In Action Game Tsukuru, you can create top-view games in addition to side-view games. While the UI and operation methods, such as visual scripting and scene transitions, remain largely the same as in side-view games, we will explain the differences by walking through the actual setup process.
Part 1: Let’s Create a Project for Top-View!
- Click the “+ New Creation” button in the top-left corner of the launcher.
- Name it “Top-View Tutorial” and switch the View setting to “Top-View.” (You can also change this view setting later from the project settings in the Basic Settings.)
- When you switch the view to Top-View, the tile size automatically changes to 48x48. This size is adapted for RPG Tsukuru MV/MZ tile sizes. (The default size for Side-View is 24x24.)
- Click the “Create” button. The main difference from Side-View lies in the “Map” section. The structure is as follows:
Background Layer: A layer for background images.
Floor Layer: A layer for tiles placed behind characters, such as floors and back walls.
Base Layer: A layer primarily used for placing objects like characters.
Foreground Layer: A layer for elements placed in front of the player, such as ceilings and front walls.
Additionally, there is a difference in that Parallax settings are not applied.
5. Select the “Map Settings” node. The most important point is that “Gravity” is set to 0. This prevents objects from falling due to gravity.
Part 2: Let’s Load RPG Tsukuru Format Autotiles!
The operation is the same as for Side-View autotiles, but you can use autotiles in the RPG Tsukuru (MV/MZ) format.
- Select the Floor Node (Tile) and click the “Tile Settings” button.
- Click the “Import Official Materials” button in the top-right corner of the Tile Palette Settings.
- Action Game Tsukuru includes the default tiles from “RPG Tsukuru MV.” Select Dungeon_A1~A5 under Tiles > RPG Tsukuru Tiles and try importing them.
- When asked if you want to continue registering the tiles, click “Yes.”
- The “Tile Import” window will open. It automatically detects the vertical and horizontal image sizes and the “A1” in the filename, setting them up as animated autotiles. Simply click “Import.”
- Windows will appear for A2, A4, etc. Check that they are detected correctly and click “Import.”
- Except for A5, which is not an autotile, everything should have been imported as an autotile.
- Once closed, the autotiles and Dungeon_A5 will appear in the palette bar below, allowing you to place tiles.
- Let’s also set up a tile map for the foreground. Select the Tile Map Layer from the “+” next to the Foreground Layer.
- A new tile map will be created. You can use the palette you just created for this new tile map as well.
Part 3: Let’s Create a Top-View Character Using RPG Tsukuru Templates!
Next, we will create a character for top-view using RPG Tsukuru format character chips.
- First, load the materials. Since RPG Tsukuru MV character chips are included, we will use official materials. Click “Import Official Materials” in the “Material Management” view.
- Select Actor1.png from RPG Tsukuru MV Character Graphics > Character Chips and click “Import.”
- Return to the Object View and create a new object by clicking “+ New Creation.”
- The “Create New Object” window will appear. Here, too, there is a difference from Side-View: templates that do not match the view are not displayed.
Set the Object Name to “Player” and the Template to “Character: Top-View Player Template,” then click “Create.”
- For “Automatically set default movement input?”, click “Yes.”
- Select “Move and Jump” and look at the Inspector. Unlike Side-View, keys are set not only for left and right but also for up and down. Additionally, the analog stick settings have stick tilt and angle enabled, allowing movement speed to vary based on the stick’s angle.
- Create an animation. Switch to the Sprite Animation tab and select “Top-View (RPG Tsukuru Format)” from “Load from Template.”
- Click “From Image List” next to the image field.
- Specify the “Actor1” you loaded earlier and confirm.
- Actor1 will be loaded; select your preferred character sheet.
- Look at the options below. The RPG Tsukuru format template only includes up, down, left, and right movement animations and lacks attack motions. Therefore, additional settings can be made to suit action game production.
Generate Attack Motion: Generates an attack motion, implemented by moving the animation image with hit detection animation.
Create Diagonal Attacks: Determines whether to add diagonal attacks to allow for 8-directional attacks.
Display Weapon During Attack: Allows you to display a weapon during attacks. You can choose the image and motion from slash or thrust.
Set these options as you prefer and click “Import.”
12. The animations will be imported automatically. In Side-View, there were mainly two directions (left and right), but in Top-View, since you can move in 8 directions (up, down, left, right, and diagonals), you will see that 8 types of animations are set.
13. Check the attack motion. Switch to the Hit Detection Animation tab. Click the [
] play button in the top-left of the preview for each direction of the attack animation set to see the character move and the attack hit detection appear.
That concludes the explanation of the basic setup.
Continued Development
We have prepared a very simple sample project for top-view that only involves moving and attacking.
You might want to check out the SimpleTopViewAction sample from the “Sample Projects” section of the launcher.
Regarding Game Production in Top-View
There are other minor setting differences; please refer to the manual for details.
Check out other tutorials here!