General Process

An example production pipeline. The exact order can vary a bit, and previous steps might be revisited at any point.

Entities

Prepare entities. For each entity:

1. Acquire or produce spritesheets.
2. In Tiled, make a tileset JSON file.
   1. Put it in scenario_source_files/entities/.
   2. For character entities, set the Class property for all tiles to what you want the entity's entity_type name to be.
   3. Set frames and timings for your animations, if any.
      1. For character entities, prepare animations for at least idle, walking, and action.
3. For each character entity:
   1. Use the web encoder to assign animations and NSEW directions.
   2. Paste updated entity data into entity_types.json.
4. Prepare dialog portraits.
   1. In Tiled, make a tileset JSON file for the talk portrait images.
      1. Put it in scenario_source_files/entities/.
   2. Prepare portraits.json.
   3. Assign portraits to their entities in entity_types.json if the portrait name does not match an entity_type name.

Maps

Prepare map(s). For each map:

1. Acquire or produce tilesets.
2. In Tiled, make a tileset JSON file.
   1. Put it in scenario_source_files/tilesets/.
   2. Set tile collisions for each tile.
3. In Tiled, create a map using the tileset(s) from above.
4. Place entities on the map.
   1. Set entity properties, e.g.
      1. Name
      2. is_player
      3. on_tick script
      4. on_interact script
      5. on_look script
5. Draw vector shapes, (see Doors) e.g.
   1. Walk paths
   2. Doorways
   3. "Walking out the door" paths
   4. Camera targets
6. Add the map to maps.json, and supply properties like its on_load and on_tick scripts.

Dialog Skins

Prepare dialog skin(s). For each skin:

1. Acquire or produce tilesets.
2. In Tiled, make a tileset JSON file.
   1. Put it in scenario_source_files/tilesets/.
3. Add dialogSkin file(s) to scenario.json.

Game Logic

Prepare game behavior. You can either use MGS or JSON for this, or even a mix.

1. For MGS files: write MGS Natlang. (See the natlang docs!)
2. For JSON files (note: you must also add each JSON file to scenario.json or the game encoder won't see it):
   1. Prepare dialogs inside scenario_source_files/dialogs/.
   2. Prepare serial dialogs inside scenario_source_files/serial_dialogs/.
   3. Prepare scripts inside scenario_source_files/scripts/.
      1. Plan logic with flowcharts (optional)

Encode Game

Encode the game.dat using the encoder (either the web version or the CLI version).

Play Test

Test the game in one of three ways:

1. Web build:
   1. Remember to use the web build appropriate for the version of the encoder you're using!
   2. Drag the new game.dat into the browser window.
   3. Run the game.
2. Desktop build (see MGE VM):
   1. Move game.dat to the right place.
   2. Run the game.
3. Verify on real badge hardware. See: Updating the Hardware
   1. Copy game.dat onto a microSD card.
   2. Insert the microSD card into hardware.
   3. Flash the game.
   4. Run the game.