Scene Editor

To access the Scene Editor, double-click a purple 3D World node on the Mind Map or click the Edit icon in the top right corner of the node.

This editor allows you to add assets and lights to a scene as well as adjust the game path and camera. By default, every scene includes a camera, a source of light, and a set of start and end points of the current scene.

There are several important Follow camera attributes, such as Follow Position, Rotation, Offset, and others, that you need to define to make the camera move around as desired in your game. For details, see Camera Attributes.

Navigating in the Scene Editor

To zoom or change the 3D view in the Scene Editor, you can use the View options on the Buildbox Menu Bar, which also include a special set of View options available only in the Scene Editor or the keyboard shortcuts below.

Working in the Scene Editor

• To add scenes, click Add in the Scene Selector at the bottom or duplicate an existing ones.
• To add assets, drag them from the Asset panel on the left.
  
  If you drag an outside file to the Editor, for example, with an image you want to add to the scene, a Drop Wheel appears that allows you to set the new asset as a character or an object.
  

• To delete an object from a scene, select and press Delete on the keyboard.
• To duplicate an object, press D on the keyboard.
• To modify or view the camera, light, or other object attributes, select the object and use the respective Options panel.
• To move or resize objects, you can manipulate them directly on the grid using the axis handles or enter the appropriate numeric values in the corresponding entity attributes in the Options panel. You can also use the position, rotation, scale, and other tools at the top. For details, see Tools.
• To change the camera view or to open the Collision Shape Editor, use the toolbar buttons at the top. For details, see Toolbar Buttons.

World Workspace

To go inside a 3D World and start building it, double-click a purple 3D World node on the Mind Map or click the Edit icon in the top right corner of the node. This opens the workspace of the selected world.

Inside a World, you can add scenes to your game level and build them, using objects, characters, and other assets.

The first default Start scene is always displayed in the Scene Selector (F) at the bottom. You may not delete, solo, or mute this scene, but you can duplicate it, if needed. For details, see Scene Selector.

The World workspace has all the parts described in detail in General Workspace Overview. For specific details on each part of the World workspace, see the links below:

• A Asset Panel
• B Outliner
• C Scene Editor
• D Options Panel
• E Animation Editor
• F Scene Selector

Image Attributes

To add an image to a UI screen, see Adding Images. To see the attributes of an image, select it in the UI Editor or the Outliner and use the Options panel on the right.

Score Label Attributes

Drag a label to the Scene Editor or UI Editor from the Asset Panel or click one that is already there and use the following attributes to a special text area that will display the player’s score during a game session. See also Adding Score.

Option	Description
Name	Change the name of the text area label so that you can identify it in the project, for example, Game Score. By default, it is the name of the font you’ve selected. To change the actual font type, use the Font field. Don’t leave this field blank, as you won’t be able to tell what object it is if you hide it in the Outliner.
Position	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the location of the text area. Alternatively, drag the arrow axis handles to the desired location in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Rotation	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the angle of the text area. Alternatively, click the Rotation Tool button and drag the circle axis handles to set the desired angle for the text area in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Scale	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the size of the text area. Alternatively, click the Scale Tool button and drag the cube axis handles to set the desired size for the text area in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Opacity	Enter a value from 0 to 1 to specify the transparency of the text on the label, where 1 equals 100% opacity and 0 indicates full transparency.
Function	Select a function for the label: User Text—Displays the text you enter on the screen. If you select this option, skip the attributes below and define the rest of the options as described in Text Area Attributes. Score—Displays the game score.
World	To have the score displayed throughout all game levels, select All. Otherwise, select the Current World.
Score Type	To keep track of collected game points, select Points. If you are using coins in the game, select Coins. Make sure you have an asset added to your game with the Collision Group attribute set to Coin. See Asset Attributes. See also Adding Score.
Amount	Select what amount of collected points or coins to display as the game score: Best Current Total
Alignment	Select the score text alignment.
Font	Select a font you’ve added using the Font Editor. To add a font, click the Font Editor button on the Navigation bar.
Stick to Edge	Select this checkbox to keep the relative size and position of the text when scaling the screen for different sizes.
Autohide	If you want the text to appear momentarily and then fade away, specify the number of seconds for the text to be displayed for before disappearing. To keep the text displayed on the screen, enter 0.

Text Label Attributes

Drag a label to the Scene Editor or UI Editor from the Asset Panel or click one that is already there and use the following attributes to define the text you want to appear in the game.

Option	Description
Name	Change the name of the text area label so that you can identify it in the project. By default, it is the name of the font you’ve selected. To change the actual font type, use the Font field. Don’t leave this field blank, as you won’t be able to tell what object it is if you hide it in the Outliner.
Position	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the location of the text area. Alternatively, drag the arrow axis handles to the desired location in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Rotation	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the angle of the text area. Alternatively, click the Rotation Tool button and drag the circle axis handles to set the desired angle for the text area in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Scale	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the size of the text area. Alternatively, click the Scale Tool button and drag the cube axis handles to set the desired size for the text area in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Opacity	Enter a value from 0 to 1 to specify the transparency of the text on the label, where 1 equals 100% opacity and 0 indicates full transparency.
Function	Select a function for the label: User Text—Displays the text you enter in the field below. Score—Displays the game score. Skip the attributes below and define the rest of the options as described Score Attributes.
Text	Type the text that you want to be displayed on the screen.
Font	Select a font you’ve added using the Font Editor. To add a font, click the Tools > Font Editor on the Buildbox menu bar.
Tracking	Enter the number of pixels to adjust the spacing between the characters in the text.
Stick to Edge	Select this checkbox to keep the relative size and position of the text when scaling the screen for different sizes.
Autohide	If you want the text to appear momentarily and then fade away, specify the number of seconds for the text to be displayed for before disappearing. To keep the text displayed on the screen, enter 0.

Point Light Attributes

A point light is an additional source of light in a game that projects light within a given range or diameter.

To view the point light attributes in the Options panel:

1. Inside a World, drag the point light from the Lights section in the Asset panel to the Scene Editor.
2. Click the point light in the Scene Editor or select it in the Outliner.

Option	Description
Name	Change the name of the light object, only if needed.
Position	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the location of the light. Alternatively, drag the arrow axis handles to the desired location in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Rotation	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the angle of the light. Alternatively, click the Rotation Tool button and drag the circle axis handles to set the desired angle for the light in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Scale	Enter the appropriate numeric values for each axis to define the size of the light. Alternatively, click the Scale Tool button and drag the cube axis handles to set the desired size for the light in the Scene Editor. If needed, for details, see Tools.
Color	Click this field, select the desired light color from the several options provided in the Colors window, and click OK.
Intensity	Enter a numeric to specify the strength or amount of light produced by the light source. The higher the number, the more light will be shed.
Range	Enter a numeric value to specify how far the light should be projected.

How Do I…

General

• Create a game project?
• Add a game level?
• Add music and sound effects?
• Preview and test my game or an individual scene?
• Monetize my game?
• Export a game project?

Scenes

• Change background colors or images in scenes?
• Add a scene or section to a World?
• Change/move/rotate the 3D scene view in the Scene Editor?
• Change/move/rotate the game camera view?

Objects and Characters

• Create characters?
• Create a 3D Animated Character?
• Create enemies?
• View collision shapes in the Scene Editor?
• Change collision shapes?
• Add nodes to a character or object on the Node Map?
• Manage health, damage, and defeat?
• Make objects move naturally? 
• Make characters jump or objects bounce?

UI Screens

• Add a UI screen?
• Add a game score?
• Add an image?
• Add a control button to the UI?
• Add an Event Observer to the UI?
• Change the logo on the splash screen?

Add Game Score

A score counter in a game is basically a text area defined to keep count of the player’s points and automatically display it in the UI. Unlike a regular text label, in the UI Editor, a score label is displayed as green crosshairs at the top of the screen:

To add a score counter to the game:

1. On the Mind Map, double-click the UI node where you want to add a score.
   The UI Editor is displayed.
2. In the Asset panel, expand the Labels section and drag the font label you want to use for the score to the UI Editor.
3. Position the text area at the top of the screen or wherever you want the score to appear.
4. In the Options panel on the right, do the following:
   1. In the Name field, enter a descriptive name, for example, Score.
   2. In the Function field, select Score.
   3. Make the rest of the selections to choose the score type, amount, and other attributes as described in Score Label.
5. Preview the game to test the score.

Change Collision Shapes

A collision shape is the surface area around an object that gets affected when two objects from different collision groups collide.

For example, even though it looks like the ball in the image on the left can clearly make it over the cone obstacle, it will actually collide with it. If you click the Collision Shape Editor button in the scene, you will see in the image on the right that the cubic collision shape of the ball will graze the top of the conic collision shape of the obstacle. If not, see Viewing Collision Shapes.

Here’s what you need to know about collision shapes:

• A collision shape may be the same physical shape as the object or be of different shape, for example, a cone can have a cylinder collision shape.
• You can expand a collision shape in size, as if to add padding to the object, typically to increase the collision surface of the object.
• You can also move a collision shape away from the object.

Thus, when two assets collide, for example, when a character runs into an obstacle, it is their collision shapes that get affected, not the objects themselves.

Step-by-Step Instructions

To change a collision shape of an asset:

1. On the Mind Map, double-click the World node where you want to change a collision shape of an asset.
   The Scene Editor is displayed.
2. On the toolbar, click the Collision Shape Editor button.
3. Select the asset in the scene.
4. In the Options panel on the right, in the Collision Shape field, select the shape you need.
   • Cube
   • Sphere
   • Cylinder
   • Mesh—A sophisticated shape, with outer and inner vertices created to reflect the shape details, such as a hole in a torus, for example, which would let objects go through it during a collision.
   • Hull—A “solid” shape that reflects only the outer frame of the selected shape, without details such as a hole in a torus, for example. No objects can go through a Hull collision shape.
5. If you select Mesh or Hull, in the Collision Mesh field that appears below, click the Edit icon and select the appropriate shape from Mesh Manager and click Save.

Create Enemies

An enemy is an asset that can harm a character, typically during a collision.

To create an enemy in a game:

1. On the Mind Map, double-click the World node where you want to add an enemy.
2. Inside the World, click Asset Library.
3. On the Shapes tab, double-click the shape you want to make a character in your game.
4. Click Asset Library to close it.
5. In the Asset panel, under Objects, select the shape you’ve just added.
6. In the Options panel on the far right, do the following:
   1. (Optional) In the Name field, type Enemy after the shape name.
   2. In the Collision Group, select Enemy.
7. If needed, change the collision shape of the enemy.

You’ve added an enemy to your game.