GameSalad Fundamentals

Introduction to Game-Authoring System

Objectives Define game-authoring system. Understand the components of logic and

assets on game applications. Understand major features of

Gamesalad. Identify game developers team

members. Understand the role of each game

development team member. Classify types of computer games.

Game Authoring –System

A game-authoring system is computer-based system that enables users, usually non-programmers, to create or author content for video games in a drag-and-drop fashion

Components of Logic and Assets on Game Applications

You can build games and applications without typing a single line of code . Two parts of a game application:

Logic refers to the combination of rules, behaviors, and attributes.

Assets include the images and sounds you import into your project.

Major Features

Graphical user interface, or GUI (pronounced “gooey”) – makes it easy to use for non-programmers

Actors – game objects Behaviors – things that affect the Actors

Actors and Scenes You add actors by dragging and dropping

them. You organize actors in a scene into different layers (who goes in front of who).

Major Features

Real-Time Editing and Previewing You can edit a scene while the game is still

running. The initial state of actors can be displayed translucently (in a faded format) to show where they were when the scene started.

Cross-Platform Publishing GameSalad Creator has one common dialogue-

based interface for publishing to multiple platforms, including the iPhone and Mac as well as Android devices and the Web.

The Developers

Designers Game designers are responsible for the look

and feel of a game Artists

A game’s graphics include the commercial (box) art and in-game graphics. one of the first things a gamer assesses, is graphics that can make or break a game’s success.

Programmers They create the code for the engines that

deliver games

Audio Specialist Sound is important because it helps set the mood and

puts the player into the game. Writers

The majority of games have storylines and therefore must have a storyteller

Testers Testers set in office blowing repeatedly through a single level

or one section of the overall game and jotting down loads of notes to the development team to let them know what works and what does not.

Mangers These people keep the whole development cycle on

track,

The Developers

Types of computer games

Action Games: an action requires players to use quick reflexes, accuracy, and timing to overcome obstacles (problems). Example of action games: Call of Duty

Adventure Games: normally require the player to solve various puzzles by interacting with people or other environment. Example of adventure games: Minecraft

Types of computer games

Role-Playing games (RPG): is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional (imaginary) setting. Example of RPG: Arcane Legends or Diablo

Strategy Games: require internal decision tree style thinking, and typically very high situation awareness. Example of strategy games: Chess or Clash

of Clans

Types of computer games

Casual Game: these type of games have simple rules with no special skills to play and lack of commitment requires compared with complex games

Example of Casual Games: Sky Burger

Your First Game from Scratch: The Pong Game

The original Pong, from 1972, looked like this:

Specifying the Game Concept and RulesIt’s good practice to start by specifying the game concept and writing the rules of the game down on paper.

Pong Game Concept and Rules The Game Concept - The purpose of this game

is to defeat your opponent in a simulated table tennis (ping-pong) game by being the first to reach a score of 11. Players control a paddle (ping-pong racket).

Your First Game from Scratch: The Pong Game

Adding Behaviors

rule behavior is used to define a condition to a behavior. It could be a condition on the actor or on an attribute. It could be one condition, several conditions at the same time.

Adding Behaviors

Move Behavior: There are several perimeters to the Move behavior.

Direction: You can either enter a value in degrees or a mathematical equation to define the direction that the actor will take.

Relative to: This defines the point of reference for the movement.

Move type: You can choose between additive or stacked. Additive will sum up the speed and direction of other Move or Move To behaviors, while stacked will only apply the speed and direction of the most recent Move or Move To behaviors.

Speed: You can either put a value or open the Equation Editor by clicking the little box with the “e”

Adding Behaviors

Random Function: Select the Random (min, max) function by clicking on the insert function dropdown menu.

Adding Behaviors

About Memory: Memory is a precious resource in an iOS device.

Although iPhone 4S can have up to 64GB, the dynamic memory allocated for your runtime is much more limited (a few MB only). It is an excellent practice to destroy an actor as soon as it becomes useless for the rest of the game. If your actor will be needed later, an advance technique for performance optimization is recycling

Fixed rotation is to prevent an actor from spinning around when it collides with another actor

GameSalad

Additional conditions to prevent actor from going outside the scene: Attribute, game.Mouse.Position.Y,>, 60 Attribute, game.Mouse.Position.Y, <, 260

The Mouse Device The mouse special object is an object inside

gameSalad in the Devices category. The Devices category helps you to take advantage of the hardware functionalities of iOS devices

GameSalad

Losing Zone Similar to the Winning Zone in the Pong game, it

is the area in your game that effect your game score or other attribute

Common Behaviors

Change Attribute: This action allows you to set, change or

increment a game or actor attribute.

For example:Add 250 points to a game level attribute called score by choosing to increment by 250 in the increment field, or remove a life from the player by changing a game level attribute called lives by specifying -1 in the increment field. Or change an actors color!

Common Behaviors

Change Velocity: Specify movement in a particular angle

relative to the actor or to the scene.

Collide: Use this behavior when you want control

which actor or groups of actors to bounce against. You can specify these actors or a group of actors with a tag.

Common Behaviors

Constrain Attribute: his behavior continuously updates the

value of one attribute to that of another.

Destroy: Immediately remove the actor from the

scene. Best when used with a rule

Common Behaviors

Display Text: Specify the color, alignment, location,

direction, font, size and text (including game, scene or actor attributes such as score or lives) displayed on an actor. Text may optionally be wrapped within the actor's bounds before position offsets

Move: Specify movement in a particular angle

relative to the actor or to the scene

Common Behaviors

Note: Write a note to yourself or for other

creators about a behavior, rule or group.

Pause Game: Pause the current scene, and display the

Pause screen over the current scene. Use Unpause Game to resume the game.

Common Behaviors

Spawn Actor :

Good for "firing" projectiles, dropping items, or laying eggs! This behavior creates a new actor instance in the scene. Specify the spawned actor instance's directional and angular position relative to the scene or spawning actor.