Chapter 1: Getting Started with Construct 2
About the Construct 2 game engine (we discuss how game engines compare to traditional creating games using traditional game programming languages, and the advantages to using the Construct 2 game engine in particular vs. other game engines)
Downloading and installing (we explain how to set up the software, and include a comparison between the free and licensed versions. Note: all programs developed in this book use features available in the free version.)
The user interface (we include a screenshot of the Construct software and explain the purpose of each panel, how to navigate between panels, and explain the basic terminology used by the program. All terms will be re-explained when they are first encountered in subsequent chapters)
Saving and exporting games (we describe the two ways a game can be saved, and the numerous export options (HTML5 website, app stores, executable files, etc.)
Chapter 2: Starfish Collector
Introduction (this section, common to most chapters, will include: - a screenshot and description of the game in terms of mechanics/dynamics/aesthetics - a list of previously covered topics the reader needs to remember and use here - a brief description of the new features of Construct that will be introduced in this chapter - initial project setup, graphics needed, and settings (window and layout size, renaming layouts and layers, etc.)
Sprites (adding objects to the game; using the image editor; changing position, angle, and size)
Events (the “code” of Construct; events are “if”-statements: conditions followed by actions; event-driven programming; how to make the starfish disappear on contact; adding comments)
Behaviors (pre-programmed sets of events to accelerate game development; 8-directional movement and keeping the player on the screen)
Ending the game (organizing messages with a User Interface layer; accessing properties in code; system conditions)
Side Quests (this section, common to most chapters, will include optional extra modules the reader can follow that introduce additional game mechanics or add polish to the game, and an “on your own” section with ideas that the reader can implement on their own to practice and refine their skills)
? solid objects (add a rock sprite, introduce solid behavior, collision polygons, rotate and scale to make duplicates appear different)
? value-based animations (contrast value-based vs. image-based animations; discuss the importance of drawing player attention to interactive objects; adding the rotate, sine, and fade behaviors to animate the starfish)
? on your own (creating a maze from the rocks; rotating solid objects; making the starfish change position with the sine behavior; adding additional sprites, like seaweed)
Chapter 3: Space Rocks (inspired by the classic game “Asteroids”)
Introduces: Keyboard, Custom Movement, Bullet, Wrap, Animation (spritesheet; blending), Pin, functions
Introduction
Spaceship movement (discuss when one needs to write custom events rather than use behaviors; the keyboard object and custom movement and wrap behavior; velocity vs. acceleration; setting speed limits)
Lasers and rocks (introduce the bullet behavior, and image-based animations; contrast key down vs. key press conditions)
Thrusters and Explosions (the importance of visual feedback for the player; pin behavior)
Teleportation (introduction to functions, randomization)
Winning or losing the game
Side Quests
? Shields (discuss game balance; decreasing the difficulty by allowing multiple collisions)
? UFOs (introduces spawn points, periodic events, combining bullet and sine behaviors)
? on your own (add a solid planet or moon; randomizing rock movement)
Chapter 4: Street Sweeper (inspired by the classic game “Frogger”, the player (a street sweeper) needs to cross a busy road and pick up pieces of trash, avoiding cars along the way, then deposit the trash in a can located across the street)
Introduction (introduces tiled backgrounds for repeating images)
Animating the player (introduces multiple animations, switching between animations based on keypress)
Cars (also includes multiple animations initialized in layout, writing custom events to create a wrap-like behavior, and randomized speed)
Displaying game over text (introduces text objects to display a “Game Over” message instead of sprites)
Keeping score with global variables (introduce global variables, add collectible objects to earn points for the player, display the score with a text object, discuss literals vs. variables, text concatenation, add a goal object, and reuse the game over text object)
Side Quests
? Randomizing graphics
? Animating text (scroll and fade effects)
? on your own (increase gameplay length by periodically spawning new objects; adjusting gameplay parameters to control difficulty level and gameplay testing)
Chapter 5: Adding polish to your game (the section revisits the Starfish Collector game from Chapter 2, and adds many features, resulting in a game we call “Starfish Collector HD” – HD standing for High Definition)
Introduction
Adding animation, obstacles, and text (adds animation to the turtle while swimming, obstacles (sharks) that cause the player to lose, and a text display listing the number of starfish remaining)
Menus (introduces additional layouts (start screen; help/instructions; about/credits), the mouse object, sprite-based buttons, and a pause feature on the main game screen)
Particle effects (introduces the particle object to create a visual “splash” effect when starfish are collected)
Audio (introduces the audio object; importing music and sound effects; audio file formats and conversion; discussion of setting the mood with audio)
Alternative controls
? Changing default controls (introduces the OR statement)
? Touch screen input (introduces the touch object)
? Gamepad controllers (introduces the gamepad object; directional pad / discrete button presses vs. joystick / analog controls)
Revisiting earlier games (adding these features to the Space Rocks and Street Sweeper games)
Chapter 6: Plane Dodger (inspired by the smartphone game “Flappy Bird”)
Introduction
background effects (introduces infinite scrolling effects and simulating depth via parallax)
player plane movement (using the bullet behavior for gravity and thrust effects)
Generating stars and enemy planes (discusses random generation, difficulty ramp with caps; points for collecting stars)
Side Quests
? Special effects: explosions and sparkles
? On your own (game over message; randomly colored enemy planes; sine behavior for enemy image tilt and vertical motion; using five stars to fire a single laser to destroy enemy planes; audio; menus)
Chapter 7: Daytona 101 (a standard racing game where a car drives around a racetrack as quickly as possible)
Introduction
Tilemaps and track design (introduces tilemaps for quick and efficient level design)
Car mechanics (introduces the car steering and scroll-to behaviors, and layouts larger than the game window)
Starting and ending the race (introduces system variables and time elapsed; the round fu
