modal in its running state: Casting baker boy, with Uploading your photo, Starting the cast and Generating the character listed, and a clock beside the live stage.
Three stages and a clock. Closing this doesn't cancel it.
Left, the beach selfie of a smiling man with stubble. Right, the baker boy drawn again from it: a chibi man with dark hair and a beard in the same paper hat, striped shirt and apron, facing the player.
The cast lands in the game itself: the same baker, redrawn from the photo, in the same style.
Three poses of the cast baker boy side by side on paper, each labelled: catch joy, idle and run.
Every pose the game had is rebuilt for the new face. You don't pick poses; you inherit the character's.

What happens to your photo

Your photo, step by step

Five stages, each with one job.

Check
face found, head straightened, light evened out
Draw
one full-body pose of you, in the game's own art style
Move
every move the game needs, built from that one pose
Cut out
background removed, edges cleaned
Fit
frames checked, then dropped into the character

Your photo is used to make your character.

  • Draw

    This is where the likeness is decided. Everything after it is motion and clean-up, so a photo that reads clearly here reads clearly in the game.

  • Move

    The game decides which moves exist: a catch game needs run and catch, a swinging game needs swing and fall. You don't pick poses; you inherit the character's.

Zine-style collage: four cut-paper portrait cards taped to a green ground, each a front-facing face in even light.
What a good casting photo looks like: face forward, evenly lit, filling the frame, nothing covering it.

Before you upload

  • Is my face looking at the camera?

    A front-facing photo casts best. Profiles and three-quarter angles lose the features the character is built from.

  • Is the light even?

    Daylight or a bright room, with no hard shadow across the face. A window behind you turns a face into a silhouette.

  • Does my face fill the crop?

    Pull the crop square in tight. A face that's a small part of the frame gives the cast less to work with.

  • Is anything covering me?

    Sunglasses, a low cap or a hand on the chin all hide the parts that make the character yours.

  • Is it one person?

    One face per cast. Crop a group photo down to the person being cast before you upload it.

If no face can be found, the cast stops and asks for a different photo. A cast that doesn't finish isn't kept as a charge.

What casting can't do, and what to ask instead

  • Can’t

    Cast my dog, my car, or a cartoon.

    Ask for

    Describe the character you want and let Scotty draw it.

    Casting needs a detectable human face; it isn't built for pets or objects.

  • Can’t

    Put me in a 3D game.

    Ask for

    Pick one of the 2D playables and cast into that.

    Makermint builds 2D games, and casting works inside them.

  • Can’t

    Choose my outfit and hairstyle.

    Ask for

    Pick a game whose hero already dresses the way you want.

    The game's art style and the character's costume decide the look; your photo decides the face.

  • Can’t

    Cast two friends in one go.

    Ask for

    Cast one character at a time, each from its own photo.

    Each cast puts one face on one character. A ready-made playable has one character to cast; in the team-only preview, a second cast on another character keeps the first.

While the controls are team-only, the invitation card usually names the price before you confirm, either free or a number of credits; the assets panel opens the same flow without that line. Once a cast lands the card is gone for good. The character's original look is kept there, so you can switch back. A cast that doesn't finish isn't kept as a charge.

Your turn

Start with door one: it's one photo and one email, and you'll see how your face reads in a game before you build anything. Door two is a preview for now, running on the team's accounts. If you want to be ready for it, develop your own idea and open the Studio to build the game you would want to star in.

A tip from making this lesson: a hero who faces the player shows your face best. If you're building a game to star in, ask for a front-facing character.

And send the link. Every playable starring you gets one.

Frequently asked questions

Not to start. You pick a playable, add your photo and leave an email; the link in that email signs you in and starts the build. The playable then lives on your profile.

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