Chapter 5 Collision Theory and Logic 139
Run Toolbar
To see how your game is working, it is helpful to the tools on the
Run
toolbar. These tools allow you to test the game to see if everything is working
as anticipated. The
Run Application
tool allows you to test play your game
from the fi rst frame. The
Run Frame
tool allows you to test play just the
current page you are designing. Use the
Stop
button to cancel the
Run
Application
or
Run Frame
tool and continue working on your game.
Editor Toolbar
There are two basic
Editor
toolbars. Which toolbar is displayed depends
on which mode or view is currently displayed. One version of the
Editor
toolbar is displayed in frame view. The second version is displayed in event
view.
In frame view, the editor toolbar contains the tools needed to view all
the aspects of your frame creation and conditional programming. The
Zoom
tool allows you to see your work in greater detail by magnifying the view.
This can help to properly align your background and character features. The
Zoom
tool is also used to reduce the view. Other options include applying a
grid to the editor window and tools for controlling font and style, text color,
and alignment of text. The last button is the
Center Frame
tool. This allows
you to quickly have the background view centered on any selected object.
This is helpful when using a large or scrolling background.
In event view, the
Editor
toolbar displays different tools. The
Zoom
tool
is still available, but it appears slightly different. The other tools on the toolbar
help the designer to view or exclude from view events and objects. This is
very helpful when designing a large game and the designer needs to focus
on a single programming element of the game or on a small set of features
or objects.
Workspace Window
The
Workspace
window displays the programming tree for the game.
The application is the top-level branch. Below that, each frame is displayed in
order as separate branches. The branch for each frame can be expanded to
display each object used in the frame as branches below the frame.
Think of the tree organization format as you would a real tree. There
is a trunk that has branches, twigs (sub branches), and leaves (the fi nal
objects). In a program tree, you start with a large fi le, or trunk folders. From
there, the trunk folder has smaller folders, or branches, that contain similar
items grouped by categories. Inside each branch folder, there are often more
folders that contain even more specifi c categories. Finally, there will be actual
fi les or applications at the end of the tree, similar to the leaves at the end of
a real tree branch.
The
Workspace
window allows the designer to quickly access each
part of the game. When an item is selected in the
Workspace
window, its
properties are displayed in the
Properties
window (discussed in the next
section).