Transcript
This sample chapter is for review purposes only. Copyright © The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. All rights reserved.
Name: __________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________________
Lesson 3
Class: ___________________________________________
Situation
Click Ball
The Awesome Game Company wants to create a game for young children to improve the child’s control of the mouse and ability to left click. First, you must learn the definition of a video game and the associated rules and victory condition. The information in this section discusses these aspects.
How to Begin 1. Read the passage below. 2. Complete the review questions. 3. Turn in all materials. 4. Complete the game build.
Reading Materials A video game is a software-entertainment product that has a game environment, rules, and a victory condition. The game environment is what separates a video game from all other games. The game environment is a setting altered or designed to play a specific game activity. For a game like baseball, the game environment is the baseball field. The field has been altered to have three bases, home plate, a pitcher’s mound, in-bounds areas, and foul areas. None of these things exist in nature. A piece of land has been changed to make this game environment.
Objectives
In a video game, the game environment is a virtual game world. This virtual world is seen through a video screen, thus the video in video game. The video display is the part of the game environment that separates video games from regular games (such as board games). The really cool part of a virtual world is that anything can happen without regard to reality. Both realistic and unrealistic events can occur in a video game. It is up to the designer to create the world.
Students will use game-design tools to create a simple game. Students will set a background color and apply sprites to enhance a room (scene).
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Students will program objects to react to the game rules.
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Introduction to Video Game Design
Inside the game environment are the rules that determine the gameplay. A rule is a constraint that determines what can or cannot happen in the game. Look at the baseball example again, the game rules become clear. Inside the game environment of the baseball field these rules apply: teams have nine players, each team has three outs per inning, there are nine innings in a game (unless the score is tied after nine innings), each batter can take up to three strikes to reach base or an out is recorded, if the ball is caught before it hits the ground it is an out, etc. There are, of course, many more rules than these for the game of baseball. It is important to understand that rules make the game environment meaningful. Imagine if the rules for the game of baseball did not set an out of bounds. The batter could hit the ball anywhere out of bounds to have a home run. That makes the out of bounds rule a very important part of the game environment for baseball. Much thought has been put into designing the rules of baseball. Similarly, a video game designer has to be very careful when making the rules for a video game. Rules must help the player feel the game is fair and winnable. This is one of the main reasons to construct a rule. If players feel the game cannot be won, they will not play it. Other rules help create the game environment, like the out-of-bounds rule in baseball. Lesson 3
Click Ball
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Name: __________________________________________ Date: ___________________________________________
Situation
Lastly, a game must have a victory condition. A victory condition defines what the player must achieve in order to win the game. It is a moment in gameplay where the player has overcome the objective and is the winner of the game or a level within the game. In baseball, the victory condition is the team with the most points at the end of nine innings is the winner. In a video game, the victory condition may be defeating a very strong enemy or getting to the end of a quest. It is the imagination of the game designer that sets the victory condition.
Class: ___________________________________________
The Awesome Game Company wants to create a game for young children to improve the child’s control of the mouse and ability to left click. This game hopes to improve motor skills for these young children in a fun game environment. The game will need three levels, each requiring better mouse skill and hand-eye coordination.
Review Questions and Activities
How to Begin
Vocabulary Questions Write a definition for each of the terms listed below.
1. Launch Game Maker 8.0.
1. video game: ________________________________________________________________
2. If the splash screen is displayed asking if you wish to buy the Pro edition, click the Continue Using the Lite Edition button.
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
3. Click the Create a Room button on the toolbar to create a new room or scene for your game. You could also select Resources>Create Room from the pull-down menu. The Room Properties dialog box is displayed.
2. game environment: __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
4. Select the Backgrounds tab, Figure 3-1. The background color for the room is gray by default, as shown in the Color: swatch and the room grid.
___________________________________________________________________________ 3. rule: _______________________________________________________________________
Create a Room
5. Click the Color: swatch to open the Color dialog box, Figure 3-2.
___________________________________________________________________________
6. Select a green color swatch (any green) and click the OK button to close the Color dialog box and change the background color for the room to green.
___________________________________________________________________________ 4. victory condition: ____________________________________________________________
Notice that the room has a grid pattern with gray lines on the green background. The spacing of these grid lines can be changed by entering new values in the Snap X: and Snap Y: text boxes. Grid lines do not show during gameplay, they only help in alignment during design.
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
Color swatch
Review Questions
Snap settings
5. Describe how a video game differs from a regular game. tab
Applied Technology 26
Language Arts
Mathematics
Science
Social Science
Introduction to Video Game Design
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Backgrounds
___________________________________________________________________________
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
___________________________________________________________________________
Room grid
Isometric grid on/off
Figure 3-1
Lesson 3
Click Ball
Grid on/off
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Name: __________________________________________ 14. Click the Windows close button (the red X in the top right corner of the window) to close the Room Properties dialog box.
Select a color
15. A warning appears asking if you want to save the changes to the room. Click the Yes button to save the changes. 16. Select File>Save As… from the pull-down menu. 17. In the Save As dialog box, navigate to the folder specified by your instructor. Then, save the file as LastName_Click Ball.
Adding and Naming Sprites This section covers creating and naming sprites. In naming game assets, you should follow a naming convention, which is a standard way of naming items. A naming convention makes it easy to identify the proper game asset during game construction. These prefixes will be used in asset names: SPR_ for sprites, OBJ_ for objects, SND_ for sounds, and BCK_ for background images. For example, you may have a sprite named explosion and a sound named explosion. By using a naming convention, you will be able to quickly identify the correct item.
Figure 3-2 7. Change the grid lines so they are 20 pixels apart in both the X and Y direction. 8. Click the Toggle the Showing of the Grid button to the right of the Snap Y: button. The grid is removed from the room. Click the button again to reapply the grid. Toggle the Showing of the Grid
Turn the Grid into an Isometric Grid
18. Click the Create a Sprite button on the toolbar. The Sprite Properties dialog box is displayed, Figure 3-4.
9. Click the Turn the Grid into an Isometric Grid button. The grid lines are now at 45° to horizontal and vertical. Isometric games use a slanted game board to give the illusion of three dimensions in a two-dimensional game. Click the button again to return to the normal grid.
19. In the Name: text box, type SPR_Ball to identify this asset as a sprite, or an image, of a ball.
Create a Sprite
20. Click the Load Sprite button. A standard Windows “open” dialog box is displayed.
10. Click the Settings tab to display the settings for the room. In this tab, the name, caption (title), and size of the room can be changed, Figure 3-3.
21. Navigate to the Game Maker Sprites folder, if it is not already current. Your instructor may have you use a different folder location.
11. In the Name: text box, be sure the name room0 is displayed. If not, change the name to room0.
22. In the Sprites folder, navigate to the Bouncing Balls subfolder. 23. Select the ball_pinball.png image file. A preview of the image appears on the right-hand side of the dialog box.
12. In the Caption for the room: text box, enter Level 1. 13. The size of the room is set in the Width: and Height: text boxes. Change the size to 640 wide × 480 tall, if it is not already.
23. Click the Open button to assign the image file to the sprite.
Name the sprite
Image assigned to the sprite
Room caption Size
Figure 3-3 28
Introduction to Video Game Design
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Room name Click to assign an image to the sprite
Figure 3-4 Lesson 3
Click Ball
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Name: __________________________________________ 24. Click the OK button in the Sprite Properties dialog box to finish creating the sprite. The sprite is added to the resource tree in the Sprites branch (folder).
32. Click the Show Information button. The Information about: dialog box is displayed. This dialog box shows the scripting for the object. When changes are made in the Object Properties dialog box, Game Maker automatically builds the scripting so you do not have to. Close the Information about: dialog box.
25. Using similar steps, create a wall sprite named SPR_Wall using the wall_block.png image file located in the Maze-Platform folder.
33. Leave all other options in the Object Properties dialog box at the default settings, and click the OK button to finish creating the object.
26. Save your game build before continuing (File>Save or the Save the Game button on the toolbar). Save the Game
34. The OBJ_Ball object is added to the resource tree in the Objects branch (folder).
Adding and Naming Objects
35. Using similar steps, create a wall object named OBJ_Wall using the SPR_Wall sprite. Check both the Visible and Solid check boxes. Since this object will not move, it is okay to make the object solid.
You now have two sprites. They are listed in the resource tree in the Sprites branch. However, sprites cannot be placed in the room, only objects. You now need to create objects, have these objects “wear” the sprites, and then place the objects in the room (scene).
36. Save your work.
27. Click the Create an Object button on the toolbar. The Object Properties dialog box is displayed, Figure 3-5. Create an Object
Adding Objects to the Room Now, you have created two sprites and two objects. You have also assigned the sprites to the objects. However, you have not yet placed the objects in a room (scene). Remember, earlier you created a room named room0. You will use this room to build the game.
28. In the Name: text box, type OBJ_Ball. 29. Look at the Sprite area, which currently states to indicate no sprite has been assigned to the object. Click the selection button to the right of the display. A list of available sprites is displayed.
37. In the resource tree, expand the Rooms branch and double-click room0 to open the room for editing.
30. Choose the SPR_Ball sprite from the list.
38. Click the Windows maximize button in the top-right corner of the Room Properties window to maximize the room display.
31. Check the Visible check box so that the ball object can be seen in the game. Note: do not check the Solid check box to make the ball a solid object. Instead, moving objects need to be programmed to act solid. Game Maker does not work as well when moving objects are made solid. The objects may get stuck inside another solid object. Avoid making moving objects solid in your game builds, but objects that will not move can be set to solid.
39. Click the Objects tab in the Room Properties dialog box (which is now maximized). At the bottom of the tab are some helpful directions, as shown in Figure 3-6. 40. Click the selection button to display a list of objects and choose the OBJ_Ball object. 41. Left-click anywhere in the room to place an instance of the ball object. Notice that the object snaps to a position that is aligned to the top-left corner of the grid.
Name the object
Click to select a sprite
42. Left-click anywhere in the room to place another instance of the ball. 43. Right-click on each ball object to delete both of them.
Check to make the object visible
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Sprite assigned to object
Do not check
Figure 3-5 30
Introduction to Video Game Design
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
44. Hold down the [Alt] key on the keyboard and left-click anywhere in the room. An instance of the object is placed in the room, but it does not snap to the grid lines. 45. Hold down the [Ctrl] key and left-click the ball object you just added. Drag the ball so it is located in the center of the room and then release the mouse button. Notice as you drag the object, it snaps to the grid. If you hold down the [Ctrl] and [Alt] keys, you can drag the object without it snapping to the grid.
Object to be inserted
Click to select a different object
Coordinates of cursor
Figure 3-6 Lesson 3
Click Ball
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Name: __________________________________________ 46. Change the object to be inserted to the OBJ_Wall object.
Programming Conditions and Events
47. Move the cursor to the top right-corner of the room.
Remember, Game Maker uses events and actions to create the interactions needed in a game. Your game does not yet have any programming, only scene design. The first programming is to create an event for the ball to move in a random direction. Random actions and chance allow for games to be unpredictable and more fun when they are replayed.
48. Hold down the [Shift] key, then click the left mouse button and drag along the top of the room to add a series of OBJ_Wall objects to create a wall. Notice that the wall bricks automatically snap to the grid, which results in gaps in the wall.
55. In the resource tree, double-click on the OBJ_Ball leaf to open the Object Properties dialog box. Notice the Events: and Actions: columns. These columns are used for programming.
49. Click the right mouse button and drag across the wall object to erase them. 50. Change the grid size to 32 × 32. The sprite assigned to the OBJ_Wall object is 32 × 32 pixels, so the grid now matches the size of the object.
56. Click the Add Event button at the bottom of the Events: column. The Choose an Event to Add dialog box is displayed.
51. Holding down the [Shift] key, drag to create a row of OBJ_Wall objects along the top of the room. There should be no gaps in the wall now.
57. Click the Create button in the Choose the Event to Add dialog box.
52. In a similar manner, create a wall all the way around the room. See Figure 3-7.
An event is added that translates to:
53. Close the room by clicking the Windows close button (the X). When prompted to save the room, click the Yes button.
IF the OBJ_Ball object is created, THEN perform all actions displayed in the Actions: column.
54. Save your work.
Right now, the Actions: column is blank, so you need to add something cool for the ball to do when the game begins. The first action will be to make the ball object move. OBJ_Wall objects added to create a wall around the room
58. Click the Move tab on the right side of the Object Properties dialog box, Figure 3-8. 59. Hover the cursor over each button on the first row to find the Move Fixed button. Drag this button and drop it onto the blank section of the Actions: column. The Move Fixed dialog box is displayed and the Start moving in a direction entry appears in the Action: column.
Move Fixed
60. In the Move Fixed dialog box, click the Self radio button in the Applies to area, Figure 3-9. Since you are modifying the properties of the OBJ_Ball object, this means that the selected movement will apply to that object (self).
Figure 3-7
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Introduction to Video Game Design
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Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Drag the Move Fixed button into the Actions: column
Click the Move tab
Figure 3-8 Lesson 3
Click Ball
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Name: __________________________________________
Testing
Movement should be applied to the ball (self)
While designing a game, you will want to try things out along the way to make sure everything is working as you intended. Click the Run the Game button on the toolbar. When the game compiles and starts, the ball will move, but it eventually travels outside of the room. It does not bounce off of the walls as it should. In a game, just because it looks like a wall does not mean that it will act like a wall. Remember, the “wall” is just a picture of a wall. You now need to program the wall and ball objects to react to each other as if they were real. This concept is called collision theory. You need to apply collision theory so the objects act realistically during gameplay. A collision is simply when things touch, hit, or come in contact with each other. Not all objects will react when they collide. Think about a flying game with an airplane and clouds. You do not want the clouds to react to the airplane. It should be able to pass right through the clouds. For the Click Ball game, you need to create a new event for:
Select the four diagonal arrows Set the speed
IF the OBJ_Ball object collides with the OBJ_Wall object, THEN the OBJ_Ball object bounces.
Leave unchecked
Follow the steps below to program this.
Figure 3-9
68. Close the game preview.
61. At the bottom of the Move Fixed dialog box is a matrix of directional arrows. Click the four diagonal arrows to select them. Selected arrows are red, while unselected arrows are blue.
69. In the resource tree, double-click OBJ_Ball to open the Object Properties dialog box.
When the game is played, one of the selected directions will be randomly applied to the object. This means that the ball will randomly travel in one of these four directions. Do not click the center square. The center square is no movement. If you were to run the game right now, even with the directions selected, the ball would not move because it would be traveling at a speed of zero.
70. In the Object Properties dialog box, click the Add Event button. 71. In the Choose the Event to Add dialog box, click the Collision button. A menu is displayed showing all of the available objects. Select the OBJ_Wall object for this collision. Notice that a new event has been added to the Events: column in the Object Properties dialog box. Each event will be listed on a separate line. Now, you must add the action that will take place for the event.
62. In the Speed: text box, enter 10. This setting will have Game Maker move the OBJ_Ball object ten pixels for every one step of time. The default setting for a step is 30 per second.
72. On the Move tab of the Object Properties dialog box, locate the Bounce button and drag it into the Actions: column. The Bounce dialog box is displayed.
63. How many pixels will the ball move in one second? ________________________________ To change the speed of all objects, you can also change the step number. If the step number is increased, the speed will increase. If the step number is decreased, the speed will decrease. If you wanted the ball to travel 120 pixels in one second and entered 2 in the object’s Speed: setting, what would the step number need to be to get the ball to move properly? ___________________________________________________________________________
73. Click the Self radio button so the ball will bounce, not the wall (you are adjusting the ball object properties), Figure 3-10.
65. Click the OK button in the Moved Fixed dialog box. 66. Close the Object Properties dialog box, saving the changes when prompted. 67. Save your work.
Introduction to Video Game Design
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64. Make sure the Relative check box is unchecked.
75. Click the button to the right of the Against: text box and select Solid Objects from the menu. Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Relative is a term that means “from where it was before.” If the ball is already moving at a speed of five, a relative speed of ten would increase the speed by ten, not to ten. In other words, the new speed would be 15. What would be the speed of an object traveling at a speed of 15 when the speed is increased for a Speed: setting of 10 relative? ___________________________________________________________________________
Bounce
74. Click the button to the right of the Precise: text box and select Not Precisely from the menu.
The step number setting is not changed in the Move Fixed dialog box. You will not change this setting for this lesson, but you will change the step number in later activities.
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Run the Game
Remember, the wall object is set to be a solid object. Since the ball is now set to bounce against solid objects, if you edit the wall object and uncheck the Solid check box, the ball will pass right through the wall. 76. Click the OK button to close the Bounce dialog box and add the action to the object properties. 77. Test play the game. You do not need to close the Object Properties dialog box to test play the game. After seeing how the game runs, close the game preview. 78. Save your work.
Lesson 3
Click Ball
Run the Game
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Name: __________________________________________ 87. Test play the game and see how many times you can click the ball in one minute. The score is displayed in the title bar of the game preview. Then, close the game preview.
Select to apply the bounce to this object
Run the Game
Cashing in on Sound You now have the elements of a simple game, but it needs a little tuning or improvement. Start tuning by adding some sound to let the player know when the ball has been clicked and a point has been received. First, you need to add the sound to the resource tree.
Click to select a precision
88. Click the Create a Sound button on the toolbar. The Sound Properties dialog box is displayed, Figure 3-11.
Click to select against what the bounce will occur
89. In the Name: text box, enter SND_Click. This identifies the sound as for the click event.
Create a Sound
90. Click the Load Sound button. A standard Windows “open” dialog box is displayed. 91. Navigate to the Game Maker Sounds folder, if it is not already displayed. Your teacher may specify a different folder. Figure 3-10
92. You can preview any sound in Media Player by right-clicking on the file and selecting Play from the shortcut menu. Select the cash_register.wav sound file in the open dialog box and click the Open button.
Mouse Click on the Ball You now have a bouncing ball, but nothing else. Time to add some fun to the game and give the player a reason to play. You need to add an event:
93. In the Sound Properties dialog box, click the Normal radio button in the Kind area. 94. In the Effect area, uncheck all check boxes so no effects will be applied.
IF the player clicks the ball with the left mouse button, THEN add a point to the score.
95. Drag the Volume: slider to the far right (full volume).
Follow the steps below to program this. The Object Properties dialog box should be open. If not, double-click on OBJ_Ball in the resource tree to open it.
96. Drag the Pan: slider to the middle position. 97. Check the Preload check box. Preloading loads the sound into the game when the game is launched. This will help the game play smoother. Otherwise, the game will freeze for an instant the first time the sound must be played as the computer searches for, loads, and plays the sound.
79. Click the Add Event button. 80. In the Choose the Event to Add dialog box, click the Mouse button and, in the menu that is displayed, select Left Pressed. Do not select Left Button. The Left Pressed option is the condition when the player clicks the button. The Left Button option is the condition when the left mouse button is being held down, not clicked.
Click to load a sound
81. In the Object Properties dialog box, click the Score tab. 82. Locate the Set Score button and drag it into the Action: column. The Set Score dialog box is displayed.
Remember, relative means “from where it was before.” This action changes the score to “one from where it was before.” In other words, it increases the score by one each time the ball is clicked with the left mouse button. If you do not check the Relative check box, the score will always be 1. 85. Close the Object Properties dialog box, saving the changes when prompted. 86. Save your work.
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Introduction to Video Game Design
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
83. In the Set Score dialog box, enter 1 in the New score: text box. 84. At the bottom of the Set Score dialog box, check the Relative check box. Then, click the OK button to create the action.
Set the type of sound Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Set Score
Name the sound asset
Check the effects to apply
Figure 3-11 Lesson 3
Click Ball
37
Name: __________________________________________ 98. Click the OK button to close the Sound Properties dialog box.
Victory Condition
Next, you need to program the logic statement:
The victory condition is what it takes to win the game. In the Click Ball game, the player will win if the ball is clicked ten times. The game needs to be programmed to check each time a point is scored to see if the total is enough to win. This procedure is called a test. In a test, the programming looks to see if a condition is True or False. Each time the programming tests a condition, it will return a value of True or False. In this case, the victory condition is when True is returned for the test: is the score equal to 10 points?
IF the player clicks on the ball, THEN add one to the score AND play a sound. You have already programmed part of this logic statement, where the score is increased when the player clicks the ball. So, you need to add another action to this existing statement. 99. Open the Object Properties dialog box for the OBJ_Ball object.
110. Open the Object Properties dialog box for the OBJ_Ball object.
100. In the Event: column, select Left Pressed. The action currently assigned to this event is then displayed in the Actions: column. Currently, the only action listed is Set the score relative to 1.
111. In the Event: column, select Left Pressed. This is the event that adds 1 to the player score and plays the click sound.
101. On the right-hand side of the Object Properties dialog box, click the Main 1 tab.
112. Click the Score tab, then drag the Test Score button and drop it into the Actions: column, Figure 3-13. The Test Score dialog box is displayed.
102. Locate the Play Sound button and drag it into the Actions: column, Figure 3-12. The Play Sound dialog box is displayed. Play Sound
113. In the Test Score dialog box, enter 10 in the Value: text box.
103. In the Play Sound dialog box, click the selection button to the right of the Sound: text box. A menu appears listing all of the sounds that have been added to the game.
115. Click the OK button to close the Test Score dialog box and finish creating the action. This action tests if the score is equal to 10 every time the ball is clicked by the player.
104. Select the SND_Click sample in the menu. 105. Click the selection button to the right of the Loop: text box and select False from the menu.
116. Click the Main 2 tab.
Loop means the sound will play again after it finishes. The click sound should play only once each time the ball is clicked, so it should not loop. False is a programming command for “no.” To make the sound loop, choose True in the menu for “yes.”
117. Locate the End Game button. Drag and drop it into the Actions: column. Make sure the action is at the bottom of the list. If not, drag it to the bottom of the column. This action will end the game when the score reaches 10. The action must be at the bottom of the list because Game Maker processes the list in order from top to bottom. If, for example, the End the game action is placed above the If score is equal to 10 action, the game will end the first time the player clicks the ball. Save your work and test play the game.
106. Click OK in the Play Sound dialog box to finish creating the new action. 107. Save your work and test play the game. Run the Game
108. Using similar procedures, add an appropriate sound for when the ball collides with the wall. Remember, you will first need to create the sound in Game Maker.
Preview of loaded image
109. Save your work and test play the game.
End Game
Run the Game
Name the background
Drag a new action and drop it in the Actions: column
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Figure 3-12 Introduction to Video Game Design
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Click to load an image file
Select the event to modify
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Test Score
114. Click the select button to the right of the Operation: text box and select Equal To in the menu that appears.
Figure 3-13
Lesson 3
Click Ball
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Name: __________________________________________ Just above the background display box, which now displays BCK_Wood, is the Foreground image check box. The foreground is the image in front of all other images, as opposed to the background, which is the image behind all other images. If you make the wood the foreground, player will not be able to see the rest of the game. However, there are some instances where you will want the “background” image to be in the foreground. For example, if the image is a frame surrounding the playing field, you may want this image to be in the foreground so it is always in front of other objects.
Room for Expansion You have reached a milestone of design. Milestones of design are key points in the process of creating a game that represent significant events, such as the first playable level. The first playable level is the prototype version of the game that actually allows someone to play and test all of the interactions in the game. The Click Ball game has reached the first playable level milestone. It could use a little improvement, but it is a solid game. To add another level is very easy since most of the programming is already done. You can simply copy the first level and then edit it to require more skill to win. To better tell the player that a different level is being played, you will change the background. For the second level, you will add a picture background.
128. Check the Foreground image check box. Notice the “background” is now in front of all other objects. Uncheck the Foreground image check box to return the background to behind all other objects. 129. Click the Settings tab and enter Level 2 in the Caption for the room: text box.
118. In the resource tree, right-click on room0 and select Duplicate from the shortcut menu. Ta-da, level 2 (room1) ready to go!
130. On the toolbar in the Object Properties dialog box, click the Close the form, saving the changes button (green check mark) to close the dialog box and save the changes you made to the room.
119. Click the Create a Background button on the toolbar. The Background Properties dialog box is displayed, Figure 3-14. Create a Background
131. Save your work.
120. In the Name: text box, enter BCK_Level_2. This follows the naming convention, which calls for all background assets to begin with BCK_.
Level 2 Modifications
121. Click the Load Background button. A standard Windows “open” dialog box is displayed.
Using skills you learned earlier, increase the difficulty for level 2. For example, you could add some additional wall blocks to the room. This will give the ball more objects to bounce off of, which means it will change direction more often and be harder to click. You could also change the speed of the ball. Be creative in applying what you have already learned.
122. Navigate to the Game Maker Backgrounds folder. Your instructor may specify a different folder. 123. Select the wood.png file and click the Open button. 124. Close the Background Properties dialog box.
Cheat Code
125. If the Room Properties dialog box for room1 is not open, double-click room1 in the resource tree to open it.
A cheat code is a shortcut built into a game to help the quality assurance team and programmers navigate through the game. This allows them to jump past certain points without having to complete the task or level. To help you pass each level while testing your game, you will now program a cheat code.
126. Click the Backgrounds tab.
To stop the ball, program the logic statement:
127. Click the selection button to the right of the display box in the middle of the tab. Then, select BCK_Wood from the menu that is displayed.
IF the player presses the space bar, THEN set the ball speed to zero. To return the ball to normal speed, program the logic statement: IF the player presses the [Enter] key, THEN set the ball speed back to normal.
Click to assign a background
Assigned background Adjust the background position
Figure 3-14 40
Introduction to Video Game Design
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Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
132. Open the Object Properties window for the OBJ_Ball object. 133. Add an event for pressing the space bar. Use what you have learned to figure out how to do this. 134. Add an action for the event you just created that sets the ball speed to zero. Use what you have learned to figure out how to do this. 135. Add an event for pressing the [Enter] key. 136. Add an action for the event you just created that sets the ball speed back to the original speed for the level. 137. Test play the game and try out the cheat codes. 138. Save your work. Run the Game
Lesson 3
Click Ball
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Name: __________________________________________ 150. For the OBJ_Ball object, add programming below the existing 10 point victory condition action: IF the score equals 20, THEN move to the next room.
Next Room Currently, the player cannot get to level 2 once level 1 is defeated. This is because the programming currently ends the game when 10 points are achieved on level 1, instead of moving the player to level 2. Why? This is the victory condition you programmed earlier, to end the game when 10 points are achieved on level 1. The victory condition for level 1 needs to be modified:
151. Save your work.
Level 4: The End
IF the score is 10, THEN go to the next level (room). 139. Open the Object Properties dialog box for OBJ_Ball.
At the end of the game, the player should see some sort of congratulations. You will create this as a custom sprite with text.
140. In the Event: column, select Left Pressed.
152. Click the Create a Sprite button on the toolbar. The Sprite Properties dialog box is displayed.
141. In the Actions: column, right-click on End Game and select Delete from the shortcut menu.
153. In the Name: text box, enter SPR_EndText.
142. Click the Main 1 tab.
154. Click the Edit Sprite button to create an image from scratch. The Sprite Editor is displayed.
143. Drag the Next Room button into the Actions: column, Figure 3-15. The Next Room dialog box is displayed. Next Room
Create a Sprite
155. Click the Create New Sprite button on the Sprite Editor toolbar to display the Create a New Sprite dialog box. Note: this dialog box may be automatically displayed when the Sprite Editor is launched. Change the Height: and Width: settings to 100 and click the OK button.
144. In the Next Room dialog box, click the select button to the right of the Transition: text box and choose Fade out and in from the menu that appears.
A square canvas with a checkerboard pattern is displayed in the Sprite Editor. The checkerboard pattern represents transparent parts of the image and will not be part of the final image. Double-click on the checkerboard canvas to open the Image Editor. The Image Editor is used to create custom drawings and images, much like Microsoft Paint.
145. Click the OK button to close the Next Room dialog box. A transition allows for the next room to move into place smoothly. This is similar to the transitions used in PowerPoint slide shows. Without a transition, the next room would begin abruptly when the first one closes. Also note as you test play the game that it no longer ends. This is because you have removed the “end game” action. You will correct this in the next sections.
156. Notice the color palette on the right-hand side of the Image Editor. The Left: sample color is what will be used for the text, so left-click on a color swatch, such as the yellow swatch, in the palette below to set the color of the text. Right-clicking will set the color for the Right: sample.
Level 3 146. Duplicate room1 (level 2) to create room2 (level 3).
157. Click the Draw Text button. The Font area is displayed below the buttons, Figure 3-16.
147. Change the caption to Level 3.
158. Click the Aa button in the Font area to display a standard Windows font selection dialog box.
148. Modify the wall layout for more challenging gameplay.
Draw Text
159. Enter 20 in the Size: text box, and enter Bold in the Font style: text box. You can also make selections in the corresponding lists.
149. Change the background.
Figure 3-15 42
Introduction to Video Game Design
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
When the score is 10, the next room is displayed
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
160. Click the OK button to close the font selection dialog box and return to the Image Editor. 161. Click anywhere on the image canvas (the checkerboard section) to begin placing the words. The Drawing a Text dialog box is displayed, Figure 3-17. 162. In the Drawing a Text dialog box, type a phrase, such as Congratulations!#You are a#WINNER! The pound sign (#) indicates where a new line will start. 163. Click the OK button in the Drawing a Text dialog box to place the text onto the canvas. Notice that the words do not fit on the canvas. Game Maker is not very friendly with text. So, the best thing to do is undo the text placement, then either resize the canvas or use a smaller text size. For this example, you will resize the canvas. 164. Click the Undo button on the Image Editor toolbar to remove the text. Undo
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Name: __________________________________________ Change the width
Transparent background
Uncheck
Click to select the font, its size, and its color
Figure 3-18 171. Click the Center Align button in the Font section.
Alignment options for the text
172. Click the Close the Image Editor, saving the changes made button (green check mark) to close the Image Editor.
Center Align
173. In the Sprite Editor, click the OK, save changes button (green check mark) to close the Sprite Editor. Also, close the Sprite Properties dialog box, saving the changes when prompted. 174. Create a new object, name it OBJ_EndText, and assign the SPR_EndText sprite to it. 175. Create a new room (room3), which will be the room displayed when the player completes the game.
Figure 3-16
176. In the Room Properties dialog box for room3, add a background image of your choice to the room, but it should complement the yellow text. 177. Add the OBJ_EndText object to the room and place it in the center. 178. Open the Object Properties dialog box for the OBJ_Ball object. Add the programming needed to move the player from room2 to room3 when the score is 20. Figure 3-17
Now, the game has a victory condition for each level and the player receives a message when the game is successfully completed. However, on the final screen, there should be a way for the player to either replay the game or end the game. To do this, you will add Quit and Play buttons to the final screen (room3).
Line breaks
165. Select Transform>Resize Canvas… from the Image Editor pull-down menu. The Resize dialog box is displayed, Figure 3-18.
168. Make sure you have the Draw Text button still selected, then click near the top-left corner of the canvas to start placing the new text. Draw Text
169. Retype your statement in the Drawing a Text dialog box when it appears and then click the OK button to place the text. 170. Move the cursor over the text on the canvas. A move cursor (four arrows) is displayed. Click and drag the text to the center of the canvas.
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Introduction to Video Game Design
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167. Enter 300 in the Width: pixels text box. Make sure 100 is entered in the Height: pixels text box. Then, click the OK button to close the Resize dialog box.
179. Create a new sprite, name it SPR_Quit, and assign the button_quit.png image file to it. This image file is located in the Game Maker Sprites>Buttons folder. Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
166. In the Resize dialog box, uncheck the Keep Aspect Ratio check box. If you do not uncheck this, as the canvas is resized, the height and width will remain proportional. Proportional means the ratio of height to width remains the same.
180. Create a new sprite, name it SPR_Play, and assign the button_play.png image file to it. This image file is also located in the Game Maker Sprites>Buttons folder. 181. Create a new object, name it OBJ_Quit, and attach the SPR_Quit sprite to it. 182. Create an event: IF the player clicks the left mouse button. Remember how you did this for the OBJ_Ball object? 183. Create an action: THEN end the game. Remember how you did this to end the game before you added additional rooms? 184. Create a new object, name it OBJ_Play, and attach the SPR_Play sprite to it.
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Name: __________________________________________
Compile to an Executable So far, you have test played the game at various points during the game build. It is important to make all final changes to the game before it is compiled into an executable file. The executable file cannot be modified. To make changes to the game after the executable file is created, you must make the changes in Game Maker and rebuild the executable file (replacing the existing file). Once the game has been compiled into an executable file, it can be played on any PC without needing to have Game Maker installed. 194. Select File>Create Executable… from the pull-down menu. A standard Windows “save” dialog box is displayed. 195. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the executable file. Your instructor may specify a location. Click the Save button to save the file. 196. Test play the executable file and enjoy your success.
Going Beyond
Run the Game
197. Add a second ball to the game, different from the first ball (like a basketball).
Figure 3-19
198. Add enemy objects to the game and program this logic statement: IF the player clicks an enemy object, THEN the game ends.
185. Program this logic statement for the OBJ_Play object: IF the player clicks the left mouse button, THEN go to room0. For this action, you need to drag the Different Room button from the Main 1 tab and drag it into the Actions: column. In the Different Room dialog Different box that is displayed, select room0 and include a transition. Room
199. Program the ball objects to bounce when colliding with enemy objects. 200. Rename all rooms in order as Title, Level_1, Level_2, Level_3, and Winner. To rename a room, right-click on it in the resource tree and select Rename from the shortcut menu.
186. Place the OBJ_Quit and OBJ_Play objects in room3, Figure 3-19. 187. Save your work.
Title Page A game should always start with some directions on how to play the game. For this game, you will create a title page to tell players the name of the game and to give basic directions for playing. Start by creating a new room above room0. 188. Right-click on room0 in the resource tree. This is currently the topmost room in the tree.
191. Add the Quit and Play buttons to this room as well. 192. Test play the game. Check that all buttons work properly and that all aspects of the game function as they should. Run the Game
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193. Save your work
Introduction to Video Game Design
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
190. Using skills developed in this lesson, create an attractive slide to inform the player how to play the game. Include a game title, directions, your name, and images and directions needed to explain what the player should do.
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
189. Select Insert Room from the pull-down menu. A new room, named room4, is placed above room0 in the resource tree.
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Name: __________________________________________ 8. What is the new speed of an object traveling at speed of 15 that then is changed to a speed of 10 “relative”?
STEM Review Questions and Activities
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Review Questions
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1. List two ways to exit the Room Properties dialog box, saving changes to the room.
9. If you want a game object to travel 120 pixels in one second and the speed is set to 2, what does the steps-per-second setting need to be to get the ball to move properly?
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
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2. Explain how the grid and snap functions help speed up scene design.
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10. If the Keep Aspect Ratio check box is checked when resizing a canvas from 300 wide by 100 tall to a new size of 200 tall, what is the new width of the canvas?
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3. Describe how a naming convention can help quickly identify each game asset.
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___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. In Game Maker, how do you program the ball to increase in speed by five pixels per step every time the player clicks the ball? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. Describe how to place text in a Game Maker game. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 6. Explain how the bouncing ball in the game is different from a bouncing ball in the real world. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________
Math Integration Questions 7. In Game Maker, if an object moves 25 pixels in 10 seconds, what is the default setting for steps per second?
Applied Technology 48
Language Arts
Mathematics
Science
Social Science
Introduction to Video Game Design
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
___________________________________________________________________________
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
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Applied Technology Lesson 3
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Language Arts
Mathematics
Science
Social Science 49
Name: __________________________________________
Name: __________________________________________
Date: ___________________________________________
Design Reasoning—Peer Evaluation
Class: ___________________________________________
Game Review Objectives
Peer Evaluator: ___________________________________________________________________ 0
Students will evaluate the quality of their work and the work of others. Students will identify positive aspects of the playability and functionality of a game build. Students will provide constructive criticism to peers and suggest possible solutions to problems.
Situation The client has asked for an evaluation report on the playability and functionality of the game. Each member of the design team needs to evaluate the product and suggest reasons why each item achieves or does not achieve the objective. An assigned quality assurance (QA) evaluator will also review the game on behalf of the client. The QA evaluator (your instructor) will note any issues, errors, or bugs in the game. Be accurate and complete in your evaluations. The personal and peer evaluation are for the same game by the same designer. That means you must give your personal evaluation to a classmate for them to complete the peer evaluation for your game.
1
2
3
4
No main idea.
Clear throughout.
Aesthetics Do the look and colors fit the game?
Poor quality graphics and color.
Awesome graphics and theme-based colors.
Sound Effects Do the sounds play well? Are the music and ambient sounds appropriate?
No sound; sounds too loud or not related to the game.
Good sound for each item at good levels.
Functionality Does everything work?
Unfinished, could not play; major errors
Plays perfectly; no bugs, glitches or errors
Replay How likely are you to play this game again?
Game solved, too easy or uninteresting.
Cannot wait to play this again!
Reflect on your work, explain your score for each item, list improvements needed for your game. Attach additional sheets if needed or complete using a word processor. ___________________________________________________________________________
Comments and Constructive Criticism Explain your score for each item. Explain what you liked about the item and how it should be improved. Be detailed and complete. Cite specific examples from the game. Attach additional sheets if needed or complete using a word processor. ___________________________________________________________________________
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1
2
3
4
5
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Score
Concept Is the idea well developed?
No main idea.
Clear throughout.
___________________________________________________________________________
Aesthetics Do the look and colors fit the game?
Poor quality graphics and color.
Awesome graphics and theme-based colors.
___________________________________________________________________________
Sound Effects Do the sounds play well? Are the music and ambient sounds appropriate?
No sound; sounds too loud or not related to the game.
Good sound for each item at good levels.
Functionality Does everything work?
Unfinished, could not play; major errors
Plays perfectly; no bugs, glitches or errors
Replay How likely are you to play this game again?
Game solved, too easy or uninteresting.
Cannot wait to play this again!
Introduction to Video Game Design
___________________________________________________________________________
Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
___________________________________________________________________________ Copyright by The Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Total Score (higher is better) 50
Score
Total Score (higher is better)
Design Reasoning—Personal Evaluation
0
5
Concept Is the idea well developed?
___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Scores for items not fully documented and cited may reduce the score of the peer evaluator and the evaluator’s game project. Be honest and provide constructive criticism. Being unprofessional or lowering a grade on a personal issue unrelated to the game design will result in your grade for this evaluation being lowered.
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