How to, steps and help

Everyone will need a new Trello board for this project with just your team added, plus the teacher.

Note down any issues and any links for 'how-tos' that you find useful on the Stencyl How To guide board.

Sketch out the levels before going onto the computer.
Consider the gameplay before coding.
KISS!

1. set up workspace
new blank game 640x480 

2.
create a character of
50x50 pixels
piskelapp
columns, three frames

3.
animate walk left, walk right, still

4.
create a new scene, default settings

5.
Design your game
tiles to stand on - watch this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGOPh-Ko6mU

6. 
Title screen
What should be on it?

Stencyl brief

BRIEF

Create a simple one-screen platformer with obstacles, a title screen, and at least two levels.

Obstacles might be:

a gaps
b dangerous tiles
c other creatures

your character will need to get from point A to point B to finish the level

you will need to tell the player how to move the character, and an extension task (when everything else is done) is to ideally give them an indication of progress (whether this is just ‘you have completed level 89 or gained 3 copper coins is your choice)

you need to program this into your game.

you will be in pairs, and create your own Trello group. Add simonlongroad to the group.

one of you will be responsible for level 1, one level 2. 

you have three weeks - that's 6 lessons - that's 3 hours a week plus homework, so about 12 hours.

one person needs to be responsible for timing, they are called the 'executive producer'. One responsible for allocating the jobs fairly, they are the 'producer'.

Stencyl help

1.
Set up your project.

Go to preferences

change workspace folder to yours

it asks do you want to copy… etc - yes

2.
Do crash course 1 and 2:
http://www.stencyl.com/help/start/

The website may pretend that it does not work - it does really, 

hit ‘Proceed’

you may need ogg sounds

go to

https://www.freesound.org

and find some you like

eg

https://www.freesound.org/people/abinadimeza/sounds/7521/

3.
Learn the more challenging functions of Stencyl.

Start by creating a very simple character - a zero and an x in Piskelapp or Illustrator.
32 pixels by 32 pixels is fine but when you import it Stencyl defaults to 4x, so make sure you change the ratio the image imports.

You can animate it in Piskelapp but then make sure you export it as columns, and then import as columns into Stencyl.

Next create a new blank game

640x480

Then follow these tutorials:
http://www.stencyl.com/help/viewArticle/102

They are tough! Sometimes things have changed. Can you work out solutions?
Game-making is a lot about going back and checking your code again and again, then getting a classmate to check it... then undoing what you did and trying again.


FAQs

- Test the game?
To test your game, go to Test Game, top right.

- Piskelwhat?!
http://www.piskelapp.com/

- It does not load
Go through the tutorial SLOWLY. You have made a mistake. Take the headphones out.
Get another person to check it.
Make sure your characters are not looping
Make sure your characters are not animating

- Where is 'always?'
It's not there. Use 'when updating' instead

- Collision groups?
Collision groups is now in Settings, look at the switch icon at the top

- use kits if you must!
http://www.stencyl.com/developers/samples/

- Pencyl does not work
Save two files from here into stencylworks folder, tools folder


for more advanced code, use the Stencyl TV tutorial we looked at in class, check the blocks guide, or YouTube