How to build a maze muncher in Qualifio

In this tutorial, we’re going to show you how to create a maze muncher game.
In this game, participants must eat all the dots inside a maze. They have to be agile and catch the bonus items to get a better score. And, of course, it's imperative to avoid the captors. Let’s begin!

Table of contents

1. Creating the campaign
2. Game editor overview
   • Layout
   • Game mode
   • Maze Muncher
   • Panels
   • Sound effects
3. Testing the game
4. Saving the game
5. Publishing the game

Now that's out of the way, let's get making! 🕹️

Creating the campaign

Start by opening the Create a new campaign menu in Qualifio. Find the maze muncher campaign type by selecting Games. 

If the participant needs to register to participate, pick the “identified” mode. If no registration is required, select “anonymous”.

Name your campaign and select the appropriate publication channel (minisite or iframe).

Click on the Game step and this will take you to where you can create your game.

You’re going to be basing your game on a pre-made template (which we call a “ready-to-use game”):

Customise this game to get into the editor.

Game editor overview

Now you are in the game editor, which consists of various tabs. Let’s go over the different sections and what they’re used for.

Layout

• Background image. This image is used as a background for each step of the game. You can upload a different image for the desktop version (1100px wide, 1200px high) and the mobile version (1100px wide, 1800 px high). 
• Sound on/off buttons. Participants can turn audio on and off at will. The “sound off” button will mute all audio in your game, while the “sound on” button will reactivate all audio in your game. Make them 60 px wide, 60 px high.
  
  Note: to preview the most recent changes to your game, you can use the live preview feature and select Refresh.

Game mode

From the list of options, choose a game mode:

• In the life-based mode, you decide on the number of lives that each participant starts the game with (“life total”, max: 5). The participants lose a life each time they touch a captor. The game ends when all lives are lost or when the participant has collected all the dots.
• In the time-based mode, you set a time limit and participants compete against the clock. They have to be quick to catch as many dots and bonus items as possible. The game ends when time runs out.

Maze Muncher

You can configure the assets of the game in the maze muncher section.

• First, choose an image for the muncher and select an animation.
• Second, define a colour and a score for the dots participants have to catch.
• Third, upload an image for the bonus items and the captors and define a point system. Catching a bonus item will activate the invincible mode, during which captors can be eaten to collect some points.
• Then, define a colour for the walls of the maze and their opacity.
• Last, customise the colour of the joystick (mobile view only). You can also customise the joystick with an image.

Panels

Panels are interactive in-game screens and are one of the principal elements of the game. They inform players and give them directions on the next move to make.

• The tutorial panel shows how the game is played and opens up automatically once the game is loaded.
• The pause panel shows a text with a “Resume” button and opens up automatically when the participants click outside the game.
• The game-over panel shows the participant’s score and automatically opens up once the game ends. If all the dots have been eaten, a winning panel is displayed. If there are some dots remaining in the maze once the game is over, a losing panel is displayed.

Sound effects

You can also add sound effects to your game to enhance the experience:

• Background music to set the atmosphere and help users connect emotionally with the game. You can also decide to make a maze muncher without background music, as this sound is not mandatory.
• Sound effects at crucial moments or during specific actions (mandatory sounds):
  • when participants click on the start button,
  • when the muncher hits a captor,
  • when the muncher collects a bonus item,
  • when the game is over. 

Testing the game – check that progress! 💪🏼

As you create your game, you’ll want to test it out. To do this, use the game’s four different previews. You’ll be able to play the game like participants would in your Qualifio campaign. Take the time to play around with settings some more if things aren’t exactly how you want them.

Saving the game

You’ve worked on your game for a bit now. How about saving your progress? Well, there are two ways you can do this:

• If you click on Save & close at the bottom-right corner of the screen, you’ll update the previously existing game in Qualifio.
• Save as a new game will save the game as a new custom game available for reuse via the tab below or by selecting Documents > Advanced formats:

You can thus choose which way you want to save.

Publishing the game

To ensure responsiveness on smartphones and tablets, campaign integration must be done in the following way:

1. Create a minisite or iframe channel.
2. Customise your Maze Muncher.
3. Add a mobile channel.
4. Make use of the minisite/iframe channel smart URL to share. To learn more, please check What is a smart URL and how to use it?

And there you go! You have successfully created and published your maze muncher. We hope you enjoyed the process and thank you for following along with this tutorial! ✌🏼