Tutorial: Beginner Course

[GGG-Administrator]

Welcome to the World of ACTION GAME MAKER!

This tutorial is the recommended starting point for learning how to use the software.
Using the dedicated tutorial project, let’s create a simple jump action game.

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STEP 1: Getting Started

1. Load the Tutorial Project
   First, launch ACTION GAME MAKER.
   Once the application is open, click the “Tutorial” button at the top.

2. A dialog recommending you to start the tutorial will appear.
   Click “OK” to proceed.
   
   
3. Next, a dialog suggesting a tutorial article will appear.
   The link is to this article, so for everyone currently viewing this, you can go ahead as is.
   
   
4. After clicking OK, a dialog will appear to create a new project.
   Change the project name to something easy to understand.
   By default, the project will be saved in the folder:
   [Your Username]/Documents/ActionGameMaker
   
   
5. Click the “Create” button and wait for the loading process.
   During this time, the data for the tutorial project will be copied.
   Since the tutorial includes a large number of sample assets, this may take a few minutes.
   When the following screen appears, the loading is complete.
   
   

[GGG-Administrator]

STEP 2: Understanding the Editor Interface

Now, you might see a lot of windows open—but don’t worry! For now, just remember these four key areas:

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[Scene] Window (Top Left):

This shows a list of everything currently placed in the game scene (called Nodes in Godot).
It includes layers for placing tilemaps and objects, all displayed in one organized view.

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[File System] Window (Bottom Left):

Here you’ll find a list of all assets that are available for use in your game.
In this tutorial, we’ll be using the materials found in this section.

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[Editor Viewport] Window (Center):

This window shows a preview of the currently selected Scene.
You can already see that characters and tiles have been partially placed here.

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[Inspector] Window (Right Side):

This displays detailed data and properties of the selected item.
Typically, you’ll adjust the properties of a selected Node from the [Scene] window here to shape your game.

[GGG-Administrator]

STEP 3: Let’s Build a Game Using Sample Objects

Now, let’s use the included assets to start making a game right away.
Take a look at the center screen—you’ll see that a character and some ground tiles have already been placed.
This character is already controllable, so let’s jump into a test play!

By clicking the button in the upper right corner of the screen, a new window will open and the test play will begin.

Controls:

• Controller: Move with the left stick, jump with the A button.
• Keyboard: Move with the ← → arrow keys, jump with the Z key.

If your character falls off the stage, you can press the F5 key to reset the game.

After you’ve tried moving the character around, go ahead and close the test play window.

[GGG-Administrator]

STEP 4: Let’s Place Some Tiles

The stage looks a bit small as it is, doesn’t it?
Let’s expand it by placing more tiles.

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1. Start by looking at the [Scene] window in the upper left.

The diamond-shaped icon represents a tile layer (technically called a TileMapLayer node).
The default ground layer is named [Base], so select that.

Once selected, a grid will appear in the center view, and a new window called [Tile Placement] should show up at the bottom center.
If the grid doesn’t appear, click the grid icon in the top-right corner of the [Tile Placement] window.

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2. The [Tile Placement] window works like a palette to choose which tile to place.

You can select individual tiles manually, but let’s use the Terrain (Auto-Tile) feature instead.
Switch the tab at the top left of the window from [Tiles] to [Terrain].

You’ll see three auto-tiles available:

• Terrain Set 0 (top): Earth-like tiles (already placed)
• Terrain Set 1 (middle): Rock-like tiles
• Terrain Set 2 (bottom): Ruins-themed tiles
  Choose whichever set you like.

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3. Once selected, try dragging on the [Editor Viewport] to paint tiles.

The tiles should automatically blend and align with the existing ones.

If you have trouble placing tiles, check the following:

• Is the Connect Mode icon enabled in the auto-tile selection area?
• Is the Paint tool selected at the top of the auto-tile window?
  
• In the toolbar at the top of the [Editor Viewport], is the ⬉ Select Tool active? Make sure it’s not set to Move or another mode.
  

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4. Continue painting tiles in the center screen.

You can also right-click to erase tiles.
At the top of the [Tile Placement] window, you can switch between drawing tools. From left to right:

• Paint: Paint tile-by-tile
• Line: Draw straight lines
• Rectangle: Draw filled rectangles
• Bucket: Fill an area
• Picker (Eyedropper): Select a placed tile
• Eraser: Erase placed tiles (works with Line/Rectangle/Bucket tools)

Note: The Eraser and Picker tools are toggled on/off. Be careful—they stay active until manually deselected.

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5. You’ve drawn some terrain—but the original tiles had grass, didn’t they?

Let’s decorate your newly placed tiles with grass.
Grass is placed using a separate tile map layer.

In the [Scene] window, select [BaseCover].
Grass is also available as an auto-tile, so choose your favorite style and decorate your map as much as you like!

[GGG-Administrator]

STEP 5: Let’s Place Sample Objects

This project includes several sample objects. Let’s try placing them in the scene.

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1. Open the [sampleobject] folder in the [File System] window (bottom left).

Inside, you’ll find .tscn files—these are the sample objects we’ll be using.
Let’s start placing them!

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2. First, specify which layer the object should be placed in.

Look at the [Scene] window in the top left.
In ACTION GAME MAKER, objects should be placed as children of the node called [ObjectRoot].

Select the Player node under SceneLayer > BaseLayer > ObjectRoot.
This ensures that any new object you place will be added under the correct layer hierarchy.

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3. Now let’s place an object into the scene.

Let’s start with a coin.
Simply drag and drop Object_Coin.tscn from the [File System] window onto the desired location in the center editor view.

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4. To move the coin, select it and drag it with your mouse.

If you accidentally place it under the wrong layer (outside of ObjectRoot), you can move it in the [Scene] window by dragging it back into the ObjectRoot node.

Once you’re done placing the coin, test the game again using the button or the F5 key.

If the player touches the coin, it will disappear and the coin counter in the top-right corner will increase by 1.

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5. Now you can place any other sample objects freely.

There are a total of 13 types of sample objects available.
Feel free to experiment and place them however you like!

[GGG-Administrator]

Sample Object Overview

File Name	Description
Enemy_Kanibo	A basic enemy that moves left and right. It can be defeated by jumping on it.
Object_block	A breakable block that can be destroyed by hitting it from below.
Object_Coin	A coin that the player can collect by touching it.
Object_Floorlamp	A lamp that can be broken by jumping on it.
Object_Goalflag	Triggers a finishing effect when touched by the player.
Object_Jumpboard	Bounces the player upward when stepped on.
Object_Platform_horizontal, Object_Platform_vertical	Moving platforms that shift horizontally or vertically at intervals.
Object_Sampleplayer	The player character.
Decoration_Statue	A decorative statue.
Decoration_lamp, Decoration_torch	Decorative lamps with built-in lighting that cast shadows automatically.
UI_Coin_counter	Displays the number of coins the player has collected.

Once you’ve placed your objects, try a test play by pressing the button.
You can also use the F5 key as a shortcut to launch the test play.

By placing these kinds of objects into your stage, you can gradually build your game!

[GGG-Administrator]

STEP 6: Customizing an Object

Next, let’s try customizing one of the sample objects.

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1. Click the “Open in Editor” button for the Player object.

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2. A new tab called Object_Sampleplayer will appear in the [Editor] view, showing the character.

If you look at the [Scene] window, you’ll see many nodes arranged in a tree structure—just like in the main scene.
Each node holds specific information used by this player object.

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3. Select the [MoveAndJumpSettings] node.

The [Inspector] window on the right should update to show the properties of that node.

As the name suggests, this node handles settings for input keys, movement speed, jump strength, and more.

By default, the horizontal movement speed is set to 300.
Let’s change it to 600.

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4. Run a test play using the button or by pressing the [F5] key.

You should see that the character now moves twice as fast.

Once you’ve confirmed the change, don’t forget to set the speed back to 300.

[GGG-Administrator]

STEP 7: Understanding the Visual Script

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1. Next, let’s explore the visual scripting system.

In the upper left of the screen, click the icon next to the Player object.

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2. The [Editor] view should now display the visual script.

This is the program that controls the player’s behavior.

Each box labeled with things like [Idle] or [Move] represents an action the player can perform—these boxes are called States.
The lines connecting them indicate the conditions for switching between states—these are called Links.

Now, click on the [Jump] state.
You’ll see its settings displayed in the [Inspector] window on the right.

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3. By default, the settings are collapsed—click to expand them and explore their contents.

• Animation Settings:
  This defines which animation to play.
  In this case, 009_Jump is selected.
• Action Settings:
  These handle fundamental behaviors like jumping.
  Here, the settings define the jump action.
• Additional Actions:
  You can add various actions from a list—similar to event commands in RPG Maker.
  In this case, a “Play Sound” action has been added.

[GGG-Administrator]

STEP 8: Creating a New State

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1. Let’s add a new state—this time, we’ll create a sliding move.

Right-click on an empty space near the [Move] state box, and select “Add State”.
A new state called [State001] should appear.
Select [State001] and check the [Inspector] window on the right.

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2. First, rename the state.

In the lower section of the [Inspector] window, find the Title field and change the name to Sliding.

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3. Next, assign an animation to play during the action.

Expand the “Assigned Animation” section.
Click the <Animation Category> dropdown, and choose from the list of registered animations.
For sliding, select [028_sliding].

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4. Now, configure the action settings.

Expand the “Action Settings” section.
Here you can modify properties like movement speed and jump behavior.

To make the dash non-cancelable, check “Disable movement input during this state”.
This prevents player input from interrupting the action while it’s playing.

Next, set the “Horizontal movement speed (%)” to 200, so the character moves at double speed during the slide.

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5. Let’s also force the player to move in their current facing direction.

This option is a bit deeper in the settings.

Expand “Other Execution Actions”, then open “Array [Actions] (size 0)”.
Click the “+ Add Action” button.

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6. A new action selection window will appear.

From the list, choose the third item: “Move in facing direction”, and add it.
There are a few configurable options, but the default settings are fine.

With that, your Sliding state is complete!

[GGG-Administrator]

STEP 9: Connecting States with Links

Now that you’ve created the Sliding action, it currently isn’t connected to any other state, meaning it can’t be used yet.
Let’s create a link from the [Move] state to [Sliding].

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1. Right-click the [Move] state and select “Add Link.”

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2. A line will appear—drag it to the [Sliding] state and left-click.

You should now see a connection line from [Move] to [Sliding].

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3. Let’s set a condition for the transition.

Click the link you just created and look at the [Inspector] window.

Enable the “On Input” property.
A new input box will appear. Expand the Array[InputCondition] section and click “+ Add Input”.

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4. A new entry named <Empty> will appear.

Click it and choose “New InputCondition.”

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5. The entry will now show InputCondition.

Click it again to expand it and configure the key input as shown below.

Set the input to Button B (which corresponds to the X key on the keyboard).
Now, the transition from [Move] to [Sliding] will occur when B is pressed during movement.

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6. At this point, the player can slide—but there’s no way to exit the Sliding state.

Without a return path, the player would remain in the sliding state forever.
Let’s create a link from [Sliding] to [Idle].

Right-click the [Sliding] state and select “Add Link,” then connect it to the [Idle] state on the right.

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Note about shortcut states:

You may notice there are two [Idle] states visible—one on the left and one on the right.
These are the same state. The one on the right is a shortcut, indicated by the icon.

Visual script links always flow left to right, so shortcuts help avoid messy “spaghetti” connections when linking back to earlier states.

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7. Now let’s use a non-input condition for the transition.

In the Inspector for the new link from [Sliding] to [Idle], expand Array[Conditions] under “Other Conditions,” and click “+ Add Condition.”

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8. In the popup window, choose “Elapsed Time” and set it to 0.3 seconds.

This condition is near the bottom, so feel free to search for it.
Click the Add button to confirm.

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9. Now test your setup using the button or F5.

If everything is set correctly:

• Pressing X during movement will trigger the Sliding state.
• After 0.3 seconds, it will return to Idle.
• If you hold the movement key, it may immediately transition back to Move.

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Troubleshooting Tips

If something isn’t working:

• The transition only works from [Move]. Pressing X while in [Idle] or [Jump] won’t trigger sliding.
• If pressing X doesn’t work, double-check the link from [Move] to [Sliding].
• If the transition happens but nothing plays, check the animation and action settings in the [Sliding] state.
• If the player doesn’t return from sliding, verify the [Sliding] → [Idle] link and its condition.

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Done!

You’ve successfully created a working action using visual scripting.
Now that you know the basics, feel free to:

• Adjust speed or duration for a better feel.
• Add sound effects or voice using the “Play Sound” action.
• Connect [Idle] → [Sliding] to allow sliding from a standstill.
• Try linking from [Jump] or [Fall] to create aerial slides (remember to return to Landing, not Idle, or the character won’t land properly).

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Exiting the Visual Script View

To exit the script and return to normal editing, switch to the [2D] tab at the top of the screen.

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Final Tips

Action creation is all about combining transitions and conditions.
You can learn a lot by examining how other sample objects use their scripts.

Important:
When opening a visual script, make sure the correct object tab is active.
Godot allows scripts to be opened from any tab, but visual script settings like animation or variables rely on the active tab. Otherwise, some settings might not work properly.

[GGG-Administrator]

In this tutorial, we’ve explained the basic operations, but there are still many features that we haven’t covered. That said, we understand that everyone has different goals for what they want to create with ACTION GAME MAKER.

So, we’ve divided the following tutorial courses into three main categories:

1. Graphics Course
For those who want to animate their own original characters.

Tutorial: Graphics Course #1 – Backgrounds and Tiles

This tutorial course is designed for those who want to start experimenting with their own images right away! Before starting this course, we recommend completing the following introduction: …

2. Scripting Course
For those who are fine using default characters but want to build various mechanics and systems.

Tutorial: Script Course #1 – Let's Create a Shooting Attack

In this course, you’ll learn the basics of scripting in ACTION GAME MAKER. In Part 1, we’ll be creating a basic attack system. Notes on Using Visual Scripts Visual Script…

3. Expression Enhancement Course
For those who want to add cool, Godot-style visual effects.

Tutorial: Expression Enhancement Course #1 — Using Particles

This tutorial course is designed for those who want to try out various visual effects. Before starting this course, we recommend completing the following tutorial: This course continues using the s…

You can start from any course, but if you’re building a game from scratch, we highly recommend going through all of them eventually.