Learning Construct2- 101

Such Basic 

Now the great thing about learning coding with Construct, is that you're not really. You are, but you're not at the same time. In a pervious post I mentioned how game making programs like Game Maker, Game Salad, MMF2, and Construct 2 support this kind of psuedo-code. In Construct 2 these are called events.

^this is what they look like

The usefulness of this pseudocode is to condense the functionality of actual code into small bite sized re-arrange-able puzzle pieces. This makes the function and logic of basic computer languages much more accessible to a wider audience. It's like Duplo for programmers.

And while this looks approachable and easy as pie (and it is), but it's not really. This is a simplified translation of computer language for human peoples, but that doesn't change the fact that pseudocode is still a computer language and structured in computer logic. Which means their will be times you think you have everything set up correctly but while testing out your double jump your character floats off into the nether. Computers are like little evil minions, they'll do what you tell them to.. exactly what you tell them to, without understanding the context of what you mean by it even if you think it's perfectly simple English.

I know this sounds really obvious, maybe even patronizing, but if you're just starting out with Construct or any game making program, or you've been toying with it for a bit but still are having weird glitches where you don't know what's wrong with your code, please read the manual. (here is C2's) I'd love to say, "I can't tell you how many times I was close to finishing a project and going back to the manual saved my game." but I can't because I'm one of those stupidly stubborn learners.

I want to be able to watch someone do something, try it myself, then look at my finished product in comparison to someone doing something harder. I want to learn by my mistakes that way, to learn through hands on exploration and observation. When I got my lego sets I'd skim the instructions but always try to finish the set by using the cover and what I already understood of building. As you can imagine I'd often make small mistakes and end up having to go back and rebuild some big thing because I used some wrong brick someplace and be one square off. Bit of an awkward simile but the issue is the same, if trying to skip steps you won't really be able to manipulate the tool the way you'll need too to. I just can't stress this enough. It's not saying you won't figure out all the small stuff inevitably through other user tutorials or asking these people, but typically it'll be something basic that is in the manual if you give the manual some love.

Trying to make a small indie game title without really studying up on the tool you using is like trying to self publish a short story you wrote without really learning grammar. It's likely to not pan out for you, and if it does it would have gone so much better if you had just taken the time to sit down and do your studying. I know it's one of the tedious parts and you just want to be making your game, but I promise you the reward is by far worth the effort. You know that great first moment when you got it to make stuff move onscreen, when you got the enemy AI to respond the way you wanted, or the animations were synced with the differing inputs correctly for the first time and the small blurs onscreen just popped to life? That will be so much rewarding if you are confident in knowing how all of those small things worked out. And secondly learning the how is not really even the tedious part, the tedious part is when you have a working demo, a well polished engine and intro level.. and then realize you have to develop the entire rest of the game. All those levels and those extra inputs and balancing the enemies and complexity curve, and plot exposition. And even more tedious after that is the 97% completed -I'm-sick-of-this-project-now- final bug fixing and edits before sending your little creature out into the world. But that's for another time. First learn your program and build that sweet sweet engine. Play test frequently and never give up. Good luck with your projects and have a good afternoon fokes.