2022

This article explains how to switch between and play multiple sound resources (music and sound effect files) with a single “AudioStreamPlayer” node. Basically, only one sound resource can be set per “AudioStreamPlayer” node. In other words, you must add “AudioStreamPlayer” nodes in the scene tree for each sound resource. You may feel useless in a situation where there are multiple nodes in the scene tree with the same settings except for the sound resource (as shown in the screenshot below), and you may also feel a little uncomfortable with the lack of visibility in the scene dock. So, if you have multiple sound resources that are never played simultaneously (e.g., multiple sound effects for different types of character attacks, multiple sound effects for different types of buttons on the UI, etc.), add only the minimum necessary “AudioStreamPlayer” node for each use to your scene. If you code a program that switches sound resources according to the situation, there will be no waste and the scene dock will look cleaner. In this tutorial, we will prepare only one “AudioStreamPlayer” node and...

This article describes an implementation of an animated state machine for a 2D game. A state machine controls the transition of an object from one state to another. There are several restrictions on state transitions, such as when an object can only transition from one state to a limited number of states, or when an object can only transition to the next state after the current animation ends. For example, “idle” and “run” can transition immediately in both directions, but “idle” to “attack” can transition immediately, but “attack” to “run” cannot, and “attack” to “idle” can transition only after the “attack” animation ends. The “attack” to “idle” transition occurs only after the “attack” animation is over. If all of these controls were coded in script, the code would tend to be rather long and complex. On the other hand, Godot’s “AnimationTree” node can be used to reduce the amount of script code and improve readability. In this article, we will show you how to implement a state machine using the “AnimationTree” node. Environment Godot version: 3.5.1 Computer OS: macOS 12.6...

This article introduces a method for implementing simple hit detection for melee attacks in 2D games. This is a commonly used method where the object to attack (e.g., player character) has a collision shape (called “Hit Box”) that is only active during the attack, and the object to be attacked (e.g., enemy character, destructible barrels, crates, grass, etc.) has a collision shape (called “Hurt Box). The hit judgment of the attack can be implemented by enabling/disabling the Hit Box and Hurt Box, and changing their size and position in accordance with the animation of the attack. This is relatively easy to implement, so let’s get started. Environment Godot version: 3.5.1 Computer OS version: macOS 11.6.5 Basic Articles You may also find the following articles useful. Downloading Godot Project Manager of Godot Add Actions to Input Map First, go to “Project” > “Project Settings” > “Input Map” tab and add the following actions: right: D key left: A key down: S key up: W key attack: Space bar Create a Player scene Create a scene for the player character. Create the...

This article is a tutorial on how to implement grid-based path finding in 2D games using the AStar algorithm. For 2D pathfinding that is not grid-based, please refer to the article 2D Path Finding in Godot3 . I hope you will choose the article that best suits the game you want to make. The final project file in this tutorial is located in the GitHub repository . After downloading and extracting the .zip file, you can import the “project.godot” file into the Godot Engine to see the project directly. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) Environment Godot version: 3.5 Computer OS: macOS 11.6.5 Basic Articles You may also find the following articles useful. Downloading Godot Project Manager of Godot About AStar In this article, we will implement grid-based routing using a search algorithm called AStar. It is useful when you want to automatically move objects along a grid from the current location to the destination. For example, this method is ideal for puzzle games where you move pieces on the board, or strategy simulation games where you move characters of both...

I recently joined the “KENNEY Game Jam” held recently. It was my first game jam. In this article, I would like to write about the game jam for indie game developers held on the itch.io website, including what I learned and felt while participating in the game jam. What is a Game Jam? A game jam is an event where participants develop a game in a short period of time, publish it, and evaluate each other. It is also called the hackathon of game development. The itch.io site sells games, assets, and hosts a number of game jams worldwide. Some are held monthly, some are held as an annual event, and there are a variety of small and large game jams, and there is always some sort of game jam going on throughout the year. KENNEY Jam 2022 , which I attended, was also held at itch.io . The participants in the game jam are mainly individual developers and small teams. Skill levels range from beginners to veterans. Although veterans are considered to have an advantage, many game jams have...

This tutorial introduces Path Finding in 2D games. Path finding is a function that determines the shortest possible path from an object to its destination, for example, when moving an object to a certain destination. Up to Godot 3.4, the Navigation node was used to implement path finding. This was not particularly inconvenient, but the methodology for game development using it was limited and inapplicable in some areas. This time, I would like to introduce an implementation method using Navigation Server, which was added to Godot 3.5. This is a backport from Godot 4, which is currently under active development. This article is intended for users of Godot 3.5 or later. Users of Godot version 3.4 or earlier should take note. The final project file for this tutorial is available at GitHub repository . You can also check the project directly by downloading the .zip file and importing the “project.godot” file in the “End” folder with the Godot Engine. Environment Godot version: 3.5 Computer OS: macOS 11.6.5 Basic Articles You may also find the following articles useful. Downloading Godot Project...

In this article, I will show you how to create a circular progress bar. By using a circular progress bar instead of the usual portrait or landscape orientation, you can add a little accent to your screen, so please refer to this tutorial if you find a use for it. At the end of the tutorial, we will also show you some sample progress bars that are not circular (e.g., heart-shaped), so if you are interested, please take a look at them as well. The final project file for this tutorial is available at GitHub repository . If you download the .zip file and import the “project.godot” file in the “End” folder with the Godot Engine, you can check the project directly. Environment ・Godot version: 3.4.4 ・Computer OS version: macOS 11.6.5 Other Articles Please also use the following articles to help you start creating your game. Downloading Godot Project Manager of Godot Preparation Preparing an image of the circular progress bar If you have a drawing application...

In this article, I will explain how to implement an effect, “screen shake”, in 2D games. It is not an absolutely necessary element of a game, but if used well, it can make the player’s game experience more interactive and directly affect the user experience. For example, there are many situations where it could be used, such as when a player fires a gun, takes damage from enemies, or falls from a high place. By the way, this kind of element that is not necessary but makes the game more interesting by adding it is called “game juice” in English. I have one more vocabulary in English, and I am a little wiser now. There are already many resources on the Web that explain how to implement screen shake, and of course there are methods other than those introduced here. This time, we refer to the following video and article in particular, so please check them as well for a deeper understanding. Reference YouTube: GDC - Math for Game Programmers: Juicing Your Cameras With Math KidsCanCode: SCREEN SHAKE The project...

In this tutorial, we will create an advanced match-3 puzzle game, a type of puzzle game in which one piece is moved freely on the board for a certain period of time to erase three or more pieces of the same color in a row. This is easy to understand if you imagine a puzzle game like “Puzzle & Dragons” (a.k.a. “Puzzle Dora”), which has gained popularity as a mobile game. However, the tutorial would be too large if it included all game elements such as decks, gacha, and battles with enemy characters, so we will focus on the puzzle part of the tutorial this time. For more information on how to create an standard match-3 puzzle game like “Candy Crush” or a puzzle game like “LINE Tsum Tsum”, please refer to the following tutorial. Other Tutorials If you want to make a game like “Candy Crush”: Match 3 puzzle game in Godot If you want to make a game like “LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum”: Connecting matching colors puzzle game in Godot The project file that will be created at the end of this tutorial is located in the GitHub repository ....

When one has taken the trouble to start a personal game development project, one would like to continue it for a long and enjoyable time if possible. However, in general, game development tends to be frustrating. Let us first consider the reasons for this. Reasons for frustration First, game development is hard work. It is sometimes referred to as a comprehensive art form. In other words, a game is a work of art that combines music, images, characters, scenarios, systems, level design, and everything else into one. There is no way it is easy. It is so difficult that it is easy to fall behind in the process. However, there is another problem that is even bigger, especially for adults who are making games as independent developers. That is the fact that you can’t make money by developing games. If there is no money to be made, they quit this hard work. Game development is hard work, but it pays off when the game sells. The word “no money” may be a bit of a generalization, because there are always...

In this tutorial, we will create a match 3 puzzle game. Match 3 is a puzzle game in which players move multiple colorful pieces evenly arranged along a grid on the board to eliminate three or more pieces of the same color in a row. This genre is particularly popular among mobile game players because it is easy to operate and enjoyable. Candy Crush, Toon Blast, and Royal Match are just a few examples of popular games. Puzzle & Dragons and LINE Tsum Tsum are also based on Match 3, although the controls are slightly different. In this tutorial, we will create a puzzle like Candy Crush, in which the pieces are moved only one square at a time to match colors. If you want to make a game like “LINE tsum tsum”, check another tutorial, Connecting matching colors puzzle game in Godot . The final project file for this tutorial is located at GitHub repository . If you download the .zip file and import the “project.godot” file in the “End” folder with the Godot Engine, you can check the...

In this tutorial, we will explain how to create a type of game in which you trace and erase drops of the same color, like the very popular Disney Tsum Tsum smartphone game. LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum Note that the final project file in this tutorial is located in the GitHub repository . You can directly check the project by downloading the .zip file and importing the “project.godot” file in the “End” folder with the Godot Engine. Environment This tutorial was created in the following environment ・Godot version: 3.4.4 ・Computer OS version: macOS 11.6.5 Memo: Please also use the following articles to help you start creating your game. Downloading Godot Project Manager of Godot Creating a new project First, we would like you to start Godot Engine and create a new project. Let’s name the project “Connect Colors Start. Editing project settings Once the editor appears, let’s editing the settings for the entire project. First, set the display size for the game. In this case, we set...

In this tutorial, we will create a homing missile in a 2D top-down shooter. A homing missile is a missile that tracks its target. Environment This tutorial was created in the following environment ・Godot version: 3.4.2 ・Computer OS version: macOS 11.6.5 To focus on the creation of the homing missile, the rest of the project has been pre-created in advance. The project file for this tutorial is located at GitHub repository . After downloading the .zip file, import the “project.godot” file in the “Start” folder into the Godot Engine, and you can start the project with only the preliminary work completed. If you would like to see the completed project in a hurry, import the “project.godot” file from the “End” folder. All the assets imported into the project were downloaded from KENNEY website. I used an asset pack called Tower Defense (top-down) . I just want to thank them for making such a great asset pack available to the public. Preliminary Preparation The following game specifications, except...

In this time, we will create a bullet hell aka barrage for a barrage shooting game. The bullet hell is a large number of bullets (or similar long-range attacks) like a curtain. A “bullet hell shooter” is a game in which the player shoots at and defeats enemy characters while dodging and weaving through the gaps between the bullets. Some games specialize in simply dodging the bullets. Many games are based on the motif of spaceships and fighter planes that fit the image (in this tutorial, a ground battle between a wizard and a monster though). In this tutorial, we will focus only on creating a bullet hell. Also, while bullet hell come in various shapes and sizes, we will focus on rotating-type bullet hell. Environment This tutorial was created in the following environment ・Godot version: 3.4.2 ・Computer OS version: macOS 11.6.5 The project file for this tutorial is located at GitHub repository . After downloading the .zip file, import the “project.godot” file in the “Start” folder into the Godot Engine, and you will be able to start with a project that has only been prepped....

This article is especially worth reading if you are a beginner who has just started or is thinking about starting game development. We hope you will read it through to the end. Now, do you have a dream game that you really want to make? Many people who have started or are thinking of starting game development probably dream of such a game. And that game will have plenty of elements of games that you have played and been influenced by in your life. As you can probably guess, this article is now going to make the claim that you should save your dream game for the future. However, this assertion is not brand new, but rather a rather common piece of advice for novice game developers. Let me explain why you should save your dream game for the future. Elements that tend to be included in the dream game What elements tend to be included in a dream game? By the way, the elements here are the specifications and functions of the game. The following is a list of those that come to mind as examples....

In this tutorial, we are going to make four types of guns that commonly appear in 2D top-down shooters. Specifically, they are as follows. Handgun Shotgun Machine gun Laser Gun Environment This tutorial was created in the following environment ・Godot version: 3.4.2 ・Computer OS version: macOS 11.6.5 Since this tutorial will focus on gun creation, the following has been prepared in advance. 1. Game world A scene called “World.tscn” was prepared, and the appearance was simply created by adding a “TileMap” node. In addition to the “TileMap” node, a “Player” node and several “Obstacle” nodes were added. For these, we created individual scenes and added the instances. 2. Player Character Created as “Player.tscn” scene. The root node is the “KinematicBody2D” class, and the “Sprite” and the “CollisionShape2D” were added as child nodes. The texture of the “Sprite” node is a hitman with a gun. A node named “Muzzle” of the “Position2D” class was placed at the tip of the image of the gun held by the hitman....

When we develop a game, especially a big one, sometimes it may often happen that we can never find the scene which we want to edit or we cannot remember where the script file is, which we are going to edit. In this article, I am going to introduce some so powerful and useful search features with keyboard shortcuts. Once you know those, you can reduce the huge amount of time looking for something which may be the most uninteresting in the game development. In addition, you can use the search features in a much faster way instead of looking for a script file and clicking it in the file system dock, for example. By the way, we can see all default shortcuts in the official online documents of Godot. Be careful about that it says Alt as Option on macOS. GODOT DOCS Default editor shortcuts Anyway, why do not you try to use the searches because it is sure to improve work efficiency. I will introduce ones in order of the widest range of searches first. Quick Open To use Quick Open, perform the following keyboard shortcut on Godot editor....

Many people want to start game development but tend to give up because of their age. No, this is not limited to game development but can be applied to anything from playing the piano to being a YouTuber. For some reason, it is a common perception that when you reach middle age, your physical and mental strength declines somehow. However, this is not true. There is no evidence that this socially accepted notion applies to you. It doesn’t matter if you are a middle-aged businessman, a first-grader, or a 90-year-old. The moment you decide you want to do something is the youngest time to start doing it. In the end, life is about doing or not doing. At the age of 100 years of life, there are few cases where it is too late to start doing something. It would be a shame to make a decision based only on a vague impression that game development sounds too difficult for you. You will never know the truth until you try it. It is a fact that game development is often thought of as a hurdle for the average person....