---
title: Game Starters
url: "https://orkframework.com/guide/ork4/ork4-documentation/ork4-components/game-starters-2/"
updated: "2026-08-06"
category: Components
---

# Game Starters

Game starters are crucial to initialize ORK and start your game.

Game starters are components that are added to objects in your scene. They’re used to initialize ORK 4 Framework Framework and load a selected project’s data.

[![](https://orkframework.com/wp-content/uploads/GameStarter-Icon.png)](https://orkframework.com/wp-content/uploads/GameStarter-Icon.png)

You can’t use any ORK functionality or other ORK components in a running game without first initializing ORK with a game starter.

# Using Game Starters

The game starter should be added to the first scene of your game, or at least the first scene that uses ORK features (e.g. components).

The most important setting of the game starter is the *Project Asset*:

- **Project Asset**
   Select the ORK project asset file that you want to use here.
   Usually you’ll only have 1 project asset, though.

The *Game Start Type* setting defines if the game starter will do anything beside loading the project data:

- **None**
   Does nothing.
- **Start Game**Starts a new game and uses the start game schematic.
   Use this for quick game testing in a scene.
- **Call Start Menu**Calls the start menu.
- **Load Start Menu Scene**Loads the start menu scene.

## Adding a Game Starter

### Unity

Use the scene hierarchy context menu (**ORK Framework > Game Starter**) or the ORK toolbar (search for: **Game Starter**) to add a game starter.

You can also manually add a *Game Starter* component to an object in your scene.

## Quick Game Testing

Since you’ll often just want to test a scene you’re currently building, you’ll also need to add a game starter to that scene as well. Otherwise, you’d need to go through your start scene where you’ve added the game starter.

Having multiple game starters in your game isn’t a problem – the first game starter that’s used will initialize ORK and load the project. Once ORK is initialized, other game starters don’t start.

Set *Game Start Type* to *Start Game*in the game starter’s inspector to start a new game when initializing ORK – this will be the same as starting a new game (e.g. via the [start menu](https://orkframework.com/guide/ork4/ork4-documentation/section-menus/ork4-start-menu/)) and use the start schematic, but without loading the new game scene.

You can also execute a schematic after ORK is initialized, select it in the *Start Schematic Asset* setting of the game starter.