Game: Temporary page
Manager Type: Special
Process all actions given the list of action Ids, which means (1) Retrieve the corresponding GameAction object from State Manager (2) determine whether or not condition to play those actions are satisfied. (3) If all satisfied, execute these actions. The manager also saves the game after a series of actions are executed.
| Game Loop Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
fastForwardGameActions |
Executes all actions in order of action ids. | Called by GameManager at the start to replay all State-Change that occurred when student last played this game. |
processGameActions |
Executes all actions if the condition to execute them is satisfied, and saves the game afterwards. | Called by GameManager to play Game Start Actions, Checkpoint Complete Actions, and Location Actions; called by Dialogue Manager to play in-dialogue actions; and called by Explore mode to have Object/ Bounding Box actions. |
| Helper Methods | ||
processGameAction |
Executes 1 action if the condition to execute them is satisfied. | Called by processGameActions repeatedly to process all actions |
checkCanPlayAction |
Determines whether an action can play. Firstly, the action conditions have to all be satisfied. Secondly, the action has to be either triggered for the first time, or a repeatable action | Called by processGameAction
|
| Condition Methods | ||
checkAllConditionsSatisfied |
Checks all the condition objects if each condition is satisfied | Called by checkCanPlayAction
|
checkConditionSatisfied |
Checks whether 1 condition is satisfied. If the condition is on userstate, then it can be stubbed by story writers. If the condition is on game state, then we look into the Checkpoint Objectives to see if they are satisfied. | Called by ActionConditionChecker.checkAllConditionsSatisfied repeatedly to check if all conditions are satisfied |
| Execute Action Methods | ||
executeGameAction |
Plays 1 action by checking the action type to call the correct manager and passing in the action params | Called by fastForwardGameActions and processGameActions
|
Manager Type: IGameUI
Given the Awards Mapping from Source Academy Game's Award Mapping object, and the list of awards obtained from User State Manager, be able to render the award, the keys, and the descriptions of each award.
private uiContainer: Phaser.GameObjects.Container | undefined; private previewContainer: Phaser.GameObjects.Container | undefined;
| Property Name | Description | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
activePageNumber |
The page number that is active for each type of Award page | Keep track of active page for each type of Award page (collectible/achievement) |
currActivePage |
Either the Collectible page or Achievement page | |
itemsContainer |
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pageChosenContainer |
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previewContainer |
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scene |
Reference to the phaser scene since different scenes can call this | Access the scene's base managers - input, phase, layer manager |
uiContainer |
| UI Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
activateUI |
Activates the award Menu. | Called by scenes when Tab key is pressed. |
deactivateUI |
Deactivates the award Menu. | Called by scenes when Tab key is pressed again. |
Manager Type: Layer Renderer
Render the background in a Game Location onto Background Layer as specified by assetKey of the Location in State Manager's game map
| Game Loop Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
renderBackgroundLayerContainer |
Obtains all asset key for a location and renders background image on entire screen | Called by GameManager on location render, and on change_background action |
| Helper Methods | ||
renderBackgroundImage |
Render background image based on asset given key | Called by renderBackgroundLayerContainer to render GameLocation's background image |
Manager Type: Layer Renderer, State Observer
Render all rectangular bounding boxes in a Game Location onto the BBox Layer as specified by BBoxProperty in State Manager's game map
| Property Name | Description | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
bboxes |
Mapping between bbox ID and activatable bounding boxes that are present on screen right now. | Indexed by bbox ID so that when updates need to be called on certain bboxes, we can easily rerender/remove this bounding box from screen. |
| Game Loop Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
renderBBoxLayerContainer |
Obtains all bbox IDs present in a Game Location and renders each bbox based on BBoxProperty specification | Called by GameManager on location render. |
| Helper Methods | ||
createBBox |
Render 1 rectangular bbox by its bbox id specifications provided by BBoxProperty | Called by renderBBoxLayerContainer repeatedly to render all bboxes individually |
| State Observer Methods | ||
handleAdd |
Renders 1 bbox | Called by State Manager on add_item action |
handleDelete |
Deletes 1 on-screen bbox sprite | Called by State Manager on remove_item action |
handleMutate |
Replaces 1 on-screen bbox sprite with the same character with another property | Called by State Manager on setBBoxProperty action |
Manager Type: Layer Renderer, State Observer
Render all characters in a Game Location onto the Character Layer as specified by Character object in State Manager's game map
| Property Name | Description | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
characterSpriteMap |
Mapping between character ID and sprites of Characters that are present on screen right now. | Indexed by character ID so that when updates need to be called on certain characters, we can easily rerender/remove this character |
| Game Loop Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
renderCharacterLayerContainer |
Obtains all character IDs present in a Game Location and renders each character based on Character specification | Called by GameManager on location render. |
| Helper Methods | ||
createCharacterSprite(id) |
Render 1 character by its character id using default expression and position of the character. | Called by renderCharacterLayerContainer repeatedly to render all characters individually |
createCharacterSprite(id, expression, position) |
Renders 1 character with a different expression (based on the different asset keys stored in Character data type) and different position (based on Character constants) |
Called by DialogueSpeakerRenderer to render speaker avatars |
| State Observer Methods | ||
handleAdd |
Renders 1 character | Called by State Manager on add_item action |
handleDelete |
Deletes 1 on-screen character sprite | Called by State Manager on remove_item action |
handleMutate |
Replaces 1 on-screen character sprite with the same character id but with another property | Called by State Manager on move_character and update_character action |
Manager Type: Layer Renderer
Renders dialogues as specified by Dialogue object retrieved from State Manager's game map
| Property Name | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
dialogueGenerator |
Class which holds a pointer to the current part and line in the Dialogue object, it keeps track of the lines that should play next |
Called by Dialogue Manager on line change |
dialogueRenderer |
Renderer that displays the green box and flashes text using the typewriter effect | Called by Dialogue Manager on line change |
speakerRenderer |
Manager which renders the speaker box speaker avatar | Called by Dialogue Manager on line change |
| Game Loop Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
showDialogue |
Plays out an entire dialogue, orchestrating the change in speakers, lines and in-dialogue actions. | Called in Talk mode and during show_dialogue action. |
| Helper Methods | ||
playWholeDialogue |
Starts a promise to play the entire dialogue. Attaches listener to green dialogue box, so that when clicked, it can show the next line. | Main function called by showDialogue
|
showNextLine |
Renders one dialogue line, by generating line using dialogueGenerator, rendering the text using dialogueRenderer, changing the speaker using speakerRenderer and processing actions using Action Manager's processActions. If no more lines, it resolves the promise and ends the dialogue. |
Called by playWholeDialogue on start of dialogue and whenever dialogue box is clicked |
Manager Type: IGameUI
- Renders the Escape Menu, which provides options for changing user settings and going back to Main Menu.
- Implements Game UI as EscapeMenu is one of the possible game phases.
| Property Name | Description | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
bgmVolumeRadioButtons |
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scene |
Reference to the phaser scene since different scenes can call this IGameUI | Access the scene's base managers - input, phase, layer manager |
sfxVolumeRadioButtons |
| UI Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
activateUI |
Activates the Escape Menu in the scene. | Called by scenes when Esc key is pressed. |
deactivateUI |
Deactivates the Escape Menu in the scene. | Called by scenes when Esc key is pressed again. |
Manager Type: Base Scene Manager
Manages all listeners in the scene. Activates/deactivates these listeners during phase transitions, and destroys all of them at the end of each scene.
| Property Name | Description | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
eventListeners |
List of all mouse event listeners | So that all mouse listeners can be temporarily deactivated during transition, and destroyed when scene is done. |
keyboardListeners |
List of all mouse keyboard listeners | So that all keyboard listeners can be temporarily deactivated during transition, and destroyed when scene is done. |
scene |
Reference to the phaser scene to access the scene's input property | Access different Phaser.Scene's input property |
| Game Loop Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
clearListeners |
List of all mouse event listeners | So that all mouse listeners can be temporarily deactivated during transition, and destroyed when scene is done. |
enableKeyboardInput |
List of all mouse keyboard listeners | So that all keyboard listeners can be temporarily deactivated during transition, and destroyed when scene is done. |
enableMouseInput |
List of all mouse event listeners | So that all mouse listeners can be temporarily deactivated during transition, and destroyed when scene is done. |
registerEventListener |
Reference to the phaser scene to access the scene's input property | Access different Phaser.Scene's input property |
registerKeyboardListener |
Reference to the phaser scene to access the scene's input property | Access different Phaser.Scene's input property |
Manager Type: Base Scene Manager
Keeps a default ordering of layers (e.g Background > ... > Objects > BBox > Characters > ... Effects), and corresponding Phaser Container for each layer. This enables other managers to add game objects to their desired layer.
Properties
| Property Name | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
layers |
Mapping between layer name and layer container | We store layers by ID so that other managers can easily put game objects to chosen layer |
| Game Loop Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
addToLayer |
Adds a game object to a specific layer specified by layer name. | Called by many managers to add desired object into specific layer by name. |
clearLayerContents |
Clears all game objects in 1 layer | Called by many managers to clear a layer so that they can add new game objects to that layer. |
clearSeveralLayers |
Clears all game objects in several layer | Called by managers to clear several layers at once |
clearSeveralLayers |
Clears all game objects in all layers | Used to cleanup the scene |
| Extra Methods | ||
fadeInLayer |
Fades a layer in | As and when effect is needed |
fadeOutLayer |
Fades a layer out | As and when effect is needed |
showLayer |
Makes layer visible | As and when effect is needed |
hideLayer |
Makes layer invisible | As and when effect is needed |
Manager Type: Layer Renderer, State Observer
Render all sprites of objects in a Game Location onto the Objects Layer as specified by ObjectProperty in State Manager's game map
| Property Name | Description | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
objects |
Mapping between object ID and activatable objects that are present on screen right now. | Indexed by object ID so that when updates need to be called on certain objects, we can easily rerender/remove this object from screen. |
| Game Loop Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
renderObjectsLayerContainer |
Obtains all object IDs present in a Game Location and renders each object based on ObjectProperty specification | Called by GameManager on location render. |
| Helper Methods | ||
createObject |
Render 1 object image sprite by its object id ObjectProperty. | Called by renderObjectsLayerContainer repeatedly to render all objects individually |
| State Observer Methods | ||
handleAdd |
Renders 1 object | Called by State Manager on add_item action |
handleDelete |
Deletes 1 on-screen object sprite | Called by State Manager on remove_item action |
handleMutate |
Replaces 1 on-screen object sprite with another property | Called by State Manager on setObjProperty action |
| Action Methods | ||
makeObjectGlow |
Makes one object glow by calling the Glowing Image's glow functions, which makes a yellow tint overlay blink |
Called on make_object_glow action |
makeObjectBlink |
Makes one object blink by calling the Glowing Image's blink functions, which makes the image blink |
Called on make_object_blink action |
Manager Type: Base Scene Manager
Performs state transitions by activating and deactivating modes. Also keeps track of history of previous active states using a stack, so that we can revisit previous active states if needed.
We use Finite State Machine (FSM) model to manage the game phases.
Phases here refers to:
| Phase | In-game Description |
|---|---|
| Menu | the phase when player can choose between modes, commonly Talk, Explore, or Move
|
| Explore | the phase when 'Explore' mode is active |
| Talk | the phase where 'Talk' mode is active |
| Move | the phase where 'Move' mode is active |
| EscapeMenu | escape screen, where player can changes their settings and return to main menu |
| AwardsMenu | award screen, where player can browse their awards |
| Sequence | other phase in game, includes bringing up notification and dialogue |
Internally, we keep a stack of phases to keep track the game phases. Similar to a normal stack, we can perform pop() and push(), with the additional operation of swap() which replace the top element of the stack with the new element.
Manager Type: Layer Renderer
Renders popups for a specified amount of time
| Game Loop Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
displayPopup |
Display a popup image on the screen, given an object ID, position, duration and size. | |
| Helper Methods | ||
destroyPopUp |
Destroys the current popup | Called by renderBackgroundLayerContainer to render GameLocation's background image |
Manager Type: Global
Loads user data at the start of entire game, saves game data and saves settings to backend
Normally, game engine stores various game states as 'snapshot' to represent game progress. However within this game action, we are at a unique position as actions are the only way that allow for mutation on the game state (adding/removing/mutating item/state).
This allow us to make space optimisation on how we represent player's progress: a series of completed action's ID.
This leads to the following:
| Type | Method |
|---|---|
| Progress Loading | Simulate all completed actions on the initial checkpoint object, which should bring the state to the same as last player's progress |
| Progress Saving | Store a series of completed action ID |
During simulation of completed actions, we skip actions that does not mutate the state, e.g. bring up a dialogue.
The following is a diagram of when and how loading and saving occurs.
| Game Loop Methods | Description | Usage |
|---|---|---|
loadLastSaveState |
Loads the last save state from backend into Save Manager's fullSaveState | Called by Entry Scene at start of game |
saveGame |
Updates the fullSaveState with information from State Managers and Game Managers, and then sends fullSaveState over to backend. | Called by Action Manager after series of actions are performed. |
saveSettings |
Updates the settings in fullSaveState, and sends the fullSaveState over to backend | Called by GameManager on location render. |
saveChapterComplete |
Updates fullSaveState's biggestChapterCompleted, and then sends the fullSaveState over to backend | Called by Checkpoint Tranisition to mark that a player has completed a chapter. |
| getter methods | Obtains a particular field in fullSaveState | Called throughout game to retrieve information from last save state |
Manager Type: Global
- Plays and pauses plays background music throughout the game with the volume specified in user settings
- Plays sound effects with volume specified in user settings
Manager Type: State Manager
Manages user progression throughout the game by keeping track of SSOT - game map which contains dynamic information about the objects, characters and other entities in each location. Also keeps track of user progression throughout the game by updating checkpoint objectives completed, full set of interactions triggered by user, and array of triggered state-change actions.
| Property Name | Description | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
checkpointObjective |
List of objectives in the game, mapped to a boolean of whether or not they've been completed by user. | Keep track of how far user has completed all the objectives for the checkpoint. |
gameMap |
Contains dynamic information about entities (objects, characters, modes, etc.) in each location. 
|
Keep track of game map as single source of truth about entities the game |
subscribers |
Mapping between game item type ID and manager that handles this item. | Be able to easily contact the managers to rerender particular objects on add_item, remove_item or mutate actions. |
triggeredInteractions |
Map of interactions and whether or not they have been triggered | Marks talk topics, objects, etc items as having been interacted with, so we can show the tick mark in Talk/Explore mode. |
triggeredStateChangeActions |
Ordered array of state-change actions. State-Change actions are those that permanently change the state of the game map. | Keep track of entire list of state-change actions user has triggered so that whenever we load the game, we can replay these actions and fast-forward to the newest state of the game map. |
updatedLocations |
Set of locations which need to have the notification because they have updates. Note: All locations have notifications at start of game. | Keep set of updated locations to notify players that location has been updated. (Players see this as the green notif with location's name when visiting an updated location) |
This is how state-change actions occur in the game.
The following is what happens when state-change actions occur:
Firstly, the game map has to be updated because any state-update involve a permanent mutation to the game map. Thus, we need to update the SSOT, which is State Manager's gameMap for rendering of locations later on.
Next, we see if the state-change involves the current location. If it does, then we need to be able to respond to the change instantaneously. That is why we contact the State Observers to handle the addition/removal/mutation of a particular entity.
If on the other hand, the state-change involves a location other than the current one, then we simply note that the location has been updated. If so, we can show the users the updated-location notification later on when he visits this location.
Lastly, because we have triggered a state-change action, we have to note the action id down, so that these actions can be replayed whenever player revisits this checkpoint.
Manager Type: Global, State Manager
Manages states related to the player, available regardless of which checkpoint player is at. Stores achievements, collectibles, and assessments completed by the user.
Within the game engine, we differentiate two states: User State and Game State. Specifically,
| Type | Description | Manager |
|---|---|---|
| User State | States unrelated to the checkpoint, and exclusive to the player e.g. players' collectible and achievements | User State Manager |
| Game State | States related to the checkpoint, and exclusive to the checkpoint e.g. triggered actions, mapping between ID and properties, players' progress | State Manager |
The two manager acts as single source of truth (SSOT) within the game engine.
As the user state is independent of the checkpoint object and only need to be loaded in once, we load it within the Entry scene into the User State Manager. Meanwhile, State Manager is only loaded once checkpoint object is loaded.
NOTE: In implementation, State Manager stores the GameMap directly and mutate it as checkpoint story progresses. This is because GameMap already provides the functionality needed to mutate its properties, and we do not want to replicate the functionality at the State Manager. However, having State Manager storing the GameMap causes many explanation to be difficult to get across. Hence for the sake of simplicity, the explanation within this guide will treat the GameMap and State Manager to be separate.