Trying to make a platform game

I ran through the tutorial and picked up some basic ideas on how to use Construct2, and slowly learning it bit by bit during my coffee break.

I'm trying to figure out how to make a platform game. Here's what I got so far. db.tt/7IHSD6tV (Hope this link works.)

-I'm trying to figure out how to jump.

-I don't understand what the 'platform' behavior is, except it is used for platform games?

-If I wanted the sky to move, should I create an animation, or mess with the parallax of the background?

-Why does the character attach to the left/right side of a solid?

I can't wait for the manual.

The idea of the game is you jump from one platform to the next to find a key. The key unlocks the door. Then to you head to the door. Simple. :)

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UNNECESSARY FLUFF

Let me tell you about myself. I am a art teacher and I am creating a course on using Photoshop for video games. I want to make a really basic platform game where the kids (11-13yo) can easily replace images, drag and drop graphics, and watch their animations play out. The students will be using my platform .capx file and manipulating it. I'm teaching them basic Photoshop, and using game developing as a motivation. Construct2 had the fastest method for instant gratification, which is a necessity when teaching students. And you can upload it immediately online. Which is why I chose it over GameMaker - something I tinkered with a few years ago.

I'll be teaching it during January to March, which hopefully I can understand Construct2 by then.

Hi.

There are numerous examples installed with the program that show you the basics of platform behavior, including parallax and moving platforms. After that, check-out the examples in the How Do I section. That should keep you going for a lunch break or two :)

Zenox is right.

You also have a list of examples listed here in the section "Platformer behavior".

Ashley said also he was working on some tutorial, like the beginner's guide but aimed at platformers. Check out for when it is out.

In the meantime and for "basic" templates platformer, the examples from the C2 install folder as well as those listed in the FAQ should really help.

Be sure to let us know the result/response of/to your course <img src="smileys/smiley2.gif" border="0" align="middle">

Other people already answered while I was typing this, but I figured I might as well post it anyways!

• You can jump by pressing Shift, the default control for the Platform behavior.

• The platform behavior is essentially pre-made code for you; if you want a character that can move around, jump, have gravity, etc, all you have to do is set its behavior to Platform and you're good to go. Otherwise you'd have to create it all yourself! If you click your Platform object and look at the panel on the left side, you can see a variety of values that represent things like gravity, jump strength, max speed, and a lot of other things that you can change to get the specific character movement you want.

• In this case, rather than have a big tiled background that has all the clouds on it, it might be easier for you to have an empty blue background, with the clouds being separate sprites. Then you can move them using events, and when they leave the screen, teleport them back to the other side of the screen, to give the illusion of neverending clouds.

• The problem here is the character's collision mask. You can see it by right clicking your character, select "Edit animations", then click the little icon towards the top right that says "Set collision polygon". This determines how your sprite will interact with other solids. See how it's a bit strangely shaped? If that happens, you can accidentally get caught on things like you were experiencing. The best thing to do is to make the collision polygon more of a square by dragging around those little red squares.

Hope I was clear enough with my explanations, but feel free to ask if I wasn't. Welcome to Construct 2, and good luck with your class! <img src="smileys/smiley1.gif" border="0" align="middle" />

Holey Moley! I totally didn't see the Project Examples folder in the Start Page. That's a lot of awesome info there.

That folder should be linked alongside the tutorials.

Oh man I'm excited to check them all out. :)

The Home page has a link that says 'Project Examples - browse all examples' :)

Kyatric "Ashley said also he was working on some tutorial, like the beginner's guide but aimed at platformers. Check out for when it is out."

Just to tell Constructors that, knowing how much work Ashley has on his plate, I've started work on a tutorial 'Building a platform game - a beginner's guide'. I hope to publish the first instalment around the end of next week (Friday 13th !).

I would love to add to it. In the past month, I've been knee deep in mastering how to make a platformer for Construct 2. And I'd love to share what I know.

Cpryd001 Thanks for your offer! My tutorial opens with "This is the first part of a work in progress. Please post your comments about what should go in further instalments (and tell me what needs correcting)." - so I'd warmly welcome your input.

Well, Friday 13 didn't seem like a very auspicious date to publish my tutorial, so I upped its priority on my 'To Do' list, with the result that I've just now published 'Building a platform game - a beginner's guide'. Feedback is welcome!