01
Getting Started
How do I create a game?
Log in to the Creator, choose Create New Game, then enter a title and description. After saving, add a starting room and your playable character.
How are my games shown on the Creator dashboard?
On desktop, the Game Library displays two games per row. Each card uses the uploaded Title Card, or falls back to the Starting Room image when no title card exists.
Can visitors play without an account?
Yes. Live games on the front page can be played without logging in, even when creator signups are closed.
Interface
Command & Inventory Bar
How large is the playable window?
The adventure player uses a fixed 1280 × 720 logical play window made from a 1280 × 552 room plus a 1280 × 168 command/inventory area. The entire room is always visible, so there is no vertical camera scrolling.
What is the bar below the game screen?
The player now includes a classic point-and-click command area. The left side contains the commands Open, Close, Look at, Pick up, Move, Use, Talk to and Give, arranged four across and two rows. Select a command first, then click the object you want to use it on. Commands are currently text buttons; support for creator-uploaded custom button artwork is planned for a later update.
What is on the right?
The right side is the Inventory area. It begins about 10 pixels after the command section and expands across the remaining width to the right edge. Six visible 50 × 50 pixel borderless slots remain arranged three across and two down, spread across that available area. The far-right control is a simple up/down arrow pair, and each click nudges the inventory by one row. Hovering or keyboard-focusing a collected item shows its item name. Collected pickup items use their separate inventory PNG, centred inside the 50 × 50 slot. The stored inventory artwork is automatically fitted into a transparent PNG when PHP GD is available.
Items
Pickup Items
How do I add an item that the player can collect?
Open the Room Editor and use Add Pickup Item. Give the item a name and upload two PNG files: one PNG for how it appears in the room and a second PNG for its inventory artwork. Transparent PNGs are recommended.
How large is the item in the room?
The room PNG keeps its uploaded pixel dimensions relative to the standard 1280 × 552 room. After adding it, select the item under Items in this Room → Pickup Items and click the room to position its ground point. You can also drag an existing item to reposition it.
How is the pickup item editor arranged?
The pickup editor is hidden until Pickup Item is selected. It shows the current Room PNG and Inventory PNG in two clear artwork panels, with the upload/replace control directly underneath each preview. The Look At dialogue field sits underneath the artwork section.
Can pickup items have Look At dialogue?
Yes. Each pickup item has its own Look At text in the Room Editor. When the player selects Look at and clicks the item, that text is shown beside the character. Hovering over a pickup item also shows the item's name.
How does the player pick it up?
The player selects Pick up in the command bar and clicks the item. The character automatically walks to the nearest valid walkable point beside it. On arrival, the room PNG disappears and the item's inventory PNG appears in the inventory. Collected items remain collected while moving between rooms during that play session.
02
Game Details
Can I change the title or description later?
Yes. Open the game project and choose Edit Details beside the title. Changes are immediately used on the dashboard, public game listing and shared player.
What does Hidden / Live mean?
Hidden keeps the project inside your Creator account. Live adds it to the public front page and enables its shareable Play link.
03
Game Title Card
What size should the title card be?
The standard is 1280 × 720 pixels, 16:9. PNG, JPG and WebP are supported. Other dimensions are resized to 1280 × 720 when PHP GD is available.
What happens if I do not upload one?
The starting-room background is used as the artwork on the Live Games front page, and opening the game starts immediately in the Starting Room.
What happens if I do upload a title card?
The title card becomes the game's start screen. It fills the complete 1280 × 720 game window by itself, with the command and inventory bar hidden. Clicking anywhere on the title card starts the game, reveals the command/inventory bar and opens the Starting Room.
04
Main Character
What animations are required?
The standard sheet contains 6 Walk Right frames, 6 Walk Up, 6 Walk Down and 1 Standing Still frame. Walk Left is created automatically by mirroring Walk Right.
How does the standard template work?
Download the template from the Character Editor, place your character artwork into the predefined 128 × 128 frame cells, keep transparency, then upload the completed PNG. The Creator maps the frames automatically.
Can I use a custom sprite sheet?
Yes. Select Custom Sprite Sheet and manually position the animation regions. The editor includes animation test controls before saving.
Can character size differ by room?
Yes. Each room has its own Character Scale percentage. The character remains anchored at the feet while scaled.
05
Rooms
What size are rooms?
All room backgrounds use a fixed 1280 × 552 canvas. The Room Editor preview uses that same room aspect ratio and does not show the gameplay command/inventory bar. Uploaded backgrounds are converted to 1280 × 552 when PHP GD is available. Existing room backgrounds are migrated automatically where possible.
How do I choose a different Starting Room?
On the Game page, every normal room has a Set as Starting Room button. Choosing it makes that room the game's Starting Room and turns the previous Starting Room back into a normal room. This does not delete or reset either room, so their walk areas, start positions, exits, interactions, pickup items and foreground objects are preserved.
Can I reset the Starting Room?
Yes. On the Game page, use Reset Starting Room on the current Starting Room. This keeps the room and its background, but removes its Starting Room designation, walk area, character start point, exits, incoming room links, interactions and pickup-item associations. You can then configure a new starting room.
Can I delete a room?
Yes. Each room on the Game page has a Delete Room action. Deleting a room permanently removes the room and its uploaded room/pickup artwork, plus exits, incoming room links, interactions and pickup items associated with that room. A confirmation is shown before deletion.
What is the Game Readiness checklist?
The Game page now checks the required setup automatically. Green ticks show completed requirements and red crosses highlight anything still preventing the game from being playable. The required checks cover the Starting Room, its background, the main playable character, the Starting Room walk area and the character start position. Optional features such as exits, interactions, pickup items, foreground objects and title cards are not treated as blockers.
Does the Room Editor remember item positions while I move them?
Yes. Pickup items and foreground objects now save their X/Y position automatically while you drag or place them, so their latest position is retained without needing to press Save Room after every move.
Why does the Room Preview stay at the top while I edit?
The Room Preview now sits directly beneath the room heading and remains sticky while you scroll through the editor. This keeps the room visible while working with controls, Room Data, pickup items and foreground objects further down the page.
Can I keep the Room Preview fixed while I edit?
Yes. Use the Sticky Preview toggle beside the zoom controls. When enabled, the preview stays at the top as the page scrolls. Turn it off to let the preview scroll normally with the page. Your browser remembers the choice for the next time you return to the Room Editor.
What happens to foreground objects while editing the Walk Area?
In Walk Area mode the foreground PNG artwork is temporarily hidden so it cannot cover polygon points. Each foreground remains visible as a labelled outline, while the walk-area lines and draggable points are drawn above it. Leaving Walk Area mode restores the foreground artwork.
Does the Room Editor save automatically?
Yes. Existing rooms now autosave normal editor changes as you work, including walk areas, start position, exits, interactions, room name, character scale and perspective scaling. The status beside Save Room shows Saving, Saved, or an error. Save Room changes colour while changes are pending, and the editor warns before leaving with unsaved work.
Can a room have more than one Walk Area?
Yes. Walk Area mode can add and manage multiple separate polygons. Existing rooms automatically use their old polygon as Walk Area 1. Separate areas remain separate during gameplay, so the character cannot magically cross non-walkable space between them.
Can the character get smaller toward the back of a room?
Yes. Room Scaling adds vertical percentage points to the room. The bottom defaults to 100%, and the player smoothly interpolates character size between scale points as the character moves up or down the scene.
Can different Walk Areas ignore perspective scaling?
Yes. Select a Walk Area and turn off Use Room Scaling. The character then uses the room's normal Character Scale while inside that area. This is useful for balconies, platforms and other areas that should not use the room's depth perspective.
Can I undo mistakes in the Room Editor?
Yes. Use Undo and Redo at the top of the Room Editor, or Ctrl/Cmd+Z and Ctrl/Cmd+Y. The editor keeps a short working history and the restored state is autosaved.
What are Room Layers?
The Layers panel lets you temporarily hide or lock Walk Areas, Room Exits, Interactions, Pickup Items and Foregrounds. Hidden layers reduce clutter. Locked layers remain visible but cannot be accidentally dragged while you edit something else.
Can I position items precisely?
Yes. Pickup Items and Foregrounds show X/Y percentage fields when selected. You can also focus the room preview and use the arrow keys to nudge the selected object by one pixel, or Shift+Arrow for ten pixels.
Can I duplicate a room?
Yes. Use Duplicate Room on the game page. It copies the room background, walk areas, scaling, interactions, pickup items and foregrounds. Exits are deliberately not copied so the duplicate cannot accidentally inherit incorrect room connections.
Can I test the whole game while it is Hidden?
Yes. When the game is ready, use Test Game on the game page. It starts from the Starting Room and lets the creator test the complete room flow without publishing the game.
Can I zoom the Room Editor?
Yes. Move the pointer over the room preview and use the mouse wheel to zoom from 100% to 300%. The room background, walk area, start point, exits, interactions, pickup items and foreground objects all scale together, so their positions stay accurate. The editor scrolls when the zoomed room is larger than the available area. Use Reset Zoom to return to 100%.
What is a Foreground Object?
A Foreground Object is a transparent PNG placed over the room and rendered after the player character. This makes the character appear to walk behind it, which is useful for trees, pillars, walls, furniture and other scenery. Choose Foreground in the Room Editor, upload the PNG, then click or drag it into position. Foreground objects are decorative and do not change the walk area by themselves.
How does the Room Editor interface work?
The editor starts in a neutral state with only the five action buttons visible: Walk Area, Start, Room Exit, Interaction and Pickup Item. Choose an action to reveal only the controls and overlays needed for that task. The room-status information is shown in the left column.
Where is Room Data?
Items in this Room now sits above the room preview inside a collapsed Room Data section. Expand it when you need to select or edit an existing walk area, start point, exit, interaction or pickup item. Selecting an entry switches the editor directly to that action.
Can a game have multiple rooms?
Yes. The first room becomes the Starting Room. Use Add Another Room from the game project to create more.
What is the Room Connection Map?
The map on the game project page reads your Room Exit hotspots automatically and draws the connections between rooms. Clicking a room node opens its editor.
06
Walking Area & Start Position
How do I define where the character can walk?
Choose Walk Area under the room image and click around the valid floor area to make a polygon. Drag its points to refine the shape.
How does collision work?
The character's foot anchor, not the whole sprite, must remain inside the walking polygon. The pathfinder routes around concave sections rather than cutting across areas outside the polygon.
What is Character Start?
This is the room's default spawn point. Choose Start and click inside the walkable area.
07
Room Exit Hotspots
How do I link rooms?
Create at least two rooms. In Edit Room choose Room Exit, draw a rectangle over a doorway/path, give it a name and select the destination room.
How do I choose where the character appears after using an exit?
Select the existing exit in Items in this Room → Exits. In its Arrival point in destination preview, click where the character's feet should appear in the destination room. If no custom arrival point is set, the destination room's default Character Start is used.
What does the player see?
The hotspot rectangle is invisible. Hovering shows its name at the bottom of the game, using the site hotspot styling. Clicking makes the character walk to the exit first, then loads the destination room.
08
Interaction Hotspots
How do I make a background item interactive?
Choose Interaction, draw a rectangle around the object, enter an Item Name and the text that should appear when clicked.
What happens in the game?
Interaction dialogue is no longer triggered by an ordinary click. The player must first select Look at and then click the interaction hotspot. Only then is the configured text shown beside the character.
How do I edit existing room items?
Use the Items in this Room list below the room. Filter by Setup, Exits or Interactions, then click an item to select and edit it.
09
Testing & Fullscreen
What is Test Room?
Test Room uses the same core player as the public game but keeps developer overlays visible so you can inspect walk areas, exits and interactions. Click inside the walk area to move the character, click interaction hotspots to test their response text, and use exit hotspots to test room changes and arrival points.
Can I play fullscreen?
Fullscreen is temporarily disabled by default. The site owner can turn it back on from Admin → Fullscreen → Enable Fullscreen. When disabled, the Fullscreen button is hidden from both public games and Test Room.
10
Publishing & Sharing
How are games shown on the front page?
The Live Games page uses a two-column layout on normal desktop screens, showing two games per row. Smaller screens automatically collapse to one game per row.
How do I make a game public?
From the game project, choose Make Game Live. A game must have a main character and a valid starting room with a background, walking area and start position.
What does the shared player show?
The public version shows the clean playable game window first, with the game title and description directly underneath it. Editor overlays, walking polygons, start markers and debug statuses are hidden.
What gameplay statistics are recorded?
Each game records Times Played and Total Active Play Time. A play is counted when the game actually starts. When a title card exists, simply loading the page does not count until the player clicks the title card.
How does active play-time tracking work?
Play time is counted while the player is active. If the character has not moved for 30 seconds, the timer pauses. Moving the character again resumes active-time counting. Time in a hidden browser tab is not counted.
11
Site Admin
Who can access Admin?
Only the first account created on the installation, the site owner.
What can Admin control?
The site owner can control hotspot hover-text size, colour, position, letter spacing, uppercase, text outline colour/thickness, shadow and optional background. Admin can also allow or close new creator signups, enable or disable Fullscreen, and independently choose whether gameplay statistics are visible to public visitors, logged-in creators/members and the site owner/admin.
Do closed signups hide public games?
No. Closing signups only prevents new Creator accounts. Live games remain visible and playable from index.php.