Side scroller tutorial deconstructed

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#1

I just finished the first draft of a tiny project to help beginners better grasp the concepts behind Defold.
I’ve studied the official Side Scroller Tutorial and I’ve written a document where I try to recreate it from scratch in excruciatingly detailed explanations.
There still might be typos here and there, and I’m not finished with screenshots.
I’d really like your feedback about this. Proofreading would gladly be much appreciated since I’m not a native english speaker.
Here is the link: [EDIT] That link points to the first draft of the project. It is now outdated.
side scroller tutorial deconstructed

[EDIT] The following link is the latest version:
defold-side-scroller-tutorial-from-scratch

[EDIT] The project is now under the Assets portal:
side scroller tutorial from scratch

19 Likes
#2

I followed it from start to finish and I had to adjust some parts but now it’s fully functional.
Some screenshots are yet to be made and I have to add explanations on complex parts (like scripts).
Any thoughts?

1 Like
#3

I think this is very impressive work! I’d happily find ways to promote this on the site and newsletter etc!

3 Likes
#4

Thank you for the kind words. In fact, I was hoping it could somehow be integrated to the tutorial section. However, it may still have rough edges to fix.
Well, it’s not completely finished yet…

1 Like
#5

I agree, this is fantastic! Well done :slight_smile:

3 Likes
#6

Thank you! :wink:

1 Like
#7

Wow, that’s a lot of quality work! We should add Community tab in New Project UI and include this tutorial there!

7 Likes
#8

Actually, that would be a great idea to add a community tutorial section and encourage users to submit new tutorials. I’m not sure that putting it directly inside Defold would be a good move. Maybe a section on the manual > tutorial part of the site would be more appropriate. I don’t know.

2 Likes
#9

Well, there already is a tutorial filter type in the assets section on the site. This should be the place. :wink:

2 Likes
#10

Allright, I plan to convert this tutorial into an asset to put in the Assets portal on Defold site.
I titled this Side Scroller tutorial deconstructed but I think Side Scroller tutorial from scratch or Recreate the Side Scroller tutorial from zero would make better sense. I’m not sure about this. What do you think?

#11

OK, this is a major update! I really have worked hard on this today. I’m still not finished (I’ve arrived at the part about particles and some script’s codes aren’t explained in detail) but I’ve made big improvements.

  • As suggested by @britzl, I created a new repository for the project.
  • I added much more screenshots.
  • Everything is under a full project with the README.md file as the tutorial in order to be able to open it inside Defold.
  • I added much more explanations for beginners to better understand the underlying process.
  • I’ve started an asset page on the Assets portal to host the project when finished.
  • To better compare as the official tutorials, the assets are now in raw format under an assets folder and the tutorial screenshots under a doc folder.
  • The provided project is simply a raw empty project template. Everything except importing assets and creating the project is to be done by the user.

Even if it’s not finished yet, I’m pretty happy with it. I’ve followed it twice now to check errors, typos, or wrong explanations. This is getting insane! I’ll really need some proof readers to check what I could not spot.

Thanks for everyone who supported this so far. It’s been a major motivation to me.

Oh, I nearly forgot!
Here is the link to the new repo:
side scroller tutorial from scratch

7 Likes
#12

Absolutely amazing. Well done!

PM me with your name, t-shirt size and address and I’ll happily send some Defold swag your way!

PS There’s a few broken links named “A COMPLETER” in the tutorial.

7 Likes
#13

Yes. The A COMPLETER sections are notes for me to remember to add informations. :slight_smile:

3 Likes
#14

Minor update:
I finished commenting everything except Lua code and every screenshot is in place.

If anyone thinks something needs to be better explained or illustrated with more screenshots, feel free to tell me.

If I can, I expect to finish this today by covering the scripts not yet explained.

The asset page on the assets portal is ready and I’ll make it public as soon as I’ll be finished with the code.

[EDIT] Yikes! I forgot to add a table of content back at the head of the tutorial!

4 Likes
#15

This is the home stretch!
I commented every piece of Lua code and everything is published under the Assets portal:
side scroller tutorial from scratch

I’ve also provided the project as a full archive for convenience.
Feel free to share!
This was a fun project (and exhausting one too) to work on.

6 Likes
#16

Hello,
Nice and massive work.
I also like the french documentation on your github. It’s very helpfull.
I have to learn how the factories work. (critical part for me)
David could promote your work on GC.
doumdoum

3 Likes
#17

Hi @doumdoum!
Thank you for your kind words.
I sent you a private message about David because I think it is a private matter.
If you have questions about factories, feel free to ask on the forum. Everyone here is awesome:

4 Likes