For those of you who don’t already know, at the start of the lockdown, I set myself the task of creating a graphic adventure game! Or, I should say, I started to learn how to make a graphic adventure game in Unity.
There was a time in Lockdown – what can I say!
For those of you who don’t know me, I studied Multimedia Design and Digital Animation as a follow-up course to my HND in Graphic Design at university. All those years ago! I also have a yellow belt cert in Unity too.
In the early days of the 2000s, Adobe Flash was king, ( Check this blog post out on why to avoid Flash player on another website ) and I used to make a lot of multimedia applications, both personal and commercial. Most of these early projects were micro games or small interactive animations – all of this stuff was pre-smartphone.
My first project on this sort of scale, where I had to try and create my own project, was at University. I set about making an e-learning game for children, which was all built in Flash. Sadly, with the demise of Flash Player, this is tricky to play now although I may still have a projector for the game somewhere.
Here is a picture of it.
Adventure Creator Project – My first project of this scale was in Flash.
From a game creation perspective, In hindsight, really it was a narrative game with educational elements to it. You may also be interested to see in theory how to make a story game in Adobe Animate.
But now to the crunch.
Adventure Creator Project.
Adventure Creator Project | Fools Errand
A name for a game that exists solely as a learning exercise – it could have been called anything really, as I had no intention of monetizing it. The game was based on classic 2D point-and-click graphic adventures that you could buy in the 90’s – the humble point and click game.
You point… and you click.
I created this game a greybox prototype to see how Adventure Creator works. It was something to learn during the Lockdown.
If you are interested, you can play the game on itch.io. It is free to play with bugs and all. ( however, it should be noted that you can’t save it via the browser version )
Do I think Adventure Creator with Unity is good?
‘I’ think it is great.
Actually, saying AC ( Adventure Creator ) is good is a massive understatement. It is excellent, I have never been able to assemble a graphic adventure game in the most time and cost-effective way until I used AC. The standard that Adventure Creator offers is just excellent compared to some of the game engines or tool sets I have used in the past.
I called it Lost Hat, AKA Fools Errand. The title leaves very little to the imagination of what you need to do.
Who knows where the hat got to?
Or who could be wearing it!
Oh, the trifles of life.
You will need to use your wits to get through this 3 level game to find your hat. Perhaps if I see enough people play it, I might write up a shot hints and tips guide. But I have largely moved on to other things.
Mock up application icon
In-game background – my Adventure Creator Project
The components of the project – AC ( What was involved )
For a personal development project – more than I would care to admit.
This project has a of artwork, basic 2D animation created in Photoshop, some rough and ready characters, Sprites and sprite sheets, sound effects, dialogue, conversations, and logic, and I’ve even decided on a small video clip at the end of the project to see how that would work too. And, of course, Adventure Creator. To summerise it is best to mention it this way.
NPC character sprites
Player character sprites + and custom animations spites
The AC logo for every object and item that can be interacted with in the game
The Icon artwork
Writing all the dialogue for the game
SFX
Adventure Creator Project | Sprites
The sprites, or the characters, however you’d prefer to see them, comprise of all NPCs, the animals, the main player, and various other bits and pieces that were used in the environment. If it moved or was animated, it was probably a sprite.
To quickly paint these characters in various states of animation, I used Photoshop to sketch and brush in the black and white ‘wash’.
The main player in particular has a 4-way direction and various other obscure animations in its repertoire!
The main player was the most time-consuming to create, even as a rough sketch. 8-direction would have taken more time still.
Adventure Creator Project | The Scenes
I don’t wish to spoil too much of the game just in case you do decide to play it, as there are only three levels. But in each level, there was a background image that was quickly drawn in Photoshop and then imported as an asset to my project.
Adventure Creator Project | Motion & Animation
I gave very little time to the motion graphics and animation sadly.
After all, I needed to think about the project as a whole and produce this game it quickly. I was invested more in the learning of Adventure Creator than the actual product itself. However, creating some basic frame-by-frame animations was still essential for making the sprites.
To create basic in-game animations, I used Photoshop and painted a couple of layers with my Wacom Tablet as if I were to make a GIF before exporting out the layers as frames.
How did I feel about the project?
As a semi-personal project learning experience, I feel pretty good about it. This was never going to be a polished game for the whole world to play. I created it so I could learn and share. It was undertaken during the Lockdowns. It was a grey boxing experiment.
The project as a whole, taught me more about AC and how I could potentially create a bigger and bolder game in the future using Adventure Creator.
You can play the game here on Itch.io if interested. Warts and bugs included ( you can’t save via the browser version ). It should be noted that the browser version of the game won’t allow you to save! Enjoy. Or you may find some information on this website interesting if you are at game projects.
Aardman Wallace & Gromit Project – flex those Adobe Illustrator muscles. I have a new post to share… kindly, the team over at Paper Engine has now said that I can share and discuss my part in creating some of the packaging concepts for a new range of Wallace & Gromit themed products.
The artwork shown in this post was used to pitch to Aardman for a new range of British designed card products, otherwise known as – Build Your Own, For Paper Engine.
Aardman Project | The Brief
The Brief | I was commissioned by Paper Engine to help create the core design for the packaging concepts for a new range of of Wallace and Gromit themed paper products.
Aardman had set up an agreement with Paper Engine for them to come up with a range of products, themed around Wallace & Gromit.
If you don’t know Aardman, they are the animation studio behind Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas, and Shaun the Sheep to name a few.
Paper Engine got in touch with me and asked for assistance in coming up with the core packaging concept to pitch to Aardman.
I won’t lie, I was excited and honoured.
Under a strict NDA, I was called in to help come up with some of the core concepts for the new eye-catching packaging.
The NDA has been relaxed now, as the products have been released onto the market. So don’t worry. And I asked the crew over at Paper Engine and they were happy to allow me to show my my part!
(All artwork on this page is the intellectual property of Aardman and Paper Engine. Do not copy, save, or download any of this content for commercial use ).
Packaging For Paper Engine… Which was actually for Aardman
To spill the beans on the projects.
Here is a bit of extra information on the project process. Once Paper Engine had sent the brief across to me, and we did all the admin, the project was set in motion!
Aardman Wallace & Gromit Project | The design process involved…
Coming up with some very early ideas for speech bubbles, titles, typography, backgrounds, and other accents and parts for the project.
It should also be said that this project was quite particular and that there were 2 companies involved in the approval process. Nonetheless, it still allowed room for design creativity.
Aardman Wallace & Gromit Project | Developing The Design
While I was allowed to work conceptually and creatively, I also had to adhere to 2 sets brand guidelines! One set was supplied by Paper Engine for Paper Engine and, the other was for Aardman!
Aardman Wallace & Gromit Project | The Delivery
After working on the polished designs, Paper Engine pitched the artwork to Aardman. I was told on the grapevine that they were pleased with the project – with very few changes to the pitch!
Thank you Paper Engine, it was an honour! From there the look and feel for the range was set. It was an awesome project.
How I approached the project
When creating the packaging, I tried to create artwork that was exciting and matched the tone of Wallace & Gromit. I also tried to create packaging concepts that would excite both children and adults if they saw them on the shelf!
‘wow look at that!’
type of thinking with the hopes somebody would pick the product up and purchase it. The product did most of the selling in all fairness, these are very cool products.
Aardman Wallace & Gromit Project | Paper Engine Testimonial
‘We worked with Jimm on some early packaging concepts for our collaboration with Aardman on three Build Your Own kits. He delivered some superb designs which enabled us to get ahead of the curve by keeping the client on board with approvals and saved us some valuable in-house studio hours. We would definitely work with Jimm again in the future when the occasion arises. Top marks. 5 stars.’
Geff – Creative Director, Paper Engine Ltd.
Aardman Wallace & Gromit Project | You may be interested in some of the following
Working with beta testers… creating board games isn’t easy! A crucial and oftentimes overlooked stage for creating a commercial board game is the beta and alpha testing.
I was commissioned to create a board game prototype to teach children about youth homelessness. My primary role was – mostly – visual design and gameplay, and illustration. And… consulting and guidance on creating a game.
When working with Beta testers, I tried to create an environment that was open and invited constructive feedback.
While I took notes, I allowed the Beta testers to play how it suited them to play. Down to opening up the initial black packaging box to reading the rules, in whichever order they chose.
Setting up the Playtests for a board game prototype
This was my first playtest in quite a while. In the past, I have been involved in both helping to set up alpha testing and the follow-up stages of a Beta test. Beta testing on behalf of a 3rd party client was a new experience for me. And there was a lot involved.
Before preparing 2 different environments for beta testing. I had to get the testers to sign NDAs on behalf of the client.
It should also be noted that a large amount of effort was involved to find both beta testers, and finding a space to carry out the beta testing. Money also needed to be paid to the venue for lunch.
Alpha Testing vs Beta Testing
There are some key differences in the alpha and beta testing stages. With alpha testing, this is often a case of a game or game prototype being experimented with and developed internally. In my case, I was the first tester of the rules. I created the rough rules to see how the game mechanics may work and wrote these down as I went along. This is typically the very early stages of creating a working board or card game. The more alpha testing you can do before going to external beta testing, the better.
This is a photo of some of the first game components and alpha
Beta testing the game involved finding other parties to look at and play the game. These people had never read the rules or knew what the game was or anything. Once I sourced the beta testers, found spaces to play the game – this then set about into motion the gameplay.
The beta stage is the more developed stage of creating the game prototype.
Creating the gameplay | My experience of working with beta testers
I was involved in creating the initial gameplay as well as working on all the visual design for game. This was part and parcel of the commission of the game project – from top to bottom. Finding board game testers can be tricky ( external website on finding beta testers ) , but I feel that these beta testers offered tremendous value to creating the board game prototype.
Here are some initial screen grabs from the playtest. An important stage when creating a board game prototype.
The first draft low-fidelity prototype
The later stages of the playtest | working with ‘other’ beta testers
I would advise when doing a playtest of your game, to try the game on people you don’t know. ( although I do know Paul here – thanks Paul, Paul is also a drummer I’ll have you know! ) The wider the pool of people… the better. Below are some visuals of the playtesters in action doing their thing!
And me… taking notes on how the game is being played.
Doing these live tests is not always easy on the ears. But they can be essential for making a better and more rounded board game.
A special thank you to the playtesters for this game
This lot should be proud – although the Conwy Council may not know the names of the playtesters I would like to announce who helped make the prototype a more rounded and playable experience.
( me, I was the first tester ) Faye Willets + Family, Helen Edmonds, Jake Joung, Paul Whibley, Steve – and a Special thank you to Liz Chadwick for introducing me to some fellow playtesters!
If you would like any advice or a design service to design your board game you can read more here – freelance board game designer
Are you a playtester?
If you are a playtester for board or card games? Feel free to drop a message across with a bit about you, what you do, where you are based, age, your demographic, and the types of games you like to play. ( please note that many of my playtesters are currently based in the South East – UK )
Are you looking for playtesters?
Playtesters or beta testers can be tricky to find if you are just starting out. This article here on Dragon Bone games About finding playtesters may be helpful – ( Alpha ). Or if in the later stages of development – where to find Beta Testers. ( external website )
Notes – On Prototype
It was a fun project to work on. I would like to say I have no idea what the mass production or future edition of the game will look like but either way – I was happy to be part of the pre-first edition of the gameplay.
Are you looking to create a board game? I was involved in the visual look and feel of the game along with the vector character illustration. Feel free to get in touch if you want to discuss your game project!
This post has been written to answer how to get into the board game design industry and what you can do to potentially get through those elusive hidden board game industry doors.
Getting into the board game industry is both simple yet difficult. When you know how and where to look, it Is simple.
When you do not know where to begin, getting into the board game industry is difficult, or at least finding the hidden doors is hard.
Boardgame design is experiencing a creative renaissance and there is no better time to join this growing fun and creative business. Nobody could blame you for wanting to work for a board game company at this time.
Getting involved in the industry is fun, creative, and rewarding!
What does it really mean to be In the board game industry?
Many board game designers are individuals and small teams with board game design being their passion. Their companies and side projects may run secondary to another main source of income.
In other words, their board game companies are paid hobbies that may bring them additional income and fulfilment.
These are all people who have got into the industry and make up for a large portion of the creators behind board games and the creative board game development.
Many of these smaller independent games design companies might be friends, partners, husband and wife teams etc which make up the board game ‘in’ crowd.
To get into the board game design industry, these smaller teams started to create games for the love of making games and published their own.
The smaller studios and tabletop game developers often grow their companies from a side passion to something that can earn money and allow them to continue to make board games.
Of how to get into the board game design industry and get involved with the big publisher to sell your game – that’s a battle in itself and are 2 very different doors into the industry.
Details below, if you are looking at working in the tabletop gaming industry, want to work for a game publisher or sell your game, idea or product then this helpful post is for you.
how to get into the board game design industry and work with smaller publishers and designers
If you are just starting out, looking to change career, or launch a passion project you can start creating your board game now.
There is no harm in starting small on a hobby project and working your way up to the bigger companies later if that is what you want to do.
There is also no shame in working with smaller companies and staying with little studios. By being part of a small team or going solo, you can get hands on experience with game design and development on many levels and in many “departments”.
As with various creative roles in the smaller outfits, it is a great way of being shown the ropes when you are part of a small unit.
But, even getting involved with smaller studios can be a challenge if you don’t want to go solo or you are just starting out.
Here are some tips on how to get into the board game industry and work with smaller developers and publishers.
Steps on how to get involved with (smaller businesses) in the board games industry
1 ) Have an interest in board games! This should be a given, but if you want to create some games, great! If you just want to make quick money, consider other careers.
2 ) Start creating games. Make it all about the game and the enjoyment of creating games. If you are stuck for ideas consider making a personal game project with a pencil and paper. You can make a fan game to, like this website shows – how to create a HeroQuest style game.
3 ) Take an interest in other games that have been created. Ideas rarely come from nowhere! Show interest in what types of games you like to play.
4 ) Sign up to board game forums and become an active member
5 ) Hang around with board game creators! You can attend various meetups and casual board game events
6 ) Network work extensively
That list of steps is a simplified way of what you can do to get into the tabletop gaming business and work with the smaller studios and independent makers.
There are many ways of accessing the industry and at varying levels.
And to be involved – is to be involved!
Enjoy games and meet people that also enjoy creating games, make connections In the gaming field.
how to access the board game industry and sell your game (small scale)
If you want to get serious and commercialise your game, meeting the right people is both important to this goal and challenging.
But how do you make these all-important contacts?
It is a case of where to be and where to look.
The most simple first step to making some initial contact in the industry is by going onto forums, looking at board game directories, and seeing what companies you find on Google.
This is the most straightforward, but in my opinion – not the most effective solution for making contacts in the board game industry.
Meeting face-to-face and showing what you can do is better. You can build up a rapport and discuss board games there and then. Be it at a show or a networking event.
So ‘where’ to meet these contacts and get into the board game design industry.
Get involved with the board game industry by attending shows and conventions
One of the best ways of getting involved with the board game industry is by showing up to conventions and shows and saying “hi”. Go to the boardgame stands, say hello and talk about your passion and see where it may lead!
Going to conventions and shows will also broaden your view on the industry as a whole. You get to meet companies that focus on party games, board games for the family, adult games, card games, poker games, RPG’s, science fiction, fantasy, games for young children!
There are too many to list.
Going to shows is a big way to build those all-important contacts.
Another way of getting into the industry, is through self-proclamation!
Self-publish your board game! “I am a board game developer”
I am a board game designer! Therefore, I am part of the board game industry!.
Another way to get into the board game design industry is by creating your own games and products. You may have already created your own game or aspire to create a game. By actually creating a game or products around gaming you can say –
“You are part of the board game industry”
To what capacity? That can be left to interpretation.
Creating a game and building a board game design career
The main focus of this article is on how to get into the board game design industry and creating your own games is early access to this.
I do not wish to deviate too much into the intricacies of creating a board game in this article. Creating board games is a skill in itself that deserves more than just a few sentences.
You can read more on creating a retail-ready game here if you want to focus on board game creation and selling your own products.
If you would like help with creating your game, you may also wish to look at the board game design services page or get in touch via my contact form.
Creating your first game or board game product is a great way of getting into board game creation. You can learn a lot from even just making a prototype. You can either pitch your prototype to a company or look at selling it yourself.
Getting involved with the big board game publishers (selling to and working with)
Getting into the board game design industry is challenge number 1. Eg create a game or fan game) and show what you can do. Set up a business.
But.
Working ‘with’ or ‘in’ the BIG board game companies is a separate challenge in itself, and tough inner circle to break into.
Because it is hard to get into, it certainly doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth it. Especially from a financial or publicity standpoint.
Here are few listed benefits as to why getting your board game into a larger board game can help your and your board game development career.
The benefits of getting your game in with a big company (selling your game)
Larger market penetration and industry coverage. The larger board game companies – publishers and distributors are more likely to have the retail and business channels to sell more copies of your board game in higher volumes. They might be good to approach after you have also (potentially) created a Kickstarter, if crowdfunding is a path you take.
Great marketing for your board game. At first, getting your name out there can be a huge advantage for the future and for growing your board game design business.
More revenue – Having more revenue isn’t the same as having a higher margin (making more money per individual unit) The the big retailers are likely to shift larger volumes of your game than just you on your own.
More on the example below.
Selling your game through a larger board game company vs do it yourself – rough example
Although “do it yourself” is a great way of getting into the board game industry, you will have to out a lot of energy into multiple avenues of the business. As opposed to the bigger business may be able to sell your game in larger volumes.
Do it yourself method
You sell 100 units, throw all of your time and energy into distribution and logistics – earn £3 (profit) unit for example per game. You take away £300
Selling your game through a large publisher or distributor (getting involved with the companies)
As an example, you sell 10,000 units through a board game publisher or distribution company and earn £2 per unit. (rough example – NEVER a guarantee)
Per unit, that is less.…
The publishers will take a larger cut – BUT – you earn £2 x 10,000 = £20,000. The bigger companies have access and possibly bigger selling power.
Not only will you be more likely to sell higher volumes through a board game distributor or publisher. It will allow you to focus more on board game development and design. If that is what you want to do.
To get involved with the large publishers can be difficult if you are starting out in your career. The next section focuses on how to get into the board game design industry and work with the big board game companies.
“The easier you make it for the businesses to sell your game and increase ‘their’ revenue. The easier you will make it for yourself.”
How to get your board game into the big companies, publishers and retailers
If you are board game designer and developer or an aspiring creator! You may have ambitions to get your game into the big publishers and distributors.
As with any businesses, and contrary to popular belief, most companies and buyers are risk-averse. If working with you and your game proves to be a potential risk with weak financial returns, they won’t sell your game.
To get involved with the big companies in the board game industry, make your game retail-ready and full or promise.
The easier you make it for the businesses to sell your game and increase ‘their’ revenue. The easier you will make it for yourself.
In other words, earn more revenue for them and earn more revenue yourself.
Getting yourself and your board game ready for retail
In order to get into the board game industry, I have written a couple of design-focused entrepreneurial tips that will help you in creating a game for retail in mind.
Creating your game and playing it is one thing but creating game that gets the attention of the bigger businesses is another.
* it should be noted that reading posts and saying “is that all” it takes is not the best mindset to start on. Creating games and creating games ready to be sold is a big time consuming effort and can be a labour of love many.
Tick boxing alone, will not guarantee the success of a game. Use your initiative, use critical thinking, and be prepared to try and try again to crack that industry!
How to work for a board game company (in house, freelance)
To work for a board game company you need to prove that you can work in a relevant field in the board game industry and also work as part of a team!
There are various skills, roles and departments for budding games designers to consider :
To answer “how to work for a board game company“, be it freelance, contract, or in-house, you should consider working on skills that will lend itself to the game company you wish to work for or with.
As with the list of skills and roles above, this is a glance at some or the roles and departments available that you can work in. If you wish to work in a more permanent position at a company or a board game publisher you should network and look on job boards to find the ideal position for you.
You may also need to be prepared to move location for most jobs if you wish to work in-house.
What is the ‘best’ way of getting work in the board game industry?
There isn’t a single and clear cut path of how to get into the board game industry, each journey and career will be unique to the individual.
To choose which is the best way, as based on opinion, experience, and observations on how to get into the board games business. I would say the following are some of the best and most prominent ways of getting into the tabletop gaming industry.
1) Have a passion for tabletop games or/and creating games
2) Meet the right people for your game niche and share passion, knowledge, and skills with games and creating games.
3) Attend trade shows and make contacts. Network with other board game creators * ( personnel and favourite/ best method)
4) Look on jobs boards in the creative industries and dedicated board game communities. Facebook and Board game geek
5) ‘Niche’ on a certain skills and keep scouring the communities equipped with a portfolio or examples of what you can do!
6 ) And above all else – the best way on getting into the board games is to keep trying if you are passionate about board games!
“We found these contacts mostly through trade shows and events.“
How to get into board game design industry | A firsthand account
I wanted to discuss my first-hand account of how I became involved in the board game industry and how you may find my story interesting or helpful in your creative journey!
I was involved In creating a party game at my previous job. It was created as part of “Product Development – innovation engine” which was a weekly process that was rolled out from 2016.
I and the team at the time realised that a game might be popular. It was inspired by something a colleague had seen on TV. I was sceptical initially but I was won around. (good job!)
We spent a few months designing and developing a party game.
The game was a commercial success and we went on to develop more products and expansion at the request of a large board game retailer. This opened a very wide door to more investment.
From there other retailers also requested the game. It grew in popularity in the UK.
We found these contacts mostly through trade shows and events. They were a mixture of board game distribution companies, smaller retailers, and high-street shops.
That was my first-hand experience in working commercially in board games and 1 first-hand example of how to get into the board games industry.
Off my own back.
I then started to find more contacts at conventions and shows. Many of the these people I networked with were a mixture of small independent game designers to larger-scale board game developers.
And to this day, I am always looking for ways of building new contacts and ways I can help independent board game developers create their game.
That was an (‘is’) part of my professional journey.
An example of how to start early – get your children to start making games!
This is an example of somebody that has the will and drive to create something they love! This person was undeterred by pessimism, cynicism, and the knowledge of money!
Just the want and the like of creating their own game. I think there is a lesson us adults we can learn here.
* For confidentially, I cannot mention in detail about the parties involved.
I wanted to draw your attention to this prototype by a budding game designer. ( my part was in the visual and creative design + getting it ready to look at )
The client started first by drawing a rough game on post-it notes and mapping out the game.
They had already playtested and worked out the mechanics before contacting me. They just wanted to figure out “how to make it”.
From the rough prototype. I came up with visuals, character vectors and ideas how it would look and what was going on.
I had the joy of designing the box art, the game cards, conceptualising and creating the dinosaurs, the caveman, tokens, and the board!
This is an example of what you can do if you decide to go down the self-publish route.
Having something physical to show looks both professional and that you are serious and passionate about the board game industry. This will be your early steps of how to get into the board game design industry
People are often tactile and like to look by touch also.
How to get into the board game design industry – The final answer
To consolidate and simplify the answer, there are a couple of main routes on how to work in the board games industry.
The main path is by making the right contacts at shows, conventions, and events – meeting the right people in senior positions at board game companies will put you at a strong advantage.
Another alternative way of getting into the board game industry is by creating and publishing your own game and making yourself part of the industry.
The final point for you to get into the industry is by looking at niche board game job boards or job boards in creative industries. Look on Facebook and Board Game Geek also
With many creative businesses – a big part of it is, who you know, what you can do.
Love (or like) what you do!
that is how you can get into the board game industry. Persistence, passion, and having a lot of good relevant business contacts in the business. And trial and error, luck and determination.
If you have found this post helpful, feel free to share. All the best in your board game creation career.
In your journey into getting into the Boardgame design business you may also find some of the following articles helpful.
Other helpful topics to help you get into the industry
The games and images in this article are all copyrighted, please do not use or distribute. Handy tips – how to get into the board game design industry and how to work for a board game company.
Creating an interactive story, or game can be tricky! This post has been written to show how to make an interactive story game in Flash (Adobe Animate) – described using simple (less non-tectie) methods.
Make an interactive story or, in my case – an interactive museum!
How I created an interactive museum
If you are completely new to creating games or making interactive gaming experiences, then I would advise looking posts such as this: creating a STEM game that was also made in flash. This is from another project I worked on in the past.
Flash, if you are unaware is the old name for Adobe Animate. All methodologies and approaches in the post are still relevant today and I am sure will help you in your journey creating a cool story type game!
The short answer: How to make an interactive story game in Flash (Adobe Animate)
Artwork | You will need a graphics creation program such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, I have written a detailed post on the graphics programs which you can read here – creating digital artwork.
Build it | In order to build, or develop your game, you will need to use an engine or a platform such as Unity or Adobe Animate (flash) which is what this post and project as all about!
Publish it | Is that all? Sort of, if you want to make a compelling story game you will need to put a lot of time into making some striking visuals and compelling narrative to carry the player through to the end.
If you are just embarking on making games or interactive experiences, I would also consider using a powerful game creation program such as Unity. Unity is powerful, you can create a range of games types with many off the shelf solutions.
Although, Unity does come with a steep learning curve, so be warned!
The interactive museum in this post was built for a client using Adobe Animate and Photoshop. The steps below outline some of the methods and approaches to creating an interactive project.
Using Adobe Animate to build a game (or museum)
My core training was based around using Adobe Animate to make 2D games, animations, and rich media experiences – it was my major!
Now, I don’t wish to go into the opinions of why or why not to use Animate in this day and age. I will assume for whichever purpose, you either need or want to use the application to build an awesome experience and that is okay! None should judge.
You should know this when you publish with Adobe Animate.
When you publish a game in Animate, it can be created in the following formats and platforms:
.SWF (flash player browser) ( I would avoid this format now due to lack of technical support and accessibility issues – read more reasons on avoiding flash player on this blog ) .
HTML5 – can run straight from your browser.
Projector files for both Mac and PC – similar to making regular program or .exe file.
As an app for Android and Apple.
As an enclosed Adobe Air app that can be downloaded straight to the computer.
FL5 – this is a legacy shot. There are more options today!
My interactive project as shown further down in this article was made by publishing as an Adobe Air application and as a browser-based *SWF format. Old yes, irrelevant? Not at all.
The .SWF format or
flash player for browsers to be specific is an old format and I would
now avoid using it.
If you are undecided which is best if you are intending on making a game solely for a browser – use HTML5, WEB GL, or if you download your game, use Adobe Air.
Publishing to Adobe Air applications isn’t the only way to create an enclosed stand-alone program or application. You can use .exe or a mac projector also.
Flash Publishing Plus
You can also download
applications that extend the publishing capabilities of flash.
For example, ZINC will make a neat package for your application although it has now taken its servers offline you can still use the legacy format. MDM Zinc
Edit / note : many of the formats Animate can now output is very much capable enough of fulfilling the duties of these programs listed here. eg. Zinc.
You can also create a DMG on an iMac and pack your items inside it for professional distribution. You can also have a lot of creative license for logos and interface artwork.
On a personal note, I would be inclined to stick with *ADOBE AIR ( no longer owned by Adobe ). Adobe air comes with more than enough capabilities for packaging distribution for your game – even to implementing your or desktop icons.
Using Adobe Flash (animate) to publish your interactive story game to a browser
The image above is from a slightly older version of Adobe Flash (now Animate) but it shows that it is mostly a case of ticking the publishing formats you wish to use.
If you are skim reading this, I would advise paying close attention to the next paragraph, especially if you want to put your game on the web.
Using The SWF format and flash player for your game?
The .SWF format is no longer as widely supported as it used to be, especially if you publish it to the web as a flash player. I would advise against using this format.
You may notice on certain websites a notification box appears on the body of a page asking for you to “run flash player”? That is what now happens if you publish to flash player / SWF. As shown below. Or, it should be a case that now Flash Player has gone altogether.
Example of the flash player being blocked by default in Firefox
The image here
illustrates the flash player being put on hold until it is enabled by
the user.
By publishing to the
flash player with your .SWF object – Instead of your movie, you will
get a hollow grey box and notification.
Using the .SWF object
makes for terrible user experience in 2020 and has done for some time
now. Many people are more likely to hit the back button or just
ignore the interactive content as it needs to be enabled or ‘allowed’
by the user.
And how heartbreaking is that feeling after spending all of your time creating a game or animation? Flash player is now stopped by default by many browsers.
With this in mind, I would say it is best to avoid a SWF / flash player for the browser. And, don’t forget how this will also behave on a Smartphone now too. ( This website, should I publish to Flash Player)
Should you both with flash player in 2020 for browsers? I won’t.
Use an alternative format if you want to display your content or show an animation – such as HTML5 if it is a game. This is all opinion based on what I have seen, learned and what is now professionally advised. You may ignore all this if you wish.
You will need to know ActionScript 3.0 to make your game work in Adobe Animate (sorry!)
Did I mention code? I’m afraid so. If you are not a coder you may hit some hurdles here or need to do some homework – or hire and Action Script Developer! ActionScript is the lifeblood for Flash games.
There are not many ways around not using ActionScript.
Adobe Flash, which was renamed to Adobe Animate a few years back, uses a coding language called Action Script 3 (AS3) to add interaction to games and applications.
Without being able to code or at least being able to bash some ActionScript together, you will not be able to create a somewhat sophisticated interactive project in Adobe Animate, unless you are making an HTML5 game.
Making a game or an interactive experience will require getting into some script, even just to make a level change, a speech bubble appears or simple player interaction.
Interaction in Adobe will require you to program. It is not the hardest language but if coding really isn’t your thing… perhaps consider an alternative means or more visual-based engine?
Or why not just jump in with both feet and find out if you can code?
You can start to learn
Action Script 3 here or by purchasing a cookbook and getting your
teeth sunk into it.
If you want to write Action Script 3 this is a good start
You can find these
types of books on eBay at a relatively low cost.
It should be noted that
if you do decide to buy one of the ActionScript books from eBay I may
get a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Failing this, if you do
not wish to read how to use Action Script you may find tutorials to
watch instead or ask for help on forums.
How to make an interactive story game in Adobe Animate – The Nitty Gritty
Now you have an idea of
what may be involved with creating your own game application or
immersive experience in Adobe Animate. You may be ready to delve a
little deeper … or run for the hills
To summarise what has
been written so far you will need to do the following for your game
:
– Rough / plan out your game or story – although be prepared to edit as you create the actual game
– Write in Action Script for interaction so it reacts to the player, eg: button clicks, movement, transitions to levels for your story.
– Publish it, and get your game out there.
That is a simplified
way of summing up what has been covered so far. In essence that is a
rough guide of what you need to do in layperson.
– Plan
– Roughout artwork
– Build
– Test / Publish
Whether you are intending on making a 2D gaming application, a story or an interactive museum as shown in this post, come at your project prepared.
Morale boost: As a warning, those milestones can seem a long way from time to time. One foot in front of the other! You will get across those desert coding plains.
Coding or not coding your story game
If coding really isn’t
your thing and you are more or a designer than a developer – you
should consider using an application such as Stencyl to take some
smaller steps into game development.
Stencyl works like lego
building blocks in which you can click together the functions and
behaviours of your game. The image below is an example.
Example of coding game in Stencyl
You can also read an example tutorial here on how to make a Cursor in Stencyl. Which was written by me when I used Stencyl a little bit more often.
Unity software is another option but it is a more advanced option if you are new to creating games and applications.
The next section of the post covers how I created an interactive museum for the client.
The Client Brief | Promote the museum (interactive experience)
After setting up a
meeting and discussing the budget and the requirements, I set about
what could be done to create an experience that would promote a local
museum in Cornwall.
The website part of the
project was built to inform and educate potential visitors. The
interactive part of the website was built to ‘excite’ visitors and
offer an e-learning experience.
The e-Learning part of
the website is what I have focused on in the article – “How to make
an interactive story game in flash”, or in this instance.
Caption from the interactive Museum
How to make an interactive museum experience that can be played from a web browser.
How I created an Interactive Museum in Flash | The Steps
Being a fan of all things to do with history and using my new found technical knowledge as a graduate, I jumped feet first into this project. This project allowed me to use my imagination and critical thinking to offer an experience that would entertain, entice and educate!
I was thrilled!
It was a challenge, but
a great one to embark on so early on in my professional career.
Designing the interactive museum | pre-development stages
Before opening up flash
or writing a line of code, I sketched down my ideas of what I was
intending to do and proposed it to the client.
After getting approval for the initial design, I started to conjure ways to make this project come to life both visually and technically.
The interactive museum,
which would work similar to a point and click style game or a graphic
adventure would be launched at the same time as the website, which I
also created.
The interactive museum was 2 stages – levels – where you could stand at two opposite ends of a large courtroom. This was the main stage of the hall, both in real life and in an interactive experience.
In early concepts, I
toyed with the idea of creating other rooms but with time constraints
and budget limitations, the 2 levels were more than enough and
difficult enough in all honesty at an early stage in my career.
Interactive Museum in Action!
It is worth noting here if you are also thinking of designing and developing an app or game, add some wiggle room on the timeline.
You don’t want to be
crushed by the deadline, worse still if you get stuck!
Under a supervised out of season and out of hours visit to the museum, I collected together as much knowledge as I could about my topic and environment. I wanted to create an authentic piece of work that would immerse the players.
I took pictures of the
environment which would later become the interactive parts of my
flash project. With the interaction in mind, I took plenty of
interesting close-ups of Cannonballs, skulls, puppets, etc which
would later be cut out and used.
Taking Photos of the Environment
The purpose of these PNGs allows for a transparent background on the objects. When the player ‘hovered’ over the PNG’s with their cursor in the interactive museum, a green outline would appear around the objects to show that it was ‘live’.
This small visual
representation is a good way of showing to the player that the item
was selectable or interactive in some way. Player or user experience
was paramount to the project as it should always be when creating an
experience.
After all of the
content was collected together, edited and prepared it was imported
into the project library in Flash and coded to life!
Yes, almost like a mad
scientist.
Interactive Museum | The building & development stages
Heads up, consider ‘white boxing’ your game
White boxing? What am I talking about!
By this point, I had
taken my photos and created the bits and pieces as I needed to –
based on my artistic and creative vision.
All the artwork was
finished cut out etc.
As a more modern
method, I would actually advise against making your app this way.
Don’t worry about all
the nice polished artwork first. Focus on the function of the game.
Why?
It’s not an art project
for starters even though that is how I treated it. It’s a learning
experience for “others” to use. It’s for the client to promote
the museum. Not for me to show my skills, that comes second to the
brief.
Also, if you are new to
a program, and you have no outside help, you can throw away a lot of
time focussing on aesthetics that you may not be able to use due to
technical issues and programming hurdles which you cannot overcome.
And guess what happened to those piece’s artwork or assets because of that technical issue?
Or things I couldn’t
overcome – despite the fact I had created the final artwork?
They were canned.
I didn’t get to use it. All that time photographing, trimming, prepping, etc and I couldn’t use them because whilst I was overconfident I could code it into existence – I did meet with time and technical hurdles.
Save time!
I would advise using a method called “white boxing” and this carries across many gaming or interaction projects.
Okay, what is “White boxing!?”
White boxing is a stage in which you are testing and designing how your game or interactive museum may work.
It’s a case of
designing the function before the form and seeing what constitutes as
an actual viable gaming experience.
In other words it a bit like mocking your game up first, or loosely sketching out what goes where and seeing how it works and behaves.
If you are curious and
just want to find out a bit more on where I learned the term “White
Boxing” read the book ‘Unity in Action’ – good book in my
opinion!
You can find out a bit more about it here on eBay. It should be noted that if you do decide to purchase the book through eBay, I may get a commission at no additional cost to you.
The code for the museum
In order to make this interactive museum work, I developed it in a language called ActionScript 2. Action script 2 is now a very defunct language and I would advise against learning that version of Actionscript now.
Unless you otherwise enjoy reading obsolete languages or need to edit the code in a very old project! And if you are editing the code in an old project it in AS2 – it needs to pulled out of the dark ages ( I can talk)
For which ever reason, stick with AS3 (Action Script 3) by default when working in Animate
And, for the sake of keeping my shared knowledge more relevant, I will share with you a piece of Action Script 3.0 instead which was the closest match to my AS2 script.
Now, if you are completely new to using Adobe Animate, I would advise downloading a demo from Creative Cloud and getting stuck in from there. The Demo is free!
Note: Remember that is a general overview of how I created an interactive museum. To go into greater depth I would advise looking for step by step tutorials on using Action Script 3. You would need a lot more than this post to discuss how all aspects of the code makes the museum work.
After I imported my artwork to the library it was essentially broken down into core elements – the background and the interactive elements – the clickable bits!
In order to make my
content interactive, I needed to make things happen when they were
pressed. A Scene change, a speech bubble or all trigger by Action
Script 3.0
For example, this
snippet of code is what makes a button take a player to the next
scene when it is clicked.
How to go to a next scene in Action Script 3.0
After I imported my artwork to the library it was essentially broken down into core elements – the background and the interactive elements – the clickable bits!
when this button is clicked, go to the next scene, the next scene would represent the next level.
For your own knowledge,
and for my personal reference – I will call this a simple click and
go to the next scene.
And it just that, when the “arrowBTN” was pressed in the scene, it would take the player to the next stage or level – or Scene 2. There is nothing stopping you from adding multiple scenes to your game and having multiple click arrows!
Illustrations showing how to make a level change in principle
How to make an interactive story game in Flash (Adobe Animate)
Click a button, go to Scene2.
Interactive story game / Museum | Hide and Unhide
The essence of this hide and unhide would be along these lines in Action Script
When I ‘hid’ or ‘unhid’ objects in a Scene, I used Action Script to do so – Object Orientated Programming.
This is the principle
of what I used with Action Script 3.0
MovieClipname.visible = false;
That little snippet of code (ActionScript 3) was employed a lot when creating a project.
That single short line
of code is telling Adobe Animate (flash) to hide the object when it
comes to runtime ( when you publish your app).
When It’s visibility is
‘false’. It will not be seen by the player. At some stage, you will
need to make it’s visibility true!
Now, in order to make
the movie clip become visible – it would have been attached to a
button like so. And this would have been written.
ActionScript 3.0 really honed in on something called Object Orientated Programming or OOP – now being a bashful designer.
At heart, a part of me didn’t want to discuss what Object Oriented Programming is – the notion of having me describe it here brings me out in schoolboy sweat
Object Orientated
Programming is something I make use of lot these days whether it is
piece of script in C Sharp or something to be created in Animate. OOP
works with elements and animations inside your game, level or scene.
It is dedicated to working more fluidly with objects and classes.
Here is the Adobe definition for OOP.
“Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a way of organizing the code in a program by grouping it into objects. The term object in this sense means an individual element that includes information (data values) and functionality.”
– Source : Adobe
I hope my simplified approach helps with some principles of How to make an interactive story game in flash (Adobe Animate). Although this was used on the older museum project, the method still carries today.
That is a principle and
condensed overview of steps I used to build this interactive museum.
There was more involved
in my version such as point scoring but I won’t share that in this
post, as this post talks about the project as a whole and why it was
created and what it wanted to achieve – not the development stages.
Designing an interactive museum | The final Product
Up to this point, I
have covered some of the technical steps I used to create the
application along with discussing the core principles in both the
artwork and the main behaviours in the code.
To the all-important stage, the final product.
Looking back | What was
this for and did it stay on track?
This browser game was created to educate, entertain and draw attention to the real museum located in the town.
Did I feel that I stayed on track and met the brief as one of my early projects as a postgraduate and a freelancer? Mostly, but there are things I would do very differently now. In particular on the website and the UI to capture the core look at feel.
The is museum was
created in conjunction with the new brochure website which set up to
educate and talks to readers about the local trust of whom were my
clients for this project.
If I was to be honest, the one thing I would say is that parts of the website was OTT for the client’s objectives and budgets.
This browser game was created to educate, entertain and draw attention to the real museum located in the town.
The interactive museum itself offers a great addition to the project as a whole… that is where the project was arguably unbalanced from a web entrepreneurs perspective. The interactive museum was an addition but that is where most of the money and time were invested instead of the website which should have been the ultimate focus in my opinion.
The museum dominated too much.
To come at this again,
I would invest much more into getting some enquires and activity from
the brochure website. That would at least balance it from a business
perspective.
All experience in hindsight from 11 years past! A lot happens in a design career in that time.
And it also contributes to what I am writing today. How to make an interactive story game in Flash (Adobe Animate)
What I would also do differently on my museum | personal note
The project on a personal note gave me a tremendous amount of experience in interaction design and creating applications in Flash. This was a follow on from creating games in flash, for example like the STEM / E-learning game I created which you can read more about.
From memory, the museum
project was a challenge – mostly coming from how long it took to
animate all the little elements and bug test it.
In the end, I felt it gave a result that I was proud to be part of and that was making an E-learning experience which was educational and fun.
There are a few things I would do differently from an art director’s perspective. As it was a project of limited financial resources, there is only so far you can g, sadly.
If this post has inspired you to create a game in Adobe Animate and how to make an interactive story game (not strictly in flash) then please refer back to this post, or feel free to ask any questions.
Below are some other additional links which cover topics such as; how to create and E-learning game, tip for website design and even some insights into alternative game engines!
How to make an interactive story game in Flash (Adobe Animate) – other resources
Don’t use the .SWF (Flash Player) format for web | Link
* Flash is now Adobe Animate. Animate is still, in essence, the same program.
* ActionScript 2.0 is now defunct language. ActionScript 3 is now the more modern Object Orientated language used in Adobe Animate.
* .SWF format for web is an essentially old and almost redundant format to publish to. I would advise against publishing for the flash player for web – especially in 2020.
How to make an interactive story game in Flash (Adobe Animate) – Useful Resources
Thank you for reading how to make an interactive story game in Flash (Adobe Animate)!
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