Game objects

A game made on Talefab.com has a basic structure like this:

• Models
• Rooms
  • Including Items (model instances)
• Scenes
  • Including Characters (model instances)
  • Including Dialogues

Notice the bolded words? Those are the main components of a game, and the most important ones are Models, Rooms and Scenes. Let’s see them in details:

 

Model

Models are the main building blocks of your game. They act as blueprints, and can be used and reused in different rooms and scenes.

To add a model, follow the steps below:

• Press the “Models” tab in the upper-left corner
  
• Press “+ Add model” button in the left panel
  
• Fill the “Name” in the middle panel.

 

Model States

A visual representation of a model is called a State. A model can have many states (many visual representations), which can be switched during gameplay.

States of a model can represent various things: character expressions, state of an object, perspective views, music, etc.

For example a door can have a “Closed” and an “Opened” state.

 

To add a state to a model, follow the steps below:

• Press “+ Add state” button in the middle panel
  
• Upload an image:
• Image formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF
• File size must be less then 5 MB

 

Field	Type	Mandatory	Description
ID	-	-	This ID will define the state. However, this ID will not be used as a reference!
Name	Text	Yes	The name of the state. Ex: “Closed”
File	File	Yes	The visual representation of the state or a music file. Formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, MP3, WAV File size must be less then 5 MB
Width	Number	Yes	Width of the image, in pixels
Height	Number	Yes	Height of the image, in pixels
Default state	Checkbox	-	The state with “Default state” checked will be set as default, when an item is instantiated.

Model Options

Options ads interactivity to an item. For example a door can “Go to a room” called House.

A model can have multiple options, each of them having a specific Action – defining what should happen when the player clicks on the option.

To add an option to a model, follow the steps below:

• Press “+ Add option” button in the middle panel
  
• Select an action from the “Action” dropdown (ex. “Go to room”)

 

Field	Type	Mandatory	Description
ID	-	-	This ID will define the state. However, this ID will not be used as a reference!
Action	Dropdown	Yes	Define what happens when the option is clicked See possible value below.
Value	Number or text	No	Most of the time contains an ID of a game object. It’s not mandatory, and often is defined at the item.
New state	Number or text	No	It’s used when an item’s state must be changed regardless of the Action.

Available actions and values:

Action	Value	Description
Go to room	Room ID	Redirects the player in a room.
Play scene	Scene ID	Play a scene.
Show text	Text	Shows a dialogue styled text.
Receive item	Item ID	An item is put in the inventory. The item must be placed in one of the rooms already visited to be receivable. If needed, the Visibility can be set to 'Invisible - no interactions' to entirely hide it.
Use item	Item ID	Deletes an item from the inventory.
Add item	ChildItemID :: ParentItemID	Attaches an item (child) to another item (parent). If Value is blank, any item can be attached to this item.
Change state to	State ID (for this item) ItemID::StateID (for other item) Item1ID::State1ID;Item2ID::State2ID (for more items) ItemID:+ (for changing to the next state)	Changes one or more item's state. If you specify only a state ID, it refers to this item. You can specify both the item's ID and the item's state ID in the Value field.
External link	Valid URL	Opens an external URL in a separate tab.
Type and Test	TrueValue :: TextIfTrue :: TextIfFalse	Opens an input dialogue box. On submit, the introduced value is tested against TrueValue. If it's matched, TextIfTrue is displayed, else TextIsFalse is displayed.

Room

Rooms are containers with a background. They represent the backbone of a game. A room contains instances of models, called items.

To add a room, follow the steps below:

• Press the “Rooms” tab in the upper-left corner
• Add a room by pressing the “+ Add room” button in the left panel
  
• Fill the “Name” in the right panel.
• Upload a background (image or video)

 

Field	Type	Mandatory	Description
ID	-	-	This ID will define the room. It is used in Value fields.
Name	Text	Yes	Name of the room.
Background	File	Yes	Image formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF Video formats: VMW, MPG, MPEG, MP4, AVI, MOV File size must be less then 5 MB Dimension should be 800 x 600 pixel. You can choose a background image from the asset repository by pressing the "Repository" button
X offset	Number	No	The horizontal offset of the background image. Can be used for images wider than the canvas.
Music ID	ID	No	Item ID of a Music model. If the previously visited room's Music ID was the same, the music will continue to play.

Item

Dragging a model into a room creates an instance of that model, called an item. Items have the same properties as their parent model.

Steps to create an item:

• Go to the “Rooms” tab and select a room
• Go to the “Models” and drag a model from the list to the middle panel, over the visual editor.
  

 

Field	Type	Mandatory	Description
ID	-	-	This ID will define the item.
Name	Text	Yes	Name of the item.
X	Number	Yes	The horizontal position of the item in pixels.
Y	Number	Yes	The vertical position of the item in pixels.
Visibility	Dropdown	-	Visible - the item is fully visible and clickable Invisible - interactive - the item invisible but it is still clickable. Invisible - no  interactions - the item invisible and it's not clickable.
Stackable	Checkbox	-	Check this if the item is stackable in the inventory.
Defaul state	Dropdow	-	The item will appear with this state by default in the room.

Item States

The states of an item are copied when the item is instantiated. The created item’s states has the same properties and values as the parent model’s states.

The list of fields can be found here.

 

Item Options

The options of an item are copied when the item is instantiated. The created item’s options has the same properties and values as the parent model’s states.

The list of fields can be found here.

NOTE: State IDs and Option IDs referenced in Value field must be an item’s state IDs and option IDs. Do not use model state IDs and Option IDs!

In addition to model’s option, an item’s option can be conditioned. If an option’s condition is met, the option will be available, when the player clicks the item.

For more info, check the documentation of condition formatting.

 

Scene

Scenes are sets of dialogues between one or more characters. They add storyline to a game.

Steps to create a scene:

• Press the “Scenes” tab in the upper-left corner
  
• Press “+ Add scene” button in the left panel
  
• Fill the “Name” in the middle panel.

 

Field	Type	Mandatory	Description
ID	-	-	This ID will define the scene.
Name	Text	Yes	Name of the scene.
Play condition	Text	No	If this condition is met, the scene is played in an instant. Check the documentation of condition formatting. NOTE: if the Play condition field is empty, the scene will never be played (except on an option click).
Transition	Dropdown	-	Transitional effect of the dialogues.

Character

A character is a simple model, which is dragged to a scene for instantiating.

States of a character represents poses, expressions. A character model often does not have any options (since it can’t be clicked by the player).

Steps to create a character:

• Go to the “Scenes” tab and select a scene
• Go to the “Models” and drag a model from the list to the middle panel, over the “Drag a model” box.
  

 

Dialogue

A scene consists of multiple dialogues. The player will loop through the dialogues of a scene until it reaches it's end, or the current dialogue has at least one option.

Steps to create a dialogue:

• Press the “Scenes” tab in the upper-left corner
• Press “+ Add dialogue” button in the middle panel
  
• Select the Character from the “Character”dropdown
• Select the state / expression from the “State” dropdown
• Fill the X and Y values, this represents the position of the character on the canvas.
• Write the dialogue in the “Dialogue” text area.

 

 

Field	Type	Mandatory	Description
ID	-	-	This ID will define the dialogue.
Character	Dropdown	Yes	The character who says the dialogue
State	Dropdown	Yes	The state of the character when the dialogue is shown
X	Number	Yes	The horizontal position of the character in pixels.
Y	Number	Yes	The vertical position of the character in pixels.
Hidden	Checkbox	-	If this is checked, the dialogue will not be shown when looping through the scene.
Dialogue	Text	Yes	The text of the dialogue. Break lines are allowed, HTML entities or BBcodes are not allowed.

 

 

In addition, you have the following buttons / functionalities in the right side of a dialogue:

• Up / Down arrow – for sorting the dialogues
• View (eye icon) – you can view the dialogue as it will be shown to the player
• Delete (trash icon) – delete a dialogue

 

Dialogue Option

Options of a dialogue allows the player to choose from different outcomes / actions. It works the same way as an item’s option.

If a dialogue has at least one option, the scene loop will stop. In this case the player must chose an option, and this will define what will happen next.

To add an option to a dialogue, follow the steps below:

• Press “+ Add option” button in the middle panel, below a dialogue
  
• Fill the “Text” field, this will be the option’s displayed text.
• Select an action from the “Action” dropdown (ex. “Go to room”)
• Fill the “Value” field with the appropriate value.

 

Field	Type	Mandatory	Description
Text	Text	Yes	The option’s displayed text.
Action	Dropdown	Yes	Defines what happens when the option is clicked See possible value below.
Value	Number or text	No	Most of the time contains an ID of a game object.

 

Available actions and values:

Action	Value	Description
Go to room	Room ID	Redirects the player in a room.
Play scene	Scene ID	Play a scene.
Play dialogue	Dialogue ID	Jumps to a dialogue within this scene.
Receive item	Item ID	An item is put in the inventory. The item must be placed in one of the rooms already visited to be receivable. If needed, the Visibility can be set to 'Invisible - no interactions' to entirely hide it.
Use item	Item ID	Deletes an item from the inventory.
Change state to	State ID (for this item) ItemID:StateID (for other item) Item1ID:State1ID;Item2ID:State2ID (for more items) ItemID:+ (for changing to the next state)	Changes one or more item's state. If you specify only a state ID, it refers to this item. You can specify both the item's ID and the item's state ID in the Value field.
External link	Valid URL	Opens an external URL in a separate tab.
Type and Test	TrueValue :: TextIfTrue :: TextIfFalse	Opens an input dialogue box. On submit, the introduced value is tested against TrueValue. If it's matched, TextIfTrue is displayed, else TextIsFalse is displayed.