spawn · questions
Questions·
Every question in the companion's Reference tab, by the place in the studio it is about. On a linked phone, Reference opens on the place you are in.
Pick·
Continue one of your games, or start a new one from a starter game. Your work follows you to any computer you sign in on.
How do I keep my game at home and at school?
Sign in with your student ID and PIN, at home and at school. Your games, drawings, sounds and log are kept on the server. The button at the top right says Saved to the server when your game is kept.
I forgot my PIN.
Reset it at sfhsbta.com/pin: a link goes to your school email.
Which starter game should I pick?
Never made a game? Starter. An empty page? Blank. Otherwise the one closest to your idea: Catcher, Dodger, Shooter, Flapper, Race Track, Runner, Maze, Platformer, Side-Scroller, Explorer, Survivor, Fighter, Adventure, Chase, Slither, Clicker, Tower Defense, Lane Battle, Dungeon Quest, Digger, Tower Climb, Board Game or Mansion 3D. You can always start another.
Will a starter game write over my game?
No. A starter game always starts a new game. Your others stay under continue.
Where are my other games?
Under continue on 01 pick, and in the game menu at the top right under My games.
Can I open a game from a file?
Yes. Open a game file, in the game menu at the top right, takes a game saved with Back up to a file.
The full page: pick.
Design·
Five lines in your words: the name, the goal, who you are, how you win, how you lose.
Why design before I build?
Because you will know what to change. And player two reads your design before every change it makes, so a clear design gets you better help.
Can I change the design later?
Any time, even after the game is done. Click 02 design at the top.
How do I rename my game?
Click your game's name at the top right and type a new one, or change the name line here. Your link stays the same; Spawn Point shows the new name after Update my link.
The design lines are gone.
A code change can take them out. 02 design shows Put the design lines back. Your game does not change.
How long can a line be?
The name and short fields take up to 1,000 characters, the design lines up to 5,000. A sentence or two is plenty.
The full page: design.
Make·
Turn the knobs for quick changes, then open a room for the rest: Art, The map, Sound, The code.
What is a knob?
A setting with a slider, a color or a text box: speed, lives, gravity, the words on the title card. Each one is a line in your code; turning it rewrites the line.
How do I add a slider?
Press the plus under the knobs (Add a slider). Pick a number from your code, name it, set its lowest and highest, and give it a group if you like. It lists the numbers in SETTINGS, at the top of your code, kept in a CAPITALS line like var JUMP = 12; with no slider yet; for any other number, ask player two to make it a slider.
What are the groups over my sliders?
A slider can name a group, like Player or Rules. Sliders in the same group sit together, and clicking a group's name folds it shut or opens it. The group is the second name in quotes on the slider's line: // @knob number 2 15 "Player speed" "Player".
Can players change my sliders?
Only the ones you let them. The switch beside a slider's number lets players turn it on Spawn Point, under tune it. What they turn changes the game on their screen only; your game stays as you shared it. The switch reaches your link when you Share my game or Update my link.
Does moving a slider restart my game?
Not while you are playing: the game changes as you drag. On the start screen or an end screen it starts over with the new number. A setting the game reads only when it starts, like Lives, shows in your next game.
I changed something and broke it.
Press Undo, the amber arrow under the game (or Ctrl+Z). To go back further, open Earlier copies in the game menu and Open one.
How do I start the game?
Click the game once so it hears the keyboard, then press SPACE. Restart, the round arrow under the game, starts it from the top.
What is the strip under my game?
One tab for each part of your game, in the order a player meets it: every level, every card and every cutscene. Click a tab to play that part on its own, and player two works on that part only, leaving the rest as it is. Click it again to go back to the whole game. Ask player two for a new level and it gets its own tab.
How do I add a card or a cutscene?
Press the + at the end of the strip under your game, then Card or Cutscene. It goes after the part you picked, or at the start. A card shows a title and words until the player presses SPACE: type them right under the strip. A cutscene plays shots one after another: pick one by its number and set what it says, how long it lasts, how it comes in, its effect, and what moves across it. Or press the player two button and say what should happen.
How do cutscene effects work?
Each shot can fade in or slide in from a side, shake the screen, glow around what moves, or zoom in on it. Its words type out like a game's; SPACE shows them all at once, and SPACE again skips the cutscene. Picking a shot plays the cutscene from that shot.
There is no knob for what I want.
Ask player two, or open The code. Everything a knob does is a line of code, and so is everything else.
How do I save?
You do not have to. Your game saves itself every time you change it, and it saves to your account, ready on any computer.
The game is too small or too big.
Drag the line between the room and the game to give either more space. Minimize (the four arrows pointing in, under the game) shrinks it to half size while you work. Full screen (the four arrows pointing out) plays it on the whole screen; Esc comes back.
The full page: make.
Art·
Give every sprite a picture: from the library, drawn, uploaded, or drawn by player two. And pick the background.
How do I change what my player looks like?
Click the player's slot on the left, then pick a picture from the Library, Draw one, or Upload one.
How do I give my player a jump or a walk of its own?
Click the player's slot. In a starter where the player walks, its moves are one row at the top (in Draw it, the pick beside its name): still (its own art), walk, and jump or hurt when the game has them. Pick a character from the Library and every move it comes with fills in. Click an empty move to make it: it starts as the player's art, ready to draw or to pick another. The game puts each move on when the player does it, and a move with no art shows the player's own. In the code, showMoves(player); turns the walk on and showMove(player, "jump"); asks for player_jump.
Why is there a plain square in my game?
A plain square is a sprite with no art yet. Give its slot a picture and the square goes away, here and on Spawn Point.
What is an art pack?
A matching cast in one click: player, things to collect, hazards, all in one style. Show all lists every art pack.
How do I draw my own?
Draw opens Piskel. Start a new drawing at 16 to 64 pixels, or Edit in Piskel on any library picture to start from it. It saves as you draw. Full screen gives it the whole window.
Can I upload a picture?
Upload takes a PNG, JPG, GIF or WebP up to 512 KB, or drop it anywhere in the Art room. It is trimmed to its edges and kept at 64 pixels or smaller, with crisp pixel edges. Choose several pictures at once and each one becomes a frame, in name order.
Can player two draw a sprite for me?
Yes. Open Art, pick the sprite, choose Ask player two and describe it: what it is, its colors, which way it faces. Player two shows how it read your ask, then draws it at 48 by 48 in spawn's colors. Use these words puts its version in the box to change and ask again; Use for puts the drawing on your sprite and opens it in Draw it to finish. Up to 10 a day. Famous characters come out as original lookalikes, and guns come out as cartoon game guns.
Can player two turn my photo into pixel art?
No: player two can see a picture you show it, but in the chat it answers in words and code, and it cannot turn a photo into a sprite. Open Art, pick the sprite, choose Upload, press Make it pixel art, and drop the photo in. Never a photo of a person.
Where do my drawings go?
Into Mine in the library, ready for your next game too. Mine is kept on the server. Delete one from Mine and games already using it keep their copy.
My sprite is too big or too small.
Use the size slider on its slot. Its hitbox changes with it: smaller is easier to dodge, and harder to hit. Usual size puts it back.
How do I give each level its own background?
Where your code starts a level, add setBackground("level2") (any name). The Art room gives that name a background card: pick, draw or upload its picture there. setBackground("backdrop") goes back to the game's own background. Or ask player two to do it.
How do I make the background move on its own?
Add scrollBackground(3) once, in setup: the picture slides 3 pixels a frame, even when the camera stands still. Good for runners and flyers. A bigger number is faster, a negative one goes the other way, and scrollBackground(0) stops it. Or ask player two to do it.
How do I change the background?
At the bottom of the Art room, The background: choose Just a color, A picture or A sprite. A picture is a scene to pick, draw, edit or upload, one screen or a long one that scrolls and loops. A sprite is any sprite from your game or the library, grown to fill the screen. Just a color goes back to plain.
Can I use Spider-Man or Mario?
Not the character itself; those belong to their owners. Draw your own hero with the same idea: a different name, your own colors, your own look.
The full page: art.
The map·
Paint your levels one square at a time. The checker tells you if a level can be won.
Why does my game have no map?
Runner, maze, platformer, side-scroller, adventure, race track, tower defense, digger and tower climb have one; the explorer has a world of screens instead. In other games, the knobs and the code shape the world.
How do I add a screen to my world?
In the explorer, your world shows every screen. Click a gray square and it becomes a black screen with a floor. Pick its picture with Background for this screen. In the game, walking off an edge loads the screen next to it; a gray square is a wall.
How do I add more ghosts, doors or keys?
Open The map from make. Pick the ghost, door or key in the row of tiles, then paint it on the grid: every square you paint is one more in your game. Right-click takes one away. In the adventure, each key opens one door.
How do I paint?
Pick a tile, then click or drag on the grid. Right-click or right-drag erases back to floor. Your place is kept when you leave and come back.
How do I add a level?
The + next to the level tabs adds one, as a copy of the level you are on, ready to change. − removes the level you are on.
What does "can it be won?" mean?
The studio tries your level with your game's own speed, jump and gravity. If something cannot be reached, it says so and outlines those squares. This level can be won means a player can finish it.
How do I test just one level?
Play level plays the level you are painting, so you do not have to beat the others first.
What are the sliders under the map?
what shapes the course: the knobs that change how the level plays, like run speed, jump and gravity. Change them and the checker checks again.
The full page: the map.
Sound·
Each slot is a moment in your game. Give it a sound.
How do I add a sound?
Click a slot, then Make one, pick from the Library, Record one, or Upload one. Press Use for to put it in the slot.
How do I make a retro sound?
Make one has a shape (square, triangle, saw, smooth or noise) and sliders: where it Starts at, how far it Slides, how long it Lasts, how much it Jumps up and Wobbles. Play it to hear it.
How long can a sound be?
A sound keeps its first ten seconds. Background music keeps up to three minutes.
How do I add background music?
Open music at the top of the Sound room's slots and pick a track, or upload a song you have the right to use. It loops while the game plays.
Can the title screen have its own music?
Yes. Under Music is Menu music. Pick a track for it and it loops on the title screen, then stops when play starts and the game's music begins.
Can a boss fight or a new level have its own music?
Yes. Under Menu music is Boss or level music. Pick a track for it, then put playBossMusic(); in your code where the boss shows up or the level starts. The game's music stops and this one loops until the game ends. Or ask player two to put the line in.
I wrote a playSound line and it makes no sound.
A sound needs a slot. If your code plays a sound the Sound room has no slot for, it is listed at the bottom of the slots: click it, Give it a sound, and pick, make or upload one.
How do I make the music quieter?
Drag Volume under the music row. The game turns down as you drag, and keeps it when you let go.
Can I use a song from YouTube?
No. YouTube's rules do not allow pulling the sound out, most songs belong to someone, and a game must open even when a link dies. Make one, record one, or upload a song you have the right to use.
Does my link play my recording?
Not yet. On your shared link, sounds you recorded or uploaded stay silent until the game is in the Hall of Fame. Keep your name out of anything you record.
My game has no sound slots.
Ask player two for one. A slot is a playSound line right after the moment it names.
I do not hear anything on my phone.
Tap the game once: a phone plays sound only after a tap. Check that the phone is not on silent.
The full page: sound.
Layout·
Lay out your screen: drag pictures from the library onto your game, and drag your sprites to where they start.
How do I put a picture on my game?
Drag it from the library onto the game, and it lands where you let go. No mouse? Click the picture, then click the game.
How do I move or take one off?
Drag it again. The arrow keys move the picked one 10 at a time, 1 with Shift. Delete takes it off, and so does the bin on its row under on the game.
How do I make one bigger or smaller?
Drag the size slider on its row under on the game.
Why can my player walk through it?
A decoration is scenery: it sits behind every sprite and touches nothing. For something that blocks or hurts, paint it in The map, or ask player two for a sprite.
How do I lay out one level only?
Pick that level's tab under the game first. What you drop then shows on that level only. With no tab picked, it shows on every level.
Why did my game stop?
The game stops while Layout is open, so you can place things. Go back to 03 make and it plays.
Where is it in my code?
In the DECOR list: one line for each picture, with which picture, where its middle is (x, y), and how big (size).
How do I move where my player starts?
In Layout, each sprite that starts at two plain numbers has a dashed box: drag it, or use the arrow keys, and those two numbers change in your code. Place, in Tools under the game, opens Decorate too. A sprite made in a loop or at a random spot has no box.
The full page: layout.
The code·
Your whole program, as blocks or as text. The checker reads it every time it changes.
Blocks or text?
Either. Blocks and Text are the same program; switching never changes it. Start in blocks, peek at the text, switch when you are ready.
What do prototype, alpha, beta and gold mean?
They are the stages real game studios ship through, and the checker reads which one your game is at. prototype: it runs, with no start or end screen yet. alpha: a whole game, with its own screens. beta: it plays again and cleans up its sprites. gold: its code is tidy and labeled too. won't start: fix the red items first; a game that won't start cannot be shared. The checker always says the one move to the next stage.
How do I make my sprite face the way it walks?
Every starter where the player walks already says faceMoving(player);, right after the player is made: look for it near the top. In a game made before that, or for another sprite, say it once, right after createSprite. From then on it turns left and right with the way it moves: arrows, WASD, velocityX, chasing, anything. It keeps facing that way when it stops. Art drawn facing left? faceMoving(player, "left");.
How should my code look?
Like the starters: one gameState, a startGame(), a short draw(), names that are words. How games are written in the guide shows each habit with a before and after.
How do I fix what the checker found?
Click the finding to jump to its line. It says what is wrong and how to fix it. Stuck? Ask player two to fix it.
Can player two play my game?
Yes. When you ask about something that goes wrong while you play (it will not jump, it never scores), player two can play your game first, right on your screen: the corners turn blue, the top says what it is doing, the keys it presses light up, and the numbers it watches change in the corner. Then the thread shows what it pressed and saw, and its answer. One play for each ask, and it does not use another of your asks.
I am stuck and player two cannot fix it.
Light the beacon: the beacon button at the top of player two. Say what should happen and what happens instead, then press Light the beacon to send those two lines and this game's asks, errors and code for help. Try again puts your two lines in the box for player two instead. Got it yourself? I got it puts your beacon out.
Can player two see my game?
It reads your code, and it can play the game to see what happens. To show it the screen too, press Show my game beside Ask: the game as it is right now goes with your next question. Add a picture sends a drawing or a screenshot instead.
Player two says I am out of asks.
Questions to player two have a daily limit. Keep building: it respawns tomorrow. The rounds the studio sends on its own to fix a version do not use your asks.
The blocks are hard to see.
Solid at the top of the code room shows them solid instead of see-through. A- and A+ change the text size.
How do I find a word in my code?
In Text, press Ctrl+F. Ctrl+H finds and replaces.
What is draw()?
The function the game runs again and again, 30 times a second. Everything that moves, moves a little each time draw() runs.
What is a sprite?
A thing in your game that has a position, a size and a picture: the player, a coin, an enemy. createSprite(x, y) makes one.
Where is the middle of the screen?
The screen is 600 by 600, so the middle is (300, 300). x grows to the right, y grows downward.
What is a variable?
A name for a value that can change, like var score = 0;. Knobs are variables with a slider attached.
My game froze or shows nothing.
Open Tools (the wrench) under the game, then the console: it shows what went wrong and on which line. Undo takes back the last change.
The full page: the code.
Ship·
Run it once more, then share it to the lobby on Spawn Point and get a link.
What is the last playtest?
Run the exact code plays your game the way Spawn Point will. If it breaks here, it breaks there.
How do I share it?
Press Share my game on 04 ship. You get a link: copy it and send it anywhere.
Who can see my game?
Everyone signed in, in the lobby, and anyone you give the link to. They can play it and read its code. If it goes in the Hall of Fame, everyone can.
Can I change it after I share it?
Yes. Keep making it better, then press Update my link on 04 ship. The link stays the same, so everyone who has it plays the new one. Until you do, the page says your link is behind.
How do I despawn my game?
Despawn it on 04 ship, or from yours in the lobby on 01 pick, from any computer.
What is the co-op log?
Every round you and player two played together: what you asked and what you kept. It goes with your game only if you tick the box.
Can I put my game on code.org?
No: Spawn games play on Spawn and Spawn Point, where they have their full 600 x 600 screen, their tunes and their 3D worlds. Share the Spawn Point link.
The full page: ship.