VB.NET Game Programming Tutorial (XNA) - PART 6f: Character Animation (Visual Basic .NET)

TUTORIAL 6 - In this segment we will add a character to our world, teach our toon to walk, implement terrain collision, and finally we will create a walk cycle animation for our character.

In this intermediate Visual Basic .NET game programming series we'll be exploring many of the exciting game development features that XNA 4.0 provides. We'll jump right into setting up project for a Super Nintendo styled RPG game.

PROJECT TOPIC SHORTCUTS:

SOURCE CODE:

Tip Jar:

:-)

[ceoparis]

I just wanted to let you know how great this series has been for me. Thanks to you I've been able to create an amazing Visual Studio game with sound worlds and everything else that I liked about the old Gameboy games. I'm still working on my NPC class but I think you've given me more than enough tools to develop a decent one. I wish your site had a donation button!

[JammingTroll]

I would really be interested in seeing a tutorial about how all these tiles can be randomly placed so that every time you start a new game the lay out is different. If you could do anything like that, that would be amazing! Also let me say that this is an amazing series, really hope you continue it. :)

[MathGeekQ]

That's where I'm headed too ^_^ these tutorials really are awesome

[AardaerimusDAritonyss]

I'm actually not using a stream at all, rather I'm using an integer variable as an index position for the characters within a source string. I increment the index and copy each new character to a visible placeholder string on a timer within the Update sub.

Additionally, I monitor for special "escape characters". One to advance a line, one to clear the dialog and begin a new line, and one to await a key press (enter) to terminate the dialog.

Once the dialog is complete, the "screen" is unloaded

[AardaerimusDAritonyss]

Hello! If you want to control animation speed during walk cycles you'll need to wrap your animation execution in a Globals.GameTime based timer variable.

[AardaerimusDAritonyss]

Hopefully very soon. I have a couple more project demos to share first.

Just been very busy lately and haven't had an opportunity to do it yet. I'm also trying to decide which direction to go next. We've hit a point where we can do so many different things that it's hard to decide.

[ceoparis]

I sure will! I'm swamped with finals (developing this game has been a nice diversion) but hopefully by this weekend I'll have a nice finished product. I'll send you a link when I do!

[MrSomething]

This is awesome! I subbed. Thank you do much.

[AardaerimusDAritonyss]

I started out monkeying around in VB6, then I began playing with VB.NET at work and wrote a few apps that we still use, here. But I always wanted to dabble in game programming but there was soooo little support for VB in the indie game community.

As a hobbyist I'd dabble here and there, and often go a long time without programming so I'd forget what I learned. I made my first tutorial as a way of helping myself remember. Thankfully, I've met some brilliant minds along the way that really helped

[OMcsTwosComplement]

If I can make a suggestion, maybe a simple tile editor would be a good place to go next. Would help construct proper maps instead of the temporary way we’re doing it now. Could even incorporate it into part of the game through the options menu. Thanks for making these tutorials, they’re a real help!

[budgetpctechyt]

Sir Aardaerimus, your tutorial really helped me sir.. thank you so much :D

[LordTalismond]

Great News, looking forward to them. Really interested in how you will implement collision, enemy movement, and your battle methods. I'm knee deep in reformulating my Collision, trying to add it to my map editor. I'm coding in C# but got my start in VB so nice to see a full game being done inthat language.

[cherylklimack]

Finished! Thanks!! Would love more...would donate to the cause, too...

[AardaerimusDAritonyss]

ZetaWolf is correct, but if you're just looking for x/y coordinates of your image, Paint should work just fine. I believe that the X/Y is displayed at the bottom left when you position your mouse over the image.

[OrgasmicTastic]

Thanks for all the videos you have made, you've helped me a lot actually. Main thing I am having trouble with now is the NPC class, I have it setup so they appear on the map and you can talk to them but when they randomly walk without me moving it's fine but if I walk as well their movement is choppy. I have them moving just like the toon's movement.. Just need to get them moving smoothly if I am moving as well.

[AardaerimusDAritonyss]

Make sure your MoveSpeed isn't set too high.

To reduce the speed of input checks you can also slow the timer we made in the WorldScreen Update() sub by increasing the time between updates. In the video I set this MoveTime value to 25. Perhaps try setting it to 100 and see what happens.

[AardaerimusDAritonyss]

I think the best followups will be the series on creating a simple trigger script engine, and developing a simple NPC class to understand ways to pass data into your game environment and parse it out.

This will also reveal simple ways to move your character to other parts of the world (teleporting) or loading new maps or areas (using stairs, doorways, portals, exits, etc.)

Also, adding NPCs adds a new level of 'life' to your world that makes it much more exciting.

[godlfire]

o this is so much fun, need more video :)

[xXtimXxable]

I hope you make a Video on how to create a mapfile and a mapfile reader.

[AardaerimusDAritonyss]

Hey, ceoparis! So glad that it's been helpful for you! :-D

lol I used to have a donation button on the site, but I felt kinda weird asking for them, so I took it off.

I do hope you'll share some progress videos of your game. Sounds awesome!