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Meet Your Maker - No Code Game Editor

Let your creativity flourish as you take your first step towards game creation.
Customise your game scene with a diverse set of Terrain, Walls, Enemies, Items and more as you bring your vision to life.

"Meet Your Maker" is a No-Code Game Editor that aims to introduce people to the process of Game Design, through its simple user interface and pre-programmed game components.

A complex Editor that simplifies the complexity on the user’s end. The editor features a range of components created using C++ and SFML, that accommodates user designed game layouts, testing and playthroughs.

The user can even save their build data using YAML throughout the creation process and load their game for further editing at a later time.

Motivation

I’ve always wanted to share my passion for Game Creation with friends and family. It's a daunting prospect for many unfamiliar with the complexity that comes with modern Games Development.

Inspired by this idea, my aim was to create user friendly software that would remove the skill barrier needed to experience what it’s like to create your own game.

A further goal of mine was to create software that could be used to demonstrate the possibilities of game programming to aspiring developers and those considering an academic journey in Games design and programming. With this in mind I wanted to create a versatile game editor with languages and libraries such as C++, YAML and SFML that prospective students would become familiar with, within their first couple of years in an academic setting.

My overall motivation was to create a piece of software that could be used at open days and college career fairs to give potential students a flavour of what Game Design and Development entails.

Research Question

"To what extent does a No-Code game editor implemented in C++ and SFML empower users with no programming experience to create complex games, and how does it compare to traditional game development processes in terms of usability, accessibility, and flexibility?

The idea was to research and implement a system that would allow a user to generate a game without any prior skillset in a technical area.

This would be achieved through intuitive User Interface. A visually simple Interface that would represent complex programmed components, that could be utilised to build a Game World.

Progress

So far i have managed to create a no code game editor that allows the user to build, save and load their games without writing a single line of code. This is achieved through a friendly user interface and pre-programmed game components and entities that the user can click on in the UI View and place onto a grid into the Game View.

Game Building :: - Users can create a game world from the ground up. Various types of objects such as terrain, walls, enemies, items and more can be placed, to bring the users vision to life.
Game Saving:: - Users can save their game as they build, resuming the build at any time they wish.
Data is stored in directories containing unique yaml files that are created at runtime.
Game Loading:: - Users can load their creations to continue editing or even to play through their creations at the click of a button.

Built in text editor:

- Users can create dialogue scripts in the built in Text Editor. These scripts can be attached to NPCS and Enemies through the inspector to create narrative experiences in their games.

Dynamic Loading:

- User created dialogue and games are instantly assigned UI buttons so that the player can access their files as soon as they are saved without having to restart the software.

QoL Features:

- Features such as multi-object placement and deletion exist to make the user experience in building games as quick as possible. Users can place multiple objects by highlighting an area in the Game View. Pop ups will display in areas where the user might risk losing or overwriting data like on the Save Game screen.

Further Development

I have a lot of ideas i would like to build on in relation to my No-Code Game Editor, some of which are implemented to a certain degree already, albeit still a work in progress. I think with further development this No-Code Game Editor could be a robust piece of software that could be used to showcase Game Development courses and to encourage Novice programmars into the field. Aside from that i think it could also be a fun piece of software for those who enjoy level creation and simulation games that encourage unique creations.

Dynamic Behaviour:: - I would have liked to have implemented the ability to add unique behaviour to Entities. The ability to determine an enemy's behaviour at run time would have allowed users to assign different types of AI behaviour to them such as the ability to pursue the player, find a path to the player or even flee.
Multiple Grid Layers:: -Allowing the user to add multiple layers to their Game would allow them to create bigger game worlds. They could seperate interiors from an overworld layer to manage their game world more efficiently.
Individual Menu Customisation:: - Giving the player the ability to customise a menu for their game would add to the game feel and the quality of the games user's create.

Dynamic Audio:

-Allowing the user to customise audio on various aspects of the games they create such as background tracks and overworld sounds would help with imersion and the uniqueness of a game. It would also serve as a nice introduction to sound design, a key element in games.

Gameplay Mechanics:

-Implementing more weapon types or interactive objects like keys, power ups and switches would allow for creative scenarios unique to each game.

Tutorial System

- A tutorial system would really benefit an editor like this, one which explains components through pop ups and prompts as the player navigates the software.

Meet The Maker

I am currently in my 4th year of an Honours BSc in Computer Games Development at SETU, South East Technological University, Carlow.

I have experience in languages that include C++, C#, HTML, CSS, Javascript and python. I have used IDEs including Visual Studio, VS Code, Anvil and Jupyter Notebook. I have two years experience with the Unity Game Engine for both 2D and 3D development in an academic setting.

Other tools I have used include pandas for data analysis, yaml for data storage, github and git for source and version control, as well as Jira for project management.

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Meet Your Maker - No Code Game Editor

Motivation

Research Question

Progress

Further Development

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