How to: Previous Costume
Many people have been asking the Scratch Team to create a previous costume block or drop-down menu option but they have not created it. Why? Because it can be solved using just two additional blocks.
Just do this:
If you can not read it because you translated the page or due to other reasons, it is [switch costume to (costume # - 1)].
Thanks to @DadOfMrLog for discovering/publicizing the method!
Hope that was helpful, thanks for reading and scratch on!
—Stang
Things We Can Learn From: Fantage
One of my favorite things about Fantage is that the game designers discovered a way to get around animating legs; they used hover-boards. This saves time, effort and adds a unique twist to the game. (I'm pretty lazy haha.)
I like the social aspect of the game; most people get really into Fantage because they can talk to friends and meet people.
However, it takes forever to earn money and everything is expensive. Honestly people just ended up buying money (with real money, which is great for the company but most likely won't attract new players). They left out the "fun" factor in collecting items. Some may say that it is enjoyable because you play mini-games to earn money but after the 20th round I just can't bear it.
They can solve this by either making games give you more money, lowering item prices or creating new "stores" that sell new objects for a cheaper price so beginners can buy small things before they get really into the game and decide to put in the effort to buy expensive things.
Imagine playing Connect Four twenty times in a row with a computer. Not fun.
Another thing is that non-members can barely do anything. This, like how money is hard to earn, may discourage new players. Non-members are actually very important in social games; they may invite their friends to play who may buy the membership and therefore help the company earn money. This part isn't for Scratch games, however, since you can't earn money.
To wrap up this post, the main lessons your can learn and apply to your games are:
- Find cool ways to get around animating legs. (For lazy people like me haha, plus it reduces lag.)
- Social aspects of games are very important.
- Don't forget about the fun factor! Make sure goals aren't too hard or easy to reach.
If you have anything additional to say about Fantage, feel free to comment below! I only played Fantage for roughly a week so I didn't cover everything.
Thanks for reading, scratch on!
—Stang
Make Free GIFs, No Watermark
Numerous GIF creating websites leave a distasteful watermark in the corner and many programs that don't leave one may cost money.
I found a great website for making GIFs for free without a watermark! It's called GIF Creator. Click here to go to it.
Also, the program LiceCap can turn short recordings into GIFs which is very useful for game previews, as seen on the Games page of this website. Click here for a website to download it from.
Both programs are very useful. For example, if you want to make post-recording modifications to your LiceCap GIF, you can insert it into GIF Creator and edit it there.
—Stang
Intro to Javascript
Welcome to the first lesson of Javascript! Today you'll learn how to draw shapes.
Don't know what Javascript is? Read this first.
Below are a list of shapes and the code for them. The things inside the parenthesis are represented by letters. Here's what they mean:
- x = x coordinate of center
- x1, x2, x3 = multiple x coordinates of points
- y = y coordinate of center
- y1, y2, y3 = multiple y coordinates of points
- w = width
- h = height
rect(x, y, w, h);
Ellipse
rect(x, y, w, h);
Tirangle
triangle(x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3);
Line
line(x1, y1, x2, y2);
Point
point(x, y);
Arc (start and stop are the angle measures of the start and end of the line)
arc(x, y, w, h, start, stop);
Bezier (see explanation below)
bezier(x1, y1, cx1, cy1, cx2, cy2, x2, y2);
A bezier is one of the most complex shapes so here's some explanations.
The bezier is the curved shape below. It is like an arc but it isn't always in a circular shape. I added in some lines to help you visualize what the variables mean; "x1 and y1" are the start points of the line; "x2 and y2" are the endpoints; "cx1 and cy1" determine how slanted the curve will be (it basically controls the area boxed in the image below); "cx2 and cy2" determine the sharpness of the arc.
Quadrilateral
quad(x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3, x4, y4)
Go here to test out your skills! (Remember to substitute numbers for the variables.)
Click here for the first Java post. (Including my first "game" in Java.) See future lessons on the Series page.
I hope that was helpful! In the nest lesson I will teach you animation. Scratch on!
~ScratchStang
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