Creating a game from scratch is a
rather easy procedure, which can deliver your first game within thirty (30)
minutes. Initially you have to create a new game project from the IDE and
add your first sprite. There you will encounter an empty canvas where you
can draw your very first frames of your sprite, in pixel-paint level. The
IDE offers a wide selection of tools and features for this pixel-editor. For
instance you can find from the common brush tool to an exceptional gradient
flood-fill tool as well as filter for image processing like the texturising
filter. Great attention has been paid in the colour palette level. The
user has the ability to import or export colour shades from JASC file types
or create his own.
After the completion of drawing the
frames, you have to set the animation sequences of the sprites and what
actions can your sprite perform during game play. Animation sequences are a
semantic grouping of specific frames that succeed one another, when the
sprite is at the corresponding state. The Game Engine can automatically
handle up to twelve (12) animation sequences such as motion,jump,
crawl, fall,
fire, kill,
enter, exit, and
switch, while you are given the possibility to define
more sequences that you have to implement yourself using the java
interfaces. The ability to choose different fire sequences according
to the weapon type, carried by the sprite is worth mentioning.
The sprites are generally categorized
into eight (8) basic groups according to their game participation and
attitude, a sprite may belong to the Player,
Enemy, Bullet,
Carrier, Switch,
Object, Visual or Unknown
Type. Apart from the obvious properties of a sprite, a carrier sprite can
act as a carrier or an elevator, on which a Player sprite can be placed and
carried. The switch sprite can act as a switch that can activate a procedure
e.g. enabling a hidden stage or a hidden power up, or trigger a hidden trap.
The Object Sprites can act as a bonus or as power ups that can be collected
by a Player sprite, while the Visual Sprites can be used to create Visual
Effects such as explosions and hints.
After the completion of drawing a
Sprite you have to define the sprite's behaviour, as well as it's properties
from the Properties' Window. For instance, at this point you may determine
whether a sprite is a Player, the velocity of it's movement, whether
the sprite can jump, the maximum height of its jump, the collision
conditions with other sprites and many more features. Many of those features
are required to be defined in the Animation Sequence level, for
example when a sprite is climbing a ladder (climbing sequence), you might
want to disable the sprite from shooting (firing sequence) but when the
sprite is walking (motion sequence) you might need it to fire.
Having the first sprite complete, you
can start creating your first stage map. While adding your new map, you will
be asked for its dimensions in cell measurement (image cells), as well as
its size in pixels. Every stage map consists of one or more levels, called
Tiled Layers, which are transparent canvases on which you can draw the
stage's graphics, by using Image cells. Image cells are an old but not
outdated technique of combining large icons by using smaller ones.
This technique intents to keep the game's graphics size to the minimum
possible value, but also makes the reusing of portions of the graphics
possible. Having multiple Tiled Layers can create a three dimensional
impression of the game as you can set the position of a Tiled Layer with
respect to Z-axis which as a result makes the Layer to appear above all
sprites.
Creating a Stage Map involves the
creation of images according to the dimensions of the image cells and
implementing them on the Tiled Layers in order to create the desired
outcome. The transparent regions of the Tiled Layers determine the areas
where the sprite can move while it is possible to create specific Tiled
Layers that participate in the game's plot, such as the Platform Layer for
creating Platforms and the Trap Layer for creating booby-Traps. While
creating a Stage Map you may also define trigger regions, ladders or
zero-gravity areas. Triggers may sense a sprite and activate one of the
fifty (50) optional by the system procedures, for example to dynamically
load another sprite or cause another sprite to fire.
Concisely the creating procedure of a
game is limited to drawing sprites and the stage maps and the image cells
for the tiled layers of every stage. The system provides a great selection
of characteristics so that initially you might not need anything further in
order to build your very first games for mobile phones.
Home |
Sales |
Support
