Copyright: Corel


Welcome

Welcome to The Games Factory, your introduction to the exciting world of Windows games.

The Games Factory provides everything you need to manufacture Arcade games, Platform games, Adventures, Screen Savers, and much much more.

The Games Factory offers you fast screen scrolling, fade effects, and can display FLI animations, Video for Windows, and QuickTime movies. You can also play your favourite music tracks directly from your CD.

Create...

Arcade Games

Display your objects using the built in animation features, or an external FLI sequence or Multimedia clip, and whiz them around the screen using a range of simple options. Check for collisions as needed, and display the player's score or lives on the screen. Play your sound or music, either from a "wave" or "Midi" file, or straight from the CD.

When the game's over, you can show the player's progress using your own Hi-score tables.

It's easy with The Games Factory.

Platform Games

Assign a character to the joystick or keyboard using a single menu option. Walk the character across a realistic 2D landscape, climbing ladders, bouncing off obstacles, and falling through traps. Move the background in any direction, using the amazing tile scrolling options.

Adventure Games

Display your locations using any combination of text or graphics. Enter the users commands using simple buttons, or directly from the keyboard. Choose your response from a range of actions or events.

Save the players progress in an "INI" file, and return to the current problem at the start of the next session.

Generate intriguing puzzles that will have your friends guessing for hours.

Screen Savers

Create your own personalized screen-savers. Make your Windows desktop come alive with animated artwork, moving banners, and scanned images of your family and friends. Fade between screens using a vast range of transition effects.

Welcome to The Games Factory

It's now time to start the tutorials and learn the basics of The Games Factory

When you've finished, you can get instant advice from the amazing on-line Help system. Just click on the Help menu for a detailed explanation of each individual feature in The Games Factory.

Have fun!


Actions

Actions are used to do things, like playing a sample, setting a value, or destroying an object. Actions are dependent on the results of a test or "condition" in your game.


Action Box

An Action box enters an action into the Event Editor. Actions can be added by clicking the action box with either the left or right mouse button.

Clicking the left button selects the actions and allows them to be dragged and dropped into a new position.

Clicking the right button displays a menu that allows you to choose a new action for your game.


Action Icon

The Action Icon shows the type of action being entered into the Event, or Step Through Editors.


Action Marker

The Action Marker is a small indicator used in an Action box in the Event Editor. The action marker indicates that there is an action of a specific type assigned to that object. You can select the Action Markers with the either the left or right mouse button.

Clicking the left button selects the actions and allows them to be dragged and dropped into a new position.

Clicking the right button displays a menu that allows you to choose a new action for your game.


Action Point

The Action Point is a place on an object where an action will occur. An Action Point is used to assign an action to an object that needs to be released from a specific part of another object. For example, bullets need to be shot from the barrel of the gun.


Action Order Editor

The Action Order Editor allows you to change the order that actions will occur in your game when the test for a specific condition becomes true.


Active Objects

Active Objects are objects that respond to events in your game. Examples of active objects include spaceships, bullets, characters, bricks, balls, and racecars.


Alterable Attributes

Alterable Attributes are features that can be changed using actions. Examples of alterable attributes include coordinates, speed, and alterable values.


Alterable string

An Alterable string is used by a Text Objects to hold a fragment of text or a message. Alterable strings can be loaded using a Text paragraph, read from another object, loaded with a number, or entered from the keyboard using the "Ask for Input" option.


Alterable Values

Alterable Values store vital information needed for the running of the game. The Games Factory provides three Alterable Values for each object. These are represented by the letters A, B, or C. They can take any WHOLE value between -2000,000,000 and +2000,000,000. Fractions such as 1.5, or 3.141 are NOT allowed.

Alterable Values hold the statistics in an RPG. For example, the status of an attacker, or the value of an object.


Animation

Animation brings the objects in your game to life. The Animation is created by displaying a number of still pictures or "Frames" one after another in sequence. By making small changes to the object in each frame, the object will appear to move when the frames are played in sequence. Animations are supplied for most of the objects in The Games Factory, but it is easy to create your own animations using the built in Animation Editor.


Animation Frame

An Animation Frame is a single picture displayed in an Animation sequence.


Animation Sequence

An Animation Sequence is a series of still pictures used to animate an Active Object on the screen.


Arcade Game

An Arcade game is a type of game that pits a number of fast moving "bad guys" against the player. An example of an arcade game is Space Invaders.


Attributes

Attributes are any values or information that are used by an object. Typical examples of attributes include the Alterable Value of an Active Object, the Animation file of an FLI, and the Text in a Text Object.

There are two types of attributes: Alterable Attributes and Fixed Attributes.

Alterable Attributes are features that can be changed using actions. Examples of alterable attributes included coordinates, speed, and Alterable Values.

Fixed Attributes are features that can not be changed during a game. Examples of fixed attributes include the size of an object and the available movement directions.


Automatic Icon

An Automatic icon is used to display an object by using a small version of the first picture in the Animation sequence for that object. Automatic icons keep track of this picture, and automatically change the shape of the icon whenever the object is edited.


AVI

AVI stands for Audio Visual Interleaved. It is a file format for playing "Video for Windows" movie clips.


Backdrop

A Backdrop is a static picture that is used for the background area in your game.


Backdrop Objects

Backdrop Objects are objects that remain in the same position for the duration of your game. These objects are used for obstacles such as walls, doors, or rocks. A backdrop object can be changed to a Quick Backdrop object or an Active object in the Level Editor.


Backdrop Obstacles

Backdrop Obstacles consist of Backdrop or Quick Backdrop objects which block the movement of an Active Object in your game. Backdrop obstacles can added to your game using the Level Editor.


Ball Objects

Ball Objects simulate the movement of a bouncing ball. Ball Objects are great for games like Rebound, Arkanoid, Tennis, and Pinball. Ball objects can also be used for general purpose objects which can be controlled directly from your game.


Booting-Up

Booting-Up is a technical term for the process of starting up a program on the computer. It comes from the fanciful idea of pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.


Boot-Up Screen

The Boot-Up screen is displayed at the start of a program before the program is run.


Bounce Randomizer

The Bounce Randomizer adds variety to the way a Ball Object bounces against other objects in your game. The higher the Randomizer is set, the more random the bounces of the ball object will be.


Box mode (Collision detection)

Box mode is a method of collision detection between objects in your game. When Box mode is enabled, each object in your game is enclosed in an invisible box. These boxes can be tested using the "collision" option to find out if two boxes are touching and therefore, a collision has occurred.


Box mode (Capture menu)

Box mode imports a series of images from a disk using a single operation. Box mode is ideal for creating Animation sequences.

The format of this file is important.

The first point in your picture should be set to the colour used by your background (usually zero or transparent). The second should hold the colour of your box (usually 1).

Each image should now be surrounded by a ONE point thick box.


Button objects

Button objects let you generate clickable buttons on the screen. You can test these buttons from the Event Editor, and assign actions to them as needed.


Capture Menu

The Capture Menu loads an object with some previously prepared graphics from the disc. The Capture Menu is activated using the Import feature.

Transparent mode ignores anything drawn in the colour zero.

Box Mode grabs a whole series of images surrounded by boxes.

The top left point in this file should be set to the Transparent colour (normally zero).

The next dot should be set to the line colour used for your boxes. Each box should be exactly ONE point thick.

Full Window loads the entire picture.

Cancel returns you to the Picture Editor or Icon Editor as appropriate.


.CCA  files

These store Corel Click & Create applications on the disc. Providing the Click & Create application uses the standard GF object types, you can load these directly into The Games Factory. If you try to access other objects, the operation will be aborted automatically.


CD ROM

A CD-ROM is a special type of Compact Disc that can contain large amounts of graphics, text, or music for use in your games. The contents of a CD-ROM can not be changed once they have been created and therefore are used as Read Only Memory.


CD Audio Objects

CD Audio Objects are used to play an audio track from a normal music CD or from a CD-ROM.


Child Game

A "Child game" is a separate The Games Factory game with its own set of Storyboard levels, objects, actions, and events. It is launched from another The Games Factory game using a game Level. When the child game has finished running, the game will return control to the "Parent Game".

See: "Parent Game"


Child Objects

Child Objects are created by another object during the course of a game. Typical examples are the bullets in an Arcade game, or the small rock fragments in games like Asteroids.

See: "Parent Object"


Clone

A Clone is a copy of an object which has the same definition, but its own existence on the screen. These clones can be created clicking an object in the Object Selector and dragging and dropping it onto the playfield. Each clone has its own set of values, coordinates, and attribute options.


Collision Detection

Collision Detection is the process of testing for impacts between various objects in a GF game. There are three available tests for Collision Detection between objects:

Active Object tests for a single collision between two objects.

Overlapping tests whether the selected objects are continually overlapping on the screen.

Obstacle tests whether an object has hit a background obstacle.

Collisions can be tested in either box mode or fine mode. The mode you use to detect collisions can selected by choose the mode by setting a button in the Preferences dialogue box.


Command Icons

Command icons call up a specific option from the GF system.


Comments

Comments are text items that are added to the Event Editor to help explain your game to other users or developers. They are typed in from the keyboard, and can be highlighted in a variety of different styles.


Computer Controlled Movements

Computer Controlled Movements are used to propel an object through a pre-programmed movement pattern generated by the computer.

Available movement systems include:

Bouncing Ball movement where an object moves in a random bouncing pattern.

Path Movements where an object follows a specified path. This type of movement can be used for the aliens in an arcade game.


Conditions

Conditions are single tests that are performed at frequent intervals throughout the course of your game. Conditions like a player pressing a key, an object moving into a specified zone, or an object's value exceeding a certain range can be tested.

Conditions can be either true or false. If they are true, the selected actions will be performed. If they are false, the actions will be ignored.

See: Events


Coordinates

Coordinates are used to give the distance of an object from a fixed reference point or origin.

The position is read in two directions. The X coordinate measures the horizontal distance from left to right, and the Y coordinate measures the vertical distance from top to bottom.

The two coordinates are usually enclosed in brackets, and are displayed as follows:

(X-Coordinate, Y-Coordinate)

Example:

(10,50) Ten units right, 50 units down

(-10,-50) Ten units left, 50 units up

See: "X-Coordinates", "Y-Coordinates"


Counter Objects

Counter Objects are used to store the numbers in your game. Counter objects can be used for things like fuel gauges, speedometers, or the read-outs from the dials in the cockpit of a spaceship.

The counters can be displayed as a bar, an animation, or a simple number. Counters can also be hidden in the background for use in your own calculations.

Counters can be changed at any time using an Action from the Event Editor.


Create new object

Create new object is found in the Level Editor and is used to add a new object to a game. Create new object provides a list of the available object types that are ready for use in your game.


Data

Data is another word for information.


Device Driver

A Device Drivers is an independent program which manages a specific part of your computer system. Device Drivers are used for controlling printers, joysticks, CD players, or Level objects.


Dialog box

Dialogue boxes contain a list of options which can be selected with the left mouse button. A dialogue box appears in a window.

The following is an example of a dialogue box:


Display Order

Display Order is the order that your objects will be displayed on the screen. Normally, your objects will be displayed in the same order that they were created, so a new object will appear in front of an existing object. You can control the display order using the View option from the object's pop-up menu.


Edit button

The Edit button appears when you are entering a value into a dialogue box. Clicking the Edit Button displays the GF Expression Evaluator so you can enter an expression. Now, you can click on the Retrieve Data from an object button to access a range of GF functions.


Edit object

An Edit object is used to create an editable text field in your GF game. You can use an Edit object to create a User Entry zone or an Input field.


Eight Direction Movement

Eight Direction Movement assigns an "Active Object" to one of your players. This object can now be controlled using either the Joystick or the Keyboard.

By default, you can move these objects in a maximum of eight different directions. If you want to restrict your object still further, you can choose the possible movement directions.


Events

Events enable your game to react to certain situations. An event contains a series of "conditions" that are set to occur as the game is completed. If all of the conditions are true, the selected actions will be performed. If any one of the conditions are False, the actions will be ignored.


Event Editor

The Event Editor provides the intelligence for your games. All of the possible events and the required actions to be taken if all of the conditions are met are specified in the Event editor. The Editor is arranged as a simple grid, rather like a spreadsheet.


Event Grid

The Event Grid is a series of boxes which are displayed in the Event Editor" Each box can contain an optional set of actions which will be performed when the event becomes true.


Event Group

An Event Group holds a series of Events, Conditions, and Actions which can be treated as a single unit in your game. Event Groups can be either local or global.


Expression

Expressions are calculations involving numbers, Alterable Values, or Functions. GF expressions can also take their values from an object.

Here are a few examples:

Random(5)+1

Value("Ship")*10

Width("AVI")/4


Expression Evaluator

The Expression Evaluator is a form of calculator that can be called up using the Edit button from a GF dialogue box.


Fade

A Fade is the process of dissolving the screen between your various Game Levels.

There are two types of fade effects:

Fade In -creates a transition from the previous screen to a new one.

Fade Out -creates a transition from the current screen into the next Level screen.

Fades will be called automatically when you change levels in the game.


Fade In

A Fade in is used when new level starts. The screen will display the previous level or a solid colour. The screen will dissolve into the new level using a fade effect. The Games Factory provides dozens of fade effects to choose from but it is also possible to create your own transitions.


Fade Out

A Fade Out is used when the current level ends. At the end of the current level, the picture will be gently transformed it into a solid block of colour using a fade effect. There are dozens of fade effects in the GF fades directory.


File Selector

The File Selector provides a standard way of loading or saving games on the disc.


Filters

Filters limit the Event Grid to only those events which affect a specific object.


Fine mode

Fine mode is used by the collision options to test whether two objects are visibly touching. Fine mode is slower than box mode but is more accurate.


Fixed Attributes

Fixed Attributes can not be changed during a game.

Typical examples of fixed attributes include the object’s size, and available directions.


Fixed Menus

Fixed menus appear as a list of titles along the top of the current window. When these titles are selected with the Left Mouse button, a list of the available options will drop down.


Fixed Values

Fixed Values identify an object using a fixed number which is chosen at random when the game is started.


Flags

Flags record the on or off values in the game. Each Active Object can have up to 32 of these values numbered from 0 to 31.


FLI Animation

FLIs are Autodesk compatible Animation files which can be played at any point in your game.


Floating Menus

Floating Menus are displayed directly under the mouse pointer. The Games Factory displays these menus whenever you click on an object or select an event.


Focus

Windows only lets you control a single Edit box at a time. If you have several of these objects on the screen, the users will be able to choose between them by clicking the contents with the mouse. They can then scroll through the list using the arrow keys, or select an option with the mouse.

In technical terms, the currently selected object has the "focus" of the user's attention. You can set this focus in your game using the Get Focus action. This activates the current object and selects it for the user. This object will now be used for all future keyboard commands.


Fonts

Fonts are a set of characters in a given typeface and point size. For example, 10 point Times Roman. Most fonts are available in families that include different weights or styles such as bold and italic.

10 pts 18 pts 36 pts


Frames

A Frame is a single element in an animation or Multimedia sequence:


Frame mode

Frame Mode enables you to control your position in a multimedia sequence using a series of numbered frames as reference points. Each frame is assigned a number starting at 0.

Frame mode works like the "pause" option on a Video recorder and enables you to step though the video frames one shot at a time.


Functions

Functions change the contents of an Alterable Value or the state of an object. They can be accessed via the Retrieve Data from object button in the GF Expression Evaluator.

Examples:

X("Object")

Y("Object")

Random(10)

Value("Object")

Xmouse

Ymouse


.GAM files

".GAM" files store your GF games on the disc.


Game Level

A Game Level holds a series of objects, actions, and events that can be used in your GF game.


Game File Level

A Game file Level launches an entire GF game from the disk. These levels can be used to split your game into simpler, easy to manage sections.

The game that stores the level in its Storyboard is known as the "Parent game" and the level that is loaded is called the "Child game".


GF

A shorthand name for The Games Factory.


Global

The term Global is used for objects or event groups which exist for the duration of a game. These global objects or events can be turned off by an action.


Global Objects

Global Objects exist for the entire game rather than just for one level. Global Objects can be created and destroyed at will. In contrast, Local Objects will be destroyed automatically at the end of each level.


Global Event groups

Global Event groups are collections of events which continue to work for the duration of the game. They can be activated or deactivated using a simple action from the Event Editor.


Global Values

The Games Factory provides you with up to sixteen Global Values, numbered from 1 to 16. These values keep their contents whenever you move between Levels. You can use them as a fast way of transferring information between Storyboard levels.


Gradient Fill Patterns

Gradient Fill Patterns are useful for creating attractive backgrounds for your games. Any Quick Background object can be optionally assigned to a colour gradient. A gradient fill displays a progression between two colours in the colour palette. A gradient fill can be generated from left to right, or top to bottom. The result is a smooth wash of colour which is perfect for skylines or seascapes.


Handy Hints

Handy Hints provide helpful messages which are displayed whenever the mouse over an object or icon. These handy hints can be turned off using a simple option from the Edit/Preferences menu.


Hiscore Objects

Hiscore Objects record the scores of the best players on a disc. These scores can be displayed or changed at any point in your game.


Hot Spot

A Hot Spot indicates the position of an invisible "handle" on an object. This handle is used as the starting point of the object's coordinates, and it can be changed using the Picture Editor.


Icons

Icons are small pictures which can be selected by the mouse to perform an action. There are two basic types of icons

Command Icons

Object Icons.


Icon Editor

The Icon Editor is used to change the appearance of the Icon for any object. The Icon Editor is very similar to the Picture Editor.


Initial direction(s)

The Initial Direction sets the direction(s) an object can move at the start of a game. The available direction(s) may changed as the game progresses.


Joystick 1

Joystick 1 is the joystick plugged into the LEFT joystick port. If only a single Joystick is being used, it must be plugged into the left joystick port.


Joystick 2

Joystick 2 is a Joystick plugged into the RIGHT port. Many computers have only a single joystick port so use this option with care.


Jump Strength

The Jump Strength sets the speed at which a character in a platform game can jump.


Levels

Levels split your game into separate sections, each with its own unique set of challenges. The Games Factory allows you to use as many levels as you like.


Ladder

Ladders are backdrop objects which can be climbed by a player controlled Platform Movement. You can set these ladders up using a simple option from the Obstacle menu for each backdrop object.


Level Grid

The Level Grid divides the play area into a number of rectangular sectors. Each object can now be positioned in units of a single sector.


Level Editor

The Level Editor provides you with everything you need to create a level in your game. You can use the Level Editor to set the position, movement type, and animations of the objects in your game.


Library

A Library is a set of predetermined objects which can be selected at any time from the Level Editor. You can also create your own libraries using a simple menu option.


Library Menu

The Library Menu is a pull down menu on the Toolbar. It can only be used from the Level Editor. Each option represents an entire library of objects which can be loaded into the Object Selector with a single click of the Left mouse button.


Limit Conditions

Limit Conditions control how your events will be tested during your game. Options are provided to repeat your tests, stop after a single check, or restrict selected actions.


Lives Objects

Lives Objects display the number of lives the player has left during the game. You can display the lives as either a simple number, or a complex graphic.


Local

Local refers to objects or event groups limited to the current Game Level.

See: Local Objects, Global Objects


Local Objects

Local Objects only exist for the duration of the level they were created in. These local objects will be destroyed automatically when the level ends.

See: Global Objects


Local Event Groups

Local Event Groups are discarded after the current level.

See: Global Event Groups.


MCI Objects

MCI Objects provide fine control over any multimedia device which understands the official Media Control interface.


Menus

Menus are lists of options which can be selected by clicking on them with the mouse.

See: Fixed Menus, Floating Menus, and Sub Menus.

Each game has its own menu bar. You can define this using the “Change menu” button from the Game Set-up dialogue You can read the user’s selections using the “Has an option been selection?” condition from the Event Editor. It’s listed under the “Special” options.


MIDI

MIDI is a standard format for used for recording professional quality music.


Mod

Mod is a function which returns the remainder of a number after a division.

e.g.

5 mod 2 = 1 (5 = 2*2 + 1 left over)

5 mod 3 = 2 (5 = 3*1 + 2 remaining)


Mouse Controlled

The Mouse Controlled option lets you assign an object to the mouse. The movement of your object can be restricted to a specific screen area if required.


Mouse Zone

Mouse zones are rectangular areas which can be tested for the presence of the mouse pointer.


Movement Selector

The Movement Selector is a dialogue box that can be viewed when the movement option is selected from an object’s pop-up menu.


Mosaic Fill Patterns

Mosaic Fill Patterns generate an effect very similar to Windows wallpaper. Mosaic fill patterns can be used to add texture to a Quick Background object.


MPEG

Motion Picture Expert Group (MPEG) is the latest file format for Multimedia movies.


Multimedia

Multimedia is a standard term for any display which includes music, sound, pictures, or film clips.


Multimedia Device

A Multimedia device is a program or add on which lets you play multimedia effects on a computer.


Multimedia Objects

Multimedia Objects let you add high quality sound and movie clips directly from The Games Factory

Available multimedia objects include:

CD audio Objects -music from a normal CD

AVI Objects -Microsoft Video for Windows

QuickTime Objects -movie files from an Apple Macintosh computer

MCI Objects -Any device which uses the Media Control Interface


Music

Music can be added to your game. It can be played from either a "MIDI" compatible music file, or straight from the audio track of your CD-ROM.


Obstacles

Obstacles are immovable background objects which block another objects progress. Typical obstacles include walls, doors or towers.

See Background Obstacles


Objects

Objects provide the raw materials for your games.

There are many types of objects including:

Active Objects -used for spaceships, balls, or aliens.

Backdrop Objects -provide fixed barriers such as walls.

Counter Objects -hold the numbers used for your calculations.

Lives Objects -indicate the number of remaining lives.

Score Objects -hold the current score.

Question and Answer Objects -ask the player questions.

Button objects generate clickable buttons for control panels

Hiscore Objects -save the best scores achieved in the game.

Multimedia Objects -display movie clips or play music from the CD.

Mixer objects control your MIDI music and sound effects.

Edit box objects display scrolling areas of Text.

Most of these objects can be either Local or Global


Object Bank

The Object Bank contains all the objects used by your current game. The Object bank is updated automatically, and is saved along with your games. It is displayed in a small window near the top of the Level Editor.


Object Group

An Object Group is a collection of objects dedicated to a single purpose. Object groups can be tested and changed using a single icon from the Event Editor.

All the objects in your groups MUST be of the same type.


Object Icons

The Object Icons represent a single object which can be manipulated in your game.


Object Library

An Object Library is a collection of objects stored on the disc and are ready for immediate use in your game. These libraries can be accessed directly from an icon in the Level Editor. You will find the object library to the left of the Playfield.


Object Preferences

The Object Preferences are a series of options which choose how an object will be controlled from The Games Factory.


Object Selector

The Object Selector is a small window near the top of the Level Editor which contains all the objects used by the current game.


Origin

The Origin provides a fixed reference point for all coordinate calculations. It can be moved to a new position using an option from the Preferences box to any point on the game area.


Parent game

A "Parent game" contains a game Level which will launch a separate game from the disc.

The new game is called the "Child game". The "child game" is a separate game with its own set of Storyboard levels, objects, actions, and events. The "child game" is created in The Games Factory using the same method used to create the "parent game", and can be loaded and edited independently from its parent.


Parent Objects

Parent Objects generate new objects during a game.

See: "Child Objects".


Palette

A Palette is an array of colours that can be selected by clicking the mouse button. These colours can be used in any picture or movie in The Games Factory.


Paragraph

A paragraph is a section of text in a Text Object. Each object can have any number of paragraphs only a single paragraph can be displayed at a time. You can move between the paragraphs using a range of actions from the Event Editor.


Password

The Password is an optional phrase or keyword which can jump directly to a selected level in your game.


Path Movement

Path Movements flip an object through a complex movement pattern entered from the screen. Paths can be recorded directly using the mouse, or generated one line at a time from the Path Editor.


Path Editor

The Path Editor allows you to add pre-recorded movement sequences to any Active Object.


Platform Game

Platform games present a sideways view of the world, and pit the player against a range of obstacles on the screen. The player is often trying to reach a treasure or rescue someone or something.


Picture Editor

The Picture Editor is a simple drawing system which allows you to create new objects for your games.


Platform

A Platform is a Backdrop object which has had its Platform option enabled from the Obstacle menu. These objects can be used as the floors of a Platform Game.


Platform Movement

Platform Movement animates a player character along a platform obeying the normal rules of physics, such as gravity.


Platform Objects

Platform Objects can be moved along a platform by the player.


Play Area

The Play Area is the part of the Level Editor screen which is displayed on the screen during the game. The play are is also known as the Playfield.


Player

The Player is a general term for the user of your productions.


Player number

The Player Number assigns an object to a selected player. The Players are numbered from 1 to 4. You can select a player to an Active or Multimedia object using the Moved By option from its Movement menu. You can choose one for a Lives or Score Object using the Player menu.


Player Actions

Play actions are any action which can performed by the player, such as hitting a key, moving the joystick, or answering a question.


Player Controlled Movements

Player Controlled Movements assign an object to a player.

See also Mouse Movement, Eight Direction Movement, Race car Movement, and Platform Movement.


Playfield

The Playfield is another term for the play area. It is part of the screen used for your game.


Playlist

A list of MIDI Music tracks used to accompany an FLI or Picture Level from the Storyboard.


Pop-Up menu

A Pop-Up menu pops on the screen when you double click an object or click an object with the right mouse button.

Here’s an example:


Preferences

Preferences set up the GF system the way you like it. You can call up the Preferences options from the Edit menu in the Level Editor.


Question and Answer Objects

Question and Answer Objects are used to display a multiple choice question on the screen and wait for the players response. It is then possible to test whether the answer selected is correct and perform an appropriate action.


Quick Backdrop Objects

Quick Backdrops provide the background areas of your game. They are filled with a selected colour pattern which can be chosen from the Level Editor.


QuickTime Objects

QuickTime Objects play QuickTime for Windows movie files from a game. You will need a special device driver in order to use QuickTime objects.


Race-car Movements

Race-car Movements simulate the movement of real cars in your game. You can steer them, step on the gas pedal, or hit the brakes, just like a real car.


Radio Buttons

Radio Buttons are used to set a single option from a number of possible alternatives. Radio Buttons are arranged in groups of items, and only a single button can be selected from each group. Click the radio button to enable or disable it.

The following is an example of a group of radio buttons.


Rebound Game

Rebound games include Pinball type games in which a player has to use a bouncing ball to hit selected targets.


Resize box

A Resize box is provided with eight rectangular control points which allows you to change the size of any object in your game.


RGB Slider

The RGB slider is a series of three slider bars which allow you to set the precise shade of a colour. They are only displayed if you are running The Games Factory in 16 bit or 24 bit colour mode.


Run Menu

The Run Menu is automatically displayed when you play a game.


Storyboard Controls

The Storyboard Controls are special actions which let you move to a new level, or exit from your game.


Score Objects

Score Objects keep track of the player's score, and display it on the screen using the selected font.


Screen Savers

Screen Savers are Windows programs which automatically run if you leave the computer unused for several minutes. They can be generated using a simple option from the File menu.


Scrolling

Scrolling is the process of shifting an extra large playing area through the visible screen window.


Soundcard

Soundcards are optional extras which add sound and music to your computer. The Games Factory is compatible with all major brands.


Sound Samples

Sound Samples are pieces of real sound which can be played back throughout your game. The Games Factory comes with a wide range of samples ready for use but if you have a sound card, you can create your own samples.


Sound Actions

Sound actions generate a sound effect through your sound card.


Sound Driver

Sound Drivers are special programs that come with your sound card. These sound drivers set up the sound card so that it can be used by the computer programs.


Stand-alone Game

Stand-alone games are completely independent of The Games Factory. They can be run on any Windows computer without needing a copy of The Games Factory


Static Objects

Static Objects are used for things like bricks or walls, which never move from their original position. If you want a static object to interact with the rest of the game, you can define it as an Active Object, and fix it into place using a simple menu option.


Step Through Editor

The Step Through Editor tests your game and lets you add in new features. It can be accessed directly from the Level Editor using a simple icon.


Storyboard

A Storyboard is a list of the levels and screen animations which make up the complete game.


Storyboard Editor

The Storyboard Editor lets you add, delete, and move the individual levels in your game.


Storyboard Level

A Storyboard Level holds a single section of your game.

Each level can include either GF objects, a still picture, an "FLI Animation", or an entire GF game.


String

A series of letters or characters surrounded by double quotes:

"This is a string"

You can read a string from an object, convert them from a number using Val, or even enter them from the keyboard using an Edit box object.


Sub-menus

Sub-menus appear when the item you have selected has several possible options. If a sub-menu is assigned to an item, you will see a > character to the right of the text.


Text Objects

Text Objects display messages in any TrueType Font. Text objects are grate for use in title screens.


Timer

The Timer is a built-in clock that runs throughout your game. The timer starts at zero and increases by one every thousandth of a second.


Time Mode

Time Mode records your position as a time interval. The time starts at zero and is measured in units of a thousandth of a second.

See Frame mode


Toolbar

The Toolbar provides a series of command icons for the  Games Factory . Each icon can be selected with the mouse to perform an appropriate action.


Track

Tracks store information on the CD or disc. There are several different kinds:

CD audio tracks hold some digitized CD music.

QuickTIme tracks store Video, Sound, MIDI Music, Text, or MPEG movies.


Values

Values store numbers in your games. Any Active Object can have up to four values assigned to it. The first three values are indicated by the letters A, B, and C respectively. The final value is fixed at random when you define the object. These values can be any whole number from approximately -2000,000,000 to +2000,000,000. Fractions are NOT allowed.

See: Alterable Values, Counter Objects, Flags, and Scores.


Video for Windows

Video for Windows is a device driver distributed by Microsoft. It is required for displaying "AVI" movie clips.


Video for Windows Objects

Video for Windows Objects play "AVI" movie files from your games.


WinG

WinG is an exciting new Animation system for Windows which speeds up the performance of many games.


X coordinates

An X coordinate gives the horizontal distance of an object from a fixed reference point called the origin. Positive values indicate a distance to the right of the origin, and negative values represent a distance to the left.


Y coordinates

A Y-coordinate enters the vertical distance of an object from a fixed reference point called the origin. Positive values indicate a distance below the origin, and negative values represent a distance above it.


Zones

Zones are rectangular areas of the screen used for detection purposes.


Getting Started

This help file contains a general tutorial of The Games Factory. Choose an option from:

Using The Games Factory Help system

Running a game

The Components of The Games Factory

Selecting Icons- Menus and Control Panels

How Games work


Using The Games Factory Help system

The Help is displayed in two Windows.

The Topic Window

The Topic Window to the right shows the currently selected help topic. Along the top, there’s a series of buttons:

Navigate displays the Table of Contents (if hidden).

Search displays the built-in index.

Back moves to the previous help screen.

Find displays a full text index, which includes every word in this document.

Glossary provides an explanation of terms.

<< and >> move you back and forth between the help pages.

The Table of Contents Window

The Table of Contents Window lets you move through the User Guide as if it were a book.

Each book can be open or closed.

 A closed book.

Double click a closed book to display its contents. Normally, the contents lists are displayed in the form of a book, but you can also display an alphabetical index by pressing CTRL + A.

The contents list is divided into a number of different lines. You can move between them using the arrow keys from your keyboard.

The left and right arrows move up and down the list, showing each page in the Help window.

The Up and Down arrows scroll through the list without displaying the Help.

When you’ve found something interesting, double click the line to load the help into the main window.

The index lines come in a range of types:

This is a single page. Double click the page to load its contents into the main Help window.

This is a chapter containing several pages. You can open and close the book by double clicking the line with the left mouse button.

This is an open chapter.

The Tab options

The Table of Contents is divided into four panels. You can select one of these panels by simply clicking on its name at the bottom of the Table.

Contents displays the standard Table of Contents window

Find displays a list of all the words in the document. You can click on a word to get a full list of all the topics it’s found in. You can also use the “And” or “Or” buttons to check for a particular phrase:

Index presents you with an the main Help Index.

Table provides you with glossary of terms. Simply click on an item to display an explanation of its meaning.

The Table of Contents Toolbar

The Table of Contents window also has its own toolbar:

Move the mouse pointer over each icon to display a description of each icon. Here’s a brief list of the available options:

 Expands or closes the entire topic list.

 Closes the currently open chapter.

 Displays an alphabetical index of the available topics.

 Displays the index as a “book”.

 Sends selected pages to the printer.

 lets you search for phrases using the “Find” option.

 lets you check for a range of different words

 moves to the topic chosen after a search operation.

See:

The Games Factory Help Menu

Handy Hints


The Games Factory Help Menu

The Help menu provides you with a complete User Guide. The Help menu contains the following options:

General

Editors

Using Objects

Object Types

Actions, Conditions, and Functions

Using Help

Technical support

We’ll now explain each option in turn:

General

The General help section provides you with a complete introduction to The Games Factory, along with some quick help about the Editors, Menus, and Icons.

Editors

The Editors section explains in detail everything you need to know about the Storyboard Editor, the Level Editor, the Event Editor, and the Step Through Editor

Using Objects

This section describes how the object’s menus work, and explains the various movement and control options you can use for your games.

Object Types

Click here for a detailed explanation of the different object types. As you read, you’ll discover how each object can be used in your own games.

Actions, Conditions, and Functions

The Actions, Conditions, and Functions section gives you a detailed explanation of the various actions, conditions, and functions you can use in your Game levels.

Technical Support

If you’re really stuck, this gives the contact details of your local distributor so you can get additional help.


Handy Hints

The Handy Hints feature presents you with a helpful message whenever you move the mouse over an object or control icon. To turn these messages on and off, select Game Setup from the File menu.


The Status Line

The Status line displays additional information when it’s available for an object:

You can remove the status line using an option in the General Setup dialog box.


Interactive Help

The Games Factory contains an amazing on-line help system that explains each option as you are using it.

Quick Help provides you with detailed assistance on any part of the creation system.

Click the Help icon ( [image]) to access the quick help. The mouse pointer will change to a help pointer:

You can now move this pointer over an object, screen area, or menu.

When you click an object, a Window will appear with an detailed explanation of the chosen object.


Running a game

You can save your games in a special Stand-alone mode, so you can run them directly from the Desktop by double clicking their icon.

If you want to run a game from The Games Factory, you can either select the Run Level, or Run Game options from the Run menu, or click on the following icons:

 Runs the game from the start using its own window.

 Runs the selected Level exactly as it appears in the Level Editor.


Components of The Games Factory

The Games Factory is divided into several sections:

The Editing Windows let you create your games on the screen. Each window defines a different area of your games. When you enter The Games Factory, you’ll be presented with the Storyboard Editor which defines the layout of your games.

The Storyboard Editor is divided into a series of different levels.

You can edit the levels by clicking the number with the right mouse button and choosing an appropriate option from the resulting menu.

The Menu Line provides you with a series of drop down menus that let you choose your commands from the screen.

The Toolbar contains a group of icons which can be selected with the mouse to display a particular feature of The Games Factory .

See:

The Editing Windows

The Menu Line

The Toolbar

The Library Menu

The Timer


The Editing Windows

You can create your games using a series of Editing Windows on the screen. Each Window enters a specific type of information.

The Storyboard Editor will be displayed automatically whenever you start The Games Factory. It is used for creating the Levels used by your games.

The Level, and Event Editors work with game levels. They will only be available if you’ve already loaded a level into the Level Editor.

To load the Level Editor with a multimedia game, click the Thumbnail with the right mouse button. A menu will appear with the available editing options. These vary depending on the type of your level. If you’re editing a Game level, you can use the Edit Level option to call up the Level, or Event Editors.

If you’re in a hurry, you can also jump straight to the Level Editor by clicking the Level number.

Note: If the level doesn’t contain any GF objects, you’ll be asked to select an appropriate Animation, Picture, or Game file instead.

You can highlight a level by just clicking the Thumbnail.

You can now move to the appropriate Editor by selecting an icon from the Toolbar.

 The Storyboard Editor lets your enter the running the order of your various screens.

 The Level Editor is used to draw your backgrounds and position your game objects.

 The Event Editor adds the Conditions and Actions which make you game work.

See:

The Storyboard Editor

The Level Editor

The Event Editor

The Step Through Editor

The Animation Editor

The Picture Editor


The Storyboard Editor

Most games are composed of a number of different screens. Each screen can display anything from a simple title to a complete multimedia presentation.

The Storyboard Editor lets you create these screens for use in your games. You can choose the appearance, size, or speed of the levels using a range of options from the Toolbar.

Editing a game from the Storyboard

You can edit each Storyboard level by clicking the level number with the left mouse button.

You can display a menu by selecting the Thumbnail with the right button.


The Level Editor

The Games Factory lets your build your game using a series of components known as Objects. Each object can have its own animation, movement pattern, and control options. You can enter these objects in a Game level, and create them with the “Level Editor”

Each Game level consists of a background area known as the Playfield, and series of Objects.

The Games Factory displays your objects as a series of small icons on the left of the Level Editor screen. Click these objects with the left mouse button, move them over the Playfield, and click again to drop them into position.

The Games Factory CD contains many libraries of useful objects. You can select them from a drop down menu on the Toolbar.

Once you’ve added your objects, you can enter their control options by selecting them with the right mouse button.

The Games Factory provides you with a wide range of different object types. Here are a few of the available object types:

Backdrops display the background areas.

Question objects ask the user questions.

Active objects provide moving banners or animations.

Video for Windows objects display your movie clips.

Click the Create New object icon ( [image]) to create a new object.

See:

Objects, Actions, and Events

The Object Editors

The Library Menu


The Event Editor

The Event Editor lets you add the controls used for your game levels. You can use events to provide the intelligence behind your games.

Each Event can be composed of a number of different conditions. These Conditions test for a single possibility in your game. If the condition is are true, then your game can react accordingly using one of many available Actions.

The Event Editor is displayed in the form of a grid. The rows enter the Events, and the columns enter the Actions. You can choose them by clicking on the New condition line, or one of the empty boxes.

See:

Objects, Actions, and Events

The Step Through Editor


The Step Through Editor

The Step Through Editor provides an interactive way of entering the Actions and Events that will make your game work.

Click the Clipboard icon ( [image]) to display the Step Through Editor.

The Step Through Editor runs your current Game level, and reports back whenever something happens, such as two objects colliding, or the user pressing a key. You can choose how your game should react by selecting some appropriate actions.


The Object Editors

The Level Editor also includes a number of powerful editing modules. The most useful ones are:

The Animation Editor

The Morphing Editor

The Picture Editor

The Icon Editor


The Animation Editor

The Animation Editor lets you set-up an Active object’s “animation sequence”.

Animation Sequences are made out of series of still pictures, which are rapidly displayed on the screen to create a smooth illusion of movement. It’s the same basic trick used by a TV set, or Cinema screen. You can use animation sequences to “walk” an object across the screen, rotate a banner, or explode an alien spaceship.

Each Active object can be assigned to up to sixteen of these animation sequences at once, and each animation can be shown in up to thirty-two different directions.

You can enter these animations from the Level Editor. You simply click on an Active object with the Right mouse button, and choose “Edit Animation” from the resulting menu.

You can edit each frame by clicking on it with the Right mouse, and choosing an appropriate option from the menu.

The Import( [image]) option is especially useful. It allows you to grab your sequences directly from a Picture file or FLI animation..


The Morphing Editor

The Morphing Editor is called from the Animation Editor to create a smooth transition effect between two selected images. You can select it by clicking on a Frame from the Animation Editor with the Right mouse button, and choosing the “Morphing” option from the menu. You’ll need to load at least two images into the animation fro this to work.

You enter the transformations using a grid.


The Picture Editor

The Games Factory lets you import your graphics from all your favorite drawing packages. But The Games Factory contains a Picture Editor for creating simple backdrops and icons.

It’s available using the “Edit Picture” option from your object’s pop-up menu. It can also be called by simply double-clicking on a frame from the Animation Editor.

You can create your images directly on the screen. Or use the Import( [image]) icon to load your images from a separate graphics file on the disc.


The Icon Editor

The Icon Editor is basically just a scaled down version of the Picture Editor. It’s used for creating the icons used to represent your objects and games.


The Menu Line

The Menu line provides a quick way of performing common actions such as loading and saving, cutting & pasting, and running your games.

File provides you with options to load and save your GF games from the disc.

Edit provides you with Cut & Paste options, and also offers a range of useful Preferences options.

Objects option is used by the Level Editor to control the object selection and save your objects as a Library.

Window lets you arrange your GF windows, and jump directly to the chosen Editor.

Run tests your GF games.

Help provides you with a rage of interactive help options.


The Toolbar

 Loads a new game from the disk.

 Saves the current game.

 Displays a window containing the Storyboard Editor.

 Moves to a window containing the Level Editor (if open).

 Moves to a window containing the Event Editor (if open).

 Creates a Storyboard level, object, or Event.

 Provides additional information about the game.

 Calls up the Preferences dialog.

 Calls up the Interactive Help system.

 Cuts an object from the window.

 Copies an object for future use.

 Pastes a previously stored object to a new position.

 Undoes the previous action.

 Redoes the action that was just undone.(Not from Storyboard)

 Runs your current game.

 Runs the currently selected Level.

 Restarts the game from the beginning.

 Runs through your Level a step at a time.

 Plays the Level from the current position.

 This pauses a game that you are currently testing. It’s only visible when you’re running a game on the screen.


The Library Menu

The Library menu lets you call up the library objects from the CD. Each library is represented by a single entry in the menu.

When a library is selected, a complete list of all the available objects will be displayed in the Object selector. These objects can be dragged with the left mouse button and dropped into position over the play area. If you hold down the mouse button for a few seconds, you’ll see the object animate in a small window.

You can reload your game objects by choosing the Level Objects item.


The Timer

The Timer gives a readout of the elapsed time since the start of your game. It’s useful when you are testing your projects with the Step Through Editor or Time-Line Editor.


How Games work

Each game goes through a number of different phases.

As a rule, you’ll start with a title screen, run through your pictures, animations, or Levels, and finally return to the Windows Desktop.

The Storyboard divides your game into a series of Levels, each containing a specific part of your project. These Levels can hold still pictures, FLI animations, game objects, or even separate GF games.

Game Levels are used for more advanced games. Each Level is built from a number of smaller Objects. These objects can be moved, animated, or manipulated using a range of actions and events. Different object types are provided to display text, animations, or movie clips. Game levels are unbelievably flexible. You can use them to create anything from a multimedia adventure to an interactive product demonstration.

Pictures and Animation levels  are used for simple slide-shows and presentations. They can be displayed on the screen in a simple sequence, or controlled using the left or right mouse buttons. You can enhance your slides using sampled sound or music, you can add a soundtrack to your tutorials, or real speech to your advertisements.

Game file levels load a previously written GF game from the disc. They let you produce standard modules which can be reused again and again.

See:

Objects, Actions, and Events

Objects

Actions

Events


Objects Actions and Events

The Games Factory builds your games out of simple components called Objects. Objects provide the raw material for your backgrounds, titles, or game screens. They're used to display the movie clips for your presentations, the missiles for your action games, and the text for your titles,

Actions generate the effects in your games. They fire off a missile, change a title, or freeze a movie in its tracks

Events supply the intelligence. They test your games at regular intervals, and trigger an appropriate action as required. .

See:

Objects

Actions

Events


Objects

The Games Factory is stocked with dozens of available Object types.

They include:

Backdrops For the background areas of your screens

Active objects For moving objects such as missiles or banners.

Text For titles, messages, and captions

Lives and Scores For displaying the player’s status.

Counters For storing and displaying numbers

CD audio objects For playing music from the CD.

Video for Windows and QuickTime objects For showing and playing multimedia video clips.

FLI For displaying FLI animations

MCI For external devices which obey the Media Control Interface.

INI For reading and writing information to your own Windows “.INI” files.

Hiscore Objects -For saving the best scores achieved in the game.

Button objects For creating clickable buttons on the screen.

Mixer objects For control your MIDI music and sound effects.

Edit box objects For displaying large amounts of Text.

See:

Actions

Events


Actions

Actions do things. They play your sound samples, change your animation effects, and perform your calculations.

Object actions provide direct control over your objects. Each object type has its own set of available actions.

Active objects can be moved, animated or destroyed.

Text objects can set up a series of messages.

Counter objects can be added, subtracted, or loaded with the result of a calculation.

Video for Windows objects can be loaded from the disc, played on the screen, or resized.

Other actions are more general:

Sound Actions play your sound or music

Storyboard Actions move to a new level in the Storyboard.

Special actions scroll the screen, and run DOS or Windows programs from your game.

Player actions change the players scores or lose one of their lives.

See:

Objects

Events


Events

Events run your selected actions when something interesting happens in your game.

Each Object type has its own set of testing options

Active objects can be checked according to their position, speed, or animations

Video for Windows objects can be tested to see if they've reached a certain scene.

Some conditions serve a more general purpose

Sound Conditions trigger an action depending on the current sound or music track.

Storyboard Conditions wait for the start or end of either the current level, or the entire game

Mouse and Keyboard Conditions check for a keypress or mouse click.

Player Conditions examine the player’s score or the number of lives

Timer Conditions wait for a chosen time period.

Special Conditions compare any two values and provide additional controls over your Events.

See:

Objects

Actions


Selecting Icons- Menus and Control Panels

The Mouse

All options are selected in the same general way.

The right button displays a pop-up menu so you can edit the component on the screen.

The left mouse button calls up a command, or highlights a component in your game. You can also use it to display an animation on the screen. hold down the left button over any object for a couple of seconds, and you’ll see the effect in a small Window.

See:

Icons and Buttons

Menus

Dialog boxes

The mouse modes


Icons and Buttons

You can call your commands in several ways.

Icons are small pictures that can be clicked with the left mouse button to access a feature.

Buttons contain text, rather than pictures. Good examples of buttons are OK which accepts a command, and Cancel which aborts an operation.

Menus are lists of headings which can be selected using the mouse.

Dialog boxes are collections of Icons, Buttons, or Menus arranged together in a box


Types of Icons

Command Icons are found in control panels, and dialog boxes. They call specific options from The Games Factory.

 Provides you with Interactive Help

 Loads or Saves your games

Object Icons appear in the Object Shelf, and represent a single object that can be positioned on your level.


Types of Buttons

Check boxes are Button Objects that can be enabled or disabled depending on the state of the check box before you clicked. Clicking the check box will toggle the state of the item.

The following Options section illustrates four check boxes:

Radio Buttons are used to set a single option from a number of possible alternatives. Radio Buttons are arranged in groups of items, and only a single button can be selected from each group. Click the radio button to enable or disable it.

The following is an example of a group of radio buttons:

Sliders can be dragged with the mouse to increase or decrease a value.


Menus

Fixed Menus appear as a list of titles along the top of the current window. You can call these menus by clicking the title with the left mouse button. The File menu is a typical example. It contains all the commands for loading and saving your games on the disc. It's available from the Storyboard, Level, and Event Editors.

Pop-Up Menus are displayed when you select something with the right mouse button. Pop-up menus are used to edit objects, events, animations, or even entire levels.

If a menu item has several possible options, a Sub-menu will appear. Sub-menus are indicated by an arrow to the right of the item.


Dialog boxes

The Games Factory uses several different types of dialog boxes.

Simple dialog boxes provide a single set of options on the screen.

Click the Help button to get an instant description of the various options in the dialog box.

Tabbed dialog boxes are divided into tabs like so:

Typical buttons are:

accepts the current settings. You can select OK by pressing ENTER on the keyboard.

aborts a selection, and exits from the dialog box.

displays The Games Factory help system.


The Mouse modes

The mouse pointer is used for a variety of different purposes. In order to avoid confusion, the pointer changes shape to reflect the current mode. Here's a list of the available mouse modes:

Arrow is the default mode. It's used to enter your commands and call up the various menus.

Hourglass

If The Games Factory is busy, an hourglass will be displayed. You'll need to wait for a few seconds before entering any more commands.

Quick Help

When you select the Quick Help feature, the mouse will change to a help pointer:

You can now position this pointer over any object, menu, or icon, to get a full explanation of the item.

Selection

Indicates that the mouse is over a level, object, or event. Click on the left button to move it to a new position. Press the right button to display a pop-up menu.

Positioning

This pointer appears when you click an object from the selection area. You can now move your object over the play area and drop it into position. If you make a mistake, you can abort from this mode by pressing the ESC key.

It's also possible to display an object on the screen. hold down the left mouse button for a couple of seconds, and you'll see the effect in a small window.

Moving a screen zone

The Games Factory can test for an object entering an area of the screen. These areas are defined as rectangular screen zones. They can be dragged into shape using the standard Resize options, or moved around with the left mouse button. The mouse will change into the following pointer:

Quick Backdrop

In this case, The Games Factory is ready to drop a Quick backdrop object into position. Move it over the play area, and click on the left mouse button to fix it into place.

Level

The level pointer is displayed when you create a new level from the Storyboard. You can now move the mouse over the destination, and click once to insert it into position.

Positioning some text

When you create a Text object, the mouse changes into a Text cursor like so:

You can position your text by clicking once on the left mouse button.

Resizing

The resize arrows appear when you're changing the size of an object or window.

Here’s what the arrows look like:

Grab

The grab pointer is used by the import feature. When it appears, you can select an area by moving the mouse over the top left corner, and dragging a box around it with the left button.

Changing the size of a Comment

Comments add explanations to your game’s events. You can change the size of your comments by dragging the borders using the left mouse button.

The mouse will change shape according to the operation:


The Games Factory Menus

The Drop-Down menus provide you with instant access to the many powerful features in The Games Factory. These menus are available in the Level Editor, Event Editor and Storyboard Editor,

Sometimes, a menu item will be “grayed out”. These items cannot be used in the current Editor. You can’t for instance, use Objects, Pick objects from a game if you're in the Storyboard Editor.

The following menus are available:

File

Edit

Objects

Window

Run

Help


File

Use the options in the File menu to load and save your GF games.

To make life easier for you, the File menu will list the last four games you’ve edited in The Games Factory. You can load these games by selecting their names from the bottom of the File menu.

The File menu contains the following options:

New

Open

Save

Save as:

Save as stand alone game

Save as screen saver

General Setup

Game Setup

Exit


New

New removes the current game from memory, and allows you to start again. If you've made any changes to your game, you'll be given the option to save your game before it gets erased.

Whenever you select the New option from the File menu, you’ll be asked to enter the size of your game’s Playfield. You can turn this feature off by disabling the Ask user size of Playfield when starting New game check box in the General setup dialog box.

See:

Setting the Playfield size


Setting the Playfield size

Enter the Playfield size in the Window Setup dialog box. Here’s a list of the available sizes:

320x200 enters a super fast full screen mode.

520x340 a good display for low resolution users.

640x480 a nice all round setting. This setting is used as the default setting.

800x600 crams a lot of stuff on the screen.

1024x768 good for simple scrolling effects and big displays.

1280x1024 twice the standard screen for extra large Playfield.

Custom size enables you to enter your own Playfield dimensions.

Enable the last radio button in the Window setup list to enter a custom Playfield size. Enter the Width of the Playfield into the left box and enter the height into the right box. Click OK to accept the Playfield size.

Each screen in your game can have a different Playfield size.

See:

Level set-up


Open

Use the Open game option to load an existing GF game from the disc. A standard Windows file selector will be displayed to enable you to choose the file to open.

Enter the File name in the File Name box. As a rule, GF files use the extension “.gam.” The Selection window holds a list of all the files in the current directory.

Click a File name in the Selection window to examine the contents of the file. A snapshot of the first level will be displayed on the screen.

The Directories window is used to choose the directory that the file can be found in.

Game Description tells you what the game is about.

The List files of type drop down menu is used to select the type of file you want to load. You can choose between: “.gam, .cca” for The Games Factory or Click & Create game files

“*.*” for all files

.gam files contain Games Factory games.

.cca files are Corel Click & Create applications .Providing the Click & Create application uses the standard GF object types, you can load these directly into The Games Factory.

Click OK to load the current selection. Click Cancel to jump back to the Editor. Click Help to display the on-line help for this topic.


Choosing a File

This option is used to select a file from the disc. You’ll be presented with a standard Windows file selector.

The File name enters your filename.

The Selection window holds a list of all the files in the current directory. You can examine one of these files by clicking the name.

The Directories window chooses a folder to be examined.

The Description tells you what the file contains. It’s only used by certain file types.

The List files of type menu selects the type of file you want to load.

Click OK to load the current selection.

Click Cancel to jump back to the editor.

Click Help to display the on-line help for this topic.


Save

Save is used to save your game onto your disk using the existing filename. It’s a good idea to save your games at regular intervals during the development process. If you make a mistake, you recover your game by reloading it.

If you’re saving your game for the first time, a selector will be displayed to enter the name of the file.

Filename: Enter the name of your game here. Use something descriptive, and set the extension to gam.

Directories: Use the Directories window to choose the drive or directory where the new file should be saved.

Description: Enter any additional description for your game.

The Games Factory will save your game using a single file with the “.gam” extension:


Save as

Save as saves your game under a new name. You can use this feature to test out new ideas during development of your game. If the idea doesn’t work, you can revert to your original saved file, without losing a thing!

Filename: Enter the name of your game here. Use something descriptive, and set the extension to .gam

Directories: Use the Directories window to choose the drive or directory where the new file should be saved.

Description: Enter any additional description for your game.


Save as stand alone game

Save as stand alone game saves your game as a Windows ".EXE" file. This enables your user to run the game independently from The Games Factory.

Enable the Save with installer check box so your game can be copied to another system using a standard Setup routine.

See:

Save with Installer

Filename: Enter the name of your game here. Use something descriptive, and set the extension to gam.

Directories: Use the Directories window to choose the drive or directory where the new file should be saved.

Description: Enter any additional description for your game. When the game is run, the Window title will be read from the game description.

The Games Factory will produce the following files:

program.exe

Double click the ".exe" file to run your game from Windows. “program” will be replaced by the file name you entered in the file selector.

program.gam

The “.gam” file holds the main game information. This should be different from your current game. Otherwise the old version will be erased!


Save with Installer

Save with Installer saves your game as an installable Windows game. It can be saved on a floppy disc, or loaded onto your favorite bulletin board directly.

New users can install your game from the disk using the “setup.exe” program. “setup.exe” will copy over the files to the users hard drive and create the appropriate icon. You can define this icon yourself using an option in the Game Setup dialog box. Click the Change button to display the Icon Editor.

The Window title will be read from the description you entered when you were saving the game.

The installer generates three files:

setup.exe should be called from the Windows Run command.

setup.bin holds the information needed by the installer.

program.dat stores a compressed version of your game file. The name is taken from the filename you entered previously. If you’d called your game “present.gam” it would saved as “present.dat”. The “dat” file also includes a standard “uninstaller” program.

You can copy these files directly onto a floppy disc.

Hint: It's a good idea to save your standalone games under a new name. Otherwise they'll replace the original version and make it impossible to edit the game in the future.


Save as Screen Saver

Save as Screen Saver saves your game as a Windows screen saver! Save your game in the current Windows directory. Use the Control Panel to select your screen saver game from the menu.

The title of your game can be added in the Game Setup dialog box. This title will be included in the list of available screen savers, and its password will be checked by the Windows password option.

If you'd like to play the game on your Windows desktop, you can enable the Grab Desktop at Start check box in the Level setup dialog box. In the Game  Setup dialog box, disable the Heading and Game to include men bar check boxes. Enable the Maximized on boot-up check box. Now your screen saver is set up ready for use.


General Setup

The General setup dialog box is used to change the way The Games Factory will load, and adjust the options used for displaying your graphics and sounds. The General Setup dialog box is divided into two tabs:

General changes the general system options.

Graphics and Sounds chooses the display mode, and turns the sound effects on or off.


General

General options affect the entire system.

Enable the Show handy hints check box to display a helpful message whenever you move the mouse over an object or screen icon. After a while you'll become familiar with The Games Factory, so you may wish to disable this feature.

Enable the Show Status Line check box to display additional information on a Status line at the bottom of the Editing Window.

Enable the Use a small font in dialogs check box to chooses a smaller font for all menus and dialog boxes:

Small font enabled

Small font disabled

Ask the user size of Playfield when starting New game

By default, selecting the New option from the File menu will displays a dialog box enabling you to choose a Playfield size.

If you disable this check box, The Games Factory will automatically choose the currently selected size for all future projects. You can change the size independently for each level using the Level setup dialog box.

Enable the Allow Pictures and animation files to be stored externally check box to removes the FLI or Picture images from the .gam file and store them separately on the disk. This is very useful if you have large animations because it lets you reduce the loading time of your game.

Undo Levels

The Undo Levels option is used to set the number of previous actions that can be undone in your game. By default, the number of Undo levels is set to 50. This means that the last 50 actions performed can be undone.


Graphics and Sounds

The Games Factory lets you get the absolute maximum out of your computer. You can use any graphics mode from 16, to 16 million colours!

Microsoft Windows displays your screens using a “Graphics Driver”. The graphics driver is set up when you first installed Windows. The official drivers are very reliable, but they’re also very slow. We’ve provided a new set, just for your GF games.

After The Games Factory is installed, it will subject your screen to a few simple tests. If your driver is compatible with The Games Factory, it will automatically be copied to your disk. There will be NO effect on any other windows program, only The Games Factory will use the new drivers.

If The Games Factory detects the latest WinG game libraries from Microsoft, it will use these instead. These provide additional support for Windows accelerator cards, and add an extra boost to your games.

Graphics Mode

If you’d like to experiment with the possibilities, or your card isn’t totally compatible with The Games Factory drivers, you can change the setting yourself.

Standard Windows mode limits you to just 256 colours, and provides guaranteed compatibility with any VGA graphics system.

The Games Factory mode checks your hardware, and uses as many colours as possible. If your graphics card is a little strange, you may encounter the occasional problem. In this case, you can select standard Windows mode to get things working.

WinG uses the latest Microsoft Windows Graphics routines. A copy is provided free with The Games Factory.

Note: WinG is quite new and may cause some problems on older machines. If you’ve had your computer for a few years, you may need to update to the latest display driver in order to use it.

When you first select this option, Windows will test your display. You will be presented with the option to save the current game. This will be repeated whenever you change the driver settings.

Sounds

These features control The Games Factory's sound system.

Enable the Play Music check box to allow music to be played in your game. Disable this check box to silence the music completely.

Enable the Play Samples check to play any sampled sound effects through your computer speakers (if connected). If you disable this feature, any sound actions will be ignored.


Game Setup

Game Setup is used to add credits to your game and determine how it will be played on the screen. The dialog box is divided into a number of tabs:

About is used to enter your credit screens and sets up the General Game options.

Window is used to set the screen windows in your game.

Instructions is used to enter help text that can be displayed from the game.

Players is used to enter the control options and the possible values for score and lives objects.


About

The About tab is used to define the credit screen displayed from the Help menu of your completed game.

Enter the name of your game in the Title line. This title will be shown along the top of the window when your game is played. It will also be displayed by the About option from the Help menu.

Enter your name in the Author line. Your name will be displayed automatically as part of the credit screen.

Note: The Games Factory will add the word "By" before your name.

Options

The options section is used to enter some standard settings for your game.

Enable the Multi-samples check box to mix samples together during a game. You’ll hear the effects when you play several samples together. The Games Factory will automatically combine the samples, and then play the merged sound. This will take a bit of time, and might lead to an inconvenient pause in your game, so you may want to turn this feature off.

Enable the Panic key check box to allow a user to exit The Games Factory display quickly, and temporarily return to the Windows Desktop. This feature is great for looking busy when your boss walks in!!

Enable the Machine-independent speed check box to adjust the performance of your game depending on the speed of the user's computer. This feature is used to ensure that your game runs at an acceptable speed on any PC. The system works by changing the smoothness of your movements and animation sequences. If the computer is slow, the quality of the effects will be reduced to speed up the game.

Icon

Click the Change button to edits the icon used to represent your game on the Windows Desktop. When you select this button the Icon Editor will be displayed. The Icon Editor is a scaled down version of the Picture Editor.

Note: Since the icon is for Windows use, you can only include a maximum of sixteen colours in your icon.


Window

The Window tab is used to enter the size and appearance of the Display Window used by the game.

Size

Click the Size button to choose the size of the Playfield used to display your GF games. You can choose the size either by enabling a radio button or entering values for your own custom size board in the boxes provided. The left hand box defines the Width, and the right box the Height.

Both values refer to the inside dimension of your Window. If you set the dimensions to 320x200, enable the Full Screen at start check box which is perfect for fast action arcade games.

Border Colour

Click the Border Colour button to change the colour of the border area around your game. This option will only take effect when the game is played. It won’t change the editing screen at all.

Maximized on boot-up

Maximized on boot-up runs your game in a full sized window. It’s definitely worth trying, because the results can be stunning!

Full screen at start

If you’ve entered a size of 320x200, enable the Full screen at start check box to use Full Screen mode. This mode is already used by many commercial games, and it’s ideal for anything that requires fast and furious action.

Resize display to fill current window size

This expands or reduces your game’s graphics to fit into the current display window.

Allow user to switch to/from Full screen

If you’ve enabled Full Screen mode, your monitor will snap to the new resolution when the game starts. When it’s finished, you’ll be returned to the Desktop as you’d expect. You can leave the game directly using ALT + F4. In order to save time, the Windows Desktop is turned off while the game is running.

If you’d like to keep the Desktop screen running in the background, enable the Allow user to switch to/from Full screen check box. You’ll now be able to flick between your game and the Desktop by pressing CTRL + F.

Heading

If the Heading check box is enabled, your game's title will be displayed along the top of the window.

Heading when maximized

Heading when maximized displays your program's title along the top of the Window, even if the window is maximized. If this check box is disabled, a maximized game will use the entire screen for the display.

Game to include menu bar

Enabling the Game to include menu bar check box includes a menu bar with your game when it is run. This menu bar allows you to select options directly with the mouse. If you disable this check box, you'll still be able to access these features using the keyboard short-cuts. For example, press F2 to restart the game, or ALT + F4 to quit.

Menu displayed on boot-up

Enable the  Menu displayed on boot-up check box to display the menu bar when the game is started. This allows the user to select an option before playing your game.

Edit menu

The Edit Menu button lets you enter a new menu for your game. You can change this to anything you like, adding your own options, separator’s and short-cuts.


Choosing a colour

The Border colour option enables you pick a new colour for your games border. You can choose the shade by clicking a new colour from the colour palette. After you've made your selection, click OK to accept it, or click Cancel to return to the original colour setting.


Editing the Game  Menu

The Edit Menu option lets you define a brand new menu for your game.

At the top, there’s a series of buttons which define your menu on the screen.

 Reset to default: returns to the standard game menu

 Load: enters a previously saved menu file from the disc.

 Save: stores the menu in a “.gfm” file for another game.

 Add Separator adds a spacer line between your various items.

 Insert: enters your item in a new line above the current line.

 Edit: changes the text or control options for the selected line.

 Delete: erases the line from the menu.

 Promote: moves the selected line one position to the right.

 Demote: moves the line one step to the right,

 Undo: reverses the previous operation

 Redo: restores your changes after an Undo.

The Control buttons

OK enters the menu options into your game. The new menu will be saved as part of your game files.

Help calls up this screen.

Cancel aborts, leaving your current menu settings unchanged.


The Menu box

The menu box lets you edit your menus from the screen.

It’s divided into a list of the “Titles”, ”Separators”, and “Menu options” which will appear in the finished menu..

You can edit a line by simply double clicking on it with the mouse, and typing in your text from a dialogue box..

The lines are shown in a special format.

Any letter after an & sign will be used as a short-cut. The user can now select this character with the Alt key to jump immediately to the selected item. It will be underlined in the menu.

So

&Game

&New

Will be displayed as:

Game

New

The “New”  option can be called directly  from the keyboard by pressing Alt+A+N simultaneously.

The lines are indented to show their position in the menu.

The items at the left-hand side  represent “titles”, and the ones to the far right represent the individual “menu options.

Here’s an example:

Title 1

Sub1

Item

Item

This displays a menu called “Title 1” which contains “Sub 1” as a sub-menu, “Item 1” and “Item 2” are options from this sub-menu. They’ll appear when you select “Sub 1”

You can move your items around by highlighting them with the mouse, and clicking on the Promote ( [image]) or Demote( [image]} buttons from the dialogue box.

If you’ve assigned an acceleration option from the item dialog, your chosen text will be shown to the right of the menu line.

&Game

&New	Hit F1

The lines of  minus signs-”-----” are separators. They can’t be selected by the user. They just space your menus out to make them more readable.

You can add or remove them with the Add Separator( [image]) and Delete( [image]) buttons.


Moving items around the menu

You can move your items through the menu using the following buttons:

This promotes the highlighted line one place up in the menu structure. If there are items to the right, they’ll become options in the line’s sub-menu .

This moves the highlighted menu line to the right. If it’s the rightmost item, it will become a single menu option. If there are items to the right of it, they’ll appear in the line’s sub-menu.


Setting up a Separator

These options add or remove separator lines at the current position.

“-------------------------------------”

You can add or remove spacer lines  with the Add Separator( [image]) and Delete( [image]) buttons. enters a new separator line just above the highlighted item.


Adding Items and Sub-menus

These options let you add or change the items in the game’s menu.

 Insert: enters your item in a new line above the current line.

 Edit: alters the text or control options for the selected line.

 Delete removes the current line or separator from the menu.

 Undo: reverses the previous movement or editing operation

 Redo: restores your changes back after an Undo.

The actual editing options depend on the item’s position in the menu.

Editing a menu title

If you edit an item which is used as a title, you’ll be able to enter the following options:

“Text of menu” will enter the menu’s name. The name can include a short-cut for use with the Alt key. You just add an & symbol before the initial letter. This will be underlined in the final menu.

You can now select one of two checkboxes:

“Checked” adds a tick mark to show that the menu’s normally selected. It can be removed with an “Unchecked” action from your game.

.

“Grayed” stops the menu from being selected by the user. You can toggle this from within your game using the “Enabled” and “Disabled” actions.

Editing a single menu option.

If your item is at the far right, it will be treated as a single menu option.

“Text of menu” will enter the  Item’s name. As before, the name can include an & symbol to define a short-cut key.

You can now select one of two checkboxes:

“Checked” adds a tick mark to  the item.  It can be removed with an “Unchecked” action from your game.

.

“Grayed” stops the item from being selected by the user. You can change this from within your game using the “Enabled” and “Disabled” actions.

“Accelerator” adds some text which explains how your option can be selected from the keyboard. It can be anything you wish., as it has no effect on the working of the menu.

You define accelerator option using the “Key”, “Shift”, ”Alt”, and “Control” options.

The “Key” button prompts you to hit a key, and enter the short-cut from the keyboard. You can press either a letter, number, of function key as needed.

“Shift” tells the menu to check for a shifted version of your chosen key.

“Alt” waits for the user to hold down the Alt key before pressing the short-cut.

“Control” check for a combination of the short-cut and the control key.

You can use any combination of these items in the same menu.

E.g.

Shift+Control+I


Loading,/Saving and resetting the Game Menu

The Menu dialog provides the following file options:

 Reset to default

This returns to the standard game menu containing “Game”,”Options”, and “Help” options

 Load

This enters a previously saved menu file from the disc. Menus are stored in special “gfm” files.. You’re new menu will be saved automatically along with your games.

 Save

This stores the current menu settings in a “gfm” file the disc for use with 	other games.


Instructions

The Instructions tab enables you enter to instructions that will be displayed from your games help menu.

Click the selector bar to choose the type of file you want to create. You can choose from Text Files, Write documents, and Help files.

Click the Edit button to display a standard Windows Editors to enter the text.

Click the View button to display your currently selected file on the screen. Here is a list of the available file types:

Note that these options use the current assignments for “TXT”, “WRI”, or “.HLP” files from the Windows system registry. If you’ve changed these from the defaults, your own settings will be used instead.

Text (.TXT)

This option displays the Windows Notepad so that you can enter some instructions. Load this file from a disk or enter the instructions directly into Notepad. When you save your game, the instructions will be stored on the disc in TXT (ASCII) format.

.

Write Document (.WRI)

This option will display Windows Write or Wordpad  and allow you to generate a fancy documentation for your game. You can load the file from the disc, or enter some new instructions directly into Write. If you’ve access to a spellchecker, be sure to use it!

Helpfile (.HLP)

This option let you select a standard Windows help file for use in your game. Standard help files can't be created directly from The Games Factory. You'll need a separate Help Compiler program, available commercially or as shareware. The programs are provided free with many compilers.

You can also buy special utilities which create your help files directly from a Word processor, such as Microsoft Word. That’s how we’re creating this file, in fact!


Players

The Players tab is used to set up the control options and the format of the score and lives objects in a game.

Control of each player

Click a box to assign the players to either a joystick or the keyboard.

Score

The score section is used to set the starting values of the score and define the minimum and maximum values:

Initial is used to enter the initial value for your Score object.

Minimum is the smallest possible value the score can take. It’s usually 0.

Maximum  is the largest possible score. It’s usually 9999999.

Lives

The lives section is used to set the starting values of the number of lives left and to define the minimum and maximum values.

Initial is used to enter the initial number of lives. It’s normally three.

Minimum is the lowest value a score object can have. The default value is 0.

Maximum is the largest number of lives. The default value is 9.


Exit

Choose Edit to close The Games Factory and return you to the Windows Desktop. If you've made any changes to your game, you'll be given the option to save them before you quit.


Edit

The Edit menu gives you a simple way of copying sections of your game, The Level Editor deals with objects, and lets you "Clone" your objects several times on the screen. The Storyboard version works with entire levels, and copies all the objects, actions, and events between Game levels.

The File menu consists of the following options:

Undo

Redo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Delete

Unselect

Select all

Editor Preferences

Level Set-up


Undo

The Undo command reverses actions performed during the current session. Use Undo after making a change you do not want implemented.

The Undo levels setting in the General Setup dialog box determines how many consecutive actions you can undo and redo. The default setting is 50, but you can enter any number. The number of Undo levels is only limited by your machines resources.

You cannot Undo the following operations:

Operations in the Storyboard Editor

File Operations (Open, Save, etc.)


Redo

The Redo command restores changes reversed by the Undo command. Redo becomes available immediately after you select the Undo command.


Cut

The Cut command removes the currently selected object(s) or levels(s) from the screen, and stores them in the clipboard. The object(s) can be moved to a new location using the Paste command.


Copy

The Copy command makes a copy of the highlighted object(s) or level(s), and saves them in the clipboard. The original object(s) or level(s) are unaffected. Use the Paste command to place a copy of the objects in the clipboard in a new location.


Paste

The Paste command places a copy of the object(s) currently on the Clipboard into your game. The original remains on the Clipboard until you copy or cut another object, or end the current Windows session.


Delete

The Delete command erases any currently selected object(s), level(s), or event(s) from the game.


Unselect

The Unselect command will reverse the action of highlighting a selected object.


Select All

The Select All command will highlight every object or level in the current editor. Any locked objects will be ignored.


Editor Preferences

The Editor Preferences option lets you define the settings for the editors in The Games Factory Each Editor has it's own unique customization features.

The Editor Preferences option will display a different dialog box for each of the Editor windows. There are three possibilities:

Storyboard Preferences

Level Editor Preferences

Event Editor Preferences


Storyboard Editor Preferences

The Storyboard Editor Preferences dialog box enables you to define the Storyboard settings. This screen provides the following options:

Density

The Density slider controls the size of each of the Storyboard Levels on the screen. The higher the value, the smaller the level boxes. The contents of these levels are completely unaffected by the change in size. Use this feature to increase the number of levels on the screen. It's perfect from controlling large games.

Enable the Display top bar check box to display the following title bar for the Storyboard levels:

You can turn this feature off to remove this bar from the display.

Enable the Display comments check box to display the Comments section for each level. If this check box is disabled, the comments will be removed from the screen. The comments assigned to each level will be stored in memory and can be displayed again.


Level Editor Preferences

The Level Editor Preferences dialog box enables you to alter the way your objects will be displayed by the Level Editor, and position the objects using a simple grid. The Preference dialog box is divided into two tabs:

Level Editor

Grid


Level Editor

The Level Editor tab is used to set the general display options for the Level Editor. The tab is divided into a number of sections:

Lock objects

Edit mode

Animate active objects

Create automatic icons

Show coordinates

Show objects created within a game


Lock objects

The Lock objects section is used to lock the selected objects into their existing positions. Locked objects can't be selected with the mouse, moved to a new position, or edited.


Edit Mode

Normal mode is the default setting for a Game level.

Fade In mode shows a Fade In effect assigned to a level.

Fade Out mode shows a Fade Out effect assigned to the current level.


Animate active objects

Enable the Animate Active objects check box to animate an active object whenever it's selected with the mouse. If you have problems selecting your active objects, you should disable this check box.


Create automatic icons

Enable the Create Automatic icons check box to have The Games Factory define an icon for an object, and change this icon if the object is edited. Disable this feature to draw the icon yourself.


Show coordinates

Enable the Show coordinates check box to continuously track the mouse pointer as it moves across the screen. The coordinates will be displayed in a small box on the status line.


Show objects created within a game

Enable the Show object created within a game check box to display "child objects" created by your game. As a rule, "child" objects won't be displayed in the Level Editor. You'll only see them when you run the current level. By enabling this check box, the "Parent objects” will be marked with an arrow ( [image]) icon. The pop-up menu for the object will now have an additional "Show Children" option.


Grid

The Grid tab provides controlled way of moving objects around the Playfield. A grid is an easy way to position an object in a single cell. If you try to move them somewhere else, they'll automatically jump back to the nearest grid line. Each cell is indicated by a single dot in the grid.

Before using these grids, you may find it helpful to set the hot-spot of your images to the top left corner of your objects. If you're positioning many types of objects, all with different hot-spots, things can start to get complicated.

Enable the Snap to check box to activate the grid.

Enable the Show grid check box to display the grid in the Level Editor.

The Origin section defines the starting point for all the coordinates used by the grid. This origin is normally set to the top left corner of the play area. You can change the origin to a specific position. For example, supposing you wanted to place some blocks two pixels in from the left of the play area. You could do this by moving the origin to 2,0.

Selected object coordinates

If you've selected an object on the play area, click the Select object coordinates button to center the origin on the objects current coordinates.

The Square size section is used to set the size of the cells in the grid. By default, each cell is exactly 40 points wide by 40 points high. Change these dimensions by entering new values for the width and height of each cell.

Selected object dimensions

If you've selected an object on the play area, click the Selected object dimensions button to generate the dimensions of the grid cells from the size of the selected object.

Colour

If your having difficulty seeing the grid on the play area, click a colour in the colour palette to change the grid colour.


Event Editor Preferences

The Event Editor Preferences dialog box enables you to define the Event Editor settings. The Event Editor Preferences dialog box is divided into four tabs:

Display sets the general appearance of the Event grid.

Events rearranges the events on the display.

Objects changes the way objects are shown in the Events.

Run defines how your levels will be executed.


Display

The Display tab is used to change the appearance of your Events and Conditions.

Checkmark display

The Checkmark display section is used to change the appearance of the Actions marker used in the Event Grid. You can replace this marker with any object you like.

Click the Edit button to draw the new marker in the Icon Editor. Here a few examples:

The new markers will be saved when you leave The Games Factory.

Here’s how this might look:

Enable the Stretch to display check box, to enlarge the size of the Action marker as the grid boxes become larger. The Action marker will be stretched to fit in the grid box:

Number of Events on the screen

Use the slider to increase or decrease the number of Event boxes displayed on the screen. Sliding the pointer to the left increases the size of the event boxes and object icons. Sliding the pointer the right, reduces the size of the event boxes.


Events

The Events tab changes the way the event boxes are arranged on the screen.

Enable the Show empty events from the Step Through Editor check box to display an event, even if you haven't assigned any events or actions to it.

Enable the Alphabetically sort events check box to list your events in order from A to Z. The events are sorted according to the first letter of the first condition.

Enable the Create Default Events for new objects check box to have The Games Factory automatically generate standard events for each object in your game. For example, a ball object will be automatically set to bounce against walls, and a spaceship will be tested to see if it’s reached the edge of the screen. Although you can change these automatic events in the Event Editor, you my prefer to start from scratch when you’re creating a game. If so, disable this check box.


Objects

The Objects tab is used to change the way your objects will be displayed in the Event boxes.

Enable the Object's Icon check box to place a picture of your objects Icon in the condition boxes.

Enable the Object's Text check box to place a text description of your object in the condition list.

It is possible to enable both check boxes to display both the picture and the text.


Run

The Run tab is used to change the way your games will be run.

Run Level with fades In/Out

Enable this check box if you’ve defined a Fade effect for the current level. When you run your game, you will be able to view the fade effect.


Level Setup

The Level Setup dialog box is used to customize your game levels.

It’s split into two panels:

Options

Palette


Options

Enter the Title of the current level in the title box. This title will appear in the top line of the window when your game is run.

Enter the Password for the current level in the Password box. Each level can have its own individual password. When the player finally reaches level 99 of your space adventure game, they can make note of the password and jump straight in at level 100 the next time they play!

Play area size

The size of the play area doesn't need to be 640 by 480 pixels. It can be anything you like! Enter new values for the width and height of your play area in the boxes provided. It's easiest to set the level size before you start designing the level, especially if you're intending to reduce the size.

Click the Background button to change the background colour of your game. The background colour, is the colour which will be displayed if there are no The Games Factory objects or backdrops over the screen. The default colour is white, but you can use any colour you like. Click a new colour in the colour palette.

Enable the Display this title during the game check box to tell The Games Factory to display your chosen game name in the Window's Title line.

Enable Grab Desktop at start to make an exact copy of your Windows desktop, and use it as the background for your game. This feature is great for creating screen savers, you'll be able to make it appear that your objects are moving over Windows desktop.

Enable the Keep Display from previous level check box if you've added Fade Games to your level.

Enable the Handle Background collisions even in invisible Playfield check box to test for collisions between all objects on the Playfield, even if they are not visible on the screen. Use this option if you're scrolling an extra large Playfield through the game window. Since there are more collisions to test, this feature naturally requires extra memory.


Palette

The Palette tab is used to load a new colour scheme for use in your game. The available colours will be displayed in the large area to the left of the display.

Click Load to pick your new colour scheme from a picture or an animation file. The acceptable file formats include: “.BMP”, ”.PCX”, ”.DIB”, ”.RLE”, ”.IFF”, or “.LBM”, “.FLI” or “.FLC”.


Objects

The Objects menu affects all the objects in your game, and changes the way they will be saved, loaded, and displayed by the Level Editor. The Objects menu consists of the following options:

Show objects

Hide objects

Pick objects from a game

Save game as a library


Show objects

Show objects is used to change the Object selector used to display your Level Objects

In a Moveable Window displays the Objects in a standard window, which can be moved around, and re-sized as required.

In a Fixed Window creates a shelf for your objects to the left of the Level Editor Window. You can scroll through the objects using the arrow icons.


Hide objects

Hide objects removes the Objects from the display. You can restore the objects using Objects, Show Objects, in a Moveable Window, or In a Fixed Window.


Pick objects from a game

Pick objects from a game is used to choose objects from another GF game for use in your current game. When this option is selected, the chosen game objects will be loaded into the Object Shelf, ready for use.


Save game as a library

Save game as a library is used to save the objects you have created into a new library.

Enter the Filename for the new library into the Filename box. Use standard eight characters with a ".gam" extension. Without this extension The Games Factory will fail to recognize the library.

Use the Directories box to enter the directory where your library will be stored. The Games Factory will automatically choose to save your library in the "Libs" directory on your hard drive.

The Library description will appear in the help boxes when you move over the new library in the Editor. It's important to make this as clear as possible so that other users will understand what is contained in your new library!


Window

The Window menu enables you to arrange your Editor windows on the screen. The menu consists of the following options:

Cascade

Tile

Arrange

Storyboard Editor

Level Editor

Event Editor


Cascade

Cascade arranges the open Storyboard editor, Level Editor, and Event Editor in layers so that you can see each title bar. You can activate an Editor by clicking its title bar. The Games Factory arranges minimized games at the bottom of the window.


Tile

Tile arranges the open Storyboard editor, Level Editor, Event editor horizontally in equal sized rectangles to fit in the  window. The Games Factory arranges minimized games at the bottom of the window.


Arrange

Arrange arranges the open Storyboard editor, Level Editor, Event editor, and Time Line Editor so that all open games can be viewed at the same time. The Games Factory arranges minimized games at the bottom of the window.


Storyboard Editor

The Storyboard Editor option opens the Storyboard Editor Screen and selects it for use. You can now add new levels, animations, or pictures to your game.


Level Editor

The Level Editor option opens the Level Editor and selects it for use. You can reposition your objects and change their movement settings.


Event Editor

The Event Editor option opens the Event Editor Window and selects it for use. You can set up the Events, Conditions, and Actions for your game.


Run

The Run menu lets you run the game, the current level, or access the Step Through Editor. The available options include:

Run Game

Run Level

Restart

Step Through

Play


Run Game

Run game runs the entire game from beginning to end. The game is displayed in it’s own window on the desktop. You can exit the game by pressing ALT + F4.


Run Level

Run Level runs the level you are currently editing. The level is tested directly in the Level Editor window. You can pause the level at any time by pressing the Pause icon. ( [image]) or restart the game using the Restart icon ( [image]).


Restart

Choose the Restart option to restart running the Level or game from the beginning.


Step Through

Choose the Step Through option to open the Step Through Editor and start testing the events in your game.


Play

Choose the Play option to run your level.


Help

The Help menu provides you with a complete User Guide for The Games Factory. The Help menu consists of the following options:

General

Editors

Using Objects

Object Types

Actions, Conditions, and Functions

Using Help

Technical support


General

The General help section provides you with a complete introduction to The Games Factory, along with some quick help about the Editors, Menus, and Icons.


Editors

The Editors section explains in detail everything you need to know about the Storyboard Editor, the Level Editor, the Event Editor, and the Step Through Editor.


Using Objects

This section explains the object’s various menus and preference settings.


Object types

The Object types section describes the various object types you can add to your Game levels, and explains how they can be used to create practical games.


Actions, Conditions, and Functions

The Actions, Conditions, and Functions section gives you a detailed explanation of the various actions, conditions, and functions you can use in your Game levels.


Using Help

Using Help gives a quick tutorial on the Windows help system and tells you how the Help and table of contents windows work. It’s perfect for new Windows users.


Technical support

This gives details of how the contact you local supplier for additional help.


The Game menus

Your GF games are run in a standard window on the Desktop. This window can be moved and resized to your precise requirements.

As a default, your game will have the following menu options.

Game is used to start and pause the game. It’s also the home of the Players option which sets up the control features.

Options is used to remove the menu line and turns the sound effects on or off.

Help displays a credit screen and accesses any instructions that you’ve created.

You can change this using the “Edit menu” option from the “Game Setup” screen, and read the user’s selections from your game.

You can also remove  the menu completely from the game.


Game

The Game menu contains the following options:

New

Password

Pause

Players

Quit


New F2

New reruns the Level from the start.


Password

Password is used to enters an optional password to jump to a new level. This option is only available if you’ve previously entered a password in the Level Setup dialog box or the Storyboard Editor.


Pause CTRL + P

Pause pauses the game for a short while.:

Click Continue to resume running the game.


Players CTRL + Y

Choose the Players option to display the following dialog box. Use this dialog box to define the control system used by each player. Each player can be assigned either to a joystick (if there's two), or the keyboard.

Click a box to change the settings.


Quit Alt+F4

Choose Quit to return to The Games Factory or the Windows Desktop (as appropriate).


Options

The Options menu contains the following three options:

Play samples

Play Music

Hide the menu


Play Samples CTRL + S

Play Samples turns the sampled sounds on or off for the current game.


Play Music CTRL + M

Play Music toggles the music on or off for your game.


Hide the Menu F8

Hides the menu hides the menu line from the screen. You can now call up the options using the keyboard short-cuts.


Help

The Help menu displays any instructions credits you’ve entered and displays the credit screen.

There are just two options

How to use

About


How to use F1

How to use displays an optional help file created by the author of the program.


About

About displays a credit box recognizing the creator of the product.


Playing games

This section describes many of the common tasks you’ll need to perform when you are running a game.

See:

Starting a new game

Stopping a game

Leaving the game

Removing a game from the screen

Reading the game instructions.

Toggling the sound effects


Starting a new game

You can abort the current game, and start a new one by either selecting New game from the Game menu, or pressing F2 on the keyboard.


Stopping a game

If you want to leave the current game, you can exit at any time using either the Quit option from the Game menu, or by pressing ALT + F4.


Leaving the game

You can leave the game at any time by pressing ALT + F4 or selecting Quit from the Game menu.


Removing a game from the screen

Most GF games have a panic key (F5) assigned to them. Press F5 to remove the game from the screen, and return to the Windows desktop. You can now do some serious work, or at least look busy when the boss walks in!! When the boss is gone, press F5 again and continue with your game.


Reading the game instructions

Many games have instructions and credit screens. These can be accessed from the Help menu or by pressing F1.


Toggling the sound effects

The sound effects can be turned on or off during the game. The Options menu let you toggle either the sampled sound or the music. If an option is turned on, you'll see a tick to the left of the item.


Tips & tricks

This section provides a quick starting point for your The Games Factory adventure.

Click on an option below:

Ten useful Facts

Handy Hints

A Quick Guide to Creating


Ten useful Facts

Click below to learn:

Ten useful facts about The Games Factory Games

Ten useful facts about Storyboards

Ten useful facts about the Storyboard Editor

Ten useful facts about the Level Editor

Ten useful facts about Objects

Ten useful facts about the Event Editor

Ten useful facts about Actions and Events

Ten useful facts about the Step Though Editor

Ten useful facts about the Animation Editor


Ten useful facts about The Games Factory Games

1.	GF games can be stored in .gam" files for use with The Games Factory.

2.	GF games can be saved in Stand-alone format. This allows a user to run your game directly from the Windows Desktop, even if the user doesn’t have The Games Factory.

3.	GF games can be saved as a Windows screen saver.

4.	GF games can have any combination of multimedia effects, still pictures, or FLI animations. They can even run separate GF games from the disc. Your Game levels can include fast animation, text, Video for Windows and QuickTime movies, CD music or sampled sound effects.

5.	GF games can be produced in a matter of minutes using a range of simple menu options. You don't need to know a thing about programming.

6.	GF games can have their own color scheme or display options.

7.	GF games can play sound or directly from the CD.

8.	GF games can have their own instructions and credit screens.

9.	GF games use a fast screen driver for maximum speed. You can also use the latest WinG system.

10.	The Games Factory is perfect for screen savers, and great games!


Ten useful facts about Storyboards

1.	Each game is composed of a number of different sections or levels. These levels are created using the Storyboard Editor and will be saved as part of your game file.

2.	There are four different types of Storyboard levels:

Game levels contain objects, actions, and events. Game levels are created in the Level Editor and the Event Editor.

Picture levels hold still pictures for use in slide-shows.

Animation levels display FLI or FLC animation files from the disc.

Game file levels run separate GF games.

3.	Each level has a “thumbnail” which shows a snapshot of the Game level, picture, or animation.

4.	To edit a level, click the level number with the left mouse button to jump to the Level Editor.

5.	Each type of level has its own pop-up menu. Display the pop-up menu by clicking the thumbnail with the right mouse button.

6.	Levels can be added, deleted, or copied or pasted using options from the Storyboard. Add a new levels clicking the Create New level icon in the Storyboard Editor. Delete level by highlighting a level and pressing the DELETE key. You can copy levels to a new position using the Cut, Copy and Paste icons from the Toolbar.

7.	When your game is run, the Storyboard jumps to the first level in your sequence. It then runs through the levels from the top of the list to the bottom. You can change the order directly form your game.

8.	You can move between levels using a smooth transition effect or Fade. There are two possible fades types to choose from:

A Fade in is called when the level begins. It starts with a blank screen of the selected color, and gradually fades to the game level.

A Fade out is called when the level ends. It changes from the current screen to either the next picture, or a chosen background color.

9.	You can jump to a level from a game’s menu using a hidden password. Enter a password by clicking the Password line in the Storyboard level and entering the code. To jump to the specified level in your game, click Game, Password.

10.	Picture or animation levels can have an optional soundtrack. Click the Note icon ( [image]) in the Storyboard Picture or Animation Level to add the music


Ten useful facts about the Storyboard Editor

1.	The Storyboard Editor divides your game into separate sections known as Levels.

2.	Each level is displayed as a single line in the Storyboard.

3.	Each level can hold either objects, a still picture an FLI animation, or another GF game.

4.	Each level has an identification number. The levels are numbered starting at the number one starting from one.

5.	Each level shows a preview of its contents in a Thumbnail box.

6.	Click the Thumbnail with the right mouse button to display a menu with the current level options.

7.	Each level has a range of control icons. These icons can be found to the right of the Thumbnail. Click the icons to enter your options.

8.	To edit a level, click the level number to jump to the Level Editor.

9.	You can create a new level by clicking the "More." box with the right mouse button or clicking the Create New level icon ( [image]).

10.	Click the Preferences icon ( [image]) to change the size of the Storyboard level boxes on the screen.


Ten useful facts about the Level Editor

1.	The Level Editor is used to add the objects to a Game level and enter the control options for each object.

2.	The white screen area is called the Playfield. It provides a background for your games.

3.	The gray section provides an invisible holding area for your objects. When your objects move off the Playfield, they are held in the holding area.

4.	The Object selector is found to the left of the Playfield. It contains a list of objects that can be added to your games. Each object is represented by small icon. The object selector can be displayed in a resizable window by clicking Objects, Show objects, in a Moveable window.

5.	To add an object to your game. click the object icon in the object selector and click the Playfield. If you click the Playfield with the left mouse button, you'll add a single copy of the object. If you use the right mouse button, you can add several copies of the same object. Each copy of your object will have exactly the same control options.

6.	The Library menu lets you load your objects from one of The Games Factory's CD libraries. There are hundreds of objects to choose from. You can return to your current Level objects by choosing the Level objects option in the libraries menu.

7.	You can create your own libraries by clicking Object, Save game as library.

8.	You can create new objects by clicking the Create new object icon in the Toolbar. Each new object will be added to the Object Selector for future use.

9.	Click an object with the right mouse button to display a pop-up menu containing the control options.

10.	In the Level Editor Preferences menu, you can create a grid to help you position your objects.


Ten useful facts about Objects

1.	Objects are created in the Level Editor. They create the building blocks for your multimedia games. To display the Level Editor, click a Storyboard level number.

2.	There are many different types of Objects available for use in your GF games. Each type of object will have its own set of actions, events, and attributes. Typical examples of objects are Active objects, Text objects, Backdrop objects, Counter objects, or Video for Windows objects.

3.	Objects are controlled using attributes:

Fixed attributes can not be changed in a game. They are used to set up an object's movement system and display style. You can call up a menu of the available settings by selecting an object with the right mouse button.

Alterable attributes can be modified using an action in your game. Alterable attributes include things like the position, speed, or direction of an object. Enter these actions using the Event or Step Through Editors.

4.	Each object has its own name and an icon. You can edit the name and icon using the Icon Editor.

5.	Add a new object by clicking the Create New object icon in the Level Editor.

6.	To clone an object, click the object icon in the Object selector and drop it on the Playfield. Clone objects share the same name, and the same set of actions and events. But they can they have different positions and alterable attributes.

7.	The object settings will be automatically saved with your game. All the objects will be saved exactly as they appear in the Level Editor.

8.	Objects can be tested and edited in groups. Each group represents a particular type of object in your game. In a game, you might have one group for the various bricks, and another for the balls. All objects in a group must be of the same general type.

9.	Global objects remain in use for the duration of your game.

10.	Local objects are created at the start of each Game level, and will be destroyed when that level is finished.


Ten useful facts about the Event Editor

1.	The Event Editor enables you to control the objects in a Game level using a range of actions, events, and conditions.

2.	The numbered rows enter the Events and Conditions. To add a new Event, click the New icon, or click an Event number with the right mouse button and choose Insert, A new event from the pop-up menu.

3.	The Action or grid boxes are used to enter your actions. Each column represents a particular type of action in your game. Add a new action by clicking a grid box and displaying the Action editor.

4.	Move the mouse pointer over an Action marker to display a list of the current actions.

5.	Copy actions by dragging the Action marker to a new position.

6.	Event rows can be split into Groups and reduced to a single line in the Event Editor.

7.	Event rows can include comments to make your games more readable.

8.	Event rows can be selected with the mouse, and copied to a new position, or saved into memory and pasted into a completely different game.

9.	Display all the actions for a specific object by clicking the icon for that object.

10.	Click the Preferences icon in the Event Editor to adjust the size of the Events and Action boxes.


Ten useful facts about Actions and Events

1.	Actions are used to do things, like playing a sound, moving an object, or loading a video window.

2.	Events perform tests and allow your games to react.

3.	Each event can be composed of a number of different conditions. Each condition tests for a single possibility.

4.	There are three ways to add Events and Actions

5.	The Step Through Editor tests your level for all possible events, and enables you to add actions from the screen.

6.	Enter Events and Actions directly in to the Event Editor.

7.	Actions and events will be saved automatically with your game.

8.	There are several types of actions to choose from including Sound actions, Special actions, Storyboard actions, Mouse & Keyboard actions, Create a new object actions, Player actions, and Object actions. Each object type has its own unique set of actions, and will be represented by a separate icon in the Editors.

9.	There are several types of Conditions. Special conditions perform general comparisons. Storyboard controls test for the end of the current level. Timer conditions trigger an action after a set amount of time. Mouse and Keyboard conditions test the position of the mouse, or enter a command from the keyboard. Sound conditions report whether there's some sound or music playing. Player conditions test for the player's score or lives, and read the joystick. Object conditions test for collisions, movements or video settings.

10.	Events can be collected together in groups and copied between games. The Event Editor lets you divide each level into a number of different groups. These groups can contain any combination of events and actions. These events can be cut, copied, and pasted as a group. Event groups can be either Local or Global. Local groups only be available for the current Game level. Global groups will be available for the duration of the Multimedia game.


Ten useful facts about the Step Though Editor

1.	The Step Through Editor lets you add actions and events to your Game levels as they are needed.

2.	Click the Clipboard icon ( [image]) in the toolbar to access the Step Through Editor.

3.	The Step Through Editor starts your object's moving and stops the game when something interesting happens.

4.	At the top of the Step through Editor dialog box, the event is displayed:

5.	The large icons in the center of the Step through Editor dialog box represent a particular type of action in your game. Click the icon with the mouse and choose an action from the pop-up menu.

6.	Each new action will be displayed in the Action box as follows:

7.	Delete an action by clicking it with the right mouse button and choosing Delete from the pop-up menu.

8.	Each new action and event will be saved in an Event list for future editing. You can change the actions and events in the Step Through Editor or the Event Editor.

9.	Scroll through the icons in the Step through Editor dialog box using the scroll bar below the icons.

10.	Exit the Step Through Editor by clicking the Pause icon ( [image]) on the Toolbar.


Ten useful facts about the Animation Editor

1.	The Animation Editor lets you assign an Animation sequence to an Active object.

2.	Animations are stored as a list of pictures or animation frames. These frames are played back in rapid succession to generate a smooth animation sequence.

3.	To edit an animation frame, double click the specific frame and edit the image using the Picture  Editor.

4.	To display the animation frame options, click a frame with the right mouse button. The options include Resize-Zoom, Rotate, and Morphing.

5.	Each Active object can have up to sixteen different Animation types.

6.	Some animation types are triggered automatically by The Games Factory. "Appearing” is used when an object is first created. "Disappearing” is triggered when an object is destroyed. "Shooting" is used when you fire an object using the Shoot action. Other animation types can be displayed as you need them using the Change Animation action.

7.	Each object can be displayed in up to 32 directions. The Games Factory will choose the correct animation whenever you change the direction of an object on the screen. Enter the number of angles using the Direction buttons in the Animation Editor. Click the Rotate icon ( [image]) to generate all the possible direction animations.

8.	Change the size of your object using a smooth animation sequence. Create the first frame and click the Resize-Zoom option. This lets you shrink your objects into the distance, expand them out of nowhere, or distort them in a specified direction.

9.	You can generate a "Morphing" effect between any two pictures in your animation. Morphing takes two pictures and generates the images "in between" them. When the effect is played back, the first picture seems to melt into the second. Use the Morphing Editor to enter a morphing sequence. Place a source and a destination picture into the Animation editor and click the first image with the right mouse button. Choose Morphing from the pop-up menu.

10.	Click OK to assign an animation to your object or click Cancel to return to the previous version.


Handy Hints

1.	Make frequent backups of your game on different discs. This is a vital safeguard against mistakes.

2.	Start your games simple, and add in new features later.

3.	Run the demo games for ideas of the available effects. It's called research!

4.	Send in your registration card to be informed of the latest developments.

5.	Create your graphics in a separate drawing package, like CorelDRAW, and import them into The Games Factory.

6.	The Games Factory includes a powerful Tile scrolling system, that lets you move vast landscapes through your game window. You can create these landscapes out of backdrop objects. Each backdrop is only stored in memory ONCE, no matter how many times it appears. So you can re-use it as many times as you like, without using any additional memory.

7.	Enable the Wipe with color check box in the object Preferences dialog box to leaves a trail of color as your object moves across the screen.

8.	Add Comments to explain how your game works to other users.

9.	Use the Change name and Icon option to assign meaningful names to your objects. It's better to have a counter called Height than Counter 37 and an object named Killer Fish is more fun than the boring Active Object 9.

10.	Make transparent Windows or holes in your objects by using the Transparent color.

11.	Using a scanner, scan photographs of your family and friends for use in your games.

12.	If you have a sound card, use a microphone to create your own sound samples. It's great fun!

13.	If you've got a fast computer, enable the Machine Independent check box in the Game Setup dialog box. This will ensure that your game runs at an acceptable speed on practically any computer.


A Quick Guide to Creating

Click below for useful tips about:

Creating a Game

Creating a Screen Saver

Creating a Slide-Show


Creating a Game

1.	Decide on the general type of your game. Will it be an adventure, a shoot-em-up, a platform game, a racing car game, a bouncing ball game, or something completely new?

2.	Think carefully about what's going to happen in your game. What types of objects will you need? What does the player do? How will the scoring system work? It's worth spending time thinking about these questions as they're essential for creating a playable game.

3.	Start by creating the first level in the Level Editor.

4.	You can always add title screens and more levels later in the development process.

5.	Create some objects for your game. You can take these objects from a variety of sources. You might want to draw them using your favorite graphics package, or copy them from a photograph using a scanner. However, your first resource should always be The Games Factory CD libraries.

6.	Position the objects on the Playfield at their starting positions. If they need to appear during the game, place them on the gray holding area.

7.	If your objects move, choose a movement system. Click the object with the right mouse button and choose Movement, Select Movement from the pop-up menu. Choose an appropriate movement setting from the Movement dialog box.

8.	If your object is a backdrop, you may want to define it as a ladder, and obstacle, or a platform. This will tell the other objects how the obstacle is to be treated in your game.

9.	Save the game and test it using Step Through Editor.

10.	Edit and check the current events in the Event Editor.

11.	The Step Through Editor will only detect events as they happen. There may be some events that have not yet been detected. Add these events in the Event Editor.

12.	Repeat this procedure for each level in your game. When you've finished, add in some title screens and credits.

That's it!


Creating a Screen Saver

1.	Create a game using The Games Factory. This game can include banners, sampled sound effects, or scanned pictures of your family and friends.

2.	If you want your screen saver to move objects over the desktop, click Edit, Level Setup. Click the Options tab and enable the Grab desktop at start check box.

3.	If you want to include a password, add this into the Password line in the Storyboard Editor. Each level can have a different password.

4.	Save your game using the Save Screen Saver option in the File menu. Type a description for your screen saver in the Filename box. This name will appear in the screen saver menu in windows.

5.	Run you screen saver from the Windows control panel.

That's it!


Creating a Slide-Show

1.	First, find some pictures or Autodesk animation sequences for your show.

2.	Enter The Games Factory, and click the Thumbnail to highlight the level. Press the DELETE key to remove the first Game level. It won't be needed for your slide show!

3.	Click the "More." box with the right mouse button and use the following icons to add Picture and FLI animation levels.

 adds a Picture

 adds an FLI animation effect

4.	If you want to add a sound track, click the Notes icon ( [image]) to enter the name and path of the sound file. You can use "Midi" compatible files.

5.	If you want to control the show using the mouse, click the left or right Mouse icons ( [image]) to choose your actions.

6.	Test your show by clicking the Run game icon ( [image]) from the Toolbar.

7.	If you want to play the show from The Games Factory, click the Save icon ( [image]).

8.	If you want to save your game as a Windows Screen Saver, use the Save as Screen-saver option in the File menu.

9.	If you want to distribute your slide show, save the game using the Save Stand-alone option in the File menu, and enable the Save with Installer check box.

That's it!