Let’s Make Character Animations Easy!

I’m going to be upfront and say that I do not like using the move route when making character animations. There are luckily scripts out there to bypass this (Galv’s move route extras is a must-have for those who like using scripts), but this tutorial is for those who hate using scripts or just want to have a bit of practice on other ways to make animations.

 

For this tutorial, I will be using the animated volcano made by Charlesthehurst. Make sure you put a $ before the name.

The Stepping Animation

 

This one is very simple. All you need to do is in the options menu, change it to stepping animation.

 

 

You can also choose the stepping animation in the autonomous movement section as well.

 

 

Then you should be able the click the Move Route… button under the drop down menu.

In there, click stepping animation on and repeat action.

 

You can also click Skip if cannot move, which will just ignore the action if it cannot be performed. This will keep the game from freezing typically.

 

Self Switch Method

 

Sometimes you can’t use the stepping animation. This method gives a little more control and you can change the speed of the animation, but it also means doing a little more work if you have an object you want to interact with. There are a few ways to go about this, but I will keep it simple and use the two easiest methods.

 

On the first event page, pick the first animation frame. Next, you need to have it set for a parallel process. I then chose wait 5 frames. This makes it a little faster than the stepping method, but it isn’t too fast. You can change it to what you like. Then, have it say self switch A is on.

 

 

The next event page, in the conditions, make sure that self switch A is on. This event page will look just like the first one with the next animation frame. This time however, you will have Self Switch A = off and Self Switch B = on.

 

 

The third event page will have the final animation frame and Self Switch B = off.

 

 

Now we have our animated volcano up and running!

 

To make it so we can interact with it, there are two methods I am going to show. The first one is very simple. Just make an event and have it set to below characters and the trigger be action button. Put it right next to the animation.

 

 

The second method is to use the event location.

 

First make the event we made above and have the trigger be same as characters.

Then, make another event anywhere on the map. Set that to autorun.

Go to tab 2 of the event commands and click on Event Location.

 

Change the destination to be right on top of the animated character.

 

Now, click okay and when you’re back to your event page, make a self switch A = on. Then make a new event page where the condition has Self switch A is on. This is just so the autorun stops.

 

 

Variable Animation Method

 

The self switch method is my favorite personally, but there are times that we have more animations than self switches. In order to solve this, we will use the variable animation method. This will be set up just like the self switch method, but instead, you will use a variable.  This is how it should look:

 

As a reminder, make sure you set the variable back to 0 on the last frame.

With this method, you will be able to have as many animation frames as you’d like. The downside is that it uses up a variable spot for each event animation on the map.

 

And that is my small and easy tutorial on different ways to make character animations.

 

[REQUEST] Tutorials on Doors

Requested by DonBab here.

 

I was going to just show one way of making a better animated door, but that isn’t as fun, so I will show a few things you can do with the doors.

 

Simple door animation

his one is a very simple setup and is good if you do not want to use the move route function and want to have better control on the door animation. For example, in a horror game, you could have it that the door gets jammed half way and you need to use an item to get the door unstuck.

 

For this door, we are going to focus on this area:

I am not wanting my slimey to get stuck while the animation plays, and I also want to be able to have the option to close the door. For this, you can have fun with the conditional branches and buttons and have your player press a certain button to enter the door or else they just go through. However, in this tutorial, I am just going to use the show choice option to make it easier.

 

Create your first event and select the door graphic you want. The first page is really simple. All you need to do is have it set to same as characters and the sound effect you want. Then under that, select self switch A is on.

 

The next page, you are going to select the next animation frame for the door. Set the trigger to parallel process and the wait time. I chose 3 frames, but you can set it to how fast or slow you want it. I would recommend 3-5 frames, unless you’re making a slow and creaky door. Then, select self switch B is on.

 

The third page is just like the second one except with self switch C being turned on.

 

 

The fourth page is going to have the last animation frame and it will be set back to the action button. Make sure the direction fix is on and the waling anim. is off. This is to keep the event from looking strange.

 

Now, I want the option to close the door or enter it. The easiest way to do this is through the show choice option. In the close door option, you will turn each switch off with the wait command you picked when opening the door. Make sure you add the close sound effect too.

In the enter option, just click transfer player.

 

 

And that is how you make a simple door animation without the move route.

 

Variable door animation

This one is like the door animation above, but with variables. This is good if you want to close the door on the other side of the room too.

For this tutorial, we will be focusing on this section:

 

The steps are exactly the same as the one above, but where it says selfswitch, you will replace them with the variable you created.

 

Now that we have the door done, we will focus on the event on the other side of the room.

All you have to do is copy and paste the third page from your other event onto this event and change the transfer back to the other room.

The door is shutting from the other side, yay! However, we can still enter when the door is closed. Unless the player is a ghost, this is a bit problematic.

There are two ways to do this, we can make another event page or we can use conditional branches.

I will go with a conditional branch for this tutorial.

Make a conditional branch where if the door variable is equal to 3. If it is, you will copy and paste what we just did above in that section. In the else statement, you will be adding each variable to open the door like we did in the door event, but it will just be all together on one page now.

 

Now our door is completely made. Remember to use different variables for each door on the same map or else all the doors will be opening and closing on you.

 

Locking the Door

 

For this one, we are going to focus on this area:

 

 

Make the door exactly like either tutorial above. For this one, I am going to use the variable tutorial.

Now, make a key for your item.

 

Next, you will be using a conditional branch to check if the key is in the player’s inventory. If it is, the option will pop up for the player to lock the door if the door is closed. If you do not have the key and the door is locked, you will be told that the door is locked.

Here is what the full events should look like:

Door:

Other side of door:

 

Second Page:

 

End Table:

 

I hope this helps out.