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.

Gotta Walk before you can Crawl

Reverse That

So... learning pixel art and design. Code still looks like Russian to me. In what way can someone utilize and test their abilities in the design/writing/art section of game making without yet understanding the code, the very life blood of games? Well there are two possibilities, either A. you work with a team where the code is not your responsibility. This is good because you can hone your specific craft, the issue though is you are reliant on first a finished product to test your work in action and second forced to wait until a certain point of production. Games evolve as they are made and sometimes entire sets of art assets become useless if the design changes. What an artist or writer or designer wants, is to have something tangible to show their work. An actual game that functions as such to display their work, otherwise their craft isn't as well represented in portfolio (and obviously this is less the case with artists or musicians whose work can be appreciated separately) but design in interactive media needs interactivity. Even if it's just the menu buttons lighting up as your mouse hovers over them.

Option B. the artist/writer/designer can find a program that requires no code(or little) to create functional games and have at it. 

And that's sort of what we've been trying to do here. Find the easiest way to make games. Just to be clear, the truly difficult part -the area where a game becomes great or crap- is not in the tools but the creator. Card games are crated with paper and ink. Board games are cardboard, ink, and bits of plastic. The average Chess game is just made of bits of wood and cardboard, and yet that's been around for centuries. My point is the tools do not dictate the quality of the product. Someone can have the best equipment in the world for digital art and still come up with something that looks like junk. Back in the day graphic designers use pen and paper instead of illustrator and the existence of illustrator along with all of its tools have not lead to better graphic artists. 

Anyway, previously in a discussion I had heard Construct 2 mentioned. Previously I hadn't head of this program and at first glance figured it to be the same as MMF2, which dispite all of it's pros is still an expensive bit of machinery and therefor out of our running for "easiest to start making and learning about game making" contest. Ags is great and I'm loving the community, but there's still a decent amount of code required. It's inescapable. 

Or is it?

The reason I advise people use programs like MMF2 and (as far as my limited understanding) programs  like GameSalad, is because they have this sudo-code. Underneath it's the same code that makes any other game work, but it's broken down into symbols and an easily approachable interface. This teaches code logic, which if isn't later used to understand code in it's true raw form can at least bridge the gap between you and your coder when communicating in production. GameSalad is one that's free, but right now we're going to take a look at Construct 2. Or at least I am.

Here are a few games from a person I follow made using Construct 2

http://supajackle.tumblr.com/backlightbig

(personal favorite of his work)

http://gamejolt.com/games/platformer/hero-quest/16821/

(I get a bug with this one but idk, maybe it's just my computer)

http://supajackle.tumblr.com/PixelGame

http://supajackle.tumblr.com/post/45430588965/porterminus-a-spooky-rpg-by-supajackle

 Here's the link to their site where you can download the program. 

Great things one, the interface is easy to understand, it comes with it's own paint image editor which is also easy to grasp. Great things two, it starts out offering a list of templates to chose from, not just get a head start templates for making top down shooters, path-finding, physics, or platforms, but templates to make your game work on Facebook, mobile devices, ect. 

Personally I'm hesitant to jump onto another program, I'm trying to figure out two different programs at once. But really few of my designs are actually complex. Most of the ones I have now are just platforms or beat-em-ups, the big ones.. The ones that are going to take a while use Ags, and it'll probably take me the twice the amount of time to do the art then it will take learning and coding the thing. And with school and work, if I were to throw out a number of when I'd finish that game it'd be someplace in the years category, even if I weren't doing the coding. And while the payoff will be awesome until then the work will be rather slow. Not to mention this blog, besides the DeconstructionCraft notices how much can I say about a background having a bit more shading or a single line of code being added. Development on.. I'm just going to call it 'the Island' project will be slow, and I'd prefer if I can have more regular activity on here. I think I'm at a point in my "career" I just need to make games. Yes I have a group project going on and this big project of my own, but I need something consistent and easily completed. Ags would be my tool if it was more oriented for platforms or the like but it's not, and C2 is. With school coming up and other messes that require my focus irl I'm going to be posting for a while about Construct 2 with the intermittent updates on Ags and what I've learned there. Soon as I can figure out fraps(this is the kind of simple you're talking too) I'll start putting up let's draws or tutorials or speed production vids. But for now I'll just be written bits with the occasional screen-cap. 

Until then, good luck with your projects, and goodnight.