REVISED howtocreateyourfirstgame (PDF)




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Nonfiction / How-To eBook
Approx. 5000 Words

How to Create Your First Video Game Using Multimedia Fusion 2
By
Ryan Harden

Contact:
Ryan Harden
Greenwood Lake, NY
hardenrp@gmail.com

Introduction
For well over a decade, Clickteam‟s Multimedia Fusion has been established as one of
the most approachable mediums for those interested in independent video game
development. Due to the program‟s emphasis on an event based system instead of
traditional programming methods, Multimedia Fusion allows independent game
developers to create their dream game without the additional need of knowing (or
learning) a programming language. Alternatively, Multimedia Fusion uses a flexible
Graphical User Interface (GUI), which allows developers to construct a playfield and
create event-specific occurrences with ease.
Multimedia Fusion 2 is Clickteam‟s latest version of its video game creation software;
other notable programs include Klik N’ Play, Click and Create, The Games Factory, and
Multimedia Fusion Express. The internet is abundant with resources, graphic libraries,
tutorials, game engines, music and sound effects to assist those willing to learn the
fundamentals of “Klik” game production. Due to the program‟s accessibility and ease of
use, an expansive community of game developers has been growing since Clickteam‟s
release of the original Kick N’ Play in 1994.
Up until recently, games created with Clickteam products could only be exported as an
executable file or uploaded online via their “Vitalize!” service. However, with the release
of several export modules, games can now be built to run on Flash, Andriod, and iOS in
addition to other platforms.
Over the course of this eBook, we will be making an application together using
Multimedia Fusion 2 (MMF2). This way, you will be able to follow my directions step
by step as I take you through the basics of the storyboard editor, frame editor, and
event editor. Included with this eBook are a Windows executable file and a Multimedia
Fusion 2 document file of the finished product which can be opened, manipulated, and
studied to better understand the mechanics of the program.

Best of luck with your future gaming endeavors,

Ryan Harden
Author

Note: This guide assumes that Multimedia Fusion 2 is already installed on your
computer. Visit http://www.clickteam.com to purchase the software or download the
demo.
STEP

1

Getting Started
Note: In order to run Multimedia Fusion 2 and executable files (.exe) associated with the
program, several DLL files may have to be placed in Windows’ system folder
(C:\Windows\System). These files are included with the program, but may need to be
placed in the system folder for full compatibility.
Welcome to the guide! In order to familiarize you with the software, we will be creating a
simple, arcade style platform game in order to demonstrate how the developmental
process works. The game will simply be titled “COIN QUEST”, as the player will be
required to collect all the coins in a level to advance to the next stage. In the spirit of
traditional arcade games, each player will start with 3 lives and will try to amass the high
score before losing all of their men and suffering a game over; the application will consist
of three levels with varying difficulty.
The first step we are going to take in creating our game is to set the window dimensions
for the application.

.

Whilst still in the “Properties” menu, click on the “About” tab on the far right of the
window. Here, we will enter the name of the game so it will display on our 300 x 200
window when we run it as an application. In the “about” tab you can also enter a readme
file, name the author of the work, add text for the about dialog box, add a custom icon
and/or change the file name if you so wish.
After we enter the information in the “About” window, run the application by pressing
the F8 key. The window should appear as follows:

Next, it is time for us to utilize the storyboard editor. It is in the storyboard editor
where can add the multiple frames to the game. A new frame should be visible upon
opening the program. For future reference, add a frame by clicking the number under the
last frame available; a new frame will automatically be added.
Coin Quest will require 6 frames in total –only three of them consisting of actual
gameplay. Create the frames now and rename them as the following:

To change the dimensions of a frame in the storyboard editor refer to this image:


Note: Save often! The game can be saved at any time as long as the application isn’t
running in test mode. Multimedia Fusion 2 project files contain the extension (.mfa).

STEP

2

The Frame Editor
Tip: Switch between the storyboard, frame and event editor at any time clicking their
corresponding icons on the top-left portion of the screen.

Now that we virtually set the stage for our game, we will begin to utilize the frame
editor. The frame editor is where users can insert and animate a game‟s graphics, design
the levels and set up the score and lives function. There are 3 primary types of objects in
which we will deal with over the course of this tutorial. First, an active object is an
object that both contains movement and has the ability to be assigned events (main
character, enemies, coins, power-ups etc.).
A backdrop object is a picture within the game that does not have the ability to be
manipulated in the event editor. Backdrops cannot be assigned movement and are static.
Backdrop objects are common ways to build platforms and scenery, while quick

backdrops are used to create the level‟s background. A quick backdrop can be clicked
and extended with the purpose of looping the original image so long as there is a fluid
continuity of the source picture.
To insert an active object into the frame, right click anywhere within the frame and select
“Insert Object”. A dialog box will appear asking you specifically what type of object you
would like to place. Select the active object icon and add it to the frame.

For the purpose of this game, we will be using a primitive form of an active object which
is a solid blue 16 x16 fill. Note that if needed, active objects can be animated in the lower
right portion of the dialog box. This solid fill will enact as our main character; therefore,
rename the object (called „Active‟ by default) „Player 1‟.

Note: Walking, running, crouching, and jumping animations will begin playing in
relation to an object’s specified movement automatically when using MMF2’s default
platform engine.
After our “main character” is incorporated into the frame editor, a couple more active
objects are needed for our game‟s engine. As one would suspect given the game‟s title,
we will need to create a coin object for the player to collect. As our main character
consists of 16 x 16 frame attributes, let‟s make our coin object 8 x 8 with a yellow fill.

Once you place the object in the frame editor and name it „Coin‟, we will animate the
object to make the coins more alluring to the player.
Notice in the image below how there are six frames of animation for the coin. To clone
the frame, highlight „Frame 1‟ and click the
button. Repeat this step until you have 6
frames of animation.
Next, highlight “Frame 6”. Make the yellow color here a brighter shade of yellow in
order to imitate a glistening effect. Next, click the tab entitled “Direction Options” and
click the “Loop” checkbox. This ensures that the animation will loop continuously upon
completion.

Another item that we must add is the spring. When „Player 1‟ lands on the spring, the
object will be launched upward to collect the topmost coins. Again, right click in the
frame editor and select “Insert Object”. Place the object in the playfield and right click to
edit its appearance.

After drawing the spring graphic as it appears above, exit the current window and rename
the object „Spring‟.
With our „Player 1‟, „Coin‟, and „Spring‟ objects ready to go, it is time for us to create
some level hazards that must be avoided when playing the game.
The first hazard we are going to create in the frame editor is going to simply consist of a
red square. Create this object as you did with „Player 1‟ and „Coin‟; upon completion,
rename the object „Enemy‟ and resize it to reasonable dimensions. Then, place two
„Enemy‟ objects in the playfield.
The final object needed for Coin Quest’s engine is an object that would be hard not to
find in any classic platforming game. Of course, we are dealing with the „Spike‟ object
(rename the object as so upon finishing the artwork).

„Enemy‟

„Spike‟
Note: The checkered background indicates transparency.

The „Spike‟ object will look something like this (above) after you finish it. Feel free to
copy and paste from this PDF if you do not want to create the object pixel by pixel.
As with the „Coin‟ object, both the „Spring‟ and „Spike‟ objects are going to consist of
several frames of animation. As the „Spike‟ object will be animated less severely, we will
deal with it first.

Right click on the new spike object and select “Edit”. While in the editing menu, press
CTRL+A to select the entire object, followed by CTRL+C to copy it to the clipboard. On
the bottom right of the screen, select “Walking” and paste the spike in the field. Press the
button twice so that there are three frames of walking animation for „Spike‟.

Later, we are going to specify in the event editor that when „Player 1‟ collides with
„Spike‟, „Player 1‟ is going to lose a life and the walking animation for „Spike‟ is going to
play.
While still on the spike‟s walking animation, click “Frame 2” to edit it. Using the brush
tool and the color red, we are going to make it look like there is blood gradually seeping
down the spike upon collision with it. Therefore, edit “Frame 2” similarly to the example
below:

Frame 2
When finished editing the second frame of animation, use the selection tool to copy the
entire image to the clipboard (CTRL+C). Then, highlight “Frame 3” and paste the image
so that it replicates “Frame 2”. In “Frame 3”we are going to further edit the image as
follows:

Frame 3






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