Crash Course: Let's Make a Game!

by Jon (Updated on 2015-11-04)


Part 1 (Intro) - Part 2 (Resources) - Part 3 (Actors) - Part 4 (Create a Scene) - Part 5 (Test your Game)

Introduction

This short, hands-on tutorial will walk you through the steps needed to create a simple platformer using pre-made content, so that you can become familiar with the main parts of Stencyl’s interface.

Make sure you download and install Stencyl 3.4.0 (or later) before starting the crash course. This new crash course will not work in 3.3.0 or earlier.

Download the Crash Course Kit

This Crash Course requires the Crash Course Kit, which can be downloaded here.

How to Install the Crash Course Kit

Method 1: Drag and Drop

To install the kit, drag the file into Stencyl, like displayed below.

crash-course-kit

Method 2: Use the Menu

Alternatively, you can import it from the File menu (File > Import Game…).

Create a New Game (Part 1 of 5)

Welcome Center

When you open Stencyl, you’ll see a screen that looks something like this.

Welcome Center

This is the Welcome Center. From here, you can either create a new game or open an existing game.

Creating a New Game

  1. Click the dotted rectangle labeled "Click here to create a Game".

    Click here to create a Game

  2. Click on the Crash Course Kit, then click the Next button at the bottom of the dialog.

    Create a new game...

    What are Kits? Often times when you create a game in Stencyl, you’ll want to start with a Kit. A kit is a game template that comes with pre-made resources, settings and game logic. The kit you’re starting with here has all the resources you’ll need for the Crash Course.

  3. Next, you’ll see a dialog pop up where you can set the game window’s size (in pixels) and name your game.

    We’re going to name it "Crash Course Game", though feel free to name it whatever you’d like.

    By setting the Width and Height dimensions in the Screen Size section, you are determining the size of the window/view that the player will see when he or she plays your game. In this case, let’s go with a Width of 640 and a Height of 480.

    Click the Create button.

    Create a new game... 2

  4. You’ll now be taken to the Dashboard, a central area where you can see and open your game’s resources (actors, graphics, sounds, game logic, etc).

Dashboard

Continue to Part 2 →