Indie Developer Playbook: Creating 2D Games and Assets

Learn to build a breakout clone in sprite kit by creating a game scene, adding nodes and labels, and configuring physics for collisions. Implement touch controls to move the paddle.

Initialize scene variables and an edge boundary, configure bit masks for collisions, and set up paddle, ball, and bricks, then test the did begin contact behavior.

Create a breakout clone in Swift with SpriteKit by setting up paddle, ball, bricks, and edge collisions, plus game state logic for win, lose, and restarts.

Learn to build a pun game from scratch in SpriteKit, creating scenes with label nodes, adding touch interactivity and opponent movement using actions, plus scoring and win-loss logic.

Move the player's paddle by touch to the x position, keeping the y constant, while the opponent paddle follows the ball's x position with a short delay.

Update the pong game by replacing the ball with a texture sprite, use an alpha mask for an accurate hitbox, and wire in basic paddle movement and collisions.

This bonus clip demonstrates adding variable paddle collisions and directional serves: track last scorer, launch the ball toward the opponent or toward you, and adjust impulse angles.

Build a Space Invaders clone using SpriteKit and Swift 3, covering basic scene setup, player and alien movement, shooting, destroying aliens, and adding textures for polish.

Build a space invaders clone from scratch, using the scene build file, looping actions for alien movement, touch-based control, and bullet spawning to interact with nodes.

Explore implementing player and alien movement by converting touch x coordinates into the player position, and by animating aliens with left, down, and right actions that loop for continuous motion.

Implement bullet contact handling with physics contact delegates to remove bullets on collision with the edge or an alien and remove the alien when hit, preparing endgame logic.

Learn to implement end game logic for a 2D game by coding winning and losing conditions, pausing the scene, and restarting on touch.

Create a pixel art ufo by layering and painting the base shape, refining with color, shading, and highlights, adding windows and lights for a polished 2d game asset.

Apply glow effects to pixel art ships, using inner glow (and under glow if needed), adjust colors and pixel size, then resize from 20x20 to 3200% and export transparent pngs.

Create an earth-like space background for a 2D game in Photoshop by building layers: ocean, landmasses, atmosphere, and clouds, then fine-tune with glow, blur, hue-saturation, and opacity.

Import and apply textures for background, player ship, and aliens; resize and switch to alpha-mask physics for precise collisions; then run and recap the complete game-building process.

Learn the Game Maker workflow from creating rooms and sprites to event-driven logic, using variables and image angle to rotate a smiley in a 2D game.

Set object movement using speed and direction, explore x and y coordinates, and learn to wrap sprites on screen while cloning and destroying instances with instance_create and instance_destroy.

Master tank movement and rotation using left and right keys, adjust direction and image_angle, and fire bullets via instance_create in Game Maker's 2D tutorial.

Create wall and target sprites, define wall and target objects, and implement collisions in Game Maker so bullets destroy on wall contact and targets on hit, building a tank level.

Create and instantiate bullets from the ship with centered anchors, set speed and direction, then design enemies, move them downward, and resolve bullet and enemy collisions by destroying both.

Learn to spawn enemies dynamically with an alarm-driven timer, scale speed with increasing difficulty, and manage spawn duration. Implement collisions, game over state, restart timing, and on-screen game over text.

learn to build a roller ball game in game maker by setting up a project, creating a roller ball sprite and object, and enabling movement and coin collection.

Design coins and walls, center the origin of coins, and enable collision-based collection with wall bouncing for a rollerball level. Create objects, adjust collision masks, and craft a playable track.

Create an invisible game controller object and a gui with a custom font. Draw text in yellow, count remaining coins, and trigger game over with an auto restart via alarms.

Implement player movement in a platformer by reading keyboard inputs, calculating horizontal and vertical speeds, applying gravity, and handling pixel-perfect block collisions with jump logic.