BlitStudio

BlitStudio - Visual Game Creator

Create games without writing code! BlitStudio is a visual level editor for Blit Engine.

🎨 What is BlitStudio?

BlitStudio is a graphical tool that lets you design game levels by clicking and dragging instead of writing code.

Before BlitStudio:

// Manually place 50 objects in code... tedious!
Entity *e1 = blit_entity_create(100, 150, 32, 32, sprite);
Entity *e2 = blit_entity_create(250, 200, 32, 32, sprite);
// ... 48 more lines ...

With BlitStudio:

1. Click, drag, place ✨
2. Save level
3. Load in game
4. Done! 🎮

✨ Features

• 📐 Visual editing - Click to place, drag to move
• 🎯 Grid system - Perfect alignment
• 💾 Save/Load - Persistent levels
• 📤 Export code - Generate C code for games
• 🎮 Test mode - Play instantly without compiling
• 🎨 Multiple modes - SELECT, PAINT, ENTITY, COLLISION, TEST

🚀 Quick Start

Build & Run

# Compile
gcc -c blitstudio_main.c -o editor_main.o
gcc -c BlitStudio.c -o BlitStudio.o
gcc -c Blit Engine.c -o Blit Engine.o

# Link
ld -T user.ld editor_main.o BlitStudio.o Blit Engine.o lib_NodGL.a libc.a -o BlitStudio.sqr

# Run
./BlitStudio.sqr

Basic Usage

1. Press TAB to switch modes
2. Click to place objects (ENTITY mode)
3. Drag to move objects (SELECT mode)
4. Press Ctrl+S to save
5. Press ESC to exit

🎮 Editor Modes

Mode	Purpose
SELECT	Select and move objects
PAINT	Draw sprites pixel-by-pixel
ENTITY	Place game entities
COLLISION	Add collision boxes
TEST	Play your level instantly

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
TAB	Cycle modes
F1	Toggle help
G	Toggle grid
Ctrl+S	Save level
Ctrl+O	Load level
Ctrl+E	Export as code
DELETE	Delete selected
ESC	Exit

📖 Documentation

• Introduction - What is BlitStudio?
• Getting Started - Your first level
• User Guide - Complete features (coming soon)
• Workflow Guide - Best practices (coming soon)

🎯 Example Workflow

Creating a Level

1. Start editor → ./BlitStudio.sqr
2. Press TAB → Switch to ENTITY mode
3. Click around → Place enemies, items
4. Press TAB → Switch to SELECT mode  
5. Drag objects → Fine-tune positions
6. Press Ctrl+S → Save level
7. Press Ctrl+E → Export code

Using in Game

#include "level.c"  // Generated by BlitStudio

int md_main() {
    Blit Engine engine;
    blit_init(&engine);
    
    load_level();  // Loads all objects!
    
    // Game loop...
    
    blit_shutdown(&engine);
    return 0;
}

📁 Files

In userland/:

• BlitStudio.h - Editor API
• BlitStudio.c - Editor implementation
• blitstudio_main.c - Main application

Generated Files:

• level.dat - Binary level data
• level.c - Exported C code

🎨 Interface Overview

+--------------------------------------------------------+
| Mode: SELECT | Objects: 5 | Grid: ON     [TOOLBAR]    |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| Objects  |                                             |
| -------- |        [MAIN CANVAS - Your Level]          |
| Player   |                                             |
| Enemy_1  |     Click to place, drag to move objects   |
| Coin_1 ✓ |                                             |
|  [PANEL] |                   [GRID]                   |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| X:256 Y:192          Status messages      [STATUS]    |
+--------------------------------------------------------+

🔧 Use Cases

Level Design

Create platformer levels, puzzle layouts, and game maps visually.

Rapid Prototyping

Test different layouts without recompiling.

Learning

Understand game design concepts hands-on.

Asset Preview

See how sprites look in your game.

📊 Specifications

• Max Objects: 256 per level
• Grid Size: Adjustable (default 32px)
• File Format: Binary (.dat) or C code (.c)
• Supported Types: Entities, Collision boxes, Sprites

🎓 Learning Path

Complete Beginner:

1. Read Introduction
2. Follow Getting Started
3. Create a simple 5-object level
4. Export and use in a test game

Intermediate:

1. Learn all 5 modes
2. Create complex multi-layer levels
3. Use collision boxes effectively
4. Integrate with Blit Engine games

Advanced:

1. Extend BlitStudio code
2. Add custom object types
3. Create editor tools
4. Build game-specific editors

🐛 Known Limitations

Current version:

• ❌ No undo/redo
• ❌ No copy/paste
• ❌ Single level at a time
• ❌ Basic sprite editor
• ❌ No layer system

Future improvements planned!

🤝 Contributing

Want to improve BlitStudio?

Ideas:

• Add undo/redo system
• Improve sprite editor
• Add more drawing tools
• Create object templates
• Better file formats
• Multi-level projects

📜 License

BlitStudio is part of the ModuOS project.
Licensed under GPL v2.0

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Ready to create games visually? Get Started →

Need the game engine? [Blit Engine →](../Blit Engine/README.md)