Start Your Game Creation Journey Today! (Godot beginner tutorial)

Summary

This tutorial guides beginners through creating a 2D platformer game using the free, open-source Godot engine. It covers installing Godot, setting up a new project, and designing a scene with a background, ground, and character. The script teaches adding animations, basic movement controls, and refining player interactions. By the end, viewers will have built a functional game and learned foundational game development concepts.

Takeaways

• 🚀 **Start with Basics**: When learning a new game engine, begin with creating a simple platformer game to understand the fundamentals.
• 🌐 **Choose an Engine**: Use Godot, a free and open-source engine, for creating your first game project.
• 📂 **Project Structure**: Organize your projects by creating a new directory for each new project within Godot.
• 🎨 **Scene Creation**: A scene in Godot acts as a container for all game components, both static and dynamic.
• 🖼️ **Background Setup**: Use texture rectangles to create backgrounds and adjust their properties to fit the game window.
• 🧱 **Ground Creation**: Utilize tile maps for creating ground and other scene objects, allowing for easy painting of tiles.
• 🐸 **Character Setup**: Create a character with a sprite for visuals and a collision shape for physics interactions.
• 🔗 **Subscene Utility**: Save branches of the scene as subscenes to facilitate reusability and organized editing.
• ▶️ **Game Testing**: Regularly test the game to check for collisions, character movements, and overall gameplay.
• 💻 **Scripting Movement**: Use GScript to add movement control to the character, making use of built-in templates for character movement.
• 🔄 **Input Mapping**: Define custom key mappings for character control in the project settings for a more tailored input experience.

Q & A

What is the recommended game engine for beginners according to the script?

The recommended game engine for beginners is Godot, a free and open-source engine that allows you to create your first dream project.

What is the first step in creating a new project in Godot?

The first step in creating a new project in Godot is to visit the official website, download the latest version of the Godot engine, and then create a new directory to hold all future Godot projects.

How do you create a new scene in Godot?

To create a new scene in Godot, you go to the top left, click on 'Other Node', select 'Node' from the 'Scene' window, and click 'Create'. This will be the root of the scene, and all other components will be children of it.

What is the purpose of saving the scene with a specific file extension in Godot?

Saving the scene with the '.dscn' file extension in Godot is to ensure that the scene format is recognized by the engine and can be easily located and accessed within the project's file structure.

How do you import a background image into your Godot project?

To import a background image into your Godot project, you drag the image into the 'FileSystem' section, which makes it a part of the project, and then create a 'TextureRect' node to display the image on the scene.

What is the 'TileMap' node used for in Godot, and how do you configure it?

The 'TileMap' node in Godot is used for creating grid-based levels. It is configured by creating a new 'TileSet', importing the terrain image, and then drawing the tiles on the scene using the 'TileMap' tab.

How do you create a character in Godot and what are the essential child nodes it should have?

To create a character in Godot, you create a new 'Node2D' called 'CharacterBody2D', which should have two child nodes: a 'Sprite' node to define its image and a 'CollisionShape2D' node to define what touches the ground and collides with other elements.

What is a subscene in Godot and why is it useful?

A subscene in Godot is a group of nodes that can be saved as a single entity, also known as a prefab. It is useful for organizing complex entities like characters and for making changes that apply to multiple instances of the same entity.

How do you add movement to a character in Godot using scripting?

To add movement to a character in Godot, you create a script attached to the character's root node, use the 'GDScript' language, and utilize a built-in template for moving 2D characters. The script checks for ground collision, jump inputs, and horizontal movement inputs to control the character's velocity.

What are the steps to create animations for a character in Godot?

To create animations for a character in Godot, you change the 'Sprite' node to an 'AnimatedSprite' node, import the animation frames, add them to the 'SpriteFrames' property, and then set the animation to play on load by selecting the animation and enabling 'Play on Load'.

How do you make a character's movement smoother in Godot?

To make a character's movement smoother in Godot, you can tweak the 'move_and_slide' function parameters such as 'max_speed', 'friction', and 'stop_threshold', and adjust the 'gravity' and 'jump' velocity in the project settings.

How do you customize the input actions for a character in Godot?

To customize the input actions for a character in Godot, you go to 'Project Settings', select the 'Input Map' tab, declare actions and key mappings, and then replace the UI action strings in the script with the defined actions like 'jump', 'left', and 'right'.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Starting a Platformer Game in Godot

The paragraph introduces the process of starting a platformer game in Godot, a free and open-source game engine. It guides users through the installation of Godot, creating a new project, and setting up the main editor window. The focus is on creating a scene, which is a container for all game components. It explains how to create a basic 2D scene with a background, ground, and character. The paragraph also covers importing assets, setting up a tile map for the ground, and creating a character with a sprite and collider. The process of saving scenes and organizing the project structure is also discussed.

05:02

🛠️ Building the Game Environment and Character

This section delves into enhancing the game environment by resizing tiles for better visibility and adjusting texture filters for clarity. It introduces the concept of level design using tile maps, allowing for the creation of complex game levels. The paragraph also covers the creation of the main character, including setting up a sprite and a collision shape. It explains the importance of subscenes for organizing game objects and the process of testing the game to ensure basic functionality. The segment concludes with a brief on adding a script to the character for basic movement.

10:03

💻 Scripting for Character Movement

The focus of this paragraph is on scripting the character's movement within the game. It begins with a template script for character control and explains how to set up and configure the script. The paragraph addresses the importance of collision detection between the character and the game environment. It also covers how to implement and test basic movement controls using keyboard inputs. The segment concludes with a discussion on enhancing the character's appearance with an idle animation, which adds a dynamic element to the character's presentation.

15:03

🎮 Enhancing Character Animation and Control

This section focuses on refining the character's animations and control mechanisms. It starts with the process of adding animations for different character states, such as jumping and running, using the AnimatedSprite2D node. The paragraph explains how to implement these animations within the script to enhance the character's movement dynamics. It also covers tweaking the character controller's parameters for smoother movement and jumping. The segment concludes with a discussion on optimizing the character's movement response and the impact of these adjustments on gameplay.

20:05

🔄 Customizing Input Mappings for Better Control

The final paragraph discusses the customization of input mappings for the game. It explains how to define actions and key mappings in the project settings, allowing for a more tailored control scheme. The paragraph guides users through replacing UI action strings with custom-defined actions for better control over the character's movement. It concludes with a summary of the completed tasks and an invitation to subscribe for more content, highlighting the completion of all the outlined objectives for the tutorial.

Keywords

💡Godot Engine

Godot Engine is a free and open-source game development engine that allows developers to create 2D and 3D games. It is the central theme of the video, as the tutorial is focused on using Godot to create a platformer game. The script mentions downloading and installing Godot, creating a new project, and navigating its interface.

💡Scene

In the context of Godot Engine, a 'Scene' is a container that holds all the game's components, both static and dynamic. The video script guides viewers on creating a scene, which is fundamental to organizing the game's elements and setting up the game world.

💡Node

A 'Node' in Godot represents an object or entity within a scene. Nodes can be anything from visual elements like sprites to functional elements like colliders. The script describes adding child nodes to the scene and using different types of nodes like 'TextureRect' and 'TileMap'.

💡TileMap

A 'TileMap' is a node used for creating 2D levels by arranging tiles. The script explains how to set up a tile set and use the TileMap to paint the game's terrain, which is essential for designing the game's environment.

💡Sprite

A 'Sprite' is a 2D image used to represent characters or objects in a game. The video script includes instructions for importing a sprite image and setting it up within the game scene, which is crucial for visual game development.

💡CollisionShape2D

The 'CollisionShape2D' node defines the shape of a collision area for a game object. In the script, it is used to set up collision detection for the player character, which is vital for gameplay mechanics like jumping and avoiding obstacles.

💡Subscene

A 'Subscene' in Godot refers to a group of nodes that can be treated as a single unit. The video describes creating a subscene for the main character, which allows for easier manipulation and reusability of complex game objects.

💡GScript

GScript is a scripting language used in Godot Engine for writing game logic. The script mentions using GScript to create a movement controller for the character, demonstrating how scripting is used to implement gameplay mechanics.

💡Animation

The term 'Animation' refers to the process of creating movement or change in a static image to create the illusion of life. The video script includes instructions for setting up animations for the character's idle, jumping, and running states, enhancing the visual appeal and interactivity of the game.

💡InputMap

The 'InputMap' in Godot is used to define user inputs and associate them with actions. The script guides viewers on setting up key mappings for player controls, which is essential for creating a responsive and playable game.

💡Physics Layers

In Godot, 'Physics Layers' define which objects can collide with each other. The video script explains how to set up physics layers for the game's tiles, ensuring that the player character interacts correctly with the game environment.

Highlights

Introduction to creating a platformer game using the free and open-source Godot engine.

Installation process of Godot engine and initial setup for a new project.

Explanation of the Godot main editor window and its various panels and tabs.

Creating a scene as a container for in-game components in Godot.

Saving the scene and naming conventions for Godot scene files.

Setting up the 2D mode and creating the game window border.

Adding a background to the game scene using a texture.

Using anchor presets to ensure the background covers the entire screen.

Importing and setting up a tile set for the game's ground.

Creating a tile map and painting the ground tiles for the character to walk on.

Adding a character to the scene with a sprite and a collider.

Creating subscenes for better organization and reusability of game elements.

Running the game and initial testing of the character's movement.

Scripting the character's movement controller using GScript in Godot.

Fixing character collision with the ground by setting up physics layers.

Adding animations to the character for idling, jumping, and running.

Implementing smooth movement and jumping mechanics through script adjustments.

Customizing input mappings for character control beyond the standard arrow keys.

Completion of the tutorial with a fully playable basic platformer game in Godot.

Transcripts

if you're just starting your game def

Adventure or you're trying out a new

game engine it's good to start with

Basics Tod platformer game we'll create

it in goo a free and open source engine

that will allow you to create your first

Dream project we'll be touching a lot of

Concepts so stick to the very end to

collect all their badges if some of the

workflows require revision don't forget

to explore video Chapters at the bottom

of the video after each chapter you will

receive a new badge first let's install

godo visit the official website click

download latest and then godo engine

after installation you will be greeted

with this screen press new project PR

the puff and create a new directory that

will hold all your future goo projects

give your new project a name and click

create folder that way you will have a

nice structure for this and future

projects as for the renderer select

mobile option it's the best choice for

2D game click create and edit this is

the gdo main editor window here we'll be

doing all of our work as you can see

there are multiple panels and tabs which

we be discovering along the way first

thing we need to do is to create our

scene scene is a container that gathers

all the in-game components both static

and the dynamic ones as you can see here

in the top left goto gives us some

starting suggestions but I would prefer

to have a blank canvas click on other

node and from this scare window just

select default white node and click

create this will be our root of the

scene and all other components will be a

child of it that helps to keep our

project tidy before we'll start adding

child notes we need to save our scene

just click control or command s name it

main. dscn which is a godo scene format

and click save save after it's saved you

can find it here in the file structure

of a project congrats this is your first

badge today we'll create only 2D

elements so here at the top select 2D

mode and zoom into the blue border it

represents our game window our scene

will consist of three main elements

background ground blocks where our

character will be able to walk and a

character let's start with the first one

today for all the graphics I'll be using

this awesome free pack called pixel

Adventure download it from the link

below I'll take the green background

image and drag it into the goo file

system section that way it will become a

part of our project to fill the whole

background withd let's create our first

Noe click on this small plus icon in the

Sy Tab and search for texture wrecked

node click

create this component allows us to show

an image on the scene simply drag this

image from the file system to the

texture field right here that way it

shows up on the scene now I would like

to resize it to the whole size of the

screen resizing man is not a good idea

because everything may break after the

window resizes what we need to do is to

click on this small green icon at the

top and from the anchor preset select

four wrecked to learn more about Ancor

presets you can check out this video to

other small tweaks first I don't like

that this pixelated image is being

blurred to fix that here in the

inspector find the texture section and

change filter to nearest much better and

the second one instead of stretching

this image I'd like to tile it here in

the stretch mode select tile

great now now let's create a ground on

which our character will be walking for

that we'll use a GRE til set system

which allows us to easily paint our

scene objects you may recognize it from

many popular games both in the side view

and in the top down view I'll import

this terrain file to use it let's create

a new note right click on the rout

select ADD child node and search for

tile map to start drawing tiles we need

to do a onetime configuration ation of a

tile set here in the inspector click on

empty and select new tile set in this

new window on the bottom we only need to

drag our terrain image here click yes

and goto will automatically split our

tile set for us into small individual

tiles now to draw them on the scene

simply switch the tab on the bottom to

tile map select tile and start dragging

your mouse on the scene again two small

fing to make this experience better

first let's increase the size of our

tiles so that everything will be bigger

on the scene go to transform and change

scale to three and the second one if we

zoom in we can see the same problem with

smoothing out pixels go to texture and

set filter to nearest way better now is

the time for you to become a level

designer you can play with all the

available tiles and tools like paint

line or rectangle Le you can also select

multiple Tiles at once and paint them in

batches and when you make a mistake just

use an eraser to cleaned now I'll take a

second to Z my level in the meanwhile

you can leave a like under this video if

you're enjoying it so far also here is a

silver badge for you you'll learn one

more skill related to TI Maps later in

this video all right here is what I

created I think it will be a nice level

to play around remember to play some

bricks around around the scene so that

player does not fall off the map but

obviously something is missing our main

character time to create one create a

new note called character body 2D it

should be a child of root so if you made

the same mistake just drag it like that

character control needs to have two

children Sprite that will Define its

image and a collider that will Define

what touches the ground and collides

with other elements on the scene let's

start with the first one create a new

note called Sprite 2D similarly to the

background it also waits to add a

texture to it I will import this ninja

frog and set it as a Sprite texture if

you think your character should be a bit

bigger simply resize it and again just

like with all other images I'll change

the texture filter to nearest then

collider select the character body and

add a new note called Collision shape

ape 2D for now it hasn't created any

collider because we need to change a

setting here in the inspector instead of

empty go with the rectangle shape 2D

that created this blue box don't worry

it won't be visible in the game it only

visualizes to what shape will collide

with other objects resize on the bottom

Edge so that it will reflect the place

where player will be touching the ground

colliders on the sides are not that

important but you can simply resize them

to the entire frog image these are the

basics of creating Sprites good job if

you'd like to create enemies you can do

so by using the same node structure

remember to experiment with different

Collision shapes time for the very

important skill creating subscenes our

character is initially placed here in

the corner obviously not an ideal place

so I'm going to move it the problem is

that I'm not not moving the whole parent

but only the collider or the Sprite to

move everything we need to create a

subscene we can also call it a group or

a prefab if you're coming from Unity

right click on character body and select

Save branch as scene now we need to set

the location create a new folder called

scenes rename our scene as main

character and click save that did two

things first we can now find our newly

saved subscene here in the file system

and the second our few notes have been

combined into this one I can now freely

move this subject with all of its nodes

at once if you like to change anything

for this character just double click it

that will open a new tab with only this

scene contents what is really important

anything changed here will also apply to

the main scene for example I will change

the collider shape to capsule resize it

a bit and press command or contrl S now

in the main window this change is

applied that can be even more useful for

changing multiple subscenes at once for

example here I have an enemy subscene

that I placed a few times in our world

if I open it change the rotation of the

Sprite and save it you can now see that

all of the enemy instances have been

updated remember to often create

subscenes to keep your project tidy

let's try to play our game here in the

top right click run project a new window

will appear and after a second of

loading you should see your amazing game

for now we can't really do much our

character is not moving let's fix that

go to the main character scene click on

the root node and click the small ad

script icon we leave all of those values

by default but let's quickly go over

them first you select your programming

language we'll go with g script but if

you'd like to try out C check out my

other video and follow the script

alternative version shown on the screen

then select a template goo has a

built-in template for moving to the

characters which we'll use for sure and

finally set a file location and name

it's a good practice to name it the same

as the scene click create whoa as you

can see goto has switched to the script

tab if you like to go back to the editor

you can do it here this is the template

code for the character controller the

good news is that it already works and

we can test it out go to the 2D Tab and

save the scene notice that the unsaved

changes have the small star next to them

press play now our game starts the main

character starts falling and falls

through the map what's wrong the problem

is that our whole character has the

Collision remember this blue box shape

but but our ground does not the game

simply doesn't know what to collide with

the fix is very easy but requires a few

clicks select the tile map in the SC tab

then here in the inspector click on tile

set then physics layers and click add

element now go to this bottom section

select tile set tab don't mistake it

with ti map in a paint tool set paint

properties to the physics layer and

finally paint all the tiles that should

collide with the player in my case all

of the ground tiles and the rope and

that's it now when I press play our

character will start colliding with the

ground perfect to control it use

keyboard arrows and to jump press space

congratulations on creating your first

movement controller in goo before we'll

move on with a nicer movement I'd like

to quickly go back to our Sprite

appearance currently it's just stands

without any life we can easily fix that

by giving it a simple idle animation go

to the main character scene I would like

to replace this Sprite with a node that

enables animation right click on it and

select change type we'd like to change

it to the animated Sprite 2D our image

disappeared but don't worry we'll

quickly reverted in the inspector select

animation and next to the Sprite frames

click and empty and select new Sprite

frames I'd like to use this idle

animation frames which can be found in a

pack import them to godo and here in the

Sprite frames panel on the bottom click

add frames from Sprite sheet select ID

animation file here godo is asking us

how we would like to split this image in

this case I know that each frame is 32x

32 so we can enter it here alternatively

you can can also experiment with

horizontal and vertical values until the

image will be split correctly then we

need to select all the animation frames

simply click on the first one and drag

your mouse along all the others that

will create 11 frames add them now our

animation is ready to preview it click

this play button if the animation seems

a bit too slow you can increase the

frames per second value before we move

on let's let's create two other

animations that we'll use later on

jumping and running for jumping that

will be only one frame we've used before

I will just click add frame from file

and import this full image for running

we'll use this Sprite sheet go ahead

pause the video and try to add it right

now all right here is what you need to

do import running image in the Sprite

frame switch to the running animation

and press this button select the file

slice it properly select all the frames

preview the animation and change its

speed to play the animation in the game

select the default one and press the

small button that will turn on out to

playay on load that's it play the game

and enjoy how our character plays the

animation we'll work on implementing the

other animations a bit

later as promised let's get back to the

scripting as you can see our movement

works but it's quite lifeless and stiff

time to change that switch to the script

Tab and look at main character script it

is very short and quite understandable

thanks to the comments basically what's

happening is that 60 frames per second

we are doing three things first we check

if our character is not touching the

ground which means it's in the air in

such cases we we apply a gravitational

force that pulls it towards the ground

it's worth noting that in gdo the y axis

operates differently than the standard

graph convention with positive values

directed towards the bottom then we

check if player is both on the floor and

has pressed jump button in such case we

should increase the velocity towards up

and lastly we check if player is

clicking either right or left button in

such case we should change the velocity

towards either of the sides and that's

it pretty simple we'll have three tasks

here flip character right or left

depending on the movement play character

animations depending on what's Happening

and finally make walking and jumping a

bit smoother and nicer to play with

let's start with the first one if we

take a look at our animated Sprite you

can see that in the offset section there

is this nice togle to flip Sprite

graphics horizont onally we need to

toggle it in the script depending on

what was the last player velocity

direction accessing nodes and their

values in the script is very easy switch

to the script Tab and start dragging

Sprite to denote from the scene to code

like that very important just before the

mouse release hold the control key that

will create a reference that can be used

in different parts of the script now at

the very end of this function we simply

need to add two lines VAR is left that

will be a variable that will check if

player is facing the left or the right

side of the screen we know that by

checking if the velocity. x is lower

than zero if player is facing left that

means that we'd like to flip its image

type Sprite Tod flipcore H which stands

for horizontally equals is left that

should be it Run the game and notice how

our character is changing its size

depending on the movement Direction next

playing different animations now that we

have a Sprite animator reference that

will be very easy as a reminder we have

three animations default jumping and

running to change animation for example

while jumping just type here Sprite Tod

do animation equals jumping now when

whenever our character is in the air the

jumping animation starts to implement

animations for walking and sending here

is the code I will add at the very top

of our function if velocity. x is

greater than 1 or lower than minus one

we need to cover both right and left

movement then sprite td. animation

equals running else sprite td. animation

equals default remember that those

strings need to have the exact same

names as defined earlier now press play

and notice how our character is nicely

animated it even plays jump animation

when falling off the hill and the last

step where all the magic will happen

will tweak some controller values first

I like to look at this line what it does

is that when the player stops holding

the right or left key the character

should gradually slow down function move

toward takes current velocity which at

maximum is currently 300 and brings it

slowly back to zero using steps the

problem is that by default the steps are

defined using the same variable as the

maximum speed that causes the instant

speed drop when the key is no longer

pressed I would suggest inputting

something smaller here for example value

10 that way we'll get this fun slowing

down effect what is great about gdo is

that you can tweak some variables

without stopping the game for example if

I would change that to four and save the

player will behave as it it's on the

eyes I think 12 is an optimal value now

how about the other values when you

scroll up you can see those three

variables speed which is a max speed

character can travel with jump velocity

and gravity let's start with the last

one its value is taken from the project

settings so go to project project

settings search for Gravity it will be

in the physics 2D and change it to

something bigger like

2500 I'll increase the speed to 400 and

the jump velocity to minus 900 remember

minus values are going upwards after all

of those changes press save start the

game and try it out in in my opinion

it's way better than what we started

with that was a long chapter so here is

a great reward scripting gold badge good

job time for the last Quick addition for

now we can only use arrows and space to

control our character but what if you'd

like to add other Keys when you check

out the script you can see that we

Define key presses using the UI accept

left and right this is not ideal those

mappings should be used only for the

user interface and in fact code commands

tell us exactly that we need to replace

them with manually defined actions go to

project project settings and select the

input map tab at the top here we can

declare actions and key mappings here

type left and press return I will also

add the same way right and jump under

each of the sections we'll Define all

keys that should trigger it click the

plus icon next to the left action and

press the left Arrow key it should

automatically find the key you are

looking for I will do it again for the a

key to enable A and D movement finally

if you'd like your game to support the

GamePad you can search for left stick

left and d-pad left I think that should

be it now pause the video and complete

this input map with all the remaining

key combinations for your

game all right here is my final

configuration to apply it in the code

all we need to do is to replace those UI

something strings with jump left and

right that's it that way you just

completed all the budgets for this video

congratulations if you liked this

tutorial subscribe to Coco code and

check my other videos as always big

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