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Creating A Platformer in Game Maker: Foundations of Interactive Game Design Prof. Jim Whitehead February 7, 2007

This document provides information about creating a platformer game in Game Maker. It discusses key mechanics like collision detection, bounding boxes, jumping, and gravity. It describes how to set up a basic state machine to handle jumping. However, it notes that the state machine has drawbacks, like not properly distinguishing collision cases and getting stuck in platforms. Fixing these issues fully will be covered in more detail in an upcoming class.

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61 views20 pages

Creating A Platformer in Game Maker: Foundations of Interactive Game Design Prof. Jim Whitehead February 7, 2007

This document provides information about creating a platformer game in Game Maker. It discusses key mechanics like collision detection, bounding boxes, jumping, and gravity. It describes how to set up a basic state machine to handle jumping. However, it notes that the state machine has drawbacks, like not properly distinguishing collision cases and getting stuck in platforms. Fixing these issues fully will be covered in more detail in an upcoming class.

Uploaded by

psychemedia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Creating a Platformer in Game Maker

Foundations of Interactive Game Design


Prof. Jim Whitehead
February 7, 2007

Creative Commons
Attribution 2.5
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

Upcoming Events and Assignments


Game Concept Document
Extended deadline until Friday
May turn in today, if ready
SOE Web servers experienced filesystem failure
Pages intermittently unavailable over past 24 hours

Gamelog
Still due Friday
Game of your choice

Work Breakdown and Schedule


Due next week, on Wednesday

RPG Maker/Game Maker/Art help


Today: RPG Maker design session
Led by Nate Emond <[email protected]>
5:30PM, E2 215
Note different room for this week

Thursday: Game Maker help/design session


Earth & Marine Sciences, room B214
4-5:10PM

Game Maker reduced cost license keys


See me after class to pay for keys
I will sell all unclaimed keys on Friday
Full version of Game Maker on ITS machines as well

Key Mechanics of Platformers

To create a platform game, need to


Handle collision with platforms
Handle jumping
Scrolling view in large game world
Interactions with other enemies and items in gameworld

Today, will focus on


collision detection
jumping
scrolling view

Collision Detection

Collision detection is the bane of platform game


designers in Game Maker
Several factors affect collision detection
Type of bounding box

Automatic, full image, manually defined bounding box (defined in Sprite)

Type of collision detection

precise, non-precise (defined in Sprite)

Whether object is solid

Defined in object

Actions taken in response to a collision event

Defined in object

May need to examine multiple dialog boxes to completely understand


collision detection behavior

Bounding Box
Visible sprite image

Bounding box

Bounding box is a rectangle (or square) drawn around a


sprite image, used for collision detection
Typically, is outer boundary of the sprite image

Game Maker selects this using the Automatic feature under Bounding Box in
the Sprite dialog

Can manually set the size of the bounding box

Example: if creating a bullet hell (manic) shmup, may want to make the
vulnerable region of the ship smaller than the visible sprite

Select Manual under Bounding Box in Sprite dialog, then fill in dimensions

Can also set to the full size of the sprite file

If sprite is defined in 48x48 pixel box, Full image option would make bounding
box the full 48x48 pixels, even if sprite image is smaller

Basic Collision Detection


Visible sprite image
Bounding box
overlap
Non-precise collision detection:
Just overlap of bounding boxes.
May mean sprite images do not
overlap (player would visually
perceive a near miss)

To toggle between these


collision detection modes:
Choose Precise collision
checking in Sprite dialog box

Bounding box

Visible sprite image


Bounding box
Image overlap
and Bounding box
overlap
Precise collision detection:
Must have overlap of bounding boxes
and sprite images must overlap.
Best collision detection, but more
computationally expensive. Unless you
choose otherwise, this is the collision
detection behavior sprites use.

Step sequence in Game Maker

Begin step: generate Begin Step event


Save current position of object
Compute new position
x = old_x + hspeed
y = old_y + hspeed
But, dont move sprite just yet!

Determine if there is a collision at the new position


If either object in collision is solid: reset position: x = old_x, y = old_y
In both cases (solid, not solid), now generate Collision event

Generate Step event


Update visual representation of sprite on screen
Draw sprite at new location (x, y)

End step: generate End Step event

My sprite is embedded in a wall: why?


Ball and Wall are both not solid

vspeed: 10

y: 105
y: 110

y: 110
y: 115

End of Tick 1

End of Tick 2

In tick 2 (both objects not solid)


Compute new position: y = old_y + vspeed (y = 105+10 = 115)
Actions in collision event just set vspeed to 0

Actions do not modify position of the object

Visual depiction of objects updated to new position


Sprite is now embedded in a wall

My sprite stopped above the wall: why?


Either Ball or Wall
or both are solid

vspeed: 10

y: 105

vspeed: 10

y: 110
End of Tick 1

y: 105
y: 110

End of Tick 2

In tick 2 (one or both objects solid)

Store old positions old_y = y, old_x = x


Compute new position: y = old_y + vspeed (y = 105+10 = 115)
Check for collision at new position: yes
Revert to old position (y = y_old = 105)
Do actions in collision event

Set vspeed to 0

Draw sprite: now stopped in mid-air

My sprite fell through a wall: why?


End of Tick 1

End of Tick 2
y: 100

vspeed: 20

y: 105
y: 110
y: 115

Will occur for solid and


non-solid objects

y: 110
y: 115
y: 120

vspeed: 20

y: 125

Velocity of ball is so great that in one tick its position is


incremented such that it never intersects the wall.

Directions in Game Maker

Direction angles in Game Maker are different from


normal.

90o
180o

0o
270o

Gravity

Can set gravity in Game Maker


Very simple
Define a speed and a direction
Every step, the speed is added to the players current speed
This is a dv/dt (change in velocity per change in time), hence is
acceleration
Normal gravity is an acceleration downwards of 9.8 m/s2
To create sensation of downward gravity in Game Maker

Use Set the gravity action

Have direction be 270

Set speed to 2

Arbitrary value

This speed may vary with your gameworld, tune until it feels right

Jumping

Jumping behavior
Press a key, and player jumps up
Pressing key while in the air should not result in more jumping

Unless you intentionally want a double-jump, in which case you only want to
allow two, and only two jumps.

Jumping should not affect side-to-side movement


Need to decide if player can change side-to-side direction in mid-air
Need to handle collisions correctly

Not going into the side of platforms

Correctly landing on the top of platforms

Correctly handling jumps up into platforms

Handling Jump Keypress


Collision with ground

Not jumping
vspeed=0
gravity=0

Keypress

Jumping
vspeed > 0
gravity > 0

Need a simple state machine


Create a variable called jumping on player
Set to 0 initially
Can only jump when it is 0
Set to 1 when jumping

Details of Creating State Machine

Initialize variable jumping


Add Set variable to a value action to Create event for player
Var square on Control tab in Object window

Variable: jumping

Value: 0

Relative: must be unchecked

Add jumping logic


Add keyboard event
Add variable conditional

Octagon with Var on Control tab of Object window

Applies to self

Variable: jumping

Value: 0

Operation: equal to

Creates conditional: if jumping = 0 then ... {then behavior on next slide}

Details of Creating State Machine (2)

Then behavior if jumping = 0 in keypress event


Add a Start of a block (grey up triangle on Control tab)

Equivalent to curly braces found in many languages

Means: group the following actions together until the end of block

Set vertical speed to a negative number

Downward red arrow on Move tab of Object window

Yes, click the down arrow to make your player go up

Tunable value, try vert. speed of -25 to -30 for starters

Set variable jumping to 1

That is, we have shifted to the jumping state in our simple state machine

Var square on Control tab of Object

Applies to self

Variable: jumping

Value: 1

Relative: unchecked

Add an End of a block (grey down tirangle on Control tab)

Details of Creating a State Machine (3)

OK, have initialization and state transition to jumping


state
Now need transition back to non-jumping state
When a collision is detected, need to set jumping to 0
In collision event with Wall

Set vertical speed to 0

Down red arrow on Move tab of Object

Set vert. speed to 0

Set variable jumping to 0

Var square on Control tab of Object

Applies to self

variable: jumping

value: 0

Drawbacks of the State Machine

Collision events between player and wall do not


distinguish the three cases
Ball landing on top of wall
Ball hitting side of platform
Ball hitting underside of platform

Currently, state machine leads to following behavior


Sticking to side of a platform (ball or wall is solid)

Player receives collision event, and sets vspeed to 0

Gravity should cause player to fall, but gravity never has chance to affect position

Solid object behavior means collision event occurs before ball actually moved

Horizontal movement means ball keeps going towards platform

Results in a collision every step!

Drawbacks of the State Machine

Hitting the underside of the platform also has problems


Ball strikes underside of platform
Causes collision event

Sets vspeed to 0

Also sets jumping to 0

Cant distinguish between landing on platform, and jumping up into underside of platform

Result: undesired perpetual double-jump ability

How do I fix all of this?


Complicated: details in class on Friday...

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