Properties

Properties contain and define the variables and data tath define the objects in your experience.

A lot of assets come with predefined settings, but once they are added to your experience an object's settings can be adjusted and tweaked to suit your needs.

To make these adjustments you will need to access what’s called the Properties Panel, which is as simple as clicking the desired object and, if it isn’t already open, clicking the purple square with the white triangle, located in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

This will open a long thin panel along the right-hand side of the screen that houses everything you need to know about your select object. It’s where you can control its position, its visibility, see what gems it has, as well as add or adjust its behaviours, components or tags.

The Layout

In this section, we will step through some key features of the Properties Panel to make sure you know where you can access the appropriate settings to customize your objects.

Moving from top to bottom, you will find that most objects' Properties Panels will have the same order of information.

These are the object's Name, Transformation, Physics Settings, Attributes, Behaviours (which includes Components), Tags, and Asset Information.

If you're ever uncertain about how you can use a specific variable, you can hover your mouse over the parameter name and an info box will pop up to share some quick tips.

Name Tab

In this section of the Properties panel, you can see the name of the object. This will, by default, have the same name as the original asset.

You are, however, able to change the object's name, and it is useful to do so if you intend to use multiple copies of the same object, otherwise, it can become harder to distinguish one identical object from another.

If you look just next to the Name there is an icon of a little eye. This button controls the visibility of the object, making it either appear or not appear during gameplay.

You will be able to tell when visibility is toggled on or off in both the properties panel and the viewport.

When Visibility is off there will be a diagonal line through the eye in the Properties Panel, and the Object will go transparent in the viewport.

Invisible Objects are still present in the game and can be run into if Collision is turned on.

Transform

The transform tab is where you can see the coordinates of your objects in 3D space.

Position changes the location of your object based on the coordinates of your land along the X, Y, and Z-axis.

When you click on your object and use the Gizmo (the red, blue and yellow arrows) to move your object, you will see these coordinate numbers update in real-time.

You can also type directly into the coordinate fields, and, when you press enter, the object will move to that exact coordinate along the axis you have edited.

The same is true of rotation, except instead of moving the Objects location, it will turn the object along the X, Y, or Z-axis from the origin point of that object.

You can see in the above image that the Object is rotating along the positive X-Axis from the origin point (set when the asset was created) at the feet, or base, of the object.

Be aware that if you set the Position of an Object with a Behaviour like Citizen to a location above or below the surface level of the Blocks, then the Object may not move properly.

Global and Local Coordinates

Toggling Global Coordinates means the numbers in the x, y, z-axis represent your object's position within the experience - or rather, the coordinates within the LAND.

Local Coordinates shows the object's origin in proximity to a specific Object it has been parented to.

In the case of position using local coordinates, an example would be that if the parent is moved, then the child will move as well, maintaining its coordinates in relation to the parent.

If an Object with a Parent has its coordinates set to 0, 0, 0, then this would move the object to the location of the Object it is parented to - This is because the Parent Object defines the Local Coordinates of the Child Object.

You can learn more about parenting and using a hierarchy to control and manage the relationships of your objects by heading to the Hierarchy topic.

Gizmos

When a Property has a coloured square or a coloured circle before its name, it means that it’s linked to a gizmo.

A Gizmo is a shape in the Game Maker used for controlling and visualising parameters. As you can see in the above image, the red circle gizmo is linked to the Enemy Detection parameter.

The Gizmo isn’t displayed when the game is being played, it is only visible when the experience is being edited.

These offer the benefit of being able to clearly identify directions and orientation of an object in 3D space, as well as showing information such as distances from an object.

As you can see here, the Yellow circle gizmo is linked to the Broadcast Range parameter. The gizmo shape and colour is always the same as the one next to the name.

Physics Settings

The Physics property determines how the OBJECT collides with other OBJECTs.

Collisions: The object has collisions but can only move through behaviours.

No collisions: The object is immaterial and will ignore collisions and physics.

Collisions + Gravity: The object is affected by gravity and can be pushed.

Attributes

Attributes determine the tolerance characteristics of an ASSET.

These attributes may have various effects depending on the behaviours applied to the ASSET. You can see the Attributes effects here.

Attributes cannot be edited in the Game Maker. They are determined when publishing an ASSET to the Marketplace through the CATALYST and GEMs system.

Behaviours

The Behaviour property is a list of logic presets which determine how an entity behaves in the world.

From passive NPC to hostile enemy, this is the primary property that determines the asset’s persona.

Only ONE Behaviour can be assigned to an Asset.

Components

A Component modifies the selected OBJECT's Behaviour in greater detail. This means additional functions can be added for further interactive and persona customization.

A list of Components can be found here.

Multiple Components can be assigned to an Asset.

Edit Logic

This is the deepest level of detail for customizing an asset’s persona. This is where the detailed functions of each Component can be changed and edited.

Customizing each level of detail (Behaviour, Component, Edit Logic) is what makes a game truly unique and memorable.