Dev Logs
Phaser Backers Code Bundle - August 2019
Greetings wonderful backers!
Here we are with another exclusive bundle of Phaser goodies for you. This month the focus is mostly on Spine, the bone-based IK system from Esoteric Software. I've been working on the Spine plugin for Phaser 3 for a few weeks now and, truth be told, it turned out to be far more complex than expected. Even so, I'm very happy with the end results and you'll find the latest version of the plugin, along with exclusive examples, in this months bundle, which also contains:
* Sprite Sheet and Atlas Frame Explorers. I had a need to visually be able to select a frame from an atlas and find out what it's frame name was. Rather than pour through the JSON file, I built a little tool to do it and it turned out to be really quite handy. So, then I built one for inspecting Sprite Sheets too :)
* Spine Examples. To go with the latest version of the plugin here are 9 different examples for you. They start with the basics, such as changing animation, skins and slot attachments, and then progress into more complex territory such as bone movement and aiming, vertex effects and color controls. You'll also find an example called 'Commando' where you can run around shooting (trying running while shooting up too!). This is a handy example of combining Spine with Arcade Physics and keyboard controls - and honestly, it feels ripe for evolving into a full game.
* Phaser 3.19 includes lots of enhancements to the Tween system, including the ability to create powerful new Stagger effects. You'll find two examples showcasing this. Personally, I really love just clicking through the 'grid stagger' example and seeing what effects it comes up with :)
* I've also included an example showing one method for dragging a sprite along a path. You can tweak the values to achieve different results but hopefully it will help some out.
* Last, but by no means least, is Snowmen Attack! Because it's the middle of one of the hottest summers on record here, so what better than a snowball fight? :) Based on the arcade classic Tapper, move the penguin up and down, throwing snowballs to knock-back the attacking snowmen before they reach, or shoot, your eggs. This is another complete game, full of animation, audio and special effects. As before, hopefully all of you enjoy playing it, but perhaps the more beginner level of you will benefit from the way in which I structure the project and handle scene progression.
Download the attached zip file, unzip it somewhere either in an existing web root (should you have something like WAMP or MAMP installed), or you can use 'npm install' followed by 'npm run start' to boot-up the included http-server and browse to the August folder of goodies. Note that, as usual, most examples require Phaser 3.19 Beta 1, which is included in the zip, but just remember this should you try and use the code in your own projects.
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who is here, supporting Phaser. I'm going to be away for a couple of weeks on a well-earned vacation (where I'm hoping for sun, not snowballs) but when I return my focus will be on planning out Phaser 4 development and releasing 3.19 (if I don't manage to do so before I leave). If you're taking some time away soon then I hope you have a great time too - and I'll see you all again later on in August.