This is an EASY activity anyone can do, which will teach you how to create a new game and move the camera and your avatar in Game Maker. You will learn additional controls for the camera in Build mode and how to place blocks in the next activity.
Start
Launch Game Client OR
Launch Game Maker, create a 1x1 Experience and press TAB to begin Play mode
Camera and Movement
Tilt the camera with the mouse, zoom in/out
Without moving the camera, move the avatar with WASD
Free movement, guiding the avatar by pointing the camera
(WASD relative to camera)
Toggled player actions
Press C to stand/crouch/crawl
Hold C to drop to crawl
Press X to sit/stand
Shift Modifier
Double click to Roll
Hold while pressing WASD buttons to Run
Free running movement with SHIFT + WASD buttons and mouse movement
Run + Jump with SPACEBAR
Run + Slide by pressing C
Combat
Left Click to Attack
Hold Left Click to charge and release a Lunge Attack (creates Avatar movement)
Right Click to Block
Now you know the basics to start playing in the metaverse or test your creations! Learn more about building in the next activity.
2. Build: Camera Controls & Blocks
This is an EASY activityanyone can do, and will show you the controls needed to navigate while building in Game Maker and terraform with blocks. Once you know how to navigate and build with blocks, you'll be ready to place and manipulate objects in Activity 3.
Open an Experience in Game Maker or create a new one
Find Blocks
Open the Experience created in Activity 1 or create a new one.
Open the Library (press L), filter to only show blocks, and drag two to the Toolbar
Use the Free Brush to learn basic techniques
Column - one by one
Clicking the left mouse button one by one to add new blocks to the top
Position to add a new block at the top, hold left mouse button and drag down to create a wall
Remove blocks in the wall to create holes
Replace blocks on the wall to create a pattern
Create a column of blocks with SHIFT (hold left mouse button, hold shift, move mouse to desired height, let go)
Create a rectangular column of blocks (hold left mouse button, move mouse to draw the base of the rectangle, hold shift, move mouse to desired height, let go)
Insert block into air (hover over LAND at desired height, press the INSERT key to toggle this mode on, left click to place), practice this step a few times
Build a Sky Island
Insert a few more blocks in the air
Connect them by positioning to add a new block on the side of one inserted block, hold the left mouse button, move the mouse to touch another block in the air and release when you see the rectangle of blocks that will appear
Test Other Block Brushes
Test other brushes and try using the techniques from this video with each brush
Test what each brush looks like when you adjust the length, width, and height
Now that you know how to build with blocks, you can block out the 3D space for your Experience, create terrain details and paths to guide players. Learn how to add objects into your world in the next activity.
3. Build: Place & Position Assets
This is an EASY activity anyone can do. It will introduce asset placement and movement in the Game Maker to build a scene.
Find Assets
Open or create an Experience (shown in Activities 1 and 2)
Open the Library (press L), filter to only show entities, find five different assets (human, platform, animal, etc) and drag them into the Toolbar
Place and Remove Objects
Select the asset you want to place in the Toolbar, use left click to place it as an object. Remove one by using the right mouse button or the DELETE key when it's selected.
Use SHIFT to snap to the grid when placing an asset
Add all assets to the scene
Select and duplicate objects with CTRL+D
Select multiple objects (dragging the mouse to draw a rectangle, SHIFT key to add to selection, and CTRL key to add and remove from selection) and duplicate at least two objects.
Manipulate Objects
Select an object and move it using the gizmo and the coordinates under Properties, try using SHIFT to snap to the grid for easy movement in half block increments
Select an object and rotate it using the gizmo and the coordinates under Properties, try using SHIFT to snap to 45 degree increments of rotation
Position the objects a few blocks apart and face them as you like
Practice creating a scene using what you've learne
It takes practice to get used to the controls to place and move objects where you want more quickly. Now you have the basic skills to find assets and build a scene. Assets you place may include default behaviours applied.
The next activity will introduce behaviours to drive an object's actions and components to add interactive potential.
4. Build: Add & Customize Basic Behaviours
This is a MEDIUM difficulty activity to create simple logic and then modify behaviours to create custom interactions between objects.
Video coming soon!
Applying and Customising Behaviors
Some assets are minted with default behaviors, but you can change them.
Each behavior we'll test in this Activity are pre-made to interact with other objects that have certain tags applied. Note that when you apply a behavior, the object with have gizmos, glowing boxes or rings that show the range for movement, detection, etc.
As you set up logic in the activity, you will occasionally press the TAB key to test in Play mode and press TAB again to return to Build mode.
Test: Observe default behaviour settings
Place an object that looks like a plant and apply Plant behaviour. This also applies a Plant tag to give the object an identity for other objects to discover and respond to.
Place another object new the plant and apply Prey behavior (which includes the Prey tag). Press TAB to test to see it walk up to the plant and interact with it as food. This object is also ready to flee from objects with the Predator tag.
Place another object nearby and apply Predator behavior (which includes the Predator tag). It will seek and attack objects with the Prey tag, and the Prey object will run away. Press TAB to test these interactions. Notice that if you get too close, the Predator will chase your avatar, too!
Test: Observe how Tags can change during play
Move to a different area so the objects from the first test are not involved in this test.
Place an object and apply Citizen behavior (which includes the Citizen tag and tells it to flee from the Hostiles tag when detected).
Place another object and apply Soldier behavior (which includes the Soldier tag and tells it to chase and attack the Hostiles tag when detected).
Press TAB to see them walk around in Play mode. Attack the object with Soldier behaviour and see it switch from peaceful to attacking you. This is because your avatar has gained the Hostile tag. When you press TAB to exit play mode, you'll reset the Experience so you won't have the Hostile tag next time.
Test: Create two factions by changing object tags and behaviour settings
Place three objects in a group and apply Melee behaviour. Select them all to view their Properties all at once.
Remove the objects' Hostile tag by pressing the X next to the tag name. Now type the tag FactionA and press enter to apply it to all of the selected objects.
Scroll up to the Tags to Attack inside the Melee behaviour. Remove all tags listed by pressing the X next to the tag names and add FactionB.
While all three of these objects are selected, press CTRL+D to duplicate the group and use the Move button to move them near the original group (so they'll be detected during testing).
While all of three new objects are selected, remove their tag FactionA and add the tag FactionB.
Scroll up to the Tags to Attack inside the Melee behaviour. Remove all tags listed and add FactionA.
Now it's time to watch the battle! Press TAB and observe how they will only attack objects that have the tags you specified. Notice they will not touch the Avatar even if you attack because you've only told them to focus on each other.
Modification - Select the objects from one of the factions, add Avatar to their Tags to Attack list and join the fray!
Test: Modify and test parameter changes (your choice)
Modify your object's Melee behaviour parameters such as walking speed, walking zone, detection, and more. Test frequently in Play mode with TAB to see the results of your modifications.
What kind of gameplay can you imagine with what you've learned about these basic behaviours?
There are MANY more behaviors to explore, but you've learned everything you need to set up a scene and bring NFTs to life with a few simple tests from this activity. You've learned how much granular control you have on the NFTs you create or purchase to use in your Experiences.
In the next activity, you'll try some new behaviors to create functional game logic and add components to make objects in your world more interactive.
