What is Talefab.com?

A game engine which helps you create games (like visual novels, online escape rooms and educational games) without coding with a fully visual interface.

Alright, but how to do it?

Creating your first game

Here are some simple steps:

• First of all, you need to Register an account,
• Log in.
• At your Account page look for a big blue Add game button.
• Fill the game’s name – the rest is optional at this stage.
• Hit Save & Next.

You’ve done it!

On the welcome screen, you’ll see a popup with 3 options:

• Load a project – which will load a simple example project, with some rooms, items, models and scenes.
• Learn step by step – you’ll be guided interactively through a game’s elements, learning everything while you’re doing it.
• Build from scratch – create a new game on your own.

If you choose the first two options, you’re just good to go. However, let’s pretend you’re going to build a game from zero. Here’s how:

Adding a room

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

Follow the steps below:

• 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):
  • Image formats: JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, or video formats: VMW, MPG, MPEG, MP4, AVI, MOV
  • File size must be less then 5 MB
  • Dimension should be 800 x 600 pixel.

Find out more about rooms.

Adding a 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.

Adding a state

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

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

Adding an option

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

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”)

Adding an 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.
  

Adding an scene

A game is nothing without a story! Scenes add a storyline to your 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.

Adding a character

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

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.
  

Adding a 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.