Kaneva Game Platform Game Design Tutorials

Kaneva Game Studio lets you create and manipulate worlds. To get you started, and to further your abilities, these lessons and tutorial series explain important game design tasks and fundamentals.

Visit often to see what new lessons are available for you to extend your abilities. Please let us know what you think of these tutorials.

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Contents

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Kaneva Game Studio Lesson Files

The lesson files contain all of the models, textures, and other files necessary to get you ready for the lessons.

• How to Use the Lesson Files
• Kaneva Basics Series Lesson Files
• Kaneva NPC Series Lesson Files
• Weapons Rigging Lesson Files
• Particle Editor Lesson Files

Hello, Game World!

An introduction to Kaneva Game Platform: Develop a basic game world with menus, ground mesh, and an actor.

Kaneva Basics Series

Some of the lessons include two instruction tracks: with and without Autodesk/discreet 3ds max to generate the models. Choose the lesson track that's best for you.

Part 1: Building the Basic Game and Zone

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio and 3ds max	Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 1	Introduction to Part 1
Copying the Kaneva Basics Lesson Files	Copying the Kaneva Basics Lesson Files
Creating a New Game	Loading a New Game
Creating a New Zone	Loading a New Zone
Creating the Land Mesh
Creating a Simple House
Importing the Land and House	Importing the Land and House
Creating a Collision Map	Creating a Collision Map
Placing an Actor in Scene	Placing an Actor in Scene
Modifying the Basic Environment	Modifying the Basic Environment
Creating Realistic Visibility	Creating Realistic Visibility
Summary of Part 1	Summary of Part 1

Part 2: Adjusting Game Global Settings

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 2
Modifying Control Objects
Defining Damage
Defining Character Stats
Adding Character Skills
Loading your Game Settings
Summary of Part 2

Part 3: Designing and Working with Actors

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio and 3ds max	Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 3	Introduction to Part 3
Creating the Actor's Representative Box
Creating and Arranging the Actor's Graphic Primitives
Assigning Textures
Setting Material IDs
Exporting Objects
Importing the Actor	Importing the Actor
Inheriting Actor Dynamics	Inheriting Actor Dynamics
Setting an Actor’s Cameras	Setting an Actor’s Cameras
Placing an Actor	Placing an Actor
Summary of Part 3	Summary of Part 3

Part 4: Working with Reference Mesh Objects

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio and 3ds max	Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 4	Introduction to Part 4
Creating a Reference Object
Modifying the Reference Mesh for Detail
Exporting the Reference Object
Importing Reference Objects	Importing Reference Objects
Placing the Reference Object	Placing the Reference Object
Transforming Reference Objects	Transforming Reference Objects
Creating an Alternate Collision Map	Creating an Alternate Collision Map
Using Level of Detail Models	Using Level of Detail Models
Summary of Part 4	Summary of Part 4

Part 5: Water Areas and Real Skies

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio and 3ds max	Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 5	Introduction to Part 5
Sinking a Lake in the Land Mesh
Creating the Lake
Updating the Land Mesh
Importing the Lake	Importing the Lake
Providing Water Visual Reality	Providing Water Visual Reality
Providing Water Navigational Reality	Providing Water Navigational Reality
Creating Real Sky
Importing and Tuning the Sky	Importing and Tuning the Sky
Summary of Part 5	Summary of Part 5

Part 6: Commerce Areas and Bank Areas

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio and 3ds max	Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 6	Introduction to Part 6
Upgrading the House Mesh
Creating a Store and a Bank
Defining a Store and Bank Area Box
Exporting the Store and Bank
Importing the Store and Bank	Importing the Store and Bank
Importing and Loading Store and Bank Menus	Importing and Loading Store and Bank Menus
Setting the Store Area	Setting the Store Area
Setting the Bank Area	Setting the Bank Area
Summary of Part 6	Summary of Part 6

Part 7: Safe Zones and Portals

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio and 3ds max	Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 7	Introduction to Part 7
Create a Safe Area Bounding Box
Export the Safe Area Bounding Box
Defining the Safe Area	Defining the Safe Area
Introduction to Local Portals	Introduction to Local Portals
Create and Place Local Portal Pads
Export Local Portal Pads
Import Local Portal Pads	Import Local Portal Pads
Define a Local Portal	Define a Local Portal
Introduction to External Portals	Introduction to External Portals
Create and Place External Portal
Create External Portal Area Box
Export External Portal Objects
Import External Portal Objects	Import External Portal Objects
Define The Game Zone	Define the Game Zone
Define the External Portal	Define the External Portal
Set the External Portal Trigger	Set the External Portal Trigger
Summary of Part 7	Summary of Part 7

Part 8: Preparing and playing your game

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 8
Setting Spawn Points
Generating the Texture Database
Obtain Your License Key
Edit the Game Server Configuration Files
Starting the Game Server
Running the Game
Self-Hosting Your Game (advanced)
Summary of Part 8

Kaneva Basics Series Add-ons

These quick lessons use the world you created in the Kaneva Basics Series series to demonstrate specific features in Kaneva Game Platform.

Housing Systems and Housing Areas

Kaneva NPC Series

Part 1: Creating a Simple Quest NPC

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 1
Preparing the Scene
Creating an NPC Group
Creating a Sequenced Speech (Quest) NPC
Configuring a Quest NPC
Saving the NPC Setup
Testing the Quest NPC
Review of Part 1

Part 2: Creating a Banker NPC

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 2
Preparing the Bank Area
Creating a Banker NPC
Configuring the Banker NPC
Saving the Banker NPC Setup
Testing the Banker NPC
Review of Part 2

Part 3: Creating a store NPC and Commerce System Setup

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 3
Preparing the Store Area
Creating a Store NPC
Configuring the Store NPC
Saving the Store NPC Setup
Provisioning Inventory for the Store
Testing the Store NPC
Review of Part 3

Part 4: Creating an Arena and Arena NPC

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 4
Creating an Arena NPC
Saving the Arena NPC Setup
Preparing the Arena Zone
Setting up the Arena
Setting up World Rules
Loading the Arena and World Rules
Testing the Arena NPC
Review of Part 4

Part 5: Creating a Portal NPC

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 5
Creating a Portal NPC
Setting up the Portal NPC
Determine the Destination Positions
Set up the Store Portal Quest
Set up the Bank Portal Quest
Saving the Portal NPC Setup
Testing the Portal NPC
Review of Part 5

Part 6: Creating Chests and Containers

Download and view the companion video.

Part 6 includes two instruction tracks: with and without Autodesk/discreet 3ds max to generate the models. Choose the lesson track that's best for you.

Using Kaneva Game Studio and 3ds max	Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 6	Introduction to Part 6
Exporting a Chest/Container NPC Actor
Importing a Chest/Container NPC Actor	Importing a Chest/Container NPC Actor
Defining Chest/Container Inventory	Defining Chest/Container Inventory
Creating the Chest/Container NPC	Creating the Chest/Container NPC
Testing the Chest/Container NPC	Testing the Chest/Container NPC
Advanced: Invisible Chest/Container NPC	Advanced: Invisible Chest/Container NPC
Review of Part 6	Review of Part 6

Part 7: Creating Quests

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 7
Creating the Quest NPC
Configuring Quests
Testing the Quest
Review of Part 7

Part 8: Creating Hostile NPCs

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 8
Creating the Hostile NPC
Defining AI Scripts and Events
Creating the AI Bot
Spawning the AI
Testing the AIs
Review of Part 8

Part 9: Creating NPC Teams

Download and view the companion video.

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 9
Creating Friendly NPCs
Tuning NPC Attack Behavior
Setting the Friendly NPC Path
Spawning Friendly NPCs
Testing the Friendly NPCs
Review of Part 9

Kaneva Character Creation and Combat Series

Part 1: Kaneva Weapon Import and Rigging

• Kaneva Studio Character Creation, Part 1
• Kaneva Studio Character Creation, Part 2
• Kaneva Studio Character Creation, Part 3
• Kaneva Studio Character Creation, Part 4

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 1
Preparing the Game Scene
Installing the Lesson Files
Setting up an Equippable Item
Configuring the Third Person Visuals
Configuring the First Person Visuals
Adding Equippable Items to Actor Inventory
Testing the Weapon
Tuning the Reticule Texture
Tuning the Muzzle Flash Texture
Review of Part 1

Part 2: Projectiles, Sounds, and LODs

Using Kaneva Game Studio only
Introduction to Part 2
Setting up the Projectile, Explosions, and Sounds
Creating First Person Events
Creating Third Person Events
Testing the Weapon
Adding Weapon Level of Detail (LOD) Meshes
Testing the LOD Models
Review of Part 2

Part 3: Character Creation and Rigging

Using Kaneva Game Studio and 3ds max
Introduction to Part 3

Pending topics:

• Importing a Weapon^?
• Importing a Range Weapon^?
• Setting up Explosions^?
• Setting up Weapons Systems^?
• Using Damage Channels^?
• Sounds and Effects^?
• Particles^?

Kaneva Particle Editor (KPE)

The writeup on this tutorial is not yet completed. However, you can view the companion videos here:

• Kaneva Particle Editor Tutorial, Part 1
• Kaneva Particle Editor Tutorial, Part 2
• Kaneva Particle Editor Tutorial, Part 3

Kaneva Graphics Effects Series

These tutorials describe how to create advanced graphics effects using Kaneva Game Studio.

• Lesson files for Kaneva Graphics Effects Series

• Alpha Blending
• FX Shaders^?
• Vertex Animation^?

Third-party Tutorials

The following list is a small collection of tutorials that some of our users have found to be helpful.

• 3D Buzz features lots of written and video tutorials on most every graphic subject.
• UV Mapping Tips And Tricks (requires free Gamasutra registration)
• Create a Transparent Image using Adobe Photoshop
• Create a Transparent Image using Jasc Paint Shop Pro

Kaneva Menu Series

Video companion tutorials and written tutorials are coming soon.

Kaneva AI Series

Pending topics:

• Using Paths and Nodes^?
• Importing AI Paths from 3ds max^?