Creating a Game

Quick note: all of the files created in this tutorial can be accessed here.

Creating a Configuration File

ModernRift uses json to store configuration information. The first step whenever you're creating a game is to create a configuration file. The recommended name for the configuration file is either configuration.json or config.json. You can use whatever name you want, as long as it ends with .json. I use configuration.json in all of the tutorials for consistency.

Now that you've created the file, you need to add some information. ModernRift looks for a section in the file called Config, so let's create that:

{
  "Config": {

  }
}

Now, you'll need to fill out the information in it. There are 8 variables for data:

Variable Name	Variable Title	Description	Default Value	Required?
Name	name	The name of the game	N/A	Yes
Description	description	A brief description of the game	An empty string ("")	No
Creator Name	creatorName	Your name or username	An empty string ("")	No
Version	version	The semantic versioning number of the latest release of the game	N/A	Yes
WindowTitle	windowTitle	What the title bar of the console should be	The value of name	No
Prompt	prompt	The text displayed in the console when asking for commands	name + " > ", for example "ModernRift Example 01 > "	No
Background Color	backgroundColor	The ConsoleColor of the background	"Black"	No
Text Color	textColor	The ConsoleColor of the text	"White"	No

Here's what I did:

{
  "Config": {
    "name": "ModernRift Example 01",
    "description": "A simple 'Hello, world!' program using ModernRift",
    "creatorName": "ModernRift",
    "version": "1.0",
    "windowTitle": "ModernRift Example 01: A “Hello, world!” program",
    "prompt": "Enter Command: ",
    "backgroundColor": "DarkBlue",
    "textColor": "White"
  }
}

Creating a Game Class

A configuration file isn't useful if we never use it. In this step, you'll create a game class and point it towards the configuration file. First, create a class that extends Rift.ModernRift.Core.Game:

using Rift.ModernRift.Core

namespace Example01 {
  public class GameClass : Game {
    
  }
}

Got it? Now, create the constructor method. Unfortunately, this is a step that is required when creating a game. We're working on removing it. Here's how your file should look:

using Rift.ModernRift.Core

namespace Example01 {
  public class GameClass : Game {
    public GameClass(Configuration config) : base(config) { }
  }
}

Setting up the Engine

If you haven't already, create a main class for your program and the static Main method inside. In the main method, create an instance of your configuration:

static void Main(string[] args)
{
  Configuration configuration = new Configuration.ConfigurationBuilder()
    .FromConfigFile("configuration.json")
    .Build();
}

Remember to replace configuration.json with the name of your configuration file!

Now, you need to tell the engine what your game reference is. Put this line just after the line where you define your configuration (still in the main method):

Engine.GameReference = new GameClass(configuration);

Remember to replace GameClass with the name of your game class!

Finally, you need to call the initialization and start functions to the program. At the very end of the main method, add these 2 lines:

Engine.Initialize();
Engine.Start();

Now, you can run your program and you should see a console window appear. If you used my configuration file, it should look like this:

If that worked, congratulations! You’ve created your first game! You can test it out by typing help, clear, or quit. Clear clears all the text from the window and prints a new prompt. Help writes a short description of all of the commands. Quit safely shuts down the program.