Power Game Factory Tutorial

Adding Characters

Adding characters to a level is as simple as adding any of the other types of objects that have already been covered in this tutorial. But characters can be customized to a far greater extent than other level objects, and you will explore the ways in which characters' properties can be fine-tuned.

Select the Character tool from the tool palette. (Its icon looks like a ghost.) Place characters on the level to create a scene like the one pictured below. Each new character will be a Snowman by default. Try holding the shift key while placing characters on the level. This will keep the Character tool selected so that additional Snowmen can be added more quickly.

 
Certain properties of each character, such as its name, location, and orientation, can be changed using the controls in the floating Properties window, shown below. Changing any of these properties affects only the selected character.

 
There are a great many other character properties that, when changed, affect not only the selected Snowman, but also every other Snowman as well. You are going to change one of these properties: the Point Value. The Point Value determines the number of points that the player earns by destroying a snowman. Select one of the Snowmen in your level and click the Edit button in the Properties floating window. (The Edit Button is next to the Character Type control.) The Character Types Window will appear, as shown below.

 
It should be evident in the screenshots above that the Character Types Window has a dizzying assortment of controls used to fine-tune every aspect of your game project's characters. Make sure that the Snowman is selected in the list box on the left side of the window and select the Additional Properties tab to access a property list full of checkboxes and numerical properties. Scroll down the list until you find the Point Value property. (The properties are in alphabetical order.) This property, which is set to 100 by default, determines how many points the player gains by killing a Snowman. Try entering 200 to increase the reward. Next, click the Done button in the lower right corner of the Character Types Window.
 
Next: Designing a Second Level