Switches

The player can activate switches to make things happen in a level. Turning a switch on or off can trigger a routine that in turn performs one or more actions. A simple use of a switch might be to perform a routine that turns on a lighting effect. Since switches are tied to routines, they can give rise to a wide variety of actions such as the opening of doors, the creation of characters, and the movement of animated scenery. Some switches can be operated by the player, while others may only be controlled by characters. Switches may be configured to turn themselves on automatically when a the player is nearby. Switches can also turn themselves off after a certain amount of time. The appearance of a switch and the sounds that it makes when it turns on and off depend on the switch's switch type. A switch type includes four animation sequences: Turned On, Turned Off, Turning On, and Turning Off. Each animation sequence may consist of any number of frames. Switches are simple objects with no true physical properties. They can not move or disappear, and they can not be damaged. Information on editing switch types is available in the Switch Creation section. Switches may be added to levels and manipulated as described in the Adding Level Objects and Level Object Manipulation sections.