Guides Overview¶
Welcome to the Brine2D Guides! These practical, task-focused tutorials will help you build real game features step-by-step.
What You'll Learn¶
Guides are organized by feature area, each with complete working examples you can copy and adapt for your games.
Guide Categories¶
Getting Started¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Quick Start | Create your first game in 5 minutes | ⭐ Beginner |
| Project Structure | Organize your game project | ⭐ Beginner |
| Configuration | Set up game settings and options | ⭐ Beginner |
Input Handling¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Keyboard Input | Handle keyboard controls | ⭐ Beginner |
| Mouse Input | Implement mouse interaction | ⭐ Beginner |
| Gamepad Support | Add controller support | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Input Layers | Priority-based input routing | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Text Input | Handle text fields and chat | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
Rendering & Graphics¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Drawing Basics | Shapes, colors, and primitives | ⭐ Beginner |
| Loading Textures | Load and display images | ⭐ Beginner |
| Sprite Rendering | Draw sprites and sprite sheets | ⭐ Beginner |
| Animation | Create sprite animations | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Camera System | Implement camera movement | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Text Rendering | Display text and fonts | ⭐ Beginner |
| Particle Effects | Add visual effects | ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced |
Audio & Sound¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Sound Effects | Play sounds (jump, shoot, etc.) | ⭐ Beginner |
| Background Music | Add looping music | ⭐ Beginner |
| Audio Mixing | Control volume and balance | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| 3D Audio | Position-based sound | ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced |
Collision Detection¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Collision | Rectangle and circle collision | ⭐ Beginner |
| Collision Response | Bounce, slide, and push | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Collision Layers | Selective collision filtering | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Spatial Partitioning | Optimize collision detection | ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced |
Tilemaps & Levels¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Tiled Integration | Load Tiled JSON maps | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Tilemap Rendering | Efficient tilemap drawing | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Tilemap Collision | Tile-based collision | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Layer Management | Background, foreground layers | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
UI & Menus¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Buttons | Create clickable buttons | ⭐ Beginner |
| Labels & Text | Display UI text | ⭐ Beginner |
| Sliders | Volume and setting sliders | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Text Input | Name entry, chat boxes | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Dialogs | Modal popup windows | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Menus | Main menu, pause menu | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| HUD | Health bars, score display | ⭐ Beginner |
Game Mechanics¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Player Movement | WASD, 8-direction, smooth | ⭐ Beginner |
| Jump & Gravity | Platformer physics | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Shooting | Projectile system | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Enemy AI | Simple enemy behavior | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Health System | Damage and death | ⭐ Beginner |
| Inventory | Item management | ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced |
| Save/Load | Game state persistence | ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced |
Architecture & Patterns¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Component System | Entity-component pattern | ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced |
| State Machines | Manage game/entity states | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Event System | Decouple with events | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Object Pooling | Reduce allocations | ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced |
Performance & Optimization¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Profiling | Measure performance | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Reducing Allocations | Minimize garbage collection | ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced |
| Draw Call Batching | Optimize rendering | ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced |
| Asset Streaming | Load assets on demand | ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced |
Testing & Debugging¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Testing | Test game logic | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Debug Visualization | Visualize collisions, paths | ⭐ Beginner |
| Logging | Effective log messages | ⭐ Beginner |
| Hot Reload | Fast iteration | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
Packaging & Distribution¶
| Guide | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Publishing | Build release versions | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
| Cross-Platform | Windows, Linux, macOS | ⭐⭐⭐ Advanced |
| Installers | Create setup programs | ⭐⭐ Intermediate |
Learning Paths¶
Path 1: Complete Beginner¶
Start here if you're new to game development:
- Quick Start - Get something on screen
- Keyboard Input - Make it interactive
- Drawing Basics - Understand rendering
- Loading Textures - Add graphics
- Player Movement - Create player control
Result: A simple game with a player you can move around!
Path 2: Intermediate Developer¶
You've built simple games before:
- Sprite Rendering - Work with sprite sheets
- Animation - Bring sprites to life
- Basic Collision - Add physics
- Camera System - Follow the player
- Tiled Integration - Build levels
Result: A platformer or top-down game with levels!
Path 3: Advanced Developer¶
You want to optimize and polish:
- Component System - Clean architecture
- Object Pooling - Reduce GC pressure
- Spatial Partitioning - Fast collision
- Profiling - Find bottlenecks
- Asset Streaming - Large game optimization
Result: A polished, performant game ready for release!
How to Use These Guides¶
Structure¶
Each guide follows this format:
- Overview - What you'll build
- Prerequisites - What you need to know first
- Step-by-Step - Complete walkthrough
- Complete Code - Copy-paste ready examples
- Explanation - How it works
- Common Issues - Troubleshooting
- Next Steps - Related guides
Code Examples¶
All code examples are: - ✅ Complete - No placeholder comments - ✅ Tested - Works with Brine2D .NET 10 - ✅ Commented - Explains key concepts - ✅ Copy-Paste Ready - Use immediately
Difficulty Levels¶
| Symbol | Level | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ⭐ | Beginner | No prior experience needed |
| ⭐⭐ | Intermediate | Some game dev experience helpful |
| ⭐⭐⭐ | Advanced | Requires solid C# and game dev knowledge |
Complete Examples¶
Example 1: Simple Platformer¶
Combines these guides: - Player Movement - Jump & Gravity - Basic Collision - Camera System - Tilemap Rendering
Example 2: Top-Down Shooter¶
Combines these guides: - Player Movement - Shooting - Enemy AI - Health System - Particle Effects
Example 3: Menu System¶
Combines these guides: - Buttons - Sliders - Text Input - Dialogs - Save/Load
Find What You Need¶
By Feature¶
- Need to load sprites? → Loading Textures
- Want controller support? → Gamepad Support
- Adding sound? → Sound Effects
- Building UI? → UI Guides
By Problem¶
- "My game is slow" → Performance Guides
- "Collisions aren't working" → Collision Guides
- "How do I organize my code?" → Architecture Guides
Contributing¶
Found something unclear? Want to add a guide?
- Check existing guides for style
- Follow the template structure
- Include complete code examples
- Test everything works
Need Help?¶
- Discord: Join our community
- GitHub Issues: Report problems
- Stack Overflow: Tag
brine2d - Twitter: @Brine2D
Quick Reference¶
| I want to... | Go to... |
|---|---|
| Move a character | Player Movement |
| Handle clicks | Mouse Input |
| Play a sound | Sound Effects |
| Show a button | Buttons |
| Detect collision | Basic Collision |
| Load a level | Tiled Integration |
| Follow the player | Camera System |
| Animate a sprite | Animation |
| Display health bar | HUD |
| Save progress | Save/Load |
Ready to start building? Pick a guide and let's code!